As a very enthusiastic Spyder owner, it is difficult for me to post this, but I traded in my Spyder on Friday for a new Moto Guzzi Stelvio motorcycle.
I have not posted on this before, as I really dislike negativity, and I do not want to imply in any way that my experience is shared by the vast majority of Spyder owners, but the reliability issues I was having with Red October finally got to me. To give some history, the first error codes I saw occurred the first weekend I owned the Spyder (check engine light, warning message), Not a big deal at the time. These occurred intermittently until the .02 sensor was replaced. After the first software update, the Spyder ran a little rough between three and four thousand RPM. This was rectified by the latest update, which made it run very smoothly. However, within the last couple of months, it started giving me more problems which landed it in the shop a little too frequently. First, on the way to my dealer at Uxbridge Motorsports on one trip, it went into "limp home" mode twice on a major highway, the 407 ETR. Fortunately, it was early in the morning and there was very little traffic, so I was able to pull over to the shoulder and turn it off. On each occasion, after the computer reset, I was able to operate it normally again. I was told that a blown tail light bulb was the culprit.
In September, on my way to Gatlinburg, it went into limp mode again twice on the I-75. Again, both times I was able to restart and re-enter traffic. The same thing happened on the return trip, on just one occasion that time. My dealer (who have always been terrific, by the way) replaced the gear position sensor and it ran very well after that. However, at the same time, it was also leaking coolant. This was the result of a loose clamp, which the technician tightened and all seemed to be well again.
In early October, I had a day trip planned with a couple of motorcyclist friends to head north for Collingwood, Ontario and check out the fall colours. We were to meet in Ingersoll. When I arrived at our rendezvous point, I noticed that my licence plate and bracket were missing. I wasn't sure if the plate had been stolen or vibrated loose. I canceled my ride and returned to London, since I had no plate on the vehicle. The plate was subsequently recovered by a tow truck driver in the ditch by Highway 401. It was turned over to the Ontario Provincial Police and returned to me. The bolts which held the plate frame in place had vibrated loose, in spite of being secured with LocTite as per BRP's installation instructions. This billet frame is expensive and a very poor design in my opinion. BRP was good enough to provide a replacement, but I would be very hesitant to use this type of frame again.
Last week, after leaving the Spyder parked at work, I noticed a coolant puddle under the Spyder again. I wasn't sure if this was from my machine, or from someone else who had parked there previously. After riding home and parking the Spyder in my garage, I saw a very large puddle of coolant on my floor and could see it dripping from the Spyder. I was very concerned about riding it too far for service this time, as I did not want it to overheat, so I took it to Team Vincent Motorsports in Ayr, which is only about an hour away. About two kilometres from the dealership, my engine light and "check engine" warning re-appeared. The technician determined that the cause of the leak was a crack in the plastic coolant reservoir. He said the bracket that holds the reservoir in place appeared to have abraded the plastic and the crack developed. The check engine warning was the result of a faulty .02 sensor, the same sensor that had previously been replaced.
By this time, I was becoming very concerned about this machine. The technician put a silicone patch on the reservoir to get me home, as the replacement part had to be ordered.
In the meantime, and feeling very conflicted about this situation, I stopped at Inglis Cycle Center in London to look at the Moto Guzzi which I was aware was on sale. I thought I might wait until the spring and see how things were going with the Spyder, then decide if I should sell it or keep it. I actually negotiated with the dealer, but decided I did not want to purchase the Guzzi at that point.
On Friday, Nov. 6, I was set to leave for Mississauga (in the Greater Toronto Area) after work for the Canada Safety Council's Chief Instructors Conference. Since the weather forecast was favourable, I planned to ride. The patch on the coolant bottle seemed to be holding, so I loaded my luggage on the Spyder and rode to work, planning to leave at the end of the day for Mississauga, or possibly earlier if the part arrived in Ayr and I could stop there en route to have the repair done. When I parked the Spyder, I thought I smelled anti-freeze, and sure enough when I bent down to look, I was dismayed to see coolant pouring out once again.
