Spyder on FIRE

[wilmac]

Fuel fitting

When I had my 6000 mile service done there was a delay in pickup of about 10 days for parts. The dealer found a cracked fuel fitting and ordered another and replaced it. Not sure whether it was there before service or done while service was being done but I did not notice any gas smell. The dealer said it was not safe to drive so the kept it til the parts came in.

 

[pphantom538]

Seems like everybody was calm, until you blew a gasket. Nobody called for Spyders to be removed from the road, sales to be stopped, calling 60 Minutes, or a congressional investigation. Nobody mentioned anything like that...except you. What we said was serious incidents of this nature should be reported to the NHTSA. They do not respond in a knee jerk fashion, but if the reports are of a serious nature, or there are numerous reports, they will contact the manufacturer and investigate the problems in a proper manner. Also, it is difficult to see how a rider could "be 100% responsible" for something that happened inside the bodywork panels, I might add. Throw your rocks somewhere else. I don't know if you have ever experienced a fire on a motorcycle, but I have. Scary experience, with fire beneath the gas tank...that is sitting between your legs. Even if you were off the machine, as this rider fortunately was, the thought is certainly disturbing. I will give you the fact that two spontaneous combustion incidents do not add up to "chronic", but people have a right to experess their concern, and I think it was expressed very appropriatly here today.
-Scotty

:agree:

 

[Roaddog2]

Ouch! Second fire story. That is disturbing! At least you saved this one so the cause might be able to be determined. Please keep us informed. You should probably report this incident to the NHTSA, too.
-Scotty

:agree:glad everyone is ok

 

[Dragonrider]

My other bike is a BMW K1200LT - in 2005, the wise engineering wizard, located in his castle in Bavaria, thought it wise to add "quick connectors" to the fuel lines, to ease maintenence issued. But lo, the purchasing and finance gnomes got together and required the parts to be plastic - saving money.

Needless to say, after 20K miles of regular use, and heat cycles, the fittings would occasionally fail. If you were lucky, you would smell gas, if not - inferno redux. Now, most LT owners have the "quick connectors" removed at the first service.

The moral is - it is necessary to find the cause, and BRP probably will never tell - a better shot is to buy the mechanic a six-pack.

Glad everyone was OK tho...

 

[WaltH]

Please, Please, Please make sure and report this to :

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/

The other Spyder fire was not reported as far as I know - the owner never file the reports or got the answers - they just took his Spyder away and wrote a check.

It took about 14 reports on the steering issue filed by many of us in order to a recall and a fix. This fire issue is a major concern.

Something is wrong here folks - and we don't need another Pinto on our hands!

The other Spyder fire was reported to the NHTSA and duly acknowledged. You must have missed my final post on the fire.

 

[Magic Man]

I'm a big fan of "insurance is legalized mafia scamming" and therefore obtain the bare minimum mandated by the mafia/congress. Therefore, if spyders spontaneously combust, my bare coverage won't cover and I will be a most unhappy camper if my title ends up being for a heap of ashes. One more spontaneous combustion and I will have to put my spder up for adoption! I sure hope they can identify the issue before mine burns up or gets adopted out. Thanks for the updates my spyder family!

Scott
:helpsmilie::bowdown:

So, with 10,000 Spyder's in the US and .0002 having ever had fires for unknown reasons, you're gonna sell your Spyder for a .0002 chance?

Nothing has been found to show it is the Spyders fault as nothing has been found out as the to cause of ether fire.

.0002 Wow, I guess the sky might be falling?

MM

 

[spyder1969]

you're right

I had a spontaneous reaction to spontaneous combustion! I'm gonna go down in flames with my spyder if that's what it takes. opcorn:

 

[ataDude]

...I guess the sky might be falling?...

For you, Evan:

 

[Trickie Dick]

Wonder how many cars caught fire that day? :dontknow:

 

[bone crusher]

I love how everyone over-reacts to things...

It's obvious that all of us want a safe, fun vehicle to 'ryde' around on...no question there...

But, so many times we're ready to throw out the baby with the bath water and this is not usually necessary.

There are sooooo many factors that could cause a fire...as I pointed out...what if something was draped over the bike, it hit the exhaust, and it melted/caught fire...that's not the bike's fault...

