GS/RS - in praise of simplicity

[FaranH]

With all the threads about the heat problems with the new ST in particular and the continued posts and question on some RT issues, Leira and I were talking this weekend about how much we appreciate the relative simplicity of the RS-S model we both have.

I know a sports model isn't for everyone and the others have their place. And I was sure longing for an ST after having test-ridden one. But right now? I'm really valuing the fact that I don't have a plethora of electronic gadgets to go wrong, I've never been in limp mode, I've had one code that flashed for 20 seconds and it was because I had not kept my oil level high enough, I can get on and start it within just a few seconds, and so on.

Yeah, I still have space envy and some comfort envy. But man. My RS works, works reliably, and I'm happy, happy, happy. :D

Just felt the need to say it!

[Littlebadwolf]

Sarah...I agree with you totally....Cindi and I both have RS's (09s') anf haver had a single problem with the exception the coolant tank blowing out on the way to the Owner's event...Wasn't a problem for me because the techs from BRP brought in a new reinforced tank and installed it for nothing...no charge...I consider our RS's to be very reliable and would ride them anywhere...

[Sarge707]

I Love my 09 GS and I love my 2012 Base RT . I think BRP should Re-Machine back to the Old Suspensionnojoke - Lighter is better as far as I,m concerned- :hun:

[Littlebadwolf]

Sarge...What part of CT you from?.....I went to high school in Norwich...(NFA)...We may be taking a trip up there in Sep/Oct...Maybe we can hook up for a ride...Larry

[ARtraveler]

Mixed results for me--but not bad ones either.

My 2008 GS-SM5 was trouble free for the 24,000 miles I owned it. Oil changes, filters, tires and one valve check was all the repair/maintenance I put into it.

The 2009 RS-SE5 had a computer issue at 1500 miles. It crashed and needed to be replaced. The dealer cannibalized another machine and had us on road in a couple days. Other than that, oil changes, filters, and tires. Still going with 25,000 plus miles on it.

What you say is very true. We do tend to hear little to nothing about mechanical issues and problems with the RS versions of the :spyder2:. There is much to be said there.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20864&thumb=1&d=1311885595

[Tierhog]

Agree. My 2008 GS has been a breeze.

Cable throttle, less plastic, less heat, less hose damage.

They need to roll back the "improvements" for reliability sake. I'm sure we have some wonderful stories of longevity, but the throttle situation alone has me wondering why they push so hard/fast on development. The user experience is paramount, and reliability is more important than a computer throttle and a host of toys.

Have they outsourced yet? Seeing water pump issues in newer models too.

I love all three models. I hope they focus on quality more

[twain]

FaranH, agree with you totally. This am Flamingobabe and I both voiced our desire to have our RS models back instead of our ST. Wish I could trade back right now. Five months old and 3rd major issue.:banghead:

[Bob Denman]

(Sitting here now iwth the windshield at "half-mast"... :gaah: Busted strut)
We all know that "Stuff" happens .:shocked:..
It's probably more than likely, that the more "stuff" that's around, the better chance that the "stuff" will happen to your... Stuff! ;)
But it all gets fixed eventually! :ohyea:

[SPYD3R]

With all the threads about the heat problems with the new ST in particular and the continued posts and question on some RT issues, Leira and I were talking this weekend about how much we appreciate the relative simplicity of the RS-S model we both have.

I know a sports model isn't for everyone and the others have their place. And I was sure longing for an ST after having test-ridden one. But right now? I'm really valuing the fact that I don't have a plethora of electronic gadgets to go wrong, I've never been in limp mode, I've had one code that flashed for 20 seconds and it was because I had not kept my oil level high enough, I can get on and start it within just a few seconds, and so on.

Yeah, I still have space envy and some comfort envy. But man. My RS works, works reliably, and I'm happy, happy, happy. :D

Just felt the need to say it!

