Reliability

[Magdave]

Hmm one picture is worth a thousand words

[BajaRon]

We need to define some terms here. As in; What does 'Failed' mean?

[Bob Denman]

Dave,
Perhaps it's time for you to dump your RT, and move on to something that you believe in...

And it pains me to say this to you; I've always considered you as a friend...

[Cruzr Joe]

Dave,
Perhaps it's time for you to dump your RT, and move on to something that you believe in...

And take Drewnj with you.


Cruzr Joe

[DrewNJ]

And take Drewnj with you.


Cruzr Joe

Why would you say that? I have no issues with my machine, No complaints at all.
or
Is it because you don't like me? That totally makes my day, that my presence here bothers you, that I'm on your mind that much. Hahaha....[emoji106]

[Bob Denman]

Truthfully; I didn't really care for Joe's post either...

...But you could have ignored it...

Nahhh... you couldn't!

[Magdave]

Dave,
Perhaps it's time for you to dump your RT, and move on to something that you believe in...

Perhaps it is time for you to not offer me advice. Don't shoot the messenger. This was posted on a Can Am Facebook page. Go for a ride and have some ice cream.

Besides I am waiting for my May fix from BRP.

[Bob Denman]

This has already been posted...


http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...ONSUMER-REPORT

[Magdave]

This has already been posted...


http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...ONSUMER-REPORT

Then why are you ragging on me for posting the picture? I did not read the link you posted; colored posts in different fonts make me read something else. Besides that post did not show the pecentages.

[NorCalBud]

I've seen this tossed around recently...There is WAY too little info here to make any kind of conclusions from it...
But if taken at face value: One of the best arguments would be that the Spyder owners are generally persons of a certain maturity and/or who are much more willing to take issues to their dealers/mechanics for work instead of shade tree work. We also purchase warranties that other bike owners may not. Thus they go to the shop more for that work....
Also, we ryde 'em!

[Chupaca]

These are accomodating studies..like who sells more coca cola or pepsi. Depends on the month and whos turn...
We are the brand with the most never before owned a bike people...
We are the brand with the most women...getting into ryding
We are the brand with the highest average age...
Now with that we know newbies will be in the shop for every little thing as they learn ryding and simple maintenance. Women tend to have all work done at the dealers.(unless hubby does mechanical work or they learn to) Many units go in for computer glitches that simply clear with the key walk. And old folks have no patience (not all, don't get offended I'm one of them).
So until brp pays for the study we will be low on the totem pole...

[Dan_Ashley]

Perhaps it is time for you to not offer me advice. Don't shoot the messenger. This was posted on a Can Am Facebook page. Go for a ride and have some ice cream.

Besides I am waiting for my May fix from BRP.

Negativity buys more negativity.

My Viper Red 2012 RT has been as reliable as ANY car I've owned. At least for the 25,000 miles I've ridden it over the last two years.

[Magdave]

We need to define some terms here. As in; What does 'Failed' mean?

Dunno I assume it means needs to go to dealer to be fixed.

[dlby]

Well im lightly stepping in

I will admit im a rabid HD guy who switched to this awesome Spyder

The site here helped my decision to purchace & learn to handle the bike & pick out acc (i can't call em f a rkles sorry

I feel as though I know some of ya as its a small room here
Any way thank you for all the ideas videos humour etc
This is a good site
I guess when people criticize the machine they own could be good reason & out of frustration
Lord knows many years ago wi HD it would been same

I selfishly just want to enjoy my new ryde & do not want it to be slammed
But so far it works perfectly
On the other hand if I have a problem I will want
HELP! BIG TIME
with no bitchin or slammin
Just help advise what dealer is good how to communicate with Can am etc
You ALL would be my help

So lets all go see REO Speedwagon or Bob Seger & have some peace Love & Spyder Power
DLBY
HOOSIER SEMI RETIRED PREACHER HIPPY

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Hmm one picture is worth a thousand words

This is from the May issue of Consumer Reports as posted here: http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...onsumer+report

