F3 owners unite! BRP needs to get their act together.

[spydaman60]

Deep in the Jungle I hear the rattling of distant drums from the F3 tribe. (Short for Fugarwe' Tribe) I sense another uprising against the Mother Country. Citizens beware. :joke: Sorry, nothing else to do today.

Jack

now jack, sit down and take a big drink! we'll all get through it!!:yikes:

 

[Tazzel]

Hi all,

We have purchased some pricey machines that seem to have a growing number of issues arise and BRP is reluctantly sort-of addressing some of them while we are stuck paying out of pocket to fix the poor design on others.

I am not (YET) saying that I regret buying my F3S; but I DEFINITELY regret giving up the RS-S. The more I learn (surprisingly only through this forum, never directly from BRP) about warranty campaigns, recalls, common issues etc on the F3s, the more I think wow, they really should replace all of our units with ones that don't have bottoming out suspensions, cracking frames, leaky instrument clusters, gravel noise in clutch baskets, brake line failures and whatever other problems that riddle these beautiful and fun but perhaps not-ready-for-public (at the time of initial release) machines.

My F3s acted up last weekend (unrelated to all these other things), ran like total poo upon restart, can't reproduce the problem now, waiting to have some time to take it to a dealer for code scanning. Other people early on complained about their SE6 randomly going into limp home mode, causing dangerous situations (mine is a manual and no limp mode but a couple of times during the forementioned ride it barely ran and was unridable, also causing potential hazardous situations).

My RS-S, which was pretty banged up by a previous rider, never skipped a beat, never had any frame/suspension/brake/etc issues, was a blast to ride and I miss it so much. I only wish BRP would make the F3 as tough and reliable.

I do realize that often first-year models do have bugs that need to be worked out (which was my hesitation in buying the F3 and it's my fault I chose to do it against my better judgment); but I honestly have never seen first year motorcycle have so many issues, and surely with more to be discovered.

The point of my rambling on is that I feel that we as a group of owners could get BRP to address all those issues without us having to spend our own dimes on better shocks, clutches, etc. How would we go about doing that?

Your funny. I hear of very few complaints on the forum about the F3 and really any Spyders. Once the heat issue was address I guess some had to find other things to complain about. Spyders in general are outstanding machines. If you are one of the few that as with any vehicle make or model that continue to have problems then take it up with your dealer or bail out and find something else that will entertain you. Went on a big group Spyder ride in Colorado last week. The only Spyder having any issues was a 2016 RT. Maybe you should also start a rally cry to start a boycott for the 2016 RT's as well, lol

If there were internet forums in 1940, we all would still be riding horses. Go to any vehicle make or model and you hear nothing but one issue after another. Its a mechanical, electrical unit, sh**t happens.

 

[Retired 2012]

Ok,
I agree with the op, there are some issues with the 2015 F3.
No recall have been issued, two tech. Bulletins have been noted and taken care of.
The relocation of the brake cable so it doesn't chaff and the brace for the rear shock mount.
I do think the shock should be replaced, but I weigh 260 so that is mine fault. I am upgrading all three shocks. The saddle bag issue has been resolved for me because I purchased the new brackets, bags, and liners from Shad USA through BRP.
I still get heat on both of my legs but I live in a hot environment.
Through it all I still love my F3S. It is my first Spyder, my 13th motorcycle.
My bad back made riding Two wheeled bikes to painful so it was either the Spyder or not riding any more. I am still glad I chose to purchased it and I still smile every time I ride it.
That has to count for some thing. I don't think we should minimize the issues and I believe BRP should have updated the 2015 F3 with the suspension system from the 2016 F3 but they didn't. I choose to stop waiting on BRP and just enjoy the bike as it is. That is my 2 cents!!!!

 

[JKMSPYDER]

F3-S

I have had my '15 F3-S since January and have nearly 4000 miles on it with nary a hiccup. I have had the frame recall done. I had a '13 ST-S previously that I put 25,000 miles on with very few problems. Even though I loved my ST-S I love the F3-S even more.

 

[MMMII]

Deep in the Jungle I hear the rattling of distant drums from the F3 tribe. (Short for Fugarwe' Tribe) I sense another uprising against the Mother Country. Citizens beware. :joke: Sorry, nothing else to do today.

Jack

 

[griffontamer]

I must admit, I am surprised by the animosity directed toward me by some people because I voiced something that I bet some others are thinking. I know you all don't know me personally, but I am not one to complain for no reason.

TO BE CLEAR: I have not experienced frame breakage, shock bottoming out, brake line failure etc (but then again, with all my gear on I only weight 150 lbs and usually ride solo). And I am NOT blaming BRP for me buying the bike, I did say it was MY choice.

I'm just saying that quite a few people have reported the same problems and only a couple of those are being addressed (and as a number of people said, the frame "fix" treats the symptom more than the cause) and I wish BRP would take care of all the issues rather than people having to pay for them when they did already pay a premium for the machines.

The one thing that bothers me is that BRP has not once notified me of a warranty campaign or whatever else you guys call it (and my dealer did say the frame thing was a recall). They definitely have our names and addresses, and know that we bought 2 F3's. It feels like if I accidentally find out about it, they will reluctantly deal with it; otherwise they won't bother. When I did make an appointment with the local dealer for the repairs, they said the parts were on back order. Haven't heard back from them since.

Regarding the percentage of people actually having issues, I would not know it but how many 2013 RT fires did it take to admit there's a design flaw? How many should it have taken? By all means, love your bikes, ride them, I ride mine and I love it, I just think a company should recognize that there are some issues and deal with them in a timely manner. Cheers.

 

[Darren111]

Second this

now jack, sit down and take a big drink! we'll all get through it!!:yikes:

Second this. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[sg2848775]

So Far. Have Had Good Luck With My 2015 F3

4000 miles and no problems so far. The first check up at 3000 miles went well with no problems. Maybe I got lucky.

 

[Darren111]

Notification

I must admit, I am surprised by the animosity directed toward me by some people because I voiced something that I bet some others are thinking. I know you all don't know me personally, but I am not one to complain for no reason.

TO BE CLEAR: I have not experienced frame breakage, shock bottoming out, brake line failure etc (but then again, with all my gear on I only weight 150 lbs and usually ride solo). And I am NOT blaming BRP for me buying the bike, I did say it was MY choice.

I'm just saying that quite a few people have reported the same problems and only a couple of those are being addressed (and as a number of people said, the frame "fix" treats the symptom more than the cause) and I wish BRP would take care of all the issues rather than people having to pay for them when they did already pay a premium for the machines.

The one thing that bothers me is that BRP has not once notified me of a warranty campaign or whatever else you guys call it (and my dealer did say the frame thing was a recall). They definitely have our names and addresses, and know that we bought 2 F3's. It feels like if I accidentally find out about it, they will reluctantly deal with it; otherwise they won't bother. When I did make an appointment with the local dealer for the repairs, they said the parts were on back order. Haven't heard back from them since.

Regarding the percentage of people actually having issues, I would not know it but how many 2013 RT fires did it take to admit there's a design flaw? How many should it have taken? By all means, love your bikes, ride them, I ride mine and I love it, I just think a company should recognize that there are some issues and deal with them in a timely manner. Cheers.

Hi griffontamer
I quote your words "The one thing that bothers me is that BRP has not once notified me of a warranty campaign". Did we all get notification of the brake cable relocation bulletin/warranty campaign from BRP? I certainly didn't and I don't think my dealer as too. I look forward to my response from email sent to my dealer regarding brake cable relocation bulletin/warranty. My next course of action is to send a email to BRP care and just find out what their policies are for communicating warranty campaigns/bulletins to their customers.:thumbup:

 

[jcthorne]

Its very simple. Safety RECALLS are filed with the NHTSA and letters are sent to all known owners. BRP has to provide documentation to the NHTSA of the completion of the recall for every VIN involved.

Warranty campaigns (fix all bikes) and tech service bulletins (fix for a bike with problems presented) are sent to ALL dealers. Yes, even the ones that claim they did not know. They did not know only because they did not open the dealer software link and READ them. They were sent.

All of this is no different than any other vehicle manufacture.

I still do not know what all the fuss is about. What 'problem' has BRP not addressed on the F3? Its a fine running machine and one of the most reliable bikes BRP has ever produced. All this scuttlebut does noting but drive down resale values of the bikes when there is nothing wrong with them.

With the 2013 RT debacle, yes, BRP did delay, deny and avoid repairs until the NHTSA held their feet to the fire and forced the issue. I have seen NO evidence of this happening again. In fact BRP has been very proactive in repairing things most of us did not even know were problems or complained about.

 

[Richardv]

Just call in....

I must admit, I am surprised by the animosity directed toward me by some people because I voiced something that I bet some others are thinking. I know you all don't know me personally, but I am not one to complain for no reason.

TO BE CLEAR: I have not experienced frame breakage, shock bottoming out, brake line failure etc (but then again, with all my gear on I only weight 150 lbs and usually ride solo). And I am NOT blaming BRP for me buying the bike, I did say it was MY choice.

I'm just saying that quite a few people have reported the same problems and only a couple of those are being addressed (and as a number of people said, the frame "fix" treats the symptom more than the cause) and I wish BRP would take care of all the issues rather than people having to pay for them when they did already pay a premium for the machines.

The one thing that bothers me is that BRP has not once notified me of a warranty campaign or whatever else you guys call it (and my dealer did say the frame thing was a recall). They definitely have our names and addresses, and know that we bought 2 F3's. It feels like if I accidentally find out about it, they will reluctantly deal with it; otherwise they won't bother. When I did make an appointment with the local dealer for the repairs, they said the parts were on back order. Haven't heard back from them since.

Regarding the percentage of people actually having issues, I would not know it but how many 2013 RT fires did it take to admit there's a design flaw? How many should it have taken? By all means, love your bikes, ride them, I ride mine and I love it, I just think a company should recognize that there are some issues and deal with them in a timely manner. Cheers.

Hi,

Just look-up the BRP customer care phone number, call-in and open a case with them.

Easy, quick and very efficient. Try it, you will love it. Problem resolved.

Richard

 

[otter28169]

I do agree with you on a lot of the issues.

I think a lot is communication with dealer also.

I know for a fact i can walk into INGLES PERFORMANCE OR DDS MOTORSPORTS
And check last years F3 or13 RT And not on frame has been fixed or suspension
And 13rt have not had recalls.
The mentallity is it doesn't get that hot upstate ny.
That statement burns my ass mike ingles
What if i wanted to take south or west.

IF IT'S BROKE FIX THE DAMN THING

I have to say that I have had "issues" when dealing with DDS. Such as telling them "I have a 2012 RS-S" and getting the response; "Is that a Kawasaki". But I have to say that I do not share your opinion of Ingles Performance. Granted I am the warranty on my machine, and have made it my business to educate myself on all the maintenance, repair work, and service bulletins. When I call there looking for a part or some form of assistance they are always spot on, and very helpful. Otherwise I wouldn't have sent my father there to by his F3. I am sorry you have had a bad experience. I too have had to learn the hard way........when I need a service tech, I am the best option. The only machine I work on and care about is spyders. I don't do cars, trucks, 4 wheelers, jet skis, dirt bikes, etc. There is much less confusion that way.

Just sayin'............

 

[Darren111]

Thanks

Its very simple. Safety RECALLS are filed with the NHTSA and letters are sent to all known owners. BRP has to provide documentation to the NHTSA of the completion of the recall for every VIN involved.

Warranty campaigns (fix all bikes) and tech service bulletins (fix for a bike with problems presented) are sent to ALL dealers. Yes, even the ones that claim they did not know. They did not know only because they did not open the dealer software link and READ them. They were sent.

All of this is no different than any other vehicle manufacture.

I still do not know what all the fuss is about. What 'problem' has BRP not addressed on the F3? Its a fine running machine and one of the most reliable bikes BRP has ever produced. All this scuttlebut does noting but drive down resale values of the bikes when there is nothing wrong with them.

