Finally Found a 2016 Spyder RT-S SM6

[stewartj239]

Hi Everyone,

It has been a while since my wife and I sold our 2013 RT-S to upgrade to a 2016. Many of you might remember me from this thread as we made the 2013 as good of a bike as it could be and we enjoyed it for the 4-5 years that we owned it.

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...t-Perfect-quot

Late in 2016, I test rode an RT-S with the 1330 and really liked it because of the extra gear and the much improved low end power that the extra 330+ cc of displacement should give you. In spring of 2017, when I realized that they were done making the RT with a manual clutch, we decided that we would look to upgrade.

My dealer started the search looking for a new leftover 2016 SM6 and I had a buyer already lined up for the 2013. Needless to say, the dealer was unable to secure one and by late summer, I started the search on my own.

Over the next couple of years, only a handful came up that fit what we were looking for - red or blue, low miles and like new condition. It also didn't help that I was only checking online classifieds a couple of times a month. We had found one that was local with only 100 miles on it but the seller was asking way too much money and was absolutely not willing to negotiate. In addition, it had some front end damage from an ATV backing into it and they were not willing to fix it or reduce the price to fix it.

We finally found this one in Florida back in June and have been back to riding for the last few months now. I took a couple of weeks and completely went through it and to baseline it. Very happy with everything that I saw and it is literally like new. In the coming days or weeks, I will post photos of some of the work that I did.

My wife and I are definitely glad to be back!!

2016 Picture - 1.jpg 2016 Picture - 2.jpg 2016 Picture - 3.jpg 2016 Picture - 4.jpg

[Bfromla]

b4 the dash change

[gkamer]

Very nice, I like the frunk graphics.

[ARtraveler]

Very nice looking machine.

[K80Shooter]

Congrats! I really like the graphics on the bike, were they already on it or did you add them?

[stewartj239]

Congrats! I really like the graphics on the bike, were they already on it or did you add them?

They were already on it and my wife and I liked them so much, we decided to leave them on. The person who had this before us spent more time adding accessories than they did riding it

[Quickdraw]

Nice ride! I wanted to put a spider and web on my Spyder but the wife put the kibosh to that quick, fast and in a hurry.

[stewartj239]

Nice ride! I wanted to put a spider and web on my Spyder but the wife put the kibosh to that quick, fast and in a hurry.

Thanks. Honestly, it is not something that I probably would have thought of or looked to do, but it actually blends well with the red / black color scheme and looks pretty subtle. As mentioned, whoever owned this put a lot of stuff on it and I have removed it all except for the graphics, seat and Elka suspension. Looking at the paperwork, this Spyder was traded in at a Dodge / Chrysler / Jeep dealer in Gainesville Florida back in mid-May. It would be cool if the previous owner happened to be on this forum or somebody who knows the bike. It would be great to get some background info on it.

[Mikey]

Love the colors and the lay out!!! You have a real gem there

[Pooch]

The whole thing.... is a show-stopper! The seat design flows beautifully with the lines of the vehicle.
Someone put a lot of time and pride into that jewel.
Enjoy!

[stewartj239]

The first accessory I installed was the ISCI hand brake. I had previously installed this same accessory on our 2013 RT and since it is exactly the same product for the same chassis, it was simple to install. I know that people are divided on the need for the hand brake, but I have ridden dirt bikes since I was 10, street bikes since I was 20 and having the front hand brake is an automatic reaction that I have when braking. For me, I have to have it.

Hand Brake - 1.jpg

The first step is to get the ISCI clevis pin installed which is just longer / wider than the OEM pin. As you will see a little further down, the slave cylinder assembly pushes this wider pin which then pushes the OEM brake when you apply the front brake lever.

Hand Brake - 2.jpg

Here is the slave cylinder assembly which tucks in on the right side of the Spyder.

Hand Brake - 3.jpg

Here you can see the slave cylinder assembly slid into place on the inside of the frame. It sits just to the right of the front part of the swing arm.

Hand Brake - 4.jpg

The next step is to route the hydraulic brake cable and install the mount for the ISCI front brake master cylinder and lever.

Hand Brake - 5.jpg

Here is a top view of the brake assembly attached to the mount.

Hand Brake - 6.jpg

Finally here it is with the hydraulic brake cable routed and attached.

Hand Brake - 7.jpg

The ISCI hand brake isn't cheap, but I would be lost without it as I still own 2 other street bikes that also get ridden on a regular basis. Just like with our old 2013 RT, I struggled trying to do all of the braking with just my right foot. I found it to be very difficult when having to brake out of a right hand curve or turn where I am leaning my weight into the turn, like you do with a snowmobile. Anyhow, I love this accessory and would be lost without it.