Until I see verifiable accounts of multiple, repeatable cases of Spyder fires, I'm not going to worry about it...it's easy to stir things up...more likely there isn't a problem.

:shocked:

 

[Smylinacha]

I'm a big fan of "insurance is legalized mafia scamming" and therefore obtain the bare minimum mandated by the mafia/congress. Therefore, if spyders spontaneously combust, my bare coverage won't cover and I will be a most unhappy camper if my title ends up being for a heap of ashes. One more spontaneous combustion and I will have to put my spder up for adoption! I sure hope they can identify the issue before mine burns up or gets adopted out. Thanks for the updates my spyder family!

Scott
:helpsmilie::bowdown:

Mafia = Congress? Nope, Mafia is WAY BETTER!:2thumbs::2thumbs::2thumbs:

 

[Firefly]

The other Spyder fire was reported to the NHTSA and duly acknowledged. You must have missed my final post on the fire.

Sorry, I must have missed that - THANKS for making the report.


How many steering complaints did it take to get an official recall from the NHTSA?? 14 total. One bad crash that we know of in CA, one possible death from the steering issue - but no concrete evidence that I'm aware of.

Using the same math as posted by Magic Man - this would be .0014 Spyders that had offical NHTSA filings about steering failure.

Pretty obvious to me that even a small % is very important when you're talking about something that can cause death. The NHTSA paid attention to the .0014 and did something about it.

While I don't think over-reaction is needed - deep down something tells me there IS an engineering problem on the Spyder that is causing this.

How many have the 'gas smell' ??? Plenty of us do. This would not be the first time BRP fire-related problems with a product. They have had previous recalls to fix possible fires before.

I think everyone should keep a closer eye on their Spyder after parking it - maybe let her cool down in the driveway before parking it in the garage?

Strange that while 2 may seem mere coincidence - if a 3rd one happens that will seem like a 'smoking gun' - pardon the pun.

 

[Neez]

I keep thinking about the gasoline or oil oders that some people are reporting. While underway, there is probably enough draft to dissipate them, but when coming to a stop they might be trapped under all that Tupperware. And there is a hot exhaust system nearby. Until the cause of these fires is figured out, my plan is to: 1-Never overfill my gas tank, 2- monitor the airbox for oil leaks ( perhaps do Lamonster's vent mod), 3-park my Spyder in the driveway until it cools, before moving it into the garage.

 

[timstorm]

A third.

I don't have any specific information, but there was at least one other spyder that burned to the ground recently.

I had seen a reference to it on craigslist (the post is now expired) - it was at rock cut state park in northern Illinois.

I asked the dealer that sold it about it last week when I was buying my 09 spyder - the owner of the dealership stated that BRP had sent an investigator who went over the charred remains for a couple hours and could find no cause.

So there you have it. My first post here. (and a disturbing one at that)

 

[Twodog185]

Might I suggest:

Nomex racing suits.

http://www.saferacer.com/auto-racing-suits/nomex/?cat=53&tagarray=27

 

[Big Arm]

welcome timstorm
good post, :thumbup: keep them coming

 

[Firefly]

I'm betting on some problem with the evap system.

 

[Motza]

WHERE'S THE BEEF!

Let's see a photo of your bike...:clap:

 

[Smylinacha]

I don't have any specific information, but there was at least one other spyder that burned to the ground recently.

I had seen a reference to it on craigslist (the post is now expired) - it was at rock cut state park in northern Illinois.

I asked the dealer that sold it about it last week when I was buying my 09 spyder - the owner of the dealership stated that BRP had sent an investigator who went over the charred remains for a couple hours and could find no cause.

So there you have it. My first post here. (and a disturbing one at that)

welcome..... I think?

 

[ataDude]

I don't have any specific information, but there was at least one other spyder that burned to the ground recently.

I had seen a reference to it on craigslist (the post is now expired) - it was at rock cut state park in northern Illinois.

I asked the dealer that sold it about it last week when I was buying my 09 spyder - the owner of the dealership stated that BRP had sent an investigator who went over the charred remains for a couple hours and could find no cause.

So there you have it. My first post here. (and a disturbing one at that)

welcome