My experience with Spyder Dealers

[Ensleyboy]

I bought my first Spyder in 2011 at Big Number One in Birmingham. The service sucked and was slow. Bought my 2019 F3 Base with auto transmission and 1330 engine at Speedzone in Gadsden, Al. I took it in for my 3000 service and told them the Spyder vibrated at 75 and 80. Went to pick it up and the service manager said they road tested it but did not take it on the interstate so they did not reach 75 mph and thus could not determine if it vibrated or not. The F3 runs great until you get on the interstate, but the vibration at 75 and agin at 80 ruins my riding experience and they made no attempt to identify the cause or correct it. I am so angry at their lack of caring and professionalism but don’t know what to do. Hell, they may not have even changed the oil for all I know. Is there any Spyder dealer within 100 miles of B’ham worth a damn?

[Peacekeeper6]

I bought my first Spyder in 2011 at Big Number One in Birmingham. The service sucked and was slow. Bought my 2019 F3 Base with auto transmission and 1330 engine at Speedzone in Gadsden, Al. I took it in for my 3000 service and told them the Spyder vibrated at 75 and 80. Went to pick it up and the service manager said they road tested it but did not take it on the interstate so they did not reach 75 mph and thus could not determine if it vibrated or not. The F3 runs great until you get on the interstate, but the vibration at 75 and agin at 80 ruins my riding experience and they made no attempt to identify the cause or correct it. I am so angry at their lack of caring and professionalism but don’t know what to do. Hell, they may not have even changed the oil for all I know. Is there any Spyder dealer within 100 miles of B’ham worth a damn?

That vibration you feel above 75 is the drive belt. There's a YT vid on it, and that is the exact reason why many riders (or "ryders" in Spyder parlance........which I still can't type without a bit of snicker, lol) install a belt tensioner. However, there is a discussion here about the roller bearing and how some can't withstand the stratospheric rpms they are spinning at that speed, which tends to grenade the roller and the drive belt with it.

Anyway, good luck in finding a reputable dealer. Our dealer here isn't that great either. When I asked to test drive one of their RTs, the salesman said, "Sure. Just do it here in the parking lot and don't get out of second gear".

The parking lot was about 1/3 of an acre.

I'm thinking to myself, "GEE BUDDY !! THANKS !!!!".

Needless to say, I walked out....

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

That vibration you feel above 75 is the drive belt. There's a YT vid on it, and that is the exact reason why many riders (or "ryders" in Spyder parlance........which I still can't type without a bit of snicker, lol) install a belt tensioner. However, there is a discussion here about the roller bearing and how some can't withstand the stratospheric rpms they are spinning at that speed, which tends to grenade the roller and the drive belt with it.

Anyway, good luck in finding a reputable dealer. Our dealer here isn't that great either. When I asked to test drive on of their Spyders, the salesman said, "Sure. Just do it here in the parking lot and don't get out of second gear".

The parking lot was about 1/3 of an acre.

I'm thinking to myself, "GEE BUDDY !! THANKS !!!!".

Needless to say, I walked out....

Sorry but I don't agree about the Belt being the issue ..... If there is any vibes in the handlebars I would have the wheels/ tires spun balanced ..... good luck .... Mike :thumbup: .... PS many folks here have lowered the belt tension to 150 to 160 lbs. ( using a KritKit gauge ) measured with the rear wheel on-the-ground ..... both easy fixes that won't cost much ....

[Peteoz]

Sorry but I don't agree about the Belt being the issue ..... If there is any vibes in the handlebars I would have the wheels/ tires spun balanced ..... good luck .... Mike :thumbup: .... PS many folks here have lowered the belt tension to 150 to 160 lbs. ( using a KritKit gauge ) measured with the rear wheel on-the-ground ..... both easy fixes that won't cost much ....

Mike, I have to say that after lowering my belt tension to around 160, and removing my aftermarket tensioner (which looked like it was on the way out), I now don’t notice the vibrations at around 70mph (around 110kph, which is our freeway speed limit). That doesn’t mean they aren’t still there, but if they are, they are reduced to the point where they don’t bother me. :2thumbs:

Pete

[Peacekeeper6]

Sorry but I don't agree about the Belt being the issue ..... If there is any vibes in the handlebars I would have the wheels/ tires spun balanced ..... good luck .... Mike :thumbup: .... PS many folks here have lowered the belt tension to 150 to 160 lbs. ( using a KritKit gauge ) measured with the rear wheel on-the-ground ..... both easy fixes that won't cost much ....

Unless I'm blind as a bat or need new prescription glasses, I don't see the OP mentioning anything about vibration felt in the handlebars.

He states "I took it in for my 3000 service and told them the Spyder vibrated at 75 and 80" and "the vibration at 75 and agin at 80 ruins my riding experience". I believe he feels the vibrations on his whole bike.

When *I* go faster than 70, I in fact feel a vibration, and it gets worse the faster I go. And it's not really felt in the handlebars, but on seat of my byke (there I go with my snicker again, lol).

