On the fence.

[Paulf10]

Since 2002 I have owned a 2002 HD Sportster, 2003 HD Softail, 2004 HD Classic, 2009 HD Ultra Classic, and currently own a 2009 Goldwing. I have ridden my Goldwing from MA out to Sturgis and back and I have done the Iron Butt Saddle Sore 1000 on my 2004 HD classic. I loved all these bike and each one I loved better than the one before it. ( except for the 2009 HD Ultra Classic) that bike sucked for a whole bunch of reason! I got rid of it after just one season.

The reason I mention this is because I'm seriously thinking of trading in my Goldwing, which has been my best bike by far, for a new 2012 Spyder RT limited. I ride for only one reason and that's for fun! I've taken a demo ride on a Spyder and it was a whole lot of fun and then some!

My only hesitation is the problems I'm reading that people are having with the Spyder. I just went though a really bad dealer / manufacturer experience with a 2009 Mini Cooper that ended in me trading it in for a Mazda. The Mini dealer was bad and the Mini company was worse. The car was under warranty, but spent over three months to get a timing chain issue repaired. In short it was supposed to be a fun car, but hassles are not fun.

Having said all of that (sorry), would you recommend a 2012 RT limited solely based on rreliability?

Thanks in advance.

Paul
PS.... I don't think I can stop myself from buying one at this point! The whole Spyder experience just blows me away! I guess I'm just curious what I'm in store for, will I regret this?

This post has been edited by Paulf10: Today, 10:00 PM

[Grandpa Spyder]

Hey, I know what you are talking about. I have owned 5 Goldwings and bought a 2012 RTS SE5 and I am not looking back. At this time I have no regrets. I only have 800 miles on mine so far. NO ISSUES YET. The more I ryde it the better I like it. SO GO FOR IT. And again:welcome:to the forum.

[SteveMac]

Hi Paulf10,

You should consider riding out to Cuba MO in April, where you will see one of the largest gatherings of Spyders you have ever laid eyes on. The BRP demo van will be there and you can see first hand the reliability and talk with MANY owners from all over North America!

Visit www.spyderfest.com (http://www.spyderfest.com) or take a peek at this post here on SpyderLovers: http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?35070-Official-SpyderFest-2012-Updates-Post%21

I have 10,000 trouble free miles on my RT and I LOVE it! :thumbup:

[Mr. White]

I feel your pain. I could not stand to part with my Motor Trike so just kept it and love both. I am, however, riding my Spyder more than my Wing. May sell my Wing at some point, but not yet... no problems with my Wing or Spyder...

:spyder2:

[CyncySpyder]

Welcome to the SpyderHood Paul. This is the BEST site on the WWW for anything & EVERYTHING Spyder related. Coming from first hand experience, initial dealer set-up will either make your experience a good one or a bad one. I didn't know about this forum or much about the Spyder in general when we purchased our 2010 RT-S. All I knew then, was that I was hooked & would do what I had to do to get one. Long story short, that byke was in the shop more than I had it & it left me VERY Frustrated & I had lost ALL faith in that particular unit. From learning as much as I could from this forum, I had heard nothing but great things about Len & the Cowtown USA dealership in Cuba MO, host of SpyderFest 2012, which SteveMac rightfully reccommended that you attend to see what I'm talking about first hand.

Len posted on here that he was going to build 5 Limited Edition 2011 SpyderFest RT-S Spyders from his dealership with the 5 most popular after-market mods already installed on the bykes & at a price better than you could get if you did all the mods yourself. When I read about this, I had planned to get 4 of the mods he had listed, on my 2010 RT-S, but there was no way I was going to sink more money into a byke that wasn't even in my pocession, because of problem after problem, being at a dealership (no longer a Spyder Dealer now) that didn't know what they were doing.