[safecracker]

Great info on the brake. Great looking bike. Bruce

[stewartj239]

As mentioned, this RT came with a bunch of accessories which really added up for the person who owned it before us. It only has 5300 miles on it and I am the 3rd owner. Looking at the history of it, it was sold by the dealer in 2016 with 3000 miles on it (I assume it was a demo). It was then sold again in 2017 with 4000 miles on it and then I just bought it in June with 5300. I am sure the dealer didn't put the money into it so it was either the 1st or 2nd owner who dumped a lot of time and money into the accessories.

Here is the list of accessories that it came with that I removed:

1. LED Lighting - Skid Plate, Front and Rear Kits
2. Rear Luggage Rack
3. Highway Pegs
4. Wind Deflectors
5. Vented and Tinted Windshield (Replaced with OEM Vented Clear)
6. Aftermarket Horn (Replaced with OEM)
7. Cat Bypass (Traded for an OEM Primary Muffler)

Here is the list of accessories the I kept on it:

1. Elka Front Suspension
2. Ultimate Seat
3. Body Wrap Kit
4. Baja Ron Tie Rods

I looked up the prices on this stuff and it is in the $4K range. Another note on the 2nd owner, their average MPH for the 1300 miles that they owned it was just 21.9!! Doesn't really sound like it went too far or fast. Anyhow, when I get some time this fall, I plan to post the accessories that I took off on the forum to get rid of them. Not really looking for money, probably just the shipping, but I am a good 2 or 3 months away from having time to deal with it.

[Wmoater]

Skid plate removed? I’d just disconnect the LEDS if you don’t like them. That’s pretty much a must a necessity especially with roadkill and back road gas stations. Nice looking machine but I’d really think about removing that.

[stewartj239]

Skid plate removed? I’d just disconnect the LEDS if you don’t like them. That’s pretty much a must a necessity especially with roadkill and back road gas stations. Nice looking machine but I’d really think about removing that.

Yes, I removed it for 2 reasons. First the wiring was broken so the LEDs did not work and second, it wasn't nearly as visually appealing as the one that we had on our 2013 RT. That one had the Spyderpops bump skid so I will likely be buying and putting that one on over winter.

[Wmoater]

Spyderpops is the best in my opinion. Good choice!

[stewartj239]

When I received this Spyder, it unfortunately had the cat bypass pipe on it. I know that sounds crazy, but I actually was hoping it had the primary muffler. On our 2013 RT, I did do the cat bypass. The 2013 had heat issues and it definitely reduced the heat, but increased the sound, so it was a trade off. With the new 1330 motor, I knew that the heat issues were gone and with the extra displacement, I don't need the extra few HP that it might bring. My wife and I have helmet communicators and the added noise from the cat bypass actually sucked.

I saw that new, the primary muffler goes for $959, which is crazy. I then checked the classifieds on this forum and on eBay and the cheapest one I could find was $500, which also is crazy. Luckily I found a thread from earlier this year where someone was looking for a primary muffler and they said to contact jcthorne on this forum. I followed that same advice and sent him a PM. He got right back to me and ended up trading me a primary muffler for the cat bypass. He even sent me the primary muffler in advance without any kind of deposit so that my wife and I wouldn't have any down time. I swapped them out and got the bypass pipe right back to him. He saved me a ton of money and I totally appreciated his help.

Cat - 1.jpg Cat - 2.jpg

[K80Shooter]

Sounds like you both got what you wanted. I also like the quietness of the 1330 and stock muffler, in fact that's the main thing I wanted was a quite bike.

[stewartj239]

While I was going through the Spyder, I decided to go big and get in there to change the spark plugs. Since the engine is an inline triple, I knew that the airbox would need to come out. After looking at the shop manual to get an idea of the procedure, I first removed the left side part of the airbox, then moved over and got the right side pulled out, which nicely exposes the top of the cylinders and gives you all the room you need. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was compared to the 2013 RT. On the 2013, I removed the OEM airbox to install the KewlMetal air filter kit and it was a nightmare. After pulling from every angle trying to get it to clear the frame, I got on the forum to see how it was done and was surprised to find that you had to cut it out of there. Unreal. So far, the 2016 has been a pleasure to work on. I assume that many of the 2013 issues were caused by putting the 998 engine in the new frame that was actually built for the 1330.

Spark Plugs - 1.jpg Spark Plugs - 2.jpg

[stewartj239]

Another one of the accessories that the RT came with was the rear cargo rack.

Trunk - 1.jpg

With all of the existing storage on the RT, we decided that we did not need the rear rack and didn't particularly care for the look of it, especially since it would be serving no purpose for us. The initial plan was to remove the rack and see if we could live with the trunk cover even though we knew that the bolt holes would be visible.

