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Another 08 Spyder catches fire

blackout

New member
Someone please mend my broken heart. My Spyder that I loved so much burst into flames!! I was riding down the highway headed to the movies with my wife who fell in love with the Spyder the day we got it because it had such a comfy ride and actually sporty looking. Well we took a detour before heading to movies in Evansville in. Which is a hour away from our home And was putting along watching the jets fly over . So we headed down the road trying to get a closer look at the jets and my bike started smoking! So we pulled over close to a crowd of people enjoying the jets flying over the river just as we intended to do but unbeknown to me this beautiful day would turn into tragedy!!! Well once I pulled over because of the smoke flowing out a guy says to me " buddy there is a small fire on your bike" which was on the right hand side. Which looked like it was dripping something making it the fire ignite . So we tried to put it out and within a matter of 10 seconds fire was shooting out of the right Hand side near the right wheel !!! Within another 20 seconds no joke the fire was rolling out of both lower sides of bike. We called 911 in complete shock and disbelief and asked if anyone had a fire extinguisher and a local volunteer firefighter rushed over and tried to put it out. but within approximately 1 min the flames engulfed the whole motorcycle making the fire unmanageable . I told him to get back because I know the tank could go any second and he continued trying to put it out and I yelled once again buddy get back the tank is bout ready to go n e time. Then it wasn't even seconds after he walks away. the tank explodes and shoots a fireball up in the air followed by gas spewing up in the air . I was in a total shock and disbelief it didn't even seem real. Going for a simple ride to Evansville which is a hour away and come back home with nothing . I tried to comfort my wife by saying " were lucky it wasn't worse and it didn't catch us on fire headed down the highway"!! I was so in shock that it really didn't hit me at first . I was just happy no one was hurt. But when I got in it hit no more riding boo whoooo!!! I even took my helmet outside that nite to go to store and then went omg it's not here no more!! I know people say well if u have insurance u have nothing to worry about . Well I paid 16000 for my brand new Spyder and put 4000 in customs . Guess what I'm not getting back not enough to buy me a brand new one and all the custom upgrades r gone!!! So yes I'm pissed !!!! Because I can't get another new one without having payments ! I think BRP should be held accountable because they kno of the existing problem!! But in the end i thank GOD fir us not getting burnt and my insurance company!! BUT BRP NEEEDS TO ANSWER FOR THIS!! anyone know how to report to BRP. Here's video of the Spyder on fire
 
So glad you and your wife are ok, I understand your frustration and feel your pain, but you and your family are all that matters

Harry
 
WORDS FAIL ME

I don't think anything I say can make you feel better. But I am very glad both of you are OK. I would report this to nat'l highway safety board, this is something that kills people and should be addressed by the manufacturer..........My prayers are with you, Mike :pray:
 
Really sorry for your loss... But this could have been so much worse. It seems now for the last few years that around this time of year we start seeing some fires..... And most of them are 2008.

Thank you so much for sharing the video.

Do you know if you had the evap canister update done?


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This is tragic. Good thing your all safe and good thing it wasn't in your garage! Is it only been the 2008 year that have had this "problem"?
 
Wow.....that had to feel unreal, like a dream, watching it blow up like that. :yikes: The more miles you drive a beloved toy, the more attach you can get to it. I sympathize for you right now.....
 
Glad you guys are ok.

Gonna have to pinpoint what caused the fire before you get BRP involved . Then lawyers and all the BS that comes with that :banghead:
 
Real sorry to hear about your fire, but again, I also am real glad to hear that neither you or your wife were injured. Please keep us posted on how things progress. Wishing you the best. :pray:
 
Glad everyone turned out all right. Thank you for sharing the video. Please keep us posted as to what is happening.
 
That is so Sad!

I'm so sorry for your loss. Judy and I live in Evansville and got word real soon afterwards that a Spyder was on fire and where checking to see if it might be ours. I understand why your pissed and hope something good comes out of this. Hang in there and
let us know where you might wind up. Hopefully, you get a new Spyder and get back to enjoying the ride. I think I can say from all of
SL's that we are thinking of you and your wife and feeling angry that this happened, yet sad. Peace!
 
I am sorry for you loss and I understand why you are so upset. I bought a used 08 last year and since then I have seen many videos like yours and it scares me. I don't know what I would do without my Spyder. :gaah: I am glad that you and your wife are OK.
 
Not much to say, that hasn't already been said. Do hope it all comes out in your favor when everything is said and done. Good luck. :thumbup:
 
Really sad to hear about this. Glad no one was hurt!

I'm sure there's a thread with a summary of these fire issues somewhere... probably several but I'll give it a shot.

The theory is that it's the evap cannister which is located on the right side. It frequently contains fuel tho it's really only supposed to contain fuel vapor waiting to be evaporated back into the engine for combustion. Once raw fuel enters the canister it is no longer able to perform it's filtering duties and is basically dead as an emission control device and should be replaced or discarded. Raw fuel also can damage the purge valve which can make the engine run poorly at times.

There is a breather tube off this canister that is very short (3-4 inches) on earlier models of spyders (not just 2008, but definitely 2009 and probably some 2010's as well). Fuel vapor can escape from this breather and in some cases raw fuel.

This whole system does not work all that well. There should never be raw fuel in the canister nor exiting from the breather. One strong theory on why this happens is overfilling the fuel tank. It's also possible that expansion due to temperature increase pushes excess vapor or even raw fuel down into the evap canister.

When this happens fuel escapes from the breather tube and dribbles down the bike. There are some serious sources of heat just below that area including exhaust headers which can then ignite the fuel.

To prevent this from happening, BRP issued a recall/bulletin to install a long tube extending from the canister up and over everything and then down low towards the front away from any heat sources. This should prevent this problem from happening. Later models of spyders (late 2010 and beyond) already have this longer tube installed and some earlier ones might already have it if your dealer is on the ball with updates. When in doubt, ask your dealer to check for you.

The community recommendation is called a canisterectomy (search for it here) which basically involves removing the dangerous evap canister and rerouting the line in a similar way BRP has recommended or out the back of the bike.

What everyone wants to know is, has this Spyder had this work done or did it have the short hose?
 
Could you guys point me in the direction of a simple mod or a link to the mod so my 08 GS SM5 doesn't burn, catch the garage on fire and melt my family please?
 
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