Consumers Union sends, presumably at random, surveys every year to several thousand subscribers. Maybe they send surveys to all subscribers. I don't recall as it has been years since I subscribed to the magazine. The people are requested to list their vehicles that were, IIRC, bought new within the previous 5 years and to rate their experience about all sorts of criteria, including how many times the vehicle has been in the shop for repairs, and what type of repairs were needed. It takes a long time to completely fill out the survey as there are a lot of questions on them. CU has been at this for a long time so I'm sure they have refined their techniques to elicit as accurate and objective a response as possible. In a May 2013 article about motorcycle reliability (bought new from 2009 to 2012) on their website they state that differences less than 4% are meaningless. They also adjust the data to eliminate differences related solely to age to and mileage. That probably applies to the data shown above.

You can quibble all you want about the data above but like it or not, it is a fair representation of the percent of owners reporting problems. That does not necessarily mean the percent of bikes having problems, although it probably is close. How much the data is impacted by those who do their own repairs vs. take to a shop is a valid question, but I doubt it makes very much difference in the end.

EDIT: I just looked closer at the scanned pages in the other thread. At the bottom it says differences fewer than 10 percentage points are meaningless. It also state failure rates are for 4 year old motorcycles bought new and not covered by a service contract. That means repair rates for contract covered bikes is not included, so we can't know what the real repair rate is for bikes up to 3 years old.

[Dan McNally]

Hmm one picture is worth a thousand words

The CanAm has many more very complicated systems than some two-wheeled motorcycles . . . things which a dealer needs to address because they are beyond the capability of most owners. But for me, I am quite happy with stability control, differential power steering, anti-lock brakes, and, yes, even the "nanny." Comparing a $30,000 Spyder with a Yamaha SR-400 is comparing apples to oranges . . . and that is part of the fallacy in articles like this, as they compare by brand, not by model. Would you consider at article that compared maintenance costs for an IndyCar and a Toyota Corolla as legitimate? Apples and oranges . . .

[MikeinGA]

Consumer Reports has always been is a good at getting the best data on a product. It looks like fair report. I'm one of the 42% and I think it's a good number.


Mike

[MikeinGA]

Hmm one picture is worth a thousand words

Consumer Reports has always been is a good at getting the best data on a product. It looks like fair report. I'm one of the 42% and I think it's a good number.
Mike

Update!!! April 11/ 2015 my rear shock blew out with only 17,500 mile on my 2011 RS-S SE5 and the Spyder bounce around on the highway. I have already replace my front shocks at 10,000 miles. I pulled my maintenance records and review them. It looks like my Spyder needs to be repaired about every 3,000 miles due to a substandard parts. So! That 42% is low number. Oh yes shocks like other parts I had to replace are not covered under warranty. So! You think BRP cares. That IMHO.

Mike

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Comparing a $30,000 Spyder with a Yamaha SR-400 is comparing apples to oranges . . . and that is part of the fallacy in articles like this, as they compare by brand, not by model. Would you consider at article that compared maintenance costs for an IndyCar and a Toyota Corolla as legitimate? Apples and oranges . . .

There really is no fallacy in the ratings as they are presented. Consumers Union is not comparing power, speed, handling, etc., of the bikes. If they were then your point would be totally valid. It would be difficult and impractical to find another motorcycle to make a direct comparison to a Spyder. And if you could, and did, do that as you are suggesting there would be so many individual categories that the report in the end would be seriously lacking in meaningful information. Consider this. Cars are pretty much built in assembly plants dedicated to a specific brand. Power sports equipment is not. Honda, for instance, manufactures a whole variety of motorcycles in a new plant in Japan. Goldwing manufacture was moved from Ohio to Japan and there is no 2011 Goldwing model. The same assembly line that makes the Goldwing makes a trail bike, the way I understand it. The methods and quality management are going to be basically the same for both machines. Hence, a judgement about quality of motorcycles is not a judgement of a particular model, but of the brand Honda. The quality practices of Harley Davidson apply across the board to all their machines. In fact years ago the quality management program they used for motorcycle manufacture was applied to bomb bodies they made for the US military. So like it or not, the report shows that 4 year old Harley Davidson bikes require fewer repairs than 4 year old Can Am Spyders, regardless of model.