Trunk - 2.jpg

The rack really scratches the heck out of the paint on the cover. Between the holes and the scratches, there really is no going back once it has been installed. So I ended up buying a new trunk cover. The only extra task was moving the BRP badge from the old cover to the new one.

Trunk - 3.jpg

And then the look was back to OEM. This winter, I think I am going to connect the rack to the old cover and see if somebody on this forum wants them both. If somebody is looking to install the rack, having the trunk cover with it will prevent them from ruining their OEM cover.

Trunk - 4.jpg

[Peter Aawen]

Another one of the accessories that the RT came with was the rear cargo rack.

Trunk - 1.jpg

With all of the existing storage on the RT, we decided that we did not need the rear rack and didn't particularly care for the look of it, especially since it would be serving no purpose for us. .....

Just be aware that even (especially??) when in their closed/short position, those adjustable/extenddable horizontal 'whale tail' racks from Rivco like the one in your pic can significantly reduce the turbulence in the airflow that's created behind the RT's - turbulence that often sees people complaining of a strong exhaust fume smell while ryding (especially for the pillion passenger); and they can also significantly reduce if not eliminate all the rain, slush, &/or light road debris that can get picked up in that turbulence, swirled around behind the trunk & panniers, only to ultimately end up being dumped down the neck & back of the ryder &/or pillion.

So it might have been doing more for you/your pillion than just providing extra storage space. . Just Sayin'....

[stewartj239]

Just be aware that even (especially??) when in their closed/short position, those adjustable/extenddable horizontal 'whale tail' racks from Rivco like the one in your pic can significantly reduce the turbulence in the airflow that's created behind the RT's - turbulence that often sees people complaining of a strong exhaust fume smell while ryding (especially for the pillion passenger); and they can also significantly reduce if not eliminate all the rain, slush, &/or light road debris that can get picked up in that turbulence, swirled around behind the trunk & panniers, only to ultimately end up being dumped down the neck & back of the ryder &/or pillion.

So it might have been doing more for you/your pillion than just providing extra storage space. . Just Sayin'....

Well, I guess I just got a lesson on the physics of having it on there
You mention the exhaust smell. My wife did notice it on the 2013, but she hasn't said anything yet about it on the 2016, so I will have to ask her. The main difference between the two years is that I did remove the cat on the 2013 to reduce the heat which was almost a must for that model year.

[stewartj239]

OK. One more upgrade that we made was installing the Magic Mirrors. These things are awesome. I do all of the Spyder maintenance on my own and every time you change the oil, you have to remove the mirrors. The OEM clips are very thin and very fragile. For our 2013, I always had a bag of extra clips because every now and then, I would accidentally break them taking the mirrors off.

So here are the OEM bolts where they mount on the Spyder:

Mirrors - 1.jpg

This photo shows those OEM mounting bolts removed and the Magic Mirrors screws, magnets and washers installed:

Mirrors - 2.jpg

Here the OEM clips have been removed and replaced with the Magic Mirrors steel plates that the magnets will stick to:

Mirrors - 3.jpg

Here you can see how the mirror will go on to the mounting point. The heads of the screws will go into the holes on the mirror brackets:

Mirrors - 4.jpg

Once installed, you can easily confirm that things are mounted and hooked up properly.

Mirrors - 5.jpg

We have put 500+ miles on it so far and have had highway speeds at 80 MPH with no wiggling or wobbling at all. This is an A+ product!!

[stewartj239]

After purchasing the RT-S last summer, we were only able to put about 900 miles on it before winter. I just finished the winter updates that we wanted to make to the Spyder so that we can get an early start on the riding season up here in the Northeast.

I have rolled 3 updates in to these two photos. The first thing we wanted to do was get the Elka front suspension rebuilt. Considering the low miles and like new condition the RT-S was in when we bought it, I was very surprised to see that one of the front Elka shocks was leaking. I contacted Lamonster Garage and they put me in touch with a shop that could rebuild them.

The Spyderpops Bump Skid was next. We had one on our 2013 RT-S and just felt that we needed it for the 2016 as well.

The last update in these photos are the Kott Grilles. I absolutely love the write up on these as once installed, it will solve the garbage collection problem. After every ride, I was pulling trash and critters (mainly grasshoppers) out of the OEM screens. I hope the Kott Grilles work better at keeping the stuff out.

Pic-1.jpg Pic-2.jpg

[stewartj239]

Knowing how much money and updates that the previous owner had put in to this Spyder and knowing that they put the Elka shocks on the front of it, I was shocked that find out that he didn't put one on the rear. Bummer. So that went on the winter list of updates.

Here are a couple of photos and you can clearly see the comparison differences between the Elka and OEM rear shock. We had Elka suspension on the front and rear of our 2013 RT-S, so we knew we needed to complete it on the 2016.

Pic-3.jpg Pic-4.jpg