So, even tho I live in Cincinnati, Ohio & am 450 miles from Cowtown, I made the deal with Len & traded my 2010 RT-S for our 2011 RT-S & of course, I took a loss, but it has been worth every penny. I can't explain well enough how great this experience has been compared to our original experience. If I hadn't had back surgery last Friday, I'm sure we would have over 30,000 miles on our new Spyder in less than 11 months, but I've not been able to ryde for almost a month really, so we're sit'n at about 24,000 miles & besides having the Throttle Body recall done, its been pretty much trouble free & an ABSOLUTE BLAST. So much so, its our ONLY vehicle, year round. I found another local dealer that is good & have done needed Warranty work their, but with all the knowledge on this forum, with how-to videos & just about as much free advice as you can handle, I do much of the routine maintenance myself.

Find a good dealer in your area or call and talk to Len, as that initial dealer set-up will make or break your Spyder. Good Luck, & even tho I had a rough start myself, I couldn't imagine my life now without having the Spyder in it. Hope to see you at one of the rallys soon, you won't regret it:thumbup:

[StriperKing]

I read alot on here and yes there have been lots of problems but anything this new will have issues to overcome. It seems to me that each year they have addressed these issues as any new released vehicle will have to do so just my oppenion but the 2012`s should have most of the bugs worked out. I have a 2010 RTS. I bought mine when it had 3,400 miles on it and it now has around 12,000 miles. Other than very minor issues mine has been perfect. I came from more of a sport bike background but I will never go back. Just remember people get on here for help with issues but do not post "by the way my Spyder was perfect today". If they did you would have a hard time finding the posts with issues. I remember someone starting a post for people to reply if they had never had a problem with their Spyder and it was impressive. Maybe someone better than me could find that for you. Good luck.

[ARtraveler]

Its a good idea to test drive and see if :spyder2: is really for you.

Reliability: there have been a lot of things posted--but there seem to be fewer than before. We always hear about the bad stuff quick. As said in a previous post--most people don't post that they had a good day with their :spyder2: today.

I have had three :spyder2:'s over 50,000 miles and still like mine.

[rogerb]

You are already bitten, you rode one. I have had problems but I don't dwell on them. I keep remembering the Good Times. 26500 miles since June 2010. Plan on over 30000 by this June. :yes::yes::yes:

[Paulf10]

Just remember people get on here for help with issues but do not post "by the way my Spyder was perfect today".


Thats actually a good point. I hadn't thought of it that way.
i really appreciate all the responses, suggestions, and opinions, both public and private. They are all good food for thought.

The more I think about it the more I'm faced with the reality that there is probably no turning back for me at this point.

Two weeks ago I was perfectly happy until an old friend ( at least I thought he was my friend) introduced me to his brand new 2012 RTS. My life has not been the same since. The more I looked, the more I saw. The more I saw, the more I liked. The more I liked, the more I looked. So on and on it has gone for the last two weeks of my otherwise happy life. I'm obsessed with Syders. In the morning, at work, at night! It's all Spyders. I have been to two different dealers a total of six times. My so called friend, Jim, also played a big part in my switching from Harley's to Goldwings. And now it's the Spyder. I think perhaps Jim may be Satan himself.

Sorry for the rant, but I can see now what I have to do!
Thanks again!

[TOPDOGJIM]

I agree with CS, "initial dealer set-up will either make your experience a good one or a bad one". I was lucky to have 3 dealers to choose from for service. The second dealer took care of everything at the 600 mile service. It has not been a perfect ride, but neither was my 2008 Vision I traded. Do I regret, never. It is the right machine for me and my wife, love it.

[Bob Denman]

Two weeks ago I was perfectly happy until an old friend ( at least I thought he was my friend) introduced me to his brand new 2012 RTS. My life has not been the same since.

:roflblack: Oh; you are sooooo.... HOOKED! :thumbup: :roflblack:

[arntufun]

If you want the truth, the model you are looking currently at has the most problems posted and that can not be disputed.

I also strongly agree that the dealer will make or break the Spyder experience. Remember before you buy anybody can kiss your butt to sell it to you, but the techs capabilitys in fixing them is what you need to be focusing your attention on. Some of them are trained online and have little clue .

If the Spyder does need to go to the dealer for service, remember that it might take twice as long to get your Spyder back than any other motorcycle you have ever owned. When I had an issue with an ignition coil it took 4 weeks to get it back. Most dealers have only one tech that can work on the Spyder and my dealer will not work on them during late fall or winter because of snowmobile season. Parts delivery is also terrible with BRP.

