2012 RTL ecu location and removal

[PR Spyder rt]

Has anyone here with a 2012 RTL have the ecu reflash done and if so can you please tell me where is the ecu located and if possible how to remove thanks in advance for any help

[Ryan12]

You wont find any pics or videos. I have searched believe me. There is another post somebody explained a 2013 and they are right. The ECM is on the aft side of the center frame. I think it would be easier to let a dump truck rip off the front end to get to it. You have to remove the whole frunk and front & LH side panels along with the LH side frame and pull away the air box resonator along with clipping a dozen wire ties to get things out of the way. This was a real PITA to get to and I now have mine on its way to the Great White North to get the upgrade done. I just hope I can remember where it all goes back. BRP literally built the Spyder around the ECM so you cant get to it.

[Peter Aawen]

I got my 2013 ECU out, but sorta seriously, if the 2012 ECU is in the same place as it is on the 2013..... then it might be easier to buy a new Spyder!!

As Ryan mentioned, it's not the simplest of tasks to get out, but here's what I posted last time:

The ECU on my 2013 RT Ltd was up the front left below the LH headlight & under the frunk lid but behind the frame cross member, squeezed in below the 'remote battery connections' & in front of the engine between the 'cross body air trunking' & the frame cross piece the frunk hangs off, held in by 3 x 30mm long bolts that had to be un-done into a 20mm deep gap that could only be reached by someone with double jointed arms, triple jointed fingers, & flexible spanners - to put it mildly, it was a freakin' unbelievably inconvenient downright pig of a thing to get out; at least until I removed all the 'cross body air trunking', which then made it just a freakin' downright pig to remove!! I can now truly believe that the 2013's were originally intended to take the transverse 3 cyl motor but after all the ancilliaries & wiring were installed they decided at the last moment to stuff the longer fore & aft twin in there instead - the motor is waaaayyy too close to many things that it shouldn't be jammed up against, making them extremely 'inconvenient' to remove, & hence the excess heat trapped under the tupperware! Btw, I've left the 'cross body air trunking' off entirely & the ECU upgrade has not only completely removed the original '2nd gear hesitation' but also any potential flat spots that the trunking & air box removal may have introduced in any 'non-upgrade equipped' engines! .....snip.....

Still, despite it being bloody hard to get the ECU out, the end result was really worth it! It DOES make the Spyder the 'bike it always should've been! Once all that above is said & done, it really has been the most worthwhile mod & time/money spent on my Spyder!! Admittedly, the first few weeks after I got it done saw me exploring the higher rev range just a little, and I probably wore more than just a normal years worth of tread wear off my (then almost new) rear tire in those first few weeks, but once the 'fantastic new toy' exploration period was over & I'd terrorised the neighbourhood enough, I settled down a bit; & while I might ride a little harder'n some, these days I rarely exceed 6500 rpm because that will see me well & truly out accelerate just about everything up to & beyond the legal 110kph/70mph or so we have here. Besides, my Spyder is now just sooo smooth & tractable all the time!! AND now that I'm not absolutely wringing the throttle's neck all the time, my daily ryding is always a smooth & thoroughly enjoyable event regardless of any traffic left behind & I'm actually returning significantly better fuel economy all the time as well - I suspect because I'm usually into the higher gears sooner & tend to hold them a lot longer without needing to change down anywhere near as much for the hills or to accelerate snappily out of the tighter corners - we have a fair few of both of those around here!! After all the swearing & noises involved with getting the damned ECU out, my wife was convinced I'd given up on it all & gone out & bought a whole new bike with a 'soft blow turbo' fitted, the all round improvement was THAT noticeable!! She loves it even more now! And so do I!