I came to the conclusion then and there that this particular machine would probably continue to cause me grief if I kept it, and immediately contacted Inglis to take them up on the trade. Unlike a fine wine or single-malt Scotch,it has been my experience that a motor vehicle does not improve with age. The Spyder had less than 19,000 kilometres on the clock and was just over a year old. I felt that if it was going to start falling apart, now was the time to trade it rather than later.
I still think the Spyder is an incredible piece of technology, and I hope all the design bugs and quality control issues can be sorted out sooner rather than later. I know BRP is working hard to do that, and it may be that I was just unlucky enough to purchase the one in a thousand machine with all of these issues, but I ride enough that reliability is my first priority, even more so than pure performance. The other less tangible factor is that my wife has never enjoyed riding on the Spyder as she did my two-wheelers, and this made it more difficult for me to justify keeping it. The comfort seat helped, as did the passenger peg extensions, but it will never handle like a motorcycle, and she does not enjoy the feeling of being "thrown around" in the corners. Nothing you can do about that - it is simply physics at work, but I thought I should mention it anyway.
I also have to tell you that every BRP rep I have met in Canada or in the U.S. has been a first-class person, very eager to do the right thing and promote their product with enthusiasm. My dealer (Uxbridge Motorsports) is a great shop and always treated me like visiting royalty. I truly appreciated that. The first nine or ten months of ownership for me were great, but unfortunately, over the last month or two, my trust in the Spyder steadily eroded. The coolant bottle crack was the final straw. I just don't think that should happen in a one-year-old machine.
Anyway, I wanted to say that it has been for the most part a fantastic experience. I am not at all bitter about having purchased a Spyder, and I am sure that most of you are enjoying a problem-free Spyder experience. It just did not work out for me.
I hope y'all don't mind if I stick around. I have grown pretty fond of the Spyder community! FYI, I have attached a pic of my new ride. I am hoping to explore some unpaved roads in the future, and the Stelvio looks like a great machine for that purpose.
Best regards,
Bruce
I have not posted on this before, as I really dislike negativity, and I do not want to imply in any way that my experience is shared by the vast majority of Spyder owners, but the reliability issues I was having with Red October finally got to me. To give some history, the first error codes I saw occurred the first weekend I owned the Spyder (check engine light, warning message), Not a big deal at the time. These occurred intermittently until the .02 sensor was replaced. After the first software update, the Spyder ran a little rough between three and four thousand RPM. This was rectified by the latest update, which made it run very smoothly. However, within the last couple of months, it started giving me more problems which landed it in the shop a little too frequently. First, on the way to my dealer at Uxbridge Motorsports on one trip, it went into "limp home" mode twice on a major highway, the 407 ETR. Fortunately, it was early in the morning and there was very little traffic, so I was able to pull over to the shoulder and turn it off. On each occasion, after the computer reset, I was able to operate it normally again. I was told that a blown tail light bulb was the culprit.
In September, on my way to Gatlinburg, it went into limp mode again twice on the I-75. Again, both times I was able to restart and re-enter traffic. The same thing happened on the return trip, on just one occasion that time. My dealer (who have always been terrific, by the way) replaced the gear position sensor and it ran very well after that. However, at the same time, it was also leaking coolant. This was the result of a loose clamp, which the technician tightened and all seemed to be well again.
In early October, I had a day trip planned with a couple of motorcyclist friends to head north for Collingwood, Ontario and check out the fall colours. We were to meet in Ingersoll. When I arrived at our rendezvous point, I noticed that my licence plate and bracket were missing. I wasn't sure if the plate had been stolen or vibrated loose. I canceled my ride and returned to London, since I had no plate on the vehicle. The plate was subsequently recovered by a tow truck driver in the ditch by Highway 401. It was turned over to the Ontario Provincial Police and returned to me. The bolts which held the plate frame in place had vibrated loose, in spite of being secured with LocTite as per BRP's installation instructions. This billet frame is expensive and a very poor design in my opinion. BRP was good enough to provide a replacement, but I would be very hesitant to use this type of frame again.
Last week, after leaving the Spyder parked at work, I noticed a coolant puddle under the Spyder again. I wasn't sure if this was from my machine, or from someone else who had parked there previously. After riding home and parking the Spyder in my garage, I saw a very large puddle of coolant on my floor and could see it dripping from the Spyder. I was very concerned about riding it too far for service this time, as I did not want it to overheat, so I took it to Team Vincent Motorsports in Ayr, which is only about an hour away. About two kilometres from the dealership, my engine light and "check engine" warning re-appeared. The technician determined that the cause of the leak was a crack in the plastic coolant reservoir. He said the bracket that holds the reservoir in place appeared to have abraded the plastic and the crack developed. The check engine warning was the result of a faulty .02 sensor, the same sensor that had previously been replaced.
By this time, I was becoming very concerned about this machine. The technician put a silicone patch on the reservoir to get me home, as the replacement part had to be ordered.
In the meantime, and feeling very conflicted about this situation, I stopped at Inglis Cycle Center in London to look at the Moto Guzzi which I was aware was on sale. I thought I might wait until the spring and see how things were going with the Spyder, then decide if I should sell it or keep it. I actually negotiated with the dealer, but decided I did not want to purchase the Guzzi at that point.
On Friday, Nov. 6, I was set to leave for Mississauga (in the Greater Toronto Area) after work for the Canada Safety Council's Chief Instructors Conference. Since the weather forecast was favourable, I planned to ride. The patch on the coolant bottle seemed to be holding, so I loaded my luggage on the Spyder and rode to work, planning to leave at the end of the day for Mississauga, or possibly earlier if the part arrived in Ayr and I could stop there en route to have the repair done. When I parked the Spyder, I thought I smelled anti-freeze, and sure enough when I bent down to look, I was dismayed to see coolant pouring out once again.
I came to the conclusion then and there that this particular machine would probably continue to cause me grief if I kept it, and immediately contacted Inglis to take them up on the trade. Unlike a fine wine or single-malt Scotch,it has been my experience that a motor vehicle does not improve with age. The Spyder had less than 19,000 kilometres on the clock and was just over a year old. I felt that if it was going to start falling apart, now was the time to trade it rather than later.
I still think the Spyder is an incredible piece of technology, and I hope all the design bugs and quality control issues can be sorted out sooner rather than later. I know BRP is working hard to do that, and it may be that I was just unlucky enough to purchase the one in a thousand machine with all of these issues, but I ride enough that reliability is my first priority, even more so than pure performance. The other less tangible factor is that my wife has never enjoyed riding on the Spyder as she did my two-wheelers, and this made it more difficult for me to justify keeping it. The comfort seat helped, as did the passenger peg extensions, but it will never handle like a motorcycle, and she does not enjoy the feeling of being "thrown around" in the corners. Nothing you can do about that - it is simply physics at work, but I thought I should mention it anyway.
I also have to tell you that every BRP rep I have met in Canada or in the U.S. has been a first-class person, very eager to do the right thing and promote their product with enthusiasm. My dealer (Uxbridge Motorsports) is a great shop and always treated me like visiting royalty. I truly appreciated that. The first nine or ten months of ownership for me were great, but unfortunately, over the last month or two, my trust in the Spyder steadily eroded. The coolant bottle crack was the final straw. I just don't think that should happen in a one-year-old machine.
Anyway, I wanted to say that it has been for the most part a fantastic experience. I am not at all bitter about having purchased a Spyder, and I am sure that most of you are enjoying a problem-free Spyder experience. It just did not work out for me.
I hope y'all don't mind if I stick around. I have grown pretty fond of the Spyder community! FYI, I have attached a pic of my new ride. I am hoping to explore some unpaved roads in the future, and the Stelvio looks like a great machine for that purpose.
Best regards,
Bruce
