2011 RT LTD stalling, DPS, Limp Home, Miss Fire, ECT,Ect,Ect.........WTF!!!!!!

[S-Wood Newbie]

Here is my :cus::cus::cus::cus:Experence, and the attached message went to BRP Vice President North America, Yves Leduc.

To whom it may concern,
My name is John Berghofer, I purchased a 2011 Can Am Spyder RT LTD from Jim Potts Motor Group 1033 Wanda Lane, Woodstock, IL 60098 on July 17, 2011.

I have been looking at buying a Honda Goldwing Trike for 10 plus years now. When Can Am came out with the Spyder, I was intrigued but reluctant to sign on for a new concept bike, especially since this would be my first motorcycle. I waited and watched the Spyder grow and improve over the years. I was happy to see the Spyder make a touring bike, since that was the way I wanted to go to in the first place.

So here I am in May 2011 contemplating purchasing a Honda Goldwing Trike or a Spyder RT LTD. It took me months to decide what I was going to do. I had two friends go to Wing Ding down in Deals Gap this year, and they told me that there was a 6-hour wait to take the Spyder out for a test ride. With that knowledge, I figured if there was that amount of interest at a Honda sponsored event, Can Am must be on to something. Therefore, I took the leap, went out, and purchased a new 2011 RT LTD with 2 miles on it when the contract was signed on July 17, 2011.

After all of the paperwork was completed, six friends and I took my new Spyder out for her maiden voyage. Unfortunately, I did not realize how short my euphoria would be.

15 miles down the road as we pulled up to the restaurant we were having lunch at, the bike stalls out, so here I am sitting on a brand new Can Am, surrounded by Honda’s and Harley’s and I have a stalled Spyder. Of course, I can take the jokes about the newbie on his bike with training wheels, and even not knowing how to shift like a man, but the Spyders' reputation took a hard hit when it came to her performance with long term Honda and Harley owners around. We finished our lunch and headed back out for a day of riding. By the end of the first day, I put on a meager 150 miles, and lost count of how many times she stalled after 10+ times and almost getting rear ended almost every time.

I emailed Jim Potts, the Owner of the Dealership that I purchased her through when I got home that evening, and notified him of the situation. I had to take my brand new Spyder back to the shop with 180 miles on her on 07/23/2011; Jim had his Mechanic “Gator” on the job right away. It turned out that Gator had to reflash the computer and redo other settings that were not correct from the factory, and sent me on my way.

I then set off for a 268-mile trip to break her in and get to the 600-mile service. For the first 20 miles, she was running better than before and the comfort level was better also. However, as for her first time out, that was short lived. I noticed that she started running rough and it was not only noticeable in the throttle, but you could feel and hear the bike misfiring. I started to notice she was thirstier than normal and my second half of my gas tank was evaporating. She stalled once when I was at the overlook on RT 20 just outside Galena .She stalled again in downtown Galena when I was sitting at a stop sign. Then on the way home, she got really rough

About 50 miles later, I had a few lights go on and went into limp home mode. I believe it said check DPS (it was orange and looked like my steering control. The light that looks like a Spyder with squiggles above the 3000 rpm was on along with the blinking engine light. I limped it a few miles back into Sycamore, I stopped and shut her down for 5 min and restarted. No lights no warnings. I gassed her up and drove her home. Jim Potts sent a trailer for her to bring her back to the shop for a third time in two weeks.

With today’s technology, I would expect that Can Am could trace my VIN number and find out every person who had a hand in assembling this Spyder RT LTD. Because I would like answers, as to how this Spyder RT LTD passed Can Am’s quality controls with this many issues right out of the crate. I did not purchase a brand new $30,000.00 Spyder RT LTD, so it can rack up more shop time than road time.

I do not hold the Dealership accountable for this Spyder RT LTD being substandard; the Dealership is doing everything it can to get my Spyder RT LTD back to me in proper working condition, as it should have been from the beginning.

BRP is trying to gain market share in the touring motorcycle category; and I am a rolling billboard for BRP and Can Am. This is not the way you start a favorable relationship with your customers who advertise your product every time they ride. In addition, 13 days after I purchased my Spyder, I have yet to get any of my paperwork on it. Is it too much to ask of a Corporation, when someone drops $30,000.00 for your product, to next day or even two day out the paperwork to the new owner?

I would like to know what BRP is going to do to compensate me for all the inconvenience and time wasted that I could have been on the road enjoying my Spyder RT LTD. Due to the malfunctions I could have been numerous accidents because of poor quality controls on Can Am’s part.

Carlo called me and left a messsage on 08/01/11, but we have been playing phone tag.

