Moving/towing a dead Spyder

[Fletch]

Greetings everyone,
I have a 2015 RT that has been sitting in storage for a couple of years, messy divorce, anyway, tried jump starting her and just clicked, and then an error code. So, I'm needing to have her towed, or load her on a trailer to get her to a repair shop.

What do I need to do to safely load her on a flat bed wrecker, or car hauler? I couldn't get the parking brake to release. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The house is being sold and I have to get her moved this week.

Thank you so much.

Brad in St. Louis.

[JayBros]

The battery is probably mackerel dead but you have a couple of choices: you can have the current battery load tested and if fish dead charge it, or install a new one; or you could take a couple of 12mm open end wrenches and disconnect the parking brake cable. You need a good battery to release the parking brake. Read the section in your operator's guide on transporting the vehicle (pg 159-160). If you don't have an operator's guide, go to this link, drill down to the 2015 RT manual and downloaded it to your computer: https://www.operatorsguides.brp.com/...adster&type=og.

Using wrenches to disconnect the parking brake cable, on the right rear end of the swing arm, should be pretty obvious. You loosen the lock nut and then back off the adjusting nut until there is enough slack to remove the cable from its mount.

[Peter Aawen]

A jump starter pack should give it enough power to turn the ignition on & flick the switch to release the park brake - you don't even need to start it to do that! Ignore the beeping warning if you then switch off without resetting the park brake, it'll only go for 20-30 seconds or so! But if you can't get it to release with a jump pack, then 2 x 12mm spanners will allow you to undo the lock nut & brake cable retainer on the rear disc caliper, and so release the park brake! That's the park brake problem solved!

As for pushing/pulling or dragging it up onto a trailer or flat bed, if you don't have Tow Eyze rings on the front of the lower shock mounts, you should use a winch bridle with hooks secured in the transverse cross member projecting out from the main frame. Still, they really aren't all that heavy to push & roll for a short distance, so once the brake is off, and you've made sure you've got air in the tires, it shouldn't be too hard for a couple of reasonably capable people to push it onto a trailer/tilt tray. You just hafta make sure that you've got a chock handy to stick behind a wheel if it threatens to roll back off the ramps - do you really need to ask me how I know they can roll a long way if that happens, and you're on the wrong side of the Spyder to step on the foot brake & you've just disconnected the park brake so that even if did have power, you couldn't flick that back on!! Just keep a chock handy, it's much easier than chasing a run-away Spyder!

Still'n all, maybe all you need to do is properly charge the battery, or possibly fit a new & fully charged battery?! Then add some fresh gas, check that there's air in the tires, & hopefully the dipstick shows juuust a glimmer of oil on the bottom (any more than that after sitting for years & it's probably over-full! DO NOT START IT if it is!! ) And then start 'er up as per normal - kill-switch, ign, wait for mode, press it, foot on the brake, & start!! Without knowing what the code is, I'd guess it's probably just something caused by the very low battery charge, and a good battery will resolve that pdq!

Good Luck!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Save yourself time , money and a headache ..... put some Jumper cables on the Spyder battery and use your car battery to start it & or release the brake then tow. As long as the Battery hasn't shorted out it may start .... if you get it running for 1/2 hr I would just drive it. The Spyders use a hugh amount of juice to start, but not much to stay running ..... good luck .... PS leave the Car off when you jump from it to the Spyder ..... Mike

[Fletch]

I tried jump starting it with my sprinter van engine off, and on. Just heard a click. Tried leaving it to charge a little longer, then when I tried it, I got the DESS Error and orange screen.
One thing I'm terrified of, when I checked the dipstick, it was very low on oil. Not sure where the oil would go with it sitting.

[Little Blue]

Check your engine oil level, it should show something on your dipstick. As Peter Aawen said in post #3. .....

[Mikey]

I would pop a new battery in the old girl, or at least do what Mike suggested, hookit up to your car and get the brake unlocked so you can roll it around, and put it on a trailer!

[trikermutha]

Yep try a new battery. Don't keep jumping it with the van. You could cause more damage than good ��

And get rid of the gas in the tank and put fresh in..

[Peter Aawen]

I tried jump starting it with my sprinter van engine off, and on. Just heard a click. Tried leaving it to charge a little longer, then when I tried it, I got the DESS Error and orange screen.
One thing I'm terrified of, when I checked the dipstick, it was very low on oil. Not sure where the oil would go with it sitting.

When you check the oil level on these things, it MUST be done within minutes of shutting down the engine after running/ryding it for some while. This is because after you've shut it down (& checked to oil level ) the oil will drain out of the dry sump reservoir over time as it sits, leaving you with what looks like no or low oil; but unless there's a large puddle of oil under the Spyder, then it IS NOT a low oil level; so if you have oil just showing on the bottom of the dipstick after it's been sitting for a long while, then you KNOW it's got oil in there & unless that puddle is on the ground underneath, then it's just not in the dry sump reservoir where the dip stick is, so it's almost certainly got very close to having the right quantity of oil in there! DO NOT ADD OIL when the level is showing on the bottom of the dipstick like that after it's been sitting for more than an hour or more or you risk over-filling it and if you try to start run it after adding more oil/over filling it, you may well end up damaging some expensive & difficult to repair things!