MAKE SURE YOU BUY THE EXTENDED WARANTY !!!

If you can live with this than yes, the Spyder is awesome. I love my Spyder and it is the most fun I have ever had on a motorcycle, so don't get me wrong. There are countless reason why I love my Spyder, but I also feel that you deserve the whole truth and thats what I'm giving you.
Good luck !!! :thumbup:

[daveinva]

If you want the truth, the model you are looking currently at has the most problems posted and that can not be disputed.

Speaking as a member and observer of the forum, I'd vouch for that. Again, we're a self-selected group-- people don't post often that things are great, more riders own the RT, and more riders own *newer* RTs, so by default you're going to hear more about problems with new-model RTs. But where there's smoke, there may be fire, and I admit to being somewhat surprised at how persistent some of these new RT problems seem to be.

That said, I've had my 2010 RS for a year now and I've had zero problems (well, zero problems that weren't self-inflicted). That doesn't say much since I only have 6,000 miles on it-- i.e., I didn't get to ride nearly as much last year as I had hoped, so who knows if there's a nightmare waiting for me around the corner?

BUT I will say that I have decent confidence in my dealer, and I have a few good dealers in the area as backup. The importance of a good dealer can't be overstated, particularly in setup, so shop around. I know that if I'm going to buy another one of these in the future, I'll strongly consider flying out to middle-of-nowhere Missou to buy from Cowtown just because someone like Len is a dealer you can trust. There are others like that out there, those are worth their weight in gold.

Good luck, and hope you join the fun! :thumbup:

[Arr MiHardies]

Had a similar conversation lately on another forum.
Many of the people with "problems" are people who are not regulars on the forum. Often times, they will only come on to post about their problem, get help, and never be seen again. For every one vocal person with a problem, there are 10 others you don't hear from cause they are out enjoying their ride. The same will be true for ANY vehicle. I challenged the one guy who claimed he decided against getting a Spyder because of all the problems he's been reading about to give me another vehicle he thinks is reliable and I could guarantee being able to find more than a fair share of "problems" with the make/model that could make you think twice about getting one... He never did take me up on that challenge.
Think about it. are you more vocal when there is a problem, or when things have been running great? Even small problems tend to get blown out of proportion.

My wife had her Nissan Cube is the shop over the weekend because the keyless ignition wasnt working and the car wouldn't start. Apparently it's a pretty well known issue on the net. But you know what? The tow truck driver who's been towing for many years said this is the FIRST time he's ever towed a cube. Seeing all the starter problems on the net while looking for a fix may have made me decide against getting one. But it's been problem free for two years, and the tow truck drivers comment reinforced that reliability to me.

[SteveMac]

If you want the truth, the model you are looking currently at has the most problems posted and that can not be disputed.


That is probably true to a certain extent Randy,,, But,,, I can tell you that it is also a fact that Cowtown sells 20 RTs to every one RS. Now that may not be typical of all dealers, but I strongly suspect that the ratio of RTs sold compared to the RS is very high. True that the RT does have more electronics and probably more problems, but I'd like to see some empirical evidence based on sales volume about how many problems each have.

Might even be interesting to have a poll here that asks who owns RTs versus RS.

I am not disputing that we see more problems posted about RTs, but I also think we have a lot more RT owners than RS.

I am on my phone and away from the PC or I would start a poll to see what we have here on SpyderLovers. It would be interesting if we could get a large response to ensure accuracy.

(edit) back in the office now. I'll start a poll because I am curious now. Poll is here ( CLICK HERE (http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?37379-Owners-Poll-RT-or-RS&p=428738&viewfull=1#post428738))

[arntufun]

That is probably true to a certain extent Randy,,, But,,, I can tell you that it is also a fact that Cowtown sells 20 RTs to every one RS. Now that may not be typical of all dealers, but I strongly suspect that the ratio of RTs sold compared to the RS is very high. True that the RT does have more electronics and probably more problems, but I'd like to see some empirical evidence based on sales volume about how many problems each have.

Might even be interesting to have a poll here that asks who owns RTs versus RS.

I am not disputing that we see more problems posted about RTs, but I also think we have a lot more RT owners than RS.