With the 2013 RT debacle, yes, BRP did delay, deny and avoid repairs until the NHTSA held their feet to the fire and forced the issue. I have seen NO evidence of this happening again. In fact BRP has been very proactive in repairing things most of us did not even know were problems or complained about.

jcthorne thank you for above info this will help us newbies understand the procedures, I now know what is expected from my dealer and await their response to my email reference brake cable.:thumbup:

 

[Ron2andia]

:agree::agree:

 

[bmccaffrey]

I have to say that I have had "issues" when dealing with DDS. Such as telling them "I have a 2012 RS-S" and getting the response; "Is that a Kawasaki". But I have to say that I do not share your opinion of Ingles Performance. Granted I am the warranty on my machine, and have made it my business to educate myself on all the maintenance, repair work, and service bulletins. When I call there looking for a part or some form of assistance they are always spot on, and very helpful. Otherwise I wouldn't have sent my father there to by his F3. I am sorry you have had a bad experience. I too have had to learn the hard way........when I need a service tech, I am the best option. The only machine I work on and care about is spyders. I don't do cars, trucks, 4 wheelers, jet skis, dirt bikes, etc. There is much less confusion that way.

Just sayin'............

Otter
I have not had any bad experiences with ingles. They have treated well and I would go back.
I didn't like Mikes response on the 13 heat issues. That there wouldn't be a problem being the area we live in.
He has 13 rts there now that have not been fixed. I also do my own maintenance. I am ny certified inspector for motorcycles, heavy duty, and light duty
I also would recommend somebody to go there. Some times answers are not well thought out.
Will be there for spring and fall ride ins.

sorry u took the wrong way:hun:

 

[loisk]

The document for the chassis fix clearly says "all involved customers must be notified"

this is seems to be where the system falls down -is BRP aware that this clear instruction does not seem to be followed? What will/can they do about this situation?

i have not heard of anyone who has been notified. Seems to be that we read it on spyder lovers and then go and tell our dealers all about it. Without the tsb number, we'd get nowhere, so big THANKS to all who post the details.

still, the system is poor, as owners who do not haunt forums or Facebook May never be made aware.

in oz, letters are sent re safety recalls, as they are legally obligated to do so, but no letters for warranty fixes or tsb's. So it all comes down to the dealer to notify, and it is clearly the case that not all dealers are equal...

I've often thought that the difference between a fabulous or an abyssmal spyder experience is the dealer! I would add that spyder lovers info and help is of equal importance. As are riding groups.

 

[MidTNDawg]

Poor me

I've had a 2012 RT Ltd, 2014 RT Ltd, and currently have a 2015 F3s. Not a single problem of any type. Soon be getting a 2016 F3T special series and I am willing to wager there will be no problems with it.

 

[Sarge707]

Is my 2015 F3 sm6 affected by this Brake thing-anyone have the reference because I,m having the Chassis brace put on today?:dontknow:

 

[Darren111]

Thanks Richardv

Hi,

Just look-up the BRP customer care phone number, call-in and open a case with them.

Easy, quick and very efficient. Try it, you will love it. Problem resolved.

Richard ��

Thanks Richardv took your advice upon board and below is a copy of reply from BRP.(Gave BRP my VIN number)
Good day Darren,

Thank you for taking the time to contact BRP.

In response to your request, there are no safety recalls or warranty campaigns on your unit.


Should you have any other questions or comments, do not hesitate to reach us by replying to this email or call us at T + 888.272.9222.

Once again, thank you for contacting BRP.


Matthew Bourque
Customer Service Representative

ref:_00D301Fh2R._500a016oQwU:ref

 

[Darren111]

Check

Is my 2015 F3 sm6 affected by this Brake thing-anyone have the reference because I,m having the Chassis brace put on today?:dontknow:

After taking advice upon board from SL, I sent an email to BRP care with my VIN number because on the European BRP website there is no facility to input your VIN number like there is on USA BRP website to check if there are any campaigns/recalls. You will see BRP reponse to myself above. I did email my dealer at same time and got the reply below.
hi Darren i have checked your f3 there is not a recall left to do on your bike .It does not have a recall on the brake line .
thank you
Russell c/o 158 performance

Emails were sent yesterday and replies received today.:yes:
On USA BRP website it's great that you can check for any campaigns/recalls by in putting your VIN number, it's just unfortunate it doesn't work for European spyders and there is no facility to check on BRP European website.