So don't panic, from what you've told us, the oil is probably at the correct level - or close to it! But you tell us it is at least a couple of years old, so if you're really concerned, maybe you should just drain it all without trying to run it beforehand (cos it'll be cold oil & not necessarily in the 'easy to drain' spots, leave it draining over night! ) change the filters, and refill it with the correct quantity of oil for that particular model - being careful NOT to over-fill it!

As for leaving a really dead battery connected only by jumper leads to another vehicle battery while the engine isn't running for any extended period, you're really only likely to end up with 2 dead batteries as the charge between the 2 equalises - a fully charged battery draining into a dead battery with zero charge = 2 flat batteries, if not 2 dead batteries! Even if you leave them connected while the other vehicle's engine IS running so it's alternator can charge it too (& risk damaging one or both vehicle's computers by doing so! ) it'd still take many hours to recharge a dead flat battery that way - well, IF the Spyder battery hasn't died completely/shorted internally & it could even be done! So you need to either leave the Spyder battery charging on a proper charger (not just a battery tender ) for at least 12 hours or so, altho that dead battery might be well & truly knackered & never take a charge again; leaving you with the better option likely being to be getting a new battery, putting it on a charger for at least 12 hour or so, then fitting it and only then trying to start your Spyder!

Good Luck!

[Mikey]

Let's not over think this guy's he's just trying to get it on a trailer to move it, I would hope he would service it after he gets settled in where ever he's going, before he starts to ride it again on a regular basis! If he has lost enough oil to be dangerous I would think there would be a puddle on the floor, if he has a lick of oil on the stick that would be ok to roll on the trailer running! Just get the brake unlocked and get it where you can service it before you get it going!! Easy pezzy!

[Jackhartjr]

Me thinks that it is as simple as putting a new battery in it. It should fire right up!

[UtahPete]

The battery is probably mackerel dead but you have a couple of choices: you can have the current battery load tested and if fish dead charge it, or install a new one; or you could take a couple of 12mm open end wrenches and disconnect the parking brake cable. You need a good battery to release the parking brake. Read the section in your operator's guide on transporting the vehicle (pg 159-160). If you don't have an operator's guide, go to this link, drill down to the 2015 RT manual and downloaded it to your computer: https://www.operatorsguides.brp.com/...adster&type=og.

Using wrenches to disconnect the parking brake cable, on the right rear end of the swing arm, should be pretty obvious. You loosen the lock nut and then back off the adjusting nut until there is enough slack to remove the cable from its mount.

[UtahPete]

Let's not over think this guy's he's just trying to get it on a trailer to move it, I would hope he would service it after he gets settled in where ever he's going, before he starts to ride it again on a regular basis! If he has lost enough oil to be dangerous I would think there would be a puddle on the floor, if he has a lick of oil on the stick that would be ok to roll on the trailer running! Just get the brake unlocked and get it where you can service it before you get it going!! Easy pezzy!

[pegasus1300]

Ride it, sell it, move it it is going to need a new battery anyway so just get one,clean the terminals and tighten them down good, release the brake and move it to it's new home. Then at your leasure you can put on star washers, charge battery fully, check oil, drain fuel,etc,etc, etc.

Sorry about the messy divorce, now pick up and move on. Hope to hear about great Spyder rides from you.

[UtahPete]

Greetings everyone, I have a 2015 RT that has been sitting in storage for a couple of years, messy divorce, anyway, tried jump starting her and just clicked, and then an error code. So, I'm needing to have her towed, or load her on a trailer to get her to a repair shop.

What do I need to do to safely load her on a flat bed wrecker, or car hauler? I couldn't get the parking brake to release. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The house is being sold and I have to get her moved this week. Thank you so much. Brad in St. Louis.

First, you need to get the parking brake released. For that, you will need to have a working battery. OR, you can mechanically disengage the brake linkage near the rear wheel. If you go the disconnect route, you have the advantage of being able to easily move the bike around, but it can't be left unattended or unchocked.

Replacing the battery is best; then you don't need to bother with towing a disabled bike. If you need help with doing this, just ask. You will need to buy a new battery first, so you may not have time for this solution.

Transporting safely involves chocking the wheels and then strapping it down to the deck, using straps over the wheels or at the passenger floorboards. Never strap or tow using suspension or steering components.

Good luck.

[BrianO]

Nope. When I check the oil on my Spyder after sitting in the garage all winter, the dipstick is dry. In the spring after riding a bit then idling for several minutes as per BRP, oil level shows normal.