I am on my phone and away from the PC or I would start a poll to see what we have here on SpyderLovers. It would be interesting if we could get a large response to ensure accuracy.

(edit) back in the office now. I'll start a poll because I am curious now. Poll is here ( CLICK HERE (http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?37379-Owners-Poll-RT-or-RS&p=428738&viewfull=1#post428738))




Just remember we have two years head start worth of sales than the RT and alot of you RT owners had an RS before the RT. So remember those RS are still out there, most likely trouble free !!! :roflblack:
:roflblack:

I do agree RT sales are probably killing the RS in sales lately, but I'm sure there have been more RS made than RT's . Two year head start will almost ensure that. :thumbup: A few years down the road, I'm sure the RT will pass the RS with units sold. I will head over to your poll to vote.

[Bob Denman]

Oh just stop whining and buy Holly her RT... Len can even put A/C Green on it if she'd like it better that way... :thumbup: :roflblack:

[ddfried]

I've had a GS with all of the Corbin accessories and just upgraded to the RT Ltd and getting the trailer next month. It has been a ton of fun on the Spyder and being a member of the Spyder community. Whenever I ride with my two wheeled friends I always get all of the attention. They just hate it after spending thousands on chrome and custom paint.

You will not regret it!

Doug Friedrichsen
OP, KS

[CyncySpyder]

4249942500

Oh just stop whining and buy Holly her RT... :thumbup: :roflblack:

[arntufun]

4249942500






No question, Holly perfers your comfy RT Dave, I can't dispute that one bit !!!nojoke

I love that photo of the two of you. She really enjoyed you taking her for a ride. You are the only other person she has ever ridin with beside me. :thumbup:

[Dib52]

Don't be on the fence any longer. After much consideration, we pulled the trigger on a leftover 2011 RT A&C SE5 on Saturday morning. Only regret, not doing it sooner. Put on 150 miles in less than a day and a half. Loving it so far...

[CyncySpyder]

No question, Holly perfers your comfy RT Dave, I can't dispute that one bit !!!nojoke

I love that photo of the two of you. She really enjoyed you taking her for a ride. You are the only other person she has ever ridin with beside me. :thumbup:

:yes:Awwwww, I feel special :ohyea:

[Paulf10]

Thank you for all the honest replies! I didn't really expect people to give such objective viewpoints! Usually I would expect the standard "I have one, so it's great" reply! Certainly not the case on this forum. I'm greatful my friend referred me here, and as I said, I'm really greatful for the honesty of all the people that replied.

What I walk away with from this thread, is that there may or may not be issues or problems with my new purchase, and that the dealer choice is important. However, even more than that, the general consensus seems to be that problems or not, the fun of the Spyder, far out ways the issues that could arise.

With that in mind I have gone to a dealer today and made a deal for a 2012 RT Limited ( brown w/ tan seat) and will be trading in my Goldwing. Which as I have said is the best motorcycle I have ever owned. But since I'm leaving the world of motorcycles, I don't think I'll miss it!
At least I'm hoping not to.

Thanks again!!!!!!!

[SPYD1]

....by the way my Spyder was perfect today....couldn't resist.

[arntufun]

Paulf10,

Your more than welcome to ride with us anytime. 5 of us will be riding about an hour away from your where you live tomorrow.

If you can make it, try to come to SITA in Lake placid NY in August.

[CyncySpyder]

:congrats: & :welcome:

You do realize,
the purchase price of your New 2012 LMTD
is only the Down-Payment on ALL the mods
your gonna be making to truly make her yours,
right?
:yes: Another Victim has been bitten :yes:

[soaring hawk]

We sold the goldwing bought a rt-s. 6k miles and no major problems. I dropped it off for the 6k check and had to ride my adventure bike I had spyder withdrawals :gaah: The dealer called and said it was done, went rite away to pick it up getting back on it I had to wipe the grin off my face so get off the fence and jump on a spyder:thumbup:

[jos]

I am very new to the whole spyder experience and to bike riding in general, I have a RT LTD 2012 and have now 1000 miles on it. Nothing but praise for this invention.
It took me two years of reading this forum to make the call...but the end result is GREAT:firstplace:
Jos
p.s. even Kathy loves it..!:yes:

[BentGamer]

....by the way my Spyder was perfect today....couldn't resist.