I am going to request that Can Am replace my bike with a Brand New Factoy line Bike. I have lost all security in riding this Motorcycle! On your first time out, you should not have cars, trucks and Semi's inches from your rear tire, because of faulty equipment!!!!!! As per Illinois Law, they only have one more time in the shop and then it is a LEMON! Then I will be contacting the Illinois States Attorney, and then I will have a new bike with 1 mile on it again. So lets keep our fingers crossed Spyder Owners!!!!!

 

[ThreeWheels]

I understand your frustration.
This may sound silly, but have them check the battery terminals and make sure they are tight.
I found out that my battery terminals were a little loose, and after they were tightened, a whole series of minor inconveniences went away including running rough occasionally, and the dreaded in/out DPS.

 

[marvin24]

I wanted to purchase one of these bikes, I've been watching these forums and it's unbelievable the problems people are having with these $27,000.00 + bikes. I have a yamaha royal star venture and I'm not worried about taken a trip at any time. I am getting older so I was looking at the spyder because it would be easier to ride. Until the quality of these units improve I cannot see buying one. Wish you all the luck in the world.

 

[Dragonrider]

My friend of 40 years and I both have RTs - he has a SM, and I have an SE. He lives in Boise, and I live in Portland. Jim and I just came back from SITR (1000++ HARD miles) with nary a hiccup. Both bikes were flawless, and averaged 31 mpg. It was a really fun trip.

While our BMW K12s will give us 50+ mpg, the stability and comfort of the Spyders were beyond compare. We ran some really difficult roads, that I wouldn't consider running a standard trike down - especially at the speeds and technical effort required.

If you live in the flatlands, and like freeway (turnpike for flatlanders) riding, godspeed to your other three wheel choices.

 

[Questions]

I wanted to purchase one of these bikes, I've been watching these forums and it's unbelievable the problems people are having with these $27,000.00 + bikes. I have a yamaha royal star venture and I'm not worried about taken a trip at any time. I am getting older so I was looking at the spyder because it would be easier to ride. Until the quality of these units improve I cannot see buying one. Wish you all the luck in the world.

I've been watching this forum for a year and a half. The RT is intriguing, but the "take it back to the dealer", "check your fuses & relays every 500 miles", etc, etc just keeps me reading - nothing more. Like Marvin24 I don't worry about going on trips thousands of miles on my Goldwing; which has never been to the dealer, but I would be concerned to go very far on the Spyder.

Wish you guys all the best and maybe someday things will get better.

 

[billythekidd]

Well, I never have had the Yamaha, but several Goldwings and there were the "early" problems with a stator, there were the later problems with the cracked (my o1 and my 04 were out for the count for a week or better during the reweld campaign) frame and so on. The Wing is a great machine with a 30 plus year record, not a flawless record but a very good one. I now have a 2011 RTS and since May have been on several long trips (9k not as much as some but more than others) with out a single mechanical problem (the cb is another story). I am certainly not trying to take away from those who have had problems, but there are a ton of folks who have not and while I mean no offense, to write about a machine one has never owned just doesn't hold water. I will be the first to admit that after reading all the stuff here for over a year before I bought I was somewhat knowledgeable about problems more so than I was about non problems. If I remember correctly, there are some posts over on the GL 1800 riders board about lemon laws as well.

I am sorry some have not had the great experience I have had, but from my experience with this thing so far I do not see a 2 wheeler in my future.

Willy

 

[ARtraveler]

Another "ouch" posting.

:welcome: to the forum. You may find that you will get better results with sugar, instead of dynamite, in having your issues solved.

Spyders can be quirky until they are set up right. It is good to see your dealer has went out of the way to assist you. There may be set up issues that are causing the problems. Loose battery connections and fuses--really do solve a lot of the problems you are mentioning.

I have owned 3 :spyder2:'s. I had the 2nd 2008 to hit Alaska. 22,000 miles and no mechanical issues at all. The second owner loves it and it's still running strong.

Also had one of the first 2009 SE5's in Alaska. That one has over 20,000 miles. Computer crashed at 1500 miles--but was quickly replaced. No further problems with it. Still running strong.

Bought a Premier Edition 2010 RT-S when they came out. I have 18,000 miles on that one and have had a couple small issues--that were quickly addressed.

We have accumulated over 60,000 miles on Spyders, and I am happy enough so I did not see a need to purchase a 2011, or even a new 2012.

 

[ntxYguy2009]

:welcome:

I am sorry to hear about the issues with your Spyder. What was the mileage on the Spyder when you drove off from the dealership. The reason I ask is that the bike was in a shipping crate, you stated that it had two miles on it. I would think that there should be more mileage on the bike. I would expect the bike to be uncrated, assembled and then test driven. I understand that most dealers don't do this because customers don't like seeing mileage. They think someone else drove "their" bike. I would expect at least 10 miles driven by a technician to confirm everything is working. Things work loose during shipping that could only be revealed during a "shake-down" ride.