Faran, I COULDN'T AGREE MORE..... my '09 RS now has just over 34,000 miles on it, and i've had relatively few problems... frt end alignment, and oil leak... all taken care of by POWERSPORTS of GREENVILLE very nicely and very quickly... other than than, i've replaced the frt tires once and rear tire twice... applied my MOD's and just enjoy the ride...
oh, btw, i wave to you on my ryde out to UTAH back in May, and again when i came back... did you see me...??? roflmao
70898

[vtrider]

I find it interesting that brought that up Faran. I was out on a ride today with my 2008 GS and was actually thinking about the same thing. I've had really good luck with my spyder in the 57,000 miles that I've logged on it thus far. The only thing that I have a complaint about is the inner wear problem on the front tires. I've had the front end alignment done at the beginning of the riding season. It seems better, but I still think I will need to rotate the tires more frequently to prevent a lot of wear on the tires. I too was thinking about moving up to an ST or RT, but with the miles on my spyder and the low trade-in amount that the dealer offered, I decided it wasn't worth it to me at this time. I'm still having fun with what I have and have too much invested in the extras to just let it go anyhow. Why change when things are good! Maybe I will change my tune when the 2014's come out. Hopefully some of the issues that the 2013's were plagued with will be worked out by then.

[SPYD3R]

I find it interesting that brought that up Faran. I was out on a ride today with my 2008 GS and was actually thinking about the same thing. I've had really good luck with my spyder in the 57,000 miles that I've logged on it thus far. The only thing that I have a complaint about is the inner wear problem on the front tires. I've had the front end alignment done at the beginning of the riding season. It seems better, but I still think I will need to rotate the tires more frequently to prevent a lot of wear on the tires. I too was thinking about moving up to an ST or RT, but with the miles on my spyder and the low trade-in amount that the dealer offered, I decided it wasn't worth it to me at this time. I'm still having fun with what I have and have too much invested in the extras to just let it go anyhow. Why change when things are good! Maybe I will change my tune when the 2014's come out. Hopefully some of the issues that the 2013's were plagued with will be worked out by then.

hey Vermont... is your tire wear on the inside or outside of the tire....??? mine wore on the inside, had it aligned, and although it's MUCH better, i am seeing a little bit more wear on the 'inside' edges... i think i'll start a 'thread' on TIRE WEAR....
as for 'trade in' value... i put a bid in on a new 2013 ST and although my '09 is in PERFECT condition they offered me just about nothing.... so i bought a Jag XF instead... :roflblack:
70900

[MikeinGA]

FaranH, agree with you totally. This am Flamingobabe and I both voiced our desire to have our RS models back instead of our ST. Wish I could trade back right now. Five months old and 3rd major issue.:banghead:


I never buy a first year of a new model of anything. I don't like debugging anything. That's why I waited 4 years to by my 2011 RS-S and only had minor problems. The problems I had were caused by the dealers techs in Gainsville, Ga., but that's water under the bridge. I still did my own mods to improve it. That's IMHO.

Mike

[FaranH]

Faran, I COULDN'T AGREE MORE..... my '09 RS now has just over 34,000 miles on it, and i've had relatively few problems... frt end alignment, and oil leak... all taken care of by POWERSPORTS of GREENVILLE very nicely and very quickly... other than than, i've replaced the frt tires once and rear tire twice... applied my MOD's and just enjoy the ride...
oh, btw, i wave to you on my ryde out to UTAH back in May, and again when i came back... did you see me...??? roflmao


Was that you waving?! ;)

[Chupaca]

And I do..we have a 2012 RS ( 8,500 miles just a youngin ) but no wrinkles..I have come to believe that this site is like a Dr's office. No one goes to give him praise but to give him symptoms and look for solutions. We do need to give them praise for there are a lot more out there doing fine than here suffering. I think this site does an admirable job calming people down, helping them learn all aspects, finding solutions and a little humor to lighten things up...thanks for your post...:2thumbs:

[H.L.Spyder Guy]

I as well love my....RS as well!! She' given me a little more than 16,350 miles of smiles!!

[Rayelljay]

My simple '11 RS SM with 13k is definitely plug and play....now if I could just figure a way to carry a Strat and a Twin Reverb...!!!

[mcaccamise]

I have modded my 2012 RSS to that of a STS and im completly happy with it so no need to change for me i hope for all the 13 owners BRP works dilagently to sort out the problems safty first for miles of smiles.
Mike

[vtrider]

hey Vermont... is your tire wear on the inside or outside of the tire....??? mine wore on the inside, had it aligned, and although it's MUCH better, i am seeing a little bit more wear on the 'inside' edges... i think i'll start a 'thread' on TIRE WEAR....
as for 'trade in' value... i put a bid in on a new 2013 ST and although my '09 is in PERFECT condition they offered me just about nothing.... so i bought a Jag XF instead... :roflblack:
70900The tire wear I see is mostly on the right tire on the inside. I will probably have the tires rotated soon.

[FaranH]

FaranH, agree with you totally. This am Flamingobabe and I both voiced our desire to have our RS models back instead of our ST. Wish I could trade back right now. Five months old and 3rd major issue.:banghead:

I really hate that for y'all. I was very excited about the ST and wanted to move to one right away, but timing and $$ wasn't working out. I know BRP will get this solved and the 2014 models will be much improved, but man is it frustrating for you and FB and others who made the move.

[NancysToy]

The tire wear I see is mostly on the right tire on the inside. I will probably have the tires rotated soon.

Uneven tire wear on one side indictates worn or damaged suspension components. Tires worn unevenly on both sides indicates alignment issues. Rotating tires merely moves the point of wear on the tires, extending their life, but does not adress the root cause...or give the tire life seen in a properly aligned vehicle with sound suspension components.

[pro10is]

With all the threads about the heat problems with the new ST in particular and the continued posts and question on some RT issues, Leira and I were talking this weekend about how much we appreciate the relative simplicity of the RS-S model we both have.

I know a sports model isn't for everyone and the others have their place. And I was sure longing for an ST after having test-ridden one. But right now? I'm really valuing the fact that I don't have a plethora of electronic gadgets to go wrong, I've never been in limp mode, I've had one code that flashed for 20 seconds and it was because I had not kept my oil level high enough, I can get on and start it within just a few seconds, and so on.

Yeah, I still have space envy and some comfort envy. But man. My RS works, works reliably, and I'm happy, happy, happy. :D

Just felt the need to say it!
:agree: I think the GS/RS series are without question the most reliable Spyder models. To date my 2011 RS-S has been trouble free. Good thing too because my warrenty is up and I didn't reup for the BEST extension.

[serf]

With all the threads about the heat problems with the new ST in particular and the continued posts and question on some RT issues, Leira and I were talking this weekend about how much we appreciate the relative simplicity of the RS-S model we both have.

I know a sports model isn't for everyone and the others have their place. And I was sure longing for an ST after having test-ridden one. But right now? I'm really valuing the fact that I don't have a plethora of electronic gadgets to go wrong, I've never been in limp mode, I've had one code that flashed for 20 seconds and it was because I had not kept my oil level high enough, I can get on and start it within just a few seconds, and so on.

Yeah, I still have space envy and some comfort envy. But man. My RS works, works reliably, and I'm happy, happy, happy. :D

Just felt the need to say it!

Honestly my 2010 RS SM5 has been problem free and that makes me very happy. The only cost other than oil and tires was an alignment.

[asp125]

:thumbup: Our 2008 has been trouble free as well. Manual shift, cable throttle.. just less potential points of failure with a simple proven design. I was considering an upgrade to the ST, but we've made modifications that get us to 95% of the functionality of an ST anyway. I think I'll wait a few years until the ST evolves and the bad ones have burned to the ground. :p

[Flanker]

Pretty pleased with mine so far................

[Rockwall]

With all things containing an engine, less typically means more reliability. I chose the SM5 because I wanted the fun of true shifting and I was frankly a bit worried about semi auto trannys.;)

[BajaRon]

Uneven tire wear on one side indictates worn or damaged suspension components. Tires worn unevenly on both sides indicates alignment issues. Rotating tires merely moves the point of wear on the tires, extending their life, but does not adress the root cause...or give the tire life seen in a properly aligned vehicle with sound suspension components.

We need to put this on a recording... Maybe we could do a duet! :yikes:

But it doesn't seem to make a dent.

Reality just doesn't work as well as it used to.

[FaranH]

Forgive me for asking a question that is likely in my owners' manual (but it's in the garage and I'm nice and comfy in the house and don't want to get up ;))... but how often should you rotate the tires? And do you rotate them even if the wear is nice and even on both inside and outside?

[ARtraveler]

Forgive me for asking a question that is likely in my owners' manual (but it's in the garage and I'm nice and comfy in the house and don't want to get up ;))... but how often should you rotate the tires? And do you rotate them even if the wear is nice and even on both inside and outside?

I have never rotated the front's on any of my :spyder2:'s. Never had any issues with uneven wear--just wear. Got 23,000 miles on my last set of fronts on the RT. I am using OEM tires.

[SpyRyd]

Forgive me for asking a question that is likely in my owners' manual (but it's in the garage and I'm nice and comfy in the house and don't want to get up ;))... but how often should you rotate the tires? And do you rotate them even if the wear is nice and even on both inside and outside?

If I knew what I know now I would NOT have had my tires rotated during the 14,000 mile service. About 1000 miles after my tires were rotated I noticed a front end wobble between 38-43 MPH. I won't name names but a "Spyder expert" I respect as knowing what they are talking about told me they never rotate their tires. If both front tires are wearing evenly, exactly the same, why rotate them?

[FaranH]

If both front tires are wearing evenly, exactly the same, why rotate them?

My question exactly!

[Bob Denman]

:agree:Sometime's it's best to just let "sleeping dogs lie". :agree:

[SPYD3R]

Was that you waving?! ;)

Faran... dat was me wave'n....

and i think i found your TWIN SISTER.... during our ride out to UTAH Rt. 12 we stopped for breakfast at the HELL'S BACKBONE GRILL http://hellsbackbonegrill.com/ in Bolder, UT... we met the owner, Jen Castle (who is one of 2 owners)... i kept on look'n @ u'r pic, n thot: "i've seen her b4".... but it wasn't u, it was u'r twin...
look: 7108671087 Rich H., Jen C. & me...
and to make the story even stranger... Jen has never been to the east coast, but told us she was attending a wedding in Sept. on Cape Cod, MA... well Rich H. lives on the Cape and is only 3 miles from where the wedding will be held... and he will be Jen's tour-guide for the week.... odd how these things happen...
Dan P
Easley, SC

[Bob Denman]

it's close... But nobody could ever replace Faran! :2thumbs: nojoke

[SPYD3R]

it's close... But nobody could ever replace Faran! :2thumbs: nojoke

NOT try'n to replace Bobby.....
but just think how much better this world would be with 2 FARAN's....... :thumbup: :clap:
71088

[Bob Denman]

:yes::ohyea::2thumbs:
But I'd imagine that "our" Faran would rather remain a one of a kind, and extra special lady!

[SPYD3R]

My question exactly!

when ROTATING FRT TIRES.... it's EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to keep the rotational direction the same.... in other words: both tires need to be removed from each wheel (rim) and placed on the opposite wheel so that each tire now turns in the same direction as it did on the opposite side...
if not, you are asking for some serious problems....
71091

[Questions]

I had my last set of tires installed on the rims and took them home and installed, Didn't notice the rotation until I read this. checked and got the tread running backwards. I've got several hundred miles on them that way and haven't noticed anything unusual. What is bad about reversing the tread?



when ROTATING FRT TIRES.... it's EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to keep the rotational direction the same.... in other words: both tires need to be removed from each wheel (rim) and placed on the opposite wheel so that each tire now turns in the same direction as it did on the opposite side...
if not, you are asking for some serious problems....
71091

[FaranH]

:yes::ohyea::2thumbs:
But I'd imagine that "our" Faran would rather remain a one of a kind, and extra special lady!

Aw, thanks, Bob! :D

[FaranH]

NOT try'n to replace Bobby.....
but just think how much better this world would be with 2 FARAN's....... :thumbup: :clap:


LOL! Think how much I could get done! I mean we. I think.:p

[NancysToy]

I had my last set of tires installed on the rims and took them home and installed, Didn't notice the rotation until I read this. checked and got the tread running backwards. I've got several hundred miles on them that way and haven't noticed anything unusual. What is bad about reversing the tread?

Pumps water in instead of out. Makes it hydroplane in a jiffy. Swap them side for side ASAP. Rotating directional tires on a Spyder can only be accomplished by taking them off the rims and swapping them to the opposite rim.

[Kratos]

You may have a point Faran. My RSS has never had a single problem. Performs flawlessly.

[otter28169]

The only trouble I have had with my RS-S is the tires. I have worn out my rear tire, after 8000 miles of "traveling highway speeds" on back roads. My right front now has inside wear, but Some of the roads I ride are less than smooth and I blame the roads. The spyder RS-S is bringing sexy back one mile at a time.

Just sayin'............

[Bob Denman]

Aha! So you ARE rotating that back tire! :roflblack:

[r1100rider]

With all the threads about the heat problems with the new ST in particular and the continued posts and question on some RT issues, Leira and I were talking this weekend about how much we appreciate the relative simplicity of the RS-S model we both have.

I know a sports model isn't for everyone and the others have their place. And I was sure longing for an ST after having test-ridden one. But right now? I'm really valuing the fact that I don't have a plethora of electronic gadgets to go wrong, I've never been in limp mode, I've had one code that flashed for 20 seconds and it was because I had not kept my oil level high enough, I can get on and start it within just a few seconds, and so on.

Yeah, I still have space envy and some comfort envy. But man. My RS works, works reliably, and I'm happy, happy, happy. :D

Just felt the need to say it!
Glad you did say it I sat back and bit my lip as everyone posted when are you going to upgrade to a rt? maybe some of us don't want or need 200lbs of stuff I've never liked or wanted a goldwing or a bagger the permanent bags are just in the way when you swing your foot over I don't want my phone to ring or music in my face when I ride ,I need every bit of awareness to keep alive ,i ride to get away from all that anyway,plain old cable running the throttle is fine a computer to flap my butterfly's for 30 min after shut down sounds like and has proven to be a problem, if I can't pack enough in my soft bags and a river bag over the seat then I don't need it ,I don't feel a trailer to push me in quick hard braking on a corner is so good ,if I need to have all the goodys and a big trunk I have cars for that a bike or trike is about a get away machine the lighter and quicker the better ,the spyder already slowed me down a lot from my BMW ,I'll shift my own gears save $1500 and run at 2500 rpm's if I want to plus I can roll start it and skip a bunch of parts and heat, for the price of 1 loaded rt we each have our own new non current rs sm's and a solo rs is way more fun and snappy than a 2 up machine pulling a trailer don't hate on me for this post I'm just glad someone else said what I have felt all along just get out and ride

[chris56]

after two years on a GS, I pre-ordered an RT (Nr. 0064) and had no really problems till now (19.000 mls) - but I had to ryde one year with the 2010-frontshocks .. that was like a shool for : how to become the fastest RT- Spyderryder .. rest is near perfect !!

[kawakii]

Totally agree Faran. We love our 2011 RSS and wouldn't want a 2013. We will wait until they debug them some prior to upgrading.

[Bob Denman]

But you've got to admit; it's STILL fun to look through the brochures and wonder... :thumbup: