And another destroyed weekend...

[prmurat]

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[ARtraveler]

Sorry to hear of your bad experiences. Not much I can add to that.

[stmike 1800]

Sorry man that rely can ruin a trip ,and you never can trust the bike again .We are to go on a 5000 km trip east this June ,makes me nervous ,spyder is not a GoldWing . BTW just looked at my rear tire and it is almost done in the center at 10000km .

[jcthorne]

Sorry man that rely can ruin a trip ,and you never can trust the bike again .We are to go on a 5000 km trip east this June ,makes me nervous ,spyder is not a GoldWing . BTW just looked at my rear tire and it is almost done in the center at 10000km .

ALL brands have failures. On our last group trip to Spyders on the Bayou, it was the Goldwing in the group that went home on the flatbed.

[trikermutha]

Contact BRP cares if you have not done so yet.

I have a 14 RT too and runs perfect. NOt sure of all your issues you have had so far?

[prmurat]

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[sandeejs]

Sorry about your troubles. Hope things work out for you. Guess I've been lucky so far.
~Sandee~

[Cruzr Joe]

ANYTHING that is man made can break down.

Spyders are no different than any other ride, we all get a lemon now and then.

I have over 125,000 miles on various Spyders with no major problems.

Cruzr Joe

[prmurat]

ANYTHING that is man made can break down.

Spyders are no different than any other ride, we all get a lemon now and then.

I have over 125,000 miles on various Spyders with no major problems.

Cruzr Joe

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[canamjhb]

Right after I bought my Spyder, I stumbled upon information about the Sturgis Trike Kit for the Gold Wing GL1800. (I still have my Honda) I MAY have gone for that instead of the Spyder. Problem is they are not known around here. I have never seen one, talked to anyone who has one or knows anything about them except from their web site. They do look interesting. Good luck..... Jim

[larryd]

I rode a R18 back in 2013 at a GW event in State College PA...I was ready to pull the trigger on one and BRP came out with the 1330...If you go with the R18 be sure to get the "easy steer" option...The last I heard the R18 kit was not available with Honda's DCT...If & when it is available with the DCT I would say it would be the perfect reverse trike...There are several around the central PA area, and all bullet prof...larryd

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I rode a R18 back in 2013 at a GW event in State College PA...I was ready to pull the trigger on one and BRP came out with the 1330...If you go with the R18 be sure to get the "easy steer" option...The last I heard the R18 kit was not available with Honda's DCT...If & when it is available with the DCT I would say it would be the perfect reverse trike...There are several around the central PA area, and all bullet prof...larryd

I'm somewhat familiar with that KIT …. I'm confused as to why that transmission would have anything to do with the front end conversion ….. They are not related parts !!!! ……………..jmho …. Mike

[prmurat]

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[jcthorne]

Hi Ha.... news from the Can Am... Radiator cap (somewhere under 2 acres of plastic was leaking and therefore no water pressure in the system+loss of coolant= overheating! Does that mean I am stuck with my Spyder or can I sell it "perfect, just out of a tune up"? BTW... how is this possible to find without taking 2 acres of Tupperware? How do you even check the water level EASILY on the RT (thinking of replacing the "rivet" by a Dzuz...).

Canjhb: close to you: https://www.americanbikeandtrike.com...s-motoren.html

Larryd: I am not crazy about the Honda DST (maybe 'cause I never rode one), I was thinking, before, this dreaded weekend to sell one of my sidecar and replace it by a new one with a Honda F6B for tug and found tons of trail changing options which should be good for a R18!
Must admit I like the "tilting" TMW option too... https://www.americanbikeandtrike.com...tor-works.html

Checking coolant on the RT is very simple. Remove the service panel held on by one fastner and shine a flashlight up from under the wheel well. You can see the fluid level in the bottle. Its one of the check points for every service interval.

Sorry to hear of your troubles on the road.

[prmurat]

Checking coolant on the RT is very simple. Remove the service panel held on by one fastner and shine a flashlight up from under the wheel well. You can see the fluid level in the bottle. Its one of the check points for every service interval.

Sorry to hear of your troubles on the road.

Deleted

[jcthorne]

Sorry ...it is not a fastener... it is a plastic rivet which you have to pry off (rivet on owner's manual)...and do not forget the twisted funnel to add coolant/water (have to carry a bottle of it too??).

A rivet IS a fastener. Rivet simply describes it as a fastener type that inserts and expands to accomplish its job. This particular type is intended to be reusable. They are very simple to remove and replace once you know how. Pull the center pin up and the fastener comes out easily. These type fasteners are very common across the bike and automotive world among many manufactures. Again, sorry you are having bike troubles but it really sounds like you never checked the coolant. Its one of the vital fluids that should be checked before any out of town journey. Coolant caps dry out and the seals fail. Happens. At 5yrs old, not beyond reason. They are also often not replaced correctly and cause the problems you have seen. I suspect this is the more likely cause.

[prmurat]

A rivet IS a fastener. Rivet simply describes it as a fastener type that inserts and expands to accomplish its job. This particular type is intended to be reusable. They are very simple to remove and replace once you know how. Pull the center pin up and the fastener comes out easily. These type fasteners are very common across the bike and automotive world among many manufactures. Again, sorry you are having bike troubles but it really sounds like you never checked the coolant. Its one of the vital fluids that should be checked before any out of town journey. Coolant caps dry out and the seals fail. Happens. At 5yrs old, not beyond reason. They are also often not replaced correctly and cause the problems you have seen. I suspect this is the more likely cause.

Good old Judeo-Christian guilt... never getting old!!! If this such a "vital" fluids, why is there not a simple screw, a Dzus or anything else better that this rivet "very simple to remove and replace once you know how" ? On all my LC bikes the coolant level is easy to see without having to take parts of the bike off. Sorry I will not take the blame for a poorly made concept... It just reminds me of something done by a Citroen engineer, on strike and drunk! This kind of Walmart' moral is so tiring!!!

[trikermutha]

I have a dollar want to sell it to me

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I have tried to remove mine to check the fluid …. I gave up after 15 minutes ….. there have been various Failures with the coolant tank ( itself ) and hose connections ….. Never heard that a CAP broke ….. If the cap was ever re-moved, getting it back on " correctly " would be the issue …… jmho …. Mike

[prmurat]

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[canamjhb]

I, too, can't understand why the DCT would have anything to do with this conversion. That aside, my Gold Wing does not have ABS (or DCT). What it does have is a little over 100K miles and my FULL confidence. I have had 3 Gold Wings over the last 25+ years and have never been stranded or unable to ride at any time by any of them. Unlike my Spyder. As I write this, it sits disabled in the garage with a stuck thermostat, waiting for the dealer to come get, and the earliest date for that is May 30th. My warranty expires on June 17th and has been needed for repairs 3 times in the last 2 years. I also need to make a decision about the future of Spyder ownership. There is a lot about the Spyder that I really, really like. Having breakdowns that take a month or longer to resolve is not one of those likes.

I have been to American Bike and Trike. They do not stock any Sturgis kit stuff. It is all individually ordered. And, again, nobody to provide feedback about the Sturgis. No way to test ride. I can't even find any internet reviews so it would be a big gamble IMHO. Oh well, life goes on and tomorrow is another day..... Jim

[prmurat]

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[larryd]

The DCT is only available on the NEW REDESIGNED GW...As far as I know the Sturges R18 kit is not offered for the NEW GW platform yet...I for one would not want to go back to a clutch and manual transmission after being spoiled by my SE6 RTS...larryd

[robhowen]

What a horror story. I hope something good comes of this.
Rob

[IgoFar2]

For those having trouble removing the RIVET, take a look at this tool. It's designed to remove those rivets.
https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Push-Pin-...gateway&sr=8-3
RIVET TOOL.jpg