Some may not agree with this idea. I am just saying that maybe we should learn from individuals like BigRed1 that purchased his bike waited for the accessories to come in, have them installed, and then have the bike road tested before he picked it up. I don't recall him saying that he had any quality issues (except maybe some CB communication issues that were not tested until later).

No disrespect to you or your dealer. Just an observation from the information you provided.

FYI - I am on my second Spyder (first one still in service with a new owner) and I have a Honda ST1300. The ST1300 rear brake locked up on me about 75 miles from home. I had it towed to the dealer. I also just received a safety recall notice.

Bad things happen and I hope you get your Spyder repaired to your satisfaction or find a alternative solution that works out for you.

Best wishes,

David

 

[fastfraser]

:welcome:

I am sorry to hear about the issues with your Spyder. What was the mileage on the Spyder when you drove off from the dealership. The reason I ask is that the bike was in a shipping crate, you stated that it had two miles on it. I would think that there should be more mileage on the bike. I would expect the bike to be uncrated, assembled and then test driven. I understand that most dealers don't do this because customers don't like seeing mileage. They think someone else drove "their" bike. I would expect at least 10 miles driven by a technician to confirm everything is working. Things work loose during shipping that could only be revealed during a "shake-down" ride.

I think that BRP doesn't pay the dealership to test ride the Spyder anymore and unless you request the dealer to do a test ride before you pick the bike up its not going to happen.

You are quick to blame BRP but there is a lot of dealer prep to the Spyder and a lot of times things get over looked or done to quickly ( loose battery cables )

I do agree with you some what that for 30 Gs I shouldn't have to tighten battery cables or return to the dealer a few miles down the road.

I hope things get worked out and you enjoy your Spyder again soon.

 

[jgwoods]

You have one thing going for you- the stronger the lemon laws are in your state the more effort will go into getting yours fixed right and quickly. That is not to say the techs at the dealers are anything less than totally committed to getting it right in every state, but when push comes to shove and BRP is looking at a buy back they will make sure parts are available while others wait, and make sure any technical assistance needed goes to the dealer with the Can Am in question.

Just make sure they write a legally correct repair order and you sign it. Here in MA my dealer dropped everything to fix my RT on the second day of ownership, robbed parts from one in the showroom to get me on my way and basically said "forget about it" - no paperwork, no nothing. I made them write an RO so I have record of the failure. I thought their efforts were excellent, but it's business, and I have a lot of money tied up. If this one isn't going to be reliable then I want to keep my options open.

I must say that since the initial fix it has been truly excellent- the very best riding experience I ever had and I've been riding since '64.

Good luck. Once it gets fixed up and you get a few hundred miles of good riding on it you might even forget the bad start.

 

[bodymanpainter]

Sorry to read about all of your problems, I too had a 2010 RTS that I traded my Goldwing for
and sorry to say I had problem after problem with it and after 4 months and a total of 5 weeks
in the shop I bailed on it and the dealer said if I would buy a new 2 wheel bike from them they
would give me all my money back for the Spyder. I did just that and have missed my Goldwing
ever since then. But I keep watching this forum hoping to see the day when they (BRP) can
get the bugs out of these high dollar toys and maybe take the plunge once again. I think the
RTS is a great idea but they need to be very reliable and more economical to maintain as I spent
a small fortune to maintain the two Spyders that my wife and I owned at that time. We also
traded my wife's spyder because of to many problems. I am not knocking the Spyders in
any way just stating my experience with the two I had. :f_spider:

 

[niander99]

Me also....

I hate to add to the negative stories here, but here it goes:

I am new to the bike world and the Spyders have been intriguing me, especially when I seen the RT. I just purchased my 2011 RT-S SE yesterday. I got 1.8 miles from the dealer and the check engine light came on along with the gear number changing to the letter "E". Shortly after that I started to get a smell of gas. When I stopped the Spyder at home in my driveway the gas smell gets even stronger. I got 80 miles out of a full tank of gas with it running like. Of course the dealer has never heard of this before and is going to look into it.

Today I crossed 100 miles on the Spyder. To add to it, now the transmission is acting up with long pauses betweek gears (3 seconds) and I got a loud howling noise coming from the left side of the bikes once I hit 3000RPM.

Needless to say, I think BRP has some serious quality issues with these bikes. BUT, I did go into this purchase knowing this and I am really not getting myself worked up too much over it. I bought the extended 7 year warranty (not that I will keep it that long) and will just have to hope my dealer gets the issues resolved. It is a shame to drop 25K+ on these things for them to basically have issues from day 1, or within 5 mins in my situation.

