Thanks for the quick reply. One of the other responders kind of implied that some of the electronics can be troublesome. Is that a common issue with these older Spyders?
Quite a few of us would argue that
this bit ^ is
more of a problem
with the newer models! 
More electronics, more digital dash, more non-analogue devices and displays, more to go wrong - and it seems to!!
Only the
real issue is that
ALL Spyders, regardless of their year/model/motor are 'electronics & computers' heavy, and they are particularly power hungry as a result, so any shortfall in power means your electronics and computers can start playing up; plus, BRP has done a lot of proprietary stuff that requires their proprietary diagnostics system, BRP Universal Diagnostics System, more commonly called BUDS, or 'bloody BUDS', which is a 'software AND connectors' package available in 3 generations now - BUDS, BUDS2, & BUDS3 - I'm sure someone can correct my forgettory on the 'up to' dates here, but BUDS covers everything up to about 2017/18; BUDS2 up to 2021/22ish; and BUDS3 from there on.
So without BUDS in some form or another, just about anything with electronics &/or computers involved SEEMS difficult and draws a lot of comment/concern - but it's not really... not all that common, and often not all that much of an issue!! Many of the so called failures with inexplicable codes and warnings all sheet back to the significant power demands of our Spyders, and pretty much the moment your battery starts to get tired, you can start getting codes and warnings, failures, Limp Home Modes, inexplicable problems or lurches in the steering or brakes, and it all comes back to a lack of sufficient power!!
Which means that just about EVERY time anything (apparently) goes wrong with any Spyder, you should check ALL the battery & ground connections (the pre-2013 Spyders have their batteries under the seat with a dodgy, easy to strip out, frame mount ground under there too - from 2013 on, everything is in/behind the frunk) and then load test the battery, making sure that your battery will continue to supply
AT LEAST something very near to 12 volts under starting loads! The 'old school' 10.7 volts is an acceptable result IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR A SPYDER, so any old school load testers/techs that/who simply say 'Yeah, your battery load tests results are OK' are not good enough!! You
NEED to know you've got
at least about 12 volts in the battery under starting load, &/or you need to confirm the charging system is up to the task (and they are generally very capable & reliable, with few issues reported here over the years; sure, there are reports of some odd noises, which might become issues down track, but there've been very few failures in either the V-Twin magneto style or the 1330 alternator style charging systems reported). And if your charging system is up to speed, your battery needs to be of
AT LEAST 350 CCA 21 A/hr capacity, despite many of the 2020+ Spyders being fitted with barely acceptable 300ish CCA batteries from the factory and with only a 6 month warranty, so when they fail (note, that's purposefully a '
WHEN', not an '
if', cos they
WILL fail, usually just after the warranty expiry date) make sure you get a replacement with those 'at least' ratings mentioned above, and MAKE SURE that the replacement battery is properly initialised and charged for at least 8 hours on a proper 'charger', not just a tender, before installing it - and beware, any 'off the shelf' battery that's installed on the spot has probably NOT had all that done, even if it's one from your local battery specialist - you need to KNOW it's all been done properly, or your 'new battery' will fail sooner than it should, and as we've seen here often, even brand new batteries can fail to meet the significant power demands a Spyder will put on them!
All that aside, as others have said, Spyders are generally pretty reliable and long lasting pieces of kit with some truly great engineering involved, only also with a few (relatively minor) failures in the execution of said great engineering, as well as dodgy OEM (car) tires, and I'd suggest a growing number of bean counter driven 'cost cutting' exercises (see above re the 2020+ batteries!) that've resulted in generally
more issues and
less reliability from the newer models (2018 & on, then even more so 2020 & on) than from the older models. But while the earlier models are clearly the pick of the bunch (ie, a 2013 with all the brake & suspension upgrades that the 2014's got, while keeping the more exciting to ride V-Twin motor - see my sig line!
) Spyders in any form are
ALL a whole more fun than most cages; well ridden, they'll out-brake just about anything and they can handle the twisties and short straights a whole better'n any 4 wheeler and just about any 2 wheeler as well; and they're a whole 'nuther realm of enjoyment for everyone so inclined!!