+1 Yup mine too. LOL

[Bob Denman]

Don't be on the fence any longer. After much consideration, we pulled the trigger on a leftover 2011 RT A&C SE5 on Saturday morning. Only regret, not doing it sooner. Put on 150 miles in less than a day and a half. Loving it so far...
:congrats:

[Paulf10]

Paulf10,

Your more than welcome to ride with us anytime. 5 of us will be riding about an hour away from your where you live tomorrow.

If you can make it, try to come to SITA in Lake placid NY in August.


Thank you for the offer! I love the ride from Western MA to Lake Placid on my bike. I can only imagine what a hoot it would be on the Spyder! I take all back roads, sometimes through Vermont and other times along the VT/NY border and go over on the little ferry to Ticonderoga. I think that will be my first weekend trip!

Thanks again for the offer. I'll be looking into August when the time comes!

Just curious. Where are you riding tomorrow? The Catskills?

[arntufun]

Thank you for the offer! I love the ride from Western MA to Lake Placid on my bike. I can only imagine what a hoot it would be on the Spyder! I take all back roads, sometimes through Vermont and other times along the VT/NY border and go over on the little ferry to Ticonderoga. I think that will be my first weekend trip!

Thanks again for the offer. I'll be looking into August when the time comes!

Just curious. Where are you riding tomorrow? The Catskills?




We started near Chatham NY then we did a loop through CT and came into Mass (Sheffield I think). We were on RT 203, 22, 41, 23, and a few others. I just followed and had no idea where we were going, but the roads are awesome over there.

[BajaRon]

Getting a good dealer is important with the Spyder. Probably more so than with other machines. Initial setup being done correctly is also important.

But I think that the way the owner rides their Spyder can have a great deal to do with at least some of the problems. The Rotax engine is designed to spin up. Some riders have a hard time getting used to that and they shift too early, don't downshift soon enough and basically lug the engine.

I'm not saying riding style accounts for all the issues, but my feeling is it accounts for a number of clutch, spark plug fouling and SE shifting problems which can cause limp mode and other unwanted situations.

The harder you ride the Spyder the less issues seem to occur (not counting Doc and Seth-O! :yikes:)

[Paulf10]

But I think that the way the owner rides their Spyder can have a great deal to do with at least some of the problems. The Rotax engine is designed to spin up. Some riders have a hard time getting used to that and they shift too early, don't downshift soon enough and basically lug the engine.

I'm not saying riding style accounts for all the issues, but my feeling is it accounts for a number of clutch, spark plug fouling and SE shifting problems which can cause limp mode and other unwanted situations.

The harder you ride the Spyder the less issues seem to occur (not counting Doc and Seth-O! :yikes:)


I appreciate all and any tips, suggestions, and opinions. I certainly don't mean to start a debate, but is this the general consensus? If so, it's really good to know.
Regardless of how long, how far, how many miles, etc, etc, I've been riding motorcycles, I am a newbie to the unique world of Spiders. All my experiance on a bike, means nothing on a Spider! At least thats what I got out of the 15 mile demo ride I took on the Spider.
With that said, something as simple as knowing when to shift with the semi auto SE5 left me clueless! So is it generally accepted that riding the Spyder harder is better?
Thanks,

Paul

[Arr MiHardies]

The rotax engine does like to rev higher than most machines. I find my Spyder happiest around 5k rpm. That's right about when what little vibration there is goes away completely and things feel as smooth as silk.

And you're not really riding it "harder" if that's where it's designed to be run. It just "harder" in comparison to most machines that run aroun 2.5-3k rpm.

Also, be sure to keep your foot completely off the brake unless, you know, you are actually braking. Don't ride the brake, in other words.

[gmcgarrity]

I agree with Bajaron.
Coming off a Wing I was used to running low rpm's without issue
Old blue likes to to be pushed
only go int 5th on the highway, with the Wing I would ride 5th through town
now I am in 2nd maybe 3rd.

[Paulf10]

Thanks guys! This is really good stuff to know! Especially for me! I fear I have many old habits to break. But I'm going to have a blast doing it!