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Unless I'm blind as a bat or need new prescription glasses, I don't see the OP mentioning anything about vibration felt in the handlebars.

He states "I took it in for my 3000 service and told them the Spyder vibrated at 75 and 80" and "the vibration at 75 and agin at 80 ruins my riding experience". I believe he feels the vibrations on his whole bike.

When *I* go faster than 70, I in fact feel a vibration, and it gets worse the faster I go. And it's not really felt in the handlebars, but on seat of my byke (there I go with my snicker again, lol).

....." IF " and Thank you for your service :thumbup:................. Mike :ohyea:PS, I see you also have a Sienna .... I bought a full set of LED's for all the interior lights ( on e-bay $8.00 ) .... they light up the interior amazingly well

[SportsterDoc]

If vibration were front tires, an out of balance condition should be visible.
Unless motor mounts loose, then the long belt could be the issue, as the Ryker, with drive shaft, is smooth.

As for dealer experience, my favorite dealer is excellent.
When I emailed on a Monday that I was interested in a Ryker, but could not visit until Thursday, he replied that he did not have a 900 on the floor, but would build one on Tuesday. Assembly was delayed until Friday, but on Thursday he took a new 600 off the floor, added fuel and I took it out for 10 miles. It was enough fun that I was certain a 900 would satisfy.

Excellent dealer experience, third purchase since Dec 2016.

[jwulf74]

Our dealer here was good. I was looking for as red as I can get and the 2020 is "Magma Red"... he took us out to the crate and opened enough of the side to see it. That was on a chrome one and he said they would get ot assembled. Doing a little research and watching some videos I saw the dark edition and liked that better than the chrome and they put that one together while we did the paperwork. Stopped in today for some stuff and didn't see the chrome version so guessing they sold it already. Very happy with my dark edition.

[Peacekeeper6]

....." IF " and Thank you for your service :thumbup:................. Mike :ohyea:PS, I see you also have a Sienna .... I bought a full set of LED's for all the interior lights ( on e-bay $8.00 ) .... they light up the interior amazingly well

I stand corrected. I didn't see your "if". Perhaps it IS time to set up an appointment with my eye doctor, lol.

Thank you for recognizing us veterans. Not only do we sacrifice ourselves but our families as well.

Anyway, thanks for the Sienna tips. We LOVE our minivan. Although it doesn't portray such a great image ("soccer mom"), we never had a vehicle that is SO versatile. I'm actually thinking of getting LED headlights for it after installing some on our Spyder.

[2dogs]

If you have any questions about a dealer not changing your oil after a service, just check it before you leave the dealership. If it's still dark, it may likely not have been changed. Always check your oil after a service. My wife's and my son's jeeps (2014/2015) both have a defective dipsticks. After an oil and filter and change both our jeeps have been overfilled with oil. Be dammed what the engine's oil capacity requires. The lube techs go by the dipsticks, even if you tell them "7qt's ONLY," they still overfill. The first two services I had done on my spyder by the BRP dealership, they overfilled it both times by 1qt. When i got home i had to remove 1qt of oil. This time the dipstick was correct and engine capacity spects were incorrect. Then BRP sent out a bulletin "5 qt's only in the 1330."

[samewok]

Mine on my 2015 was balanced on the front tires.
Rebalance everything was fine.

[Fat Baxter]

Another Alabama rider here. Agree that the Birmingham dealer sucks. You drop the bike off and they will call you when they finally get around to fixing it. The worst I heard was three weeks to get an oil change, but that was many years ago.

Depending on where you live, there's a dealer in Cullman, AL and another in Montgomery. I have no experience with the Cullman dealer. I use the one in Montgomery. Other than being hard-assed about not mounting non-OEM tires, they're OK. But they are swamped right now. I took my Spyder in Thursday (May 28th), and they said if I had called that day for a service appointment, the earliest available date is 23 June.

It seems that with this virus lockdown, everyone oddly enough has free time and wants a toy to play with (Spyder, regular bike, or off-road four-wheeler). His showroom, usually jam-packed with toys, was less than half-full. They've been averaging about 140 new sales each month for the past several months.

As for vibration at interstate speeds, it's probably the belt. But I've ridden BMWs for decades and am so used to the bike vibrating, it doesn't bother me.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I stand corrected. I didn't see your "if". Perhaps it IS time to set up an appointment with my eye doctor, lol.

Thank you for recognizing us veterans. Not only do we sacrifice ourselves but our families as well.

Anyway, thanks for the Sienna tips. We LOVE our minivan. Although it doesn't portray such a great image ("soccer mom"), we never had a vehicle that is SO versatile. I'm actually thinking of getting LED headlights for it after installing some on our Spyder.

I appreciate the way you have responded to my correction :clap: ...... and :agree: with the LED headlights, I have poor Night vision and the change to LED's made a hugh difference ..... I also swapped out all the lamp bulbs to LED ( PS, check the sizes if do the same,.. many are much larger ie . stop, turn etc. ) got them all on E-bay for less than $15.00. .... my stop and turn signals can be seen for miles now :roflblack:...... Mike :thumbup: