Dealer dropped Can-Am line because of Ryker?

[UtahPete]

I went to schedule a service appointment at my local dealer recently and learned they are no longer an authorized service center for Can-Am. Apparently they dropped the entire line rather than be forced into the costs involved in selling and supporting Rykers. For them, Spyders were already a money loser and the Ryker requirements were just a bridge too far.

[guzzihack]

Had my RT service Friday at Tempo Marine in E Moline IL. (Cold windy ryde) They also said they aren't going to carry Rykers. Don't know if it's a BRP requirement to carry the franchise.
Coke

[Fire34]

Funny stopped by our local shop o pick up a motorcycle map of the area he still does service on spyders not any on their showroom floor, but have seen rykers leaving on the frontage road. I would venture to guess and I would also just order them as they are purchased. just guessing
Dave

[PW2013STL]

Had my RT service Friday at Tempo Marine in E Moline IL. (Cold windy ryde) They also said they aren't going to carry Rykers. Don't know if it's a BRP requirement to carry the franchise.
Coke

My dealer told me that it was a requirement to carry the Ryker in order to remain a dealer. They planned to carry them, but their issue was how many BRP told them that they had to order. They wanted to order fewer Rykers and more Spyders, but BRP said no that BRP's marketing decided how many.

[BajaRon]

Some dealerships promote the Spyder/Ryker line and do very well. Other dealers just park them in a corner of the show room and wait for them to sell. They tend to gather dust and end up being sold at a big discount the next year. Some dealerships make all they need to make on other vehicles. They just don't want to put the effort into the Spyder/Ryker line.

I live in Greeneville, TN. A pretty small town. Our local dealership has sold I think 10 Rykers since December. And there are 3 other Spyder/Ryker dealerships within 60 miles of us. But these dealerships go out of their way to promote the product.

[johnny canuck]

Spoke to a BRP dealer near London, Ont., Canada last year. Going out of Spyder line entirely. Told me that BRP was "forcing" him to take X number of spiders in order to maintain dealership. Doesn't mater if he can only sell X no. per year. Minimum amount required in stock to keep dealership.

[ntotrr]

Some dealerships promote the Spyder/Ryker line and do very well. Other dealers just park them in a corner of the show room and wait for them to sell. They tend to gather dust and end up being sold at a big discount the next year. Some dealerships make all they need to make on other vehicles. They just don't want to put the effort into the Spyder/Ryker line.

I live in Greeneville, TN. A pretty small town. Our local dealership has sold I think 10 Rykers since December. And there are 3 other Spyder/Ryker dealerships within 60 miles of us. But these dealerships go out of their way to promote the product.

Kingsport resident here. I went to the dealer in Greenville, they have almost nothing in stock as far as RTs go and weren't willing to deal on the price. The dealer in Elizabethton has a good supply but also weren't willing to deal. I wound up putting a deposit down on a 2018 RT Limited with iMotorsports in Illinois for over $3,000 less than the local dealers here. That's a lot of cash to leave on the table. what dealer would you recommend for service?

[BajaRon]

Kingsport resident here. I went to the dealer in Greenville, they have almost nothing in stock as far as RTs go and weren't willing to deal on the price. The dealer in Elizabethton has a good supply but also weren't willing to deal. I wound up putting a deposit down on a 2018 RT Limited with iMotorsports in Illinois for over $3,000 less than the local dealers here. That's a lot of cash to leave on the table. what dealer would you recommend for service?

I am glad you ended up with what you wanted at a good price. The dealership in Greeneville is pretty stripped at times. They get Spyders/Rykers in and they sell. But it isn't a large dealership so I don't think they can carry a large number at any one time. 3 wheels take up a lot more room than 2. And this is more of a 4-wheeler or side-by-side area.

Since you're closer to the Elizabethton dealership I would definitely start there. I've always had good luck with them. But don't rely completely on my recommendation (not that I think you would). We, as the consumer, always need to do our due diligence as well.

Congratulations on finding a Great Ride!

[ARtraveler]

I went to schedule a service appointment at my local dealer recently and learned they are no longer an authorized service center for Can-Am. Apparently they dropped the entire line rather than be forced into the costs involved in selling and supporting Rykers. For them, Spyders were already a money loser and the Ryker requirements were just a bridge too far.

Welcome to the club. That is exactly what the only Alaska dealer has done. And Ryker was his main reason.

[cptjam]

Which dealer, Pete?

[UtahPete]

Which dealer, Pete?

It's the one in Kamas, UT where I purchased the Platinum bike. Fortunately I found this out before taking the bike back north for the summer.

It started throwing VSS code and the Limp Home mode came on the last 100 miles of our return trip from Sierra Vista. Very ironic because Jane's bike was doing the same on the way to Sierra Vista so we had Sierra Cycles look into it. Stuck brake position switch was the diagnosis. I had my bike serviced (oil change and brake service) while there, but it wasn't throwing the code then of course.

If it's a warranty issue, I need an authorized dealer check it out. I presently have an appt at MotoZoo in St. George for tomorrow.

[UtahPete]

It's the one in Kamas, UT where I purchased the Platinum bike. Fortunately I found this out before taking the bike back north for the summer.

It started throwing VSS code and the Limp Home mode came on the last 100 miles of our return trip from Sierra Vista. Very ironic because Jane's bike was doing the same on the way to Sierra Vista so we had Sierra Cycles look into it. Stuck brake position switch was the diagnosis. I had my bike serviced (oil change and brake service) while there, but it wasn't throwing the code then of course.

If it's a warranty issue, I need an authorized dealer check it out. I presently have an appt at MotoZoo in St. George for tomorrow.

Well, I took the RT down to MotoZoo in St. George today to have them check on the codes. They told me to leave the bike for a few days until they could get to it. They are crazy busy there, but not with Spyders; their main business is ATVs and the new line of jeep-like vehicles from Roxor. Their small parking lot was jammed with inventory and mostly ATV's in for service. I had zero confidence in them doing things to my satisfaction so brought the bike back to figure out my next move.

Joe Meyer, you have the BUDS system; any chance you can check it out for me?

[cptjam]

Thanks.

[AY4B]

Last time I was at my local dealer here in Greenville, they only had RT's and Ryker's on the floor. no F3's

[Deanna777]

Last week when I picked up my spyder(out of hibernation) at my dealership they had 2 Rykers on the sales floor. And had sold several.

1 of them had a "Sold" tag on it.

Deanna

[Bob Denman]

Look at it this way: they couldn't have been much of a Dealer; if they couldn't make money on Spyders...

[UtahPete]

They are an excellent dealer actually. It's just that the local market doesn't support the sales numbers for trikes or bikes that Can-Am requires

[canamjhb]

I had one Service Manager at a Can-Am dealer tell me he "hates Spyders" Even though they are a dealer, he wished they weren't. There's a positive attitude for you..... I won't name the dealer because the Manager could have just been having a bad day. But, it is a dealership that I will not Ride into Now. I guess some dealers with multiple lines find dealing with BRP to be too onerous to maintain a good relationship. Bad for customers and BRP..... Jim

[UtahPete]

I had one Service Manager at a Can-Am dealer tell me he "hates Spyders" Even though they are a dealer, he wished they weren't. There's a positive attitude for you..... I won't name the dealer because the Manager could have just been having a bad day. But, it is a dealership that I will not Ride into Now. I guess some dealers with multiple lines find dealing with BRP to be too onerous to maintain a good relationship. Bad for customers and BRP..... Jim

Spyders and Rykers should be sold and serviced by independent motorcycle dealerships, like Sierra Cycles.

[LifeLongRider]

Spyders and Rykers should be sold and serviced by independent motorcycle dealerships, like Sierra Cycles.

Thumbs up for Sierra Cycles. Bought my B.E.S.T. extended warranty from them. Great to deal with.

[UtahPete]

Thumbs up for Sierra Cycles. Bought my B.E.S.T. extended warranty from them. Great to deal with.

Yes, I did also. Can't beat their deal on extended warranty anywhere else I've found.

[JAS POWER]

I think OEM companies in the power sports industry from time to time tend to "stick" the dealers with too much product. In my area in WI I can say in the last 20 years I know Arctic Cat has done this, and Polaris (many dealerships have closed that had those brands). More than likely the OEM's reason for it has to do with pleasing the stock holders with some huge numbers.

As far as UtahPetes dealership, UtahPete stated that the Ryker line was just to much for them to handle, and they decided to just drop the line entirely. I think with the Ryker having a relatively low cost MSRP the profit margins aren't that high. They are planning on volume of sales to get the numbers they want / need. This is why dealers have to take a pretty big number of them to stay being a Spyder/Ryker dealer. I could easily see the smaller dealerships not willing to take the gamble unfortunately. I could easily be wrong with my thinking coarse.

It's sad that OEM's don't let certain dealerships in smaller areas be able to take less of an order due to their demographic area of that dealership. I think UtahPete said somewhere in this thread that their area couldn't support the numbers BRP was pushing on them. They should know more on that than BRP itself. Unfortunately thats where us SMALL businesses get crushed by corporate our way or the highway kind of thinking.

[Tazzel]

Lots of dealerships are having financial problems and it has nothing to do with Spyders. Several Yamaha and Harley dealerships have closed in my area and the biggest spyder dealer in my area has merged with a Yamaha dealership so they can both stay afloat. People just don't have the money anymore for luxury items. That being said the Spyder dealer has sold all the Rykers and have others on back order

[Realtor]

how can a dealership not make money selling motorcycles and spyders that cost as much as cars do? Our HD dealership had a "kick a$$ weekend" I went several times, the new bikes are in the 30-40K range, the CVO's more than that.... Heck we spent 27K on our Spyder. whats the markup on these things? good lord....

[bhern]

how can a dealership not make money selling motorcycles and spyders that cost as much as cars do? Our HD dealership had a "kick a$$ weekend" I went several times, the new bikes are in the 30-40K range, the CVO's more than that.... Heck we spent 27K on our Spyder. whats the markup on these things? good lord....

You kind of answered your own question, didn't you? I have absolutely zero history as a motorcycle rider or buyer before getting my Spyder in 2017, but I've got to believe that many people think of motorcycles as a *cheaper* alternative to a/another car. When they find out they're not...

Dealers can obviously make money selling them to the remaining segment -- but not as many of them.