[spyderrock]

Hey Paul I have a 2011 rt limited and love it But last year it was in the shop a total of 8 weeks out of a 5 month riding season. Most of the time the bike was in the shop we were waiting on BRP to ship the parts(I live in western Canada) still takes time to get them here. There was a recall with the parking break and that took 3 weeks to get fixed while it was in the shop the tech spilled break fluid on the left saddle bag and it left a nice stain on the vegas white paint. it took another 13 days to get that replaced and installed. I agree with most everyone here chose your dealer wisely. I have no choice there is only one here. I plan on spending a fair amount of money on this bike so I hope all the bugs are worked out, if not trade it for a 2012 lol. Good luck and welcome to the SPYDER WORLD:2thumbs::2thumbs: you made an-excellent choice.

[Kagey_98]

Welcome to the SpyderHood Paul. This is the BEST site on the WWW for anything & EVERYTHING Spyder related. Coming from first hand experience, initial dealer set-up will either make your experience a good one or a bad one. I didn't know about this forum or much about the Spyder in general when we purchased our 2010 RT-S. All I knew then, was that I was hooked & would do what I had to do to get one. Long story short, that byke was in the shop more than I had it & it left me VERY Frustrated & I had lost ALL faith in that particular unit. From learning as much as I could from this forum, I had heard nothing but great things about Len & the Cowtown USA dealership in Cuba MO, host of SpyderFest 2012, which SteveMac rightfully reccommended that you attend to see what I'm talking about first hand.

Len posted on here that he was going to build 5 Limited Edition 2011 SpyderFest RT-S Spyders from his dealership with the 5 most popular after-market mods already installed on the bykes & at a price better than you could get if you did all the mods yourself. When I read about this, I had planned to get 4 of the mods he had listed, on my 2010 RT-S, but there was no way I was going to sink more money into a byke that wasn't even in my pocession, because of problem after problem, being at a dealership (no longer a Spyder Dealer now) that didn't know what they were doing.

So, even tho I live in Cincinnati, Ohio & am 450 miles from Cowtown, I made the deal with Len & traded my 2010 RT-S for our 2011 RT-S & of course, I took a loss, but it has been worth every penny. I can't explain well enough how great this experience has been compared to our original experience. If I hadn't had back surgery last Friday, I'm sure we would have over 30,000 miles on our new Spyder in less than 11 months, but I've not been able to ryde for almost a month really, so we're sit'n at about 24,000 miles & besides having the Throttle Body recall done, its been pretty much trouble free & an ABSOLUTE BLAST. So much so, its our ONLY vehicle, year round. I found another local dealer that is good & have done needed Warranty work their, but with all the knowledge on this forum, with how-to videos & just about as much free advice as you can handle, I do much of the routine maintenance myself.

Find a good dealer in your area or call and talk to Len, as that initial dealer set-up will make or break your Spyder. Good Luck, & even tho I had a rough start myself, I couldn't imagine my life now without having the Spyder in it. Hope to see you at one of the rallys soon, you won't regret it:thumbup:

Being from Greater Cincinnati (Milford), and am looking to purchase a Spyder RT in the near future... I am interested in knowing who your "bad" dealer was, and who you now use.

Thanks,
Kagey

[CyncySpyder]

Being from Greater Cincinnati (Milford), and am looking to purchase a Spyder RT in the neat future... I am interested in knowing who your "bad" dealer was, and who you now use.

Thanks,
Kagey The BAD dealer was Pleasant Valley Marine (PVM) located here in NKY in Florence. Thanfully, they are NO-LONGER A LICENSED SPYDER dealer:thumbup: & now, our closest dealer for the Metro-Cincy area is located in Franklin, Ohio at Middletown Cycle & I Do reccommend them, not a huge dealership, but they will do what they can to take care of you. Aarron is the Owner, younger guy, but he's really involved in the business on a daily basis & is well aware of good & bad word of mouth advertising (like this) can make or break any dealership. Anytime you want to ryde, just let us know, our Spyder is our only mode of transportation so we ryde every day :yes: Good Luck on your future Spyder Addiction :thumbup: