Lane drift????

[Amanda B]

Okay, so I rode to work today and back home tonight. Three times the following occurred. I was going straight in the lane and the spyder just starts going towards the left lane. I am certain I was not turning the handle bars at all, it definitely woke me up, but I was able to easily get it to go straight by turning the handle bars. It wasn't too bad, but it didn't feel wonderful either and since it has happened I am worried it will happen again but at higher speeds (each time it did happen I was going rather slow, so that was good). I'm wondering if this will get worse and if this is the DPS problem people are talking about. It wasn't a good thing, but it also wasn't as frightening as what I've read so :dontknow:.

 

[RoadHammer]

get it checked, your bombi mechanic should be able to tell if theres something wrong with the DPS or something else after they do some magic diagnosis with the buds.

 

[tweeder]

MAke sure you report it to the NHTSA.nojoke

 

[RoadHammer]

ya one more thing... get it checked because your bike is too nice to get smashed up..... but of course your safety comes first

 

[Amanda B]

I'll call my dealership...

I'll call my dealership but they are rather useless. I know more about the spyder than they do (not saying much there). I knew more about it when I went to buy it, I have absolutely no confidence in their ability to do anything for me. I'll be told to bring it in and they will get to it in a couple of weeks.

 

[NancysToy]

Could be DPS, but could also be worn or loose suspension components, or loose wheel bearings. You need to inspect that possibility first, or have a dealer do it. It could also be a steering angle sensor miscalibration, which requires connecting to BUDS to verify and correct. There are other possibilities, but these would be most likely.

 

[speedster200]

MAke sure you report it to the NHTSA.nojoke

Are you serious! The unit hasn't even been to the dealer yet!
The unit needs to be hooked up to BUDS and the handlebars need to be centered. Then torque angle sensor needs to be reset. THIS is the starting point not the NHTSA.

After its repaired drive it like you stole it.:2thumbs:

 

[Tom in NM]

Yeah, lots to check.

But, if you can, re-drive the stretch you felt it on - could it have been the road? Some road humps that I go over give a "drifting" feeling. If it does it again on that same stretch of road, but not on others . . . that may be the answer.

Also, since you have been replacing and doing a bunch of stuff to your wheels, did you have them balanced? Could this be some sort of Toe-In? ( and of course, check the tire pressure while you are at it too )

My steering issue was the "stick" kind, not a drifting sensation. But, when it was being fixed, it did feel different after each update and when the DPS was replaced. I know this won't make perfect sense, but it steered fine before, but after all the fixes it was somehow different. I seem to remember you also just had an update done - if so, maybe your steering is now "adjusted".

I don't know if it was me being sensitive or if the steering was "upgraded". But, I have noticed I am now riding with a much lighter touch on the handle bars. If I slip back into my old hard grip habits, the Spyder will "wander" in my lane. But, I can tell that it is me steering, not some mechanical event.

One other thing it might be - - - maybe now we know where that cotter pin you found on the garage floor goes!

Tom

(oh, could you do me a favor and email me your old avatar, the water dog? My neighbor has a bull dog that looks just like that picture and I was telling them about it and they would like to see it. Thanks)

 

[tweeder]

Thats how problems are tabulated, by reporting them. If no problems are reported but are fixed.... does that mean that there wasn't an incident in the first place?

Are you serious! The unit hasn't even been to the dealer yet!
The unit needs to be hooked up to BUDS and the handlebars need to be centered. Then torque angle sensor needs to be reset. THIS is the starting point not the NHTSA.

After its repaired drive it like you stole it.:2thumbs:

 

[Amanda B]

But, if you can, re-drive the stretch you felt it on - could it have been the road? Some road humps that I go over give a "drifting" feeling. If it does it again on that same stretch of road, but not on others . . . that may be the answer.

Also, since you have been replacing and doing a bunch of stuff to your wheels, did you have them balanced? Could this be some sort of Toe-In? ( and of course, check the tire pressure while you are at it too )

My steering issue was the "stick" kind, not a drifting sensation. But, when it was being fixed, it did feel different after each update and when the DPS was replaced. I know this won't make perfect sense, but it steered fine before, but after all the fixes it was somehow different. I seem to remember you also just had an update done - if so, maybe your steering is now "adjusted".

I don't know if it was me being sensitive or if the steering was "upgraded". But, I have noticed I am now riding with a much lighter touch on the handle bars. If I slip back into my old hard grip habits, the Spyder will "wander" in my lane. But, I can tell that it is me steering, not some mechanical event.

One other thing it might be - - - maybe now we know where that cotter pin you found on the garage floor goes!

Tom

(oh, could you do me a favor and email me your old avatar, the water dog? My neighbor has a bull dog that looks just like that picture and I was telling them about it and they would like to see it. Thanks)

I was wondering if it were me, because the steering does seem more sensitive than last year and I was a little worried because the roads I was riding on are known to have tons of deers around. I have ride on in the tires, so I thought that would cover the balancing issue :dontknow: I actually thought, well maybe it was me, and tried to recreate the whole thing several times on one of the country roads, but it wasn't the same it was me steering and the other times it wasn't. I will check the tire pressure and ride it again today to see if it happens again. If it does then it looks like I probably won't be riding again for quite some time.

