2021 RTL stuck in 1st gear - any help or suggestions would be welcome!?

[PeterKelly]

Enjoying a ride today and when I pulled off from a light the bike refused to upshift from 1st to 2nd. It's completely stuck and won't downshift from 1st to Neutral. No error code showing. Tried restarting and then waiting 10 mins and restarting but no go. Limped home in first gear keeping the revs down to less than 3K. Bike got warm, but still no error codes. Bike has 7200 miles on the ODO and has been regularly serviced.

I am 95 miles from the nearest dealer so a recovery vehicle won't be cheap. I am also leaving the desert and returning to Canada on Saturday with a plan to return and ride the bike back to Canada in June, so this comes at a really bad time...

I have read another thread on the subject, but it didn't really shine much light on the fix.

Any help or suggestions would be welcome.

 

[Mikey]

Get down and look up and see if you can see any action going on around the shifting shaft on the left side of the bike! Sometimes that splined collar gets stripped out if it hasn't been tightened enough. See if your actuator is doing anything. If it's not that, then maybe it's a blown fuse; a bad connection on a plug; or a bad switch on your handlebar. I would start at the shift shaft and work my way up!

 

[Peter Aawen]

Just help me clarify this a bit in my own mind @PeterKelly... If you are able to shut down the Spyder engine, leave it for a bit, and then successfully re-start the engine (with your foot firmly on the brake pedal), then surely, no matter what the dash says, your gearbox hasta be in Neutral.

I say this, cos unless BRP has changed the way things work on the 2020+ Spyders, that's the way these SE Semi-Auto Transmissions work. Even if you stop the Spyder while it's still in gear (which is not the greatest idea, cos it can confuse the dash/computers and the next time you start up, the dash can still be left showing that you're still in gear when you really aren't! ) Effectively, one of the very first things the computer controlled gear selector does upon starting the engine is to ensure the Transmission is in Neutral - so if your engine has been stopped, and you've started it up again without careering off down the road, chances are that you're not actually still in gear, even if the dash does still show a gear number instead of 'N'; and your Spyder shouldn't move without you actually selecting 1st gear. Plus, regardless of it being in gear or not when you stop, if you don't set the Park Brake on shutting the engine down (the Warning beeper will only beeping beep for 30 seconds or so... ) once the engine is stopped and there's nothing providing oil pressure to the oil pressure operated Hydraulic Clutch (SE6's) or spinning the Centrifugal Clutch (SE5's) so your Spyder should roll freely, albeit with a bit of effort, cos these Spyders are heavy things, simply because the clutch isn't connecting the engine to the drive wheel.

So, can you confirm that your Spyder actually IS shutting down and starting up again fine without trying to immediately move upon you spinning the starter?? If that's the case, then it's not actually 'Stuck in gear', and whatever you're doing after starting the engine that gets it moving IS actually selecting a gear. So in that case, the switch and the gear selector mechanism (at least between 1st & N) would seem to be working, altho possibly only between 1st & N, and vice versa. But if your Spyder does try to start moving immediately the engine starts, then you've likely got a bigger problem...

Confirming any of that might not help you much right now, but it should help narrow down the potential problems for diagnosis a little, cos if the LH flappy paddle Switch is letting you select 1st in order for you to start your Spyder moving, and only then are you not able to change up/into N any more, it shouldn't be the Switch itself that's the fault... those LH Control Modules that are the entire LH Handgrip assembly are expensive and apparently in short supply!

 

[kvilian223]

Try rocking the bike back and forth while gently applying pressure to the shift lever. Do this with the clutch pulled in. Sometimes the gears get slightly jammed or sticky, and this can help release it without needing a teardown

 

[PeterKelly]

Thanks for the responses.

The bike shuts down normally and restarts normally - by that, I mean turning on the Parking brake and switching off; and starting by pressing the Mode button, releasing the Parking brake, and pressing start with a foot firmly on the brake pedal.

When the bike restarts, but the gear indicator is showing 1st, the bike doesn’t lurch forward, but it will move with a twist of the throttle. The bike will not upshift from 1st to 2nd or downshift from 1st to Neutral. I have tried rocking back whilst attempting to shift but no go - it stays stuck in 1st gear. There is a faint clicking sound when attempting the shift but nothing else.

Not sure if this helps clarify the issue but it’s the best way I can describe it.

 

[Mikey]

I would check down below to see what's going on when you hit that shifter! That clicking noise is ether a relay or your actuator trying to do something, would be my bet.

 

[PeterKelly]

The problem is certainly something I can’t fix so I have ordered a flat bed for Wednesday morning. I have a gut feeling that this is going to be an expensive experience.

 

[troop]

Do you not have the BRP B.E.S.T. warranty?

 

[PeterKelly]

Do you not have the BRP B.E.S.T. warranty?

Nope.

For almost twenty years, I kept a spreadsheet on what extended warranties would have cost on my wife’s and my cars as well as the motorcycles I owned during the period, versus the not covered repairs I paid for. If I recall correctly, I am ahead of the game by $30K or more, so I shouldn’t complain too much about funding this repair.

 

[Spyter]

I don’t know if you have this resolved yet, but I had the same issue on my 2011 RT. It would start and drive, but not shift out of first gear. It was the battery.