[Dan_Ashley]

The quality practices of Harley Davidson apply across the board to all their machines. In fact years ago the quality management program they used for motorcycle manufacture was applied to bomb bodies they made for the US military.

One of my dissertations was in quality management. Nearly all manufacturing companies use a quality management program, as do hospitals and chain stores, and etc. All of these programs are highly similar. They are all based on total quality management concepts. Albeit, some use more statistics, some use more flow charts, and some entail more employee empowerment. But in their core, they are all the same.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

One of my dissertations was in quality management. Nearly all manufacturing companies use a quality management program, as do hospitals and chain stores, and etc. All of these programs are highly similar. They are all based on total quality management concepts. Albeit, some use more statistics, some use more flow charts, and some entail more employee empowerment. But in their core, they are all the same.

That's because they're all based on the quality principles of Deming and Juran. Where they differ, sometimes greatly, is in implementation, understanding, and attitude. From what I have read here in the forums and the service manual and observation of my RT, BRP has a lot of room for improvement in implementation, which reflects a need in improvement in understanding. Inconsistency in use of nomenclature from one year to the next and one part of the manual to another reflects that. I spent 22 years monitoring contractors compliance with contract provisions. Much of that involved doing audits of quality programs.

[Dan_Ashley]

That's because they're all based on the quality principles of Deming and Juran. Where they differ, sometimes greatly, is in implementation, understanding, and attitude. From what I have read here in the forums and the service manual and observation of my RT, BRP has a lot of room for improvement in implementation, which reflects a need in improvement in understanding. Inconsistency in use of nomenclature from one year to the next and one part of the manual to another reflects that. I spent 22 years monitoring contractors compliance with contract provisions. Much of that involved doing audits of quality programs.

Yeah. There is a lot of managerial lip service given to quality. Thing is, the employees see right through that "program of the month" junk.

[bscrive]

Hmm one picture is worth a thousand words

I can see this.

I have had my Valkyrie for over 12 years and it has never broke down on me once. Valkyries and Goldwings can get well over 300,000 miles on them. Spyders will never achieve this.

My wife's 2013 STL is at the dealer's right now getting the coolant leak fixed. Bad water pump.

I guess the 'percent failed' probably refers to how many have had to be repaired vs the total sold. It is still a good indication.

If 100,000 Yamaha's have been sold, in a certain time frame, and 11,000 have been repaired, that is pretty good.

If 100,000 Can Ams have been sold, in a certain time frame, and 42,000 had to be repaired that is not so good.

Truth be told. If my wife could ride a two wheeler, she would not have a Can Am. She would be riding a Honda. If Honda came out with a reverse trike, we would buy it.

[Dan_Ashley]

I can see this.

I have had my Valkyrie for over 12 years and it has never broke down on me once. Valkyries and Goldwings can get well over 300,000 miles on them. Spyders will never achieve this.

My wife's 2013 STL is at the dealer's right now getting the coolant leak fixed. Bad water pump.

I guess the 'percent failed' probably refers to how many have had to be repaired vs the total sold. It is still a good indication.

If 100,000 Yamaha's have been sold, in a certain time frame, and 11,000 have been repaired, that is pretty good.

If 100,000 Can Ams have been sold, in a certain time frame, and 42,000 had to be repaired that is not so good.

Truth be told. If my wife could ride a two wheeler, she would not have a Can Am. She would be riding a Honda. If Honda came out with a reverse trike, we would buy it.

Are those numbers actually reported, or did you make them up for illustration purposes.

[croosbow34]

Good God !!! Will you KIDS stop..........good information here, not a "temper tantrum" site..
We all have input on this site..........don't take it personal and make personal attacks.........
Now who wants to disagree with me