 

[WizardMaster]

But, if you can, re-drive the stretch you felt it on - could it have been the road? Some road humps that I go over give a "drifting" feeling. If it does it again on that same stretch of road, but not on others . . . that may be the answer.

Kind of what I was thinking but it couldn't have been that obvious:yikes:.

 

[bone crusher]

I was wondering if it were me, because the steering does seem more sensitive than last year and I was a little worried because the roads I was riding on are known to have tons of deers around. I have ride on in the tires, so I thought that would cover the balancing issue :dontknow: I actually thought, well maybe it was me, and tried to recreate the whole thing several times on one of the country roads, but it wasn't the same it was me steering and the other times it wasn't. I will check the tire pressure and ride it again today to see if it happens again. If it does then it looks like I probably won't be riding again for quite some time.

You recently performed a ton of mods to your bike....anything that could affect this? It doesn't sound like the classical steering 'lock' with the DPS...in the old days, we'd call this an alignment problem...also, with crowned roads, the bike will drift and you will feel it...could it be something else?

 

[Amanda B]

You recently performed a ton of mods to your bike....anything that could affect this? It doesn't sound like the classical steering 'lock' with the DPS...in the old days, we'd call this an alignment problem...also, with crowned roads, the bike will drift and you will feel it...could it be something else?

I put lots of lights on and cosmetic stuff mostly. The only thing I can think of regarding the mods that would affect this is changing the wheels out and ride-on in the tires. It may have been the roads :dontknow: it was dark and it was occurring in areas where I was watching the traffic more. I went to a meeting somewhere I'd never been before, so I am not sure what the roads are really like. I will ride the spyder today and see if it happens again.


I have to take the spyder in soon for the 3000 mile service anyway, so I'll have them check everything out.

 

[speedster200]

Thats how problems are tabulated, by reporting them. If no problems are reported but are fixed.... does that mean that there wasn't an incident in the first place?

Every machine known to man will have incedents. The government would be overrun with calls if every incedent was reported to them.
That is why there is warranty, it takes care of incedents. Don't get me wrong serious issues need to be reported. The steering lock issue is serious. It would also be another thing if BRP was just blowing people off.
They are working their ass off to correct the problem. They are in this for the long haul. NO I'm not a BRP employee.

 

[moroccomole2004]

I concur! Work the problem before crying wolf...

Are you serious! The unit hasn't even been to the dealer yet! The unit needs to be hooked up to BUDS and the handlebars need to be centered. Then torque angle sensor needs to be reset. THIS is the starting point not the NHTSA.

Thank you for the common sense check spyderdylr! OMG... Nothing like crying wolf before looking into the problem.

Mole :spyder2:

 

[Way2Fast]

What happened to you sounds very similiar to what I have experienced on two occasions. The difference being my Spyder pulled to the left quickly and with enough force to make it actually change lanes and go into opposing traffic before I could regain control. I don't believe that the unintended pull to the left has anything to do with the locked steering that others have experienced. I think it is a more dangerous and potentially fatal flaw in the Spyders stability control system that caused one of the front brakes to activate without reason. In our case it was the left front brake. On mine the brake applied hard and on yours it was just an intermittent drag.

Since then I lost all trust in my Spyder. My wife refused to ride on it with me.
Our safety was more important than any joys riding the Spyder had given forcing me to sell it at a big loss. I still hope that perhaps some other manufacturer will come out with a similiar vehicle that will be more trustworthy.

Regardless of what some have said....REPORT the incident to the NHTSA. That was BRP can not deny that a problem exists.

 

[Firefly]

Some (mostly) good advice here .. and I would get things checked especially with your new wheels, etc...... but......

Are you sure you're not griping the bars too tight? If you do this and there is much wind--- the wind moves you and thus your hands move the bars.... and so on. Many people just need to relax their grip.

This just doesn't sound like the typical DPS problem other have had.

 

[jgwoods]

My car wanders on the road, following grooves, wind effects, rubber bushings and small amounts of play in ball joints etc. make it always so, and I correct for it as I drive knowing it is normal.
Spyders with their direct steering which takes very little input to move are subject to all the same stuff as my car with two wheels in different spots on the road following the crown, and grooves, and having ball joints and rubber bits in the suspension. It's going to wander, and at times it may fell stiff, but 99% of the time it is just normal behavior.
I haven't counted the number of times mine wants to drift left vs right. I think it happens more to the left, but whatever it is it isn't enough to make me think twice about DPS danger despite all of the hulabaloo here on the internet.

 

[j45p3r]

Mine wanders a bit but I've always blamed in on our horribly crowned roads up here.

 

[krb1945]

uneven...

road surfaces will cause vehicles to drift. All my spyders drift on the the uneven lane surfaces. We have log trucks making ruts in the blacktops around here which keeps you on your toes. /Ken