Dan

 

[boborgera]

Of course the dealer has never heard of this before

Dan

BRP Dealer's School First lesson ;Always tell the customer ' Never heard this before, Or This one is supposed to make you feel better';
Your the only one with this problem.:gaah:

 

[jgwoods]

BRP Dealer's School First lesson ;Always tell the customer ' Never heard this before, Or This one is supposed to make you feel better';
Your the only one with this problem.:gaah:

Sadly true- I was a Volvo service manager back in the 80s and they had a problem with one of the new models that affected them when the weather turned cold. We had a parade of them coming in and Volvo had no fix available for two weeks- in a lemon law state. As each customer came to us and said their check engine light was on and did we have any idea what might be wrong we told'em gosh, that's a new one, I'll have to look into it....and gave them a free rental car. Frankly it was one of the things that got me out of the business. That kind of lying gets too easy and it spreads in your life.

If we had told them "oh yeah, we know it's something to do with cracking oxygen sensors and Volvo has no fix", they would have had a fit.


Then again the guys at the dealer I go to look at me and say "you still got that? I thought they all burned to the ground...." it's heartwarming.

 

[S-Wood Newbie]

Thank you for the input

After many changes :gaah:, Gator and Marty have got her running and riding like a completely different :spyder2:,:bowdown: :2thumbs:. But wait for it,opcorn:, wait, let me get my thinking cap:joke:,,I for-see a extended warranty purchase in the near future:yikes:!!! Now who saw that comingnojoke? So here is to all of us SpYder rYders, lets :cheers:and ray: for Sunny days, and safe gremlin free rides :clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

 

[ThreeWheels]

That's great news. Did you find out what was wrong, or what series of things were wrong to begin with that caused your problems ?

 

[S-Wood Newbie]

That's great news. Did you find out what was wrong, or what series of things were wrong to begin with that caused your problems ?

well I haven't gotten a copy of the R/O yet. I ordered a bunch of lights (for safety reasons) and the CB/Comms system, Scorp 900 transformer helmets with built in comms. Extra's are gonna be put on next week, and I figure I will get the laundry list then.

 

[daveinva]

For the record, you're unlikely to find any rider here who in time won't swear on buying the extended warranty-- if not for your peace of mind, then for the peace of mind of the next owner of the Spyder.

I'd say there's no excuse for this kind of trouble, but unfortunately, there is: it's new technology, new dealer networks, new tech training. Your Goldwing had 30 years worth of investment behind it; the Spyder has a few less years than that.

We are, for good or bad, early adopters. It's priced into the (very expensive) machines we bought. In an ideal world, we wouldn't be BRP test pilots, but when has the world ever been ideal?

Of course, none of that excuses BRP or their dealers from fixing the problems that DO show up, however.

Best of luck to you, and I hope your bike has turned a corner so YOU can turn more corners!

 

[Wardawg]

that' great!

After many changes :gaah:, Gator and Marty have got her running and riding like a completely different :spyder2:,:bowdown: :2thumbs:. But wait for it,opcorn:, wait, let me get my thinking cap:joke:,,I for-see a extended warranty purchase in the near future:yikes:!!! Now who saw that comingnojoke? So here is to all of us SpYder rYders, lets :cheers:and ray: for Sunny days, and safe gremlin free rides :clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

I'm still dealing with all the problems. Dealer has her back, again...after two months I have managed to get 1k miles out of her. Afraid to take her 100 miles from home unless. Can' t even get my wife on it yet as SHE doesn't trust the POS. Too many negative posts about the byke. Sick of all the, "mine works fine, we have racked xxxx miles with narry a problem." Got it! Happy for you, but there are a lot of us struggling to keep the darn thing on the road and not the ship. Byke is on CL and wish I can find a buyer who wants to play ganesh with BRP... I don't....I just want to ride! For 27k, is that too much to ask? BTW, my dealer says I should not listen to y'all. Sorry to rant but I'm one very dissatisfied customer with the Spyder!

Please, no rosey replies....

 

[MouthPiece]

After many changes :gaah:, Gator and Marty have got her running and riding like a completely different :spyder2:,:bowdown: :2thumbs:. But wait for it,opcorn:, wait, let me get my thinking cap:joke:,,I for-see a extended warranty purchase in the near future:yikes:!!! Now who saw that comingnojoke? So here is to all of us SpYder rYders, lets :cheers:and ray: for Sunny days, and safe gremlin free rides :clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

Thank you for the "follow up". There are many who don't, and that leaves many of us hanging not knowing whether an issue was resolved. I'm glad to hear that at least for now your issue has been resolved. I've only had one "real issue" in the 19,000 miles that I've had mine. It was fixed, and I reported with a follow up after I had ridden it almost 2000 miles after the fix.

Chris