2012 First time on a flatbed

[Pennyrick]

We just completed a 2,100 mile trip to SpyderFest and my wife was taking her RT in for service this morning when it failed to start for the first time ever! This never happened with here previous RT either so it was a new thing for her.

The Spyder would not go into neutral. It was stuck in reverse (at least that was what the indicator noted) and nothing we did would move it to neutral. So we called Triple A and loaded it on a flatbed to go to the nearest dealer, 24 miles away. I discovered that our AAA motorcycle towing coverage only covers the first five miles. That isn't much good given the distance a lot of us are from Spyder dealerships. So we had to pay for 19 miles of that trip at a rate of $4 a mile. The $76 wasn't a problem but it wasn't explained to me when I signed up for AAA.

So Penny's ride is in the Spyder hospital for more than just routine servicing. I haven't run across this type of thing noted on SpyderLovers but I'm sure someone has had this problem before.

 

[NZSpyderRyder]

Starting in gear

Can't you start the spyder by pressing the brake pedal while it's in gear ?

 

[cuznjohn]

odd enough my bike did the same thing today when it was cold, i did get it into neutral when i shut the bike down than started it back up. it did it twice

 

[Pennyrick]

Can't you start the spyder by pressing the brake pedal while it's in gear ?

My understanding is that an SE MUST be in neutral to start. The engine will turn over but from what the dealer told me when we dropped it off the electrical circuitry must be getting a message that it is set at Neutral to start and since it is showing Reverse, it just will not connect.

 

[Chupaca]

Yeah..!!

you can start it in gear while depressing the brake and following starting proceedure. You can also manually put it into neutral with a wrench. Sorry about your triple A. Ours is good for 100 miles though I have not used it on the spyder...hope your on the road again soon...:thumbup:

 

[sddinnh]

If you hold the brake down, my 2014 will start right up in gear.

 

[Bob Denman]

Yup! :thumbup:
Foot on the brake:
They start up in gear, and switch back into neutral automatically...

sorry... :shocked:

 

[Pennyrick]

Yup! :thumbup:
Foot on the brake:
They start up in gear, and switch back into neutral automatically...

sorry... :shocked:

No need to be sorry, Bob.

I am far from an expert but here is how it was explained to me.

The starting motor can be engaged when the gear indicator shows something other than neutral but before the engine will fire the circuit closes and moves the Spyder to neutral. Watch your indicator as you start in gear and you will see it instantly moves to 'N' as it starts.

Our Spyder will not move off of 'R' no matter what and as a result the starting circuit will not close and as a result no start.

We've owned four Spyders and obviously know that they can be started with any gear showing up in the indicator but the switching back to neutral part apparently occurs miliseconds before the starting circuit is engaged.

 

[sddinnh]

Huh. Learn something new every day. I'll have to keep an eye on that the next time I start it.

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: So, there was one of those, "something else is going on"; things going on...
Good Luck! Please let us know what they find! :thumbup:

 

[sddinnh]

You are absolutely right. Just before it starts, it goes into neutral no matter which gear you start in. :bowdown:

 

[StanProff]

hope your back up and on the road soon. Do you have the extended warranty?

 

[Pennyrick]

hope your back up and on the road soon. Do you have the extended warranty?

We bought the BEST warranties just before the factory ones expired.

Have a trip planned leaving on 5/27....hopefully we will get it back in time.

the guys at ISCI have worked out a way to move the handbrake on my wife's RT over to the left side so we're heading to their plant in Montgomery so they can do the work.

She hasn't been able to get enough leverage with the right hand since her arm is paralyzed so this should solve the problem.

 

[Pennyrick]

Starting problem solved

On Wednesday the service guy began to delve into the starting problem on my wife's RT.

In trying to get it started between my wife and the techs, I guess the battery took a beating, so he put it on trickle overnight to bring it back to life.

Thursday morning before tearing it down he decided to give it another try and wonder of wonders, it kicked out of reverse and started up. Several tries later it was still working properly.

Best guess is that the battery had enough juice to spin it but not enough to close the circuit needed to start.

So, we decided to replace the battery (original was in there from October, 2011) and it appears we are back on the road again.

This may mark the fifth or sixth different problem I have noted on SpyderLovers related to a weak battery or loose cables.

 

[DJFaninTN]

just curious if you keep your bike on a battery tender or not?

seems like these bikes are really picky on the battery voltage and it can make gremlins appear from nowhere

 

[Pennyrick]

I really hope you are correct and it is the battery but my instincts tell me otherwise.
Here’s why.
The actual switching from R to N or from anything else to N is a function of oil pressure being directed by an electromechanical solenoid.
It seems odd to me that unless the solenoid was prone to sticking that there wouldn’t be available voltage to seal the deal.
Here’s hoping I’m off base on this one.

Roger.... here is more info.

The reason I wanted to start her Spyder in the first place was to get the engine heated up so I could check the oil after parking it subsequent to the 2,100 mile SpyderFest trip.

Since it never started, it never got heated up, thus the oil level never got checked.

When I dropped my wife off this morning to pick up her machine, I had a further talk with the service manager and paid the bill. In addition to the battery replacement they charged her for a quart and a half of the BRP precious liquid they call oil.

So without my requesting it, they checked all the fluids (good on them, makes me think I made a good choice in changing dealerships).

Sooooo, your explanation could be correct. Maybe there just wasn't enough of the liquid gold available to make the solenoid do its' job.

 

[billybovine]

Glad you got it fixed.

The "It won't start unless it's in neutral" Spyder myth does not seem to want to go away. A SE Spyder will start in any gear and AFTER starting will shift to neutral. To prove my point I made a video proving this. Using a wrench I manually put it into 5th gear. As you will see it starts without a problem and automatically shift to neutral on it's own.