2020 RTL - Trying to install SpyderPops Vision Kit

[ThreeWheels]

I can't seem to get the rear seat off.
I'm trying to unlatch it, but it just won't unlatch.

I've modified SpyderPops installation a little bit.
I've installed the Mirror LED on the front edge of the mirror mimicking the mirror lights of the 2010-2019.

AND, when the instructions say make sure you check that everything works before you button up the front fender, make sure that EVERYTHING works, not just the front fender light. Chasing down that failure took hours. HOURS.

So far I've got about 5 hours into the installation and I've only done the left side.
I'm taking a little break and then I'll get back to the right side.
Hopefully that should go quicker after all the lessons I learned on the left side.

It's not difficult work, just tedious.
The only reason I'm doing it myself is that all the rallies near me have been canceled.

I like the look of it, but all told, I wouldn't bother with all this work for a couple of extra lights.

I'll post a couple of pictures when I'm finally done.

 

[ThreeWheels]

I finally got it finished. I'd say it took me about 8 hours total over two days. Much of that was things like--OK, how do I jack up the wheels, how do I remove the damn trunk, I need to make a snake out of a coat hanger etc.
I won't go into installation details. SpyderPops has done that as part of the kit. The instructions are fairly clear and the pieces are easy to decipher.
Here are a couple of problems that took me some time to solve.
First, my own foolishness, I didn't know how to remove the rear trunk.
I STILL don't know how to remove the rear seat. I get the tab part, but the drivers backrest is somehow mounted to the bike, not the seat, so that has to be released before the seat can be removed, I don't know how.

The 2020 has the channel on top of the fender molded in. Previous years, this channel was a separate piece that allowed room for electrical connections. There is a mass of wires under the front fender connecting all of the components. That needs to be stashed away under the wire cover to clear the tires. Easier said than done.

I don't know how well all these connectors are going to hold up in the rain. They are all under the cover, but only time will tell.

I had one faulty connector. The wires weren't solidly in the connector. That took an hour to figure out which connector and then another half hour to figure out how to fix it, all adding to the installation time.

When running the wires down the back for the saddle bag lights, be sure to run the wires in front of the big support for the rear trunk, otherwise the mounting yoke on the trunk could interfere with the wires.

I chose to install the mirror LEDs in a way to mimic the design from previous model year RTs. Here are some photos with the lights off, then on on and another with the blinkers running.







On my 2014 Spyder, when I installed equivalent LEDs there was a terrible interference with the audio system. I'm happy to say that there is no interference with this installation, probably because SpyderPops has powered all these new lights off of an existing LED circuit to the fender tip lamps.
All in all, the kit was OK, just the one bad connector.
In the middle of it, I was pretty frustrated and I wasn't sure this was worth all the effort.
Now that I'm done, I'll echo the words of the jeweler who fixed my fathers watch at great expense: "It only hurts once"
Provided, of course, that all those connectors under the fender hold up in the rain.

In the time since I started this post, I've mounted weatherproof vinyl tape over the plastic cover inside the fender as an extra layer of protection against rain and water for all of those connections.

 

[Jon44MA]

I had my dealer teach me how to take off the backrest. I can walk you through it if you want. Just took mine off the other day

 

[ThreeWheels]

ABSOLUTLEY. On another note, I'll PM you instructions on the SENA.

 

[cptjam]

Open front seat, find a wire bail. Lift slightly on bail and slide forward. Pull up on backrest. To remove rear seat, hold lower front edges on both sides, lift up sharply. Slide forward a little, remove.

 

[ThreeWheels]

Open front seat, find a wire bail. Lift slightly on bail and slide forward. Pull up on backrest. To remove rear seat, hold lower front edges on both sides, lift up sharply. Slide forward a little, remove.

Thanks so very much.

 

[ThreeWheels]

I never got the backrest off.

Here is a photo of the final installation during the day. I'll post a night time shot when I get one.

OK, Here's the photo at night, with apologies to JJ Abrams.

 

[DoubleA]

I'll be tackling the same vision kit along with the double A arm led's this weekend. I'll be crossing my fingers!

 

[ThreeWheels]

Open front seat, find a wire bail. Lift slightly on bail and slide forward. Pull up on backrest. To remove rear seat, hold lower front edges on both sides, lift up sharply. Slide forward a little, remove.

Finally got the driver back rest and rear seat off. "Lift slightly" required a pair of pliers. I've got a similar problem removing the rear trunk. I need a big pair of pliers to rotate the lock mechanism inside the trunk.

 

[ThreeWheels]

Nice kit, but I've had two premature failures on the right side.
They are both connector failures.
One was the same connector I had repaired previously. I guess I didn't do a good enough job.
I pulled the connector apart and found that, once again, the red wire hadn't been inserted into the connector far enough. Using a small pair of pliers, I reached in and pulled it through. This time I added a little bit of epoxy to the back end of the connector to hold it in place.
The second one was inside the mess under the fender. Same problem. Same red wire. Same solution.
Since I had the connections under the fender exposed, I took the opportunity to give them all a shot of dielectric grease to make sure they are all watertight.
Not the connectors themselves, those connections are gasketted. I put grease on the ends where the wires enter the connectors.
The machine made connectors are all watertight. The hand made ones, such as this kit, are not.

I'm not greatly unsatisfied, but had I known about this up front, I might have checked all the connectors first, then added the epoxy to all of them to strengthen them and used dielectric grease make them water tight.
When I get a chance, I'll pull the left wheel and squirt the grease on the left side connectors.