You hear a lot of people asking about the reliability of the Spyder. I was the same way when I purchased this Spyder. I have been riding motorcycles for 63 years and like to tour. I thought maybe people thinking about one after reading this might help them to decide. About two years ago I purchased a 2015 Rt Spyder. It was a used one with around 9,000 miles on it. I now have 37,000 miles on it. Right after purchasing it I found this website ( Spyder Lovers). I did a lot of reading and learned all the things to look for. It did not handle right at all and I did not really like it that well. If I could have taken it back and got my money back I sure would have.
The first thing I did was purchase a pair of lasers. I watched several videos on laser aligning. I made stands and things I needed to do the aligning. After getting it aligned properly I then replaced the front tires with Federal AZO1 165-55/R15d had them balanced at a tire shop. I do all my own tire work. I then replaced the rear tire with a General Altimax TR43 215-60/R15. The tire shop could not balance it with their balancer so I purchased a Centramatic balancer from Lamonster Garage for the rear wheel. At the same time I installed Bajaron Sway Bar. I put 19 pounds of air in the front tires and 29 pounds in the rear tire. After all these things the Spyder rode and handled completely different. I could not believe how smooth it rode. I had read so much about Doc's Belt Vibration Damper I decided to purchase and install one. I do believe it did take a little vibration away. I did not have enough before to really tell. I also purchased a Krikit belt tension gauge to adjust the belt tension correctly. It took me a good week of riding and adjusting the belt alignment to get it perfect. After riding a short distance the belt will be off the rear pulley just over the thickness of a credit card. It took a lot of patience’s and time for me to get this like I wanted it. I have added other things to the Spyder but these are things I feel they really need to improved the riding and handling.
I have put a round 28,000 miles on the Spyder. Now I will list the problems I have had. There is only one. At about 20,000 miles I started getting the orange screen with the Dess code. It would not start without removing the key sometimes several times. I never got stranded but it did make me pretty nervous. I found on the internet where the Dess module was located and how to change it. I purchased one from Cheap Motorcycle Parts. I removed the front funk and found the Dess module. I did not mount it back at that location. The wires to it were long enough to reach up above the funk so I replaced it by where the water and antifreeze is poured in. That way if it ever bothers again I would not have to remove the front funk which is time consuming. That is the only problem I have ever had and I do ride it pretty hard.
I do all my own service. I change the oil and filter about every 4,000 miles. I have changed the transmission filter one time and I have a K&M air filter. I changed the Spark Plugs at 30,450 miles. That is kind of a hard job.
I feel a Can Am Spyder is a pretty reliable machine. I really miss a two wheel touring bike but at my age I would never go back to one. As far as three wheels I like the Spyder over the trike.
The first thing I did was purchase a pair of lasers. I watched several videos on laser aligning. I made stands and things I needed to do the aligning. After getting it aligned properly I then replaced the front tires with Federal AZO1 165-55/R15d had them balanced at a tire shop. I do all my own tire work. I then replaced the rear tire with a General Altimax TR43 215-60/R15. The tire shop could not balance it with their balancer so I purchased a Centramatic balancer from Lamonster Garage for the rear wheel. At the same time I installed Bajaron Sway Bar. I put 19 pounds of air in the front tires and 29 pounds in the rear tire. After all these things the Spyder rode and handled completely different. I could not believe how smooth it rode. I had read so much about Doc's Belt Vibration Damper I decided to purchase and install one. I do believe it did take a little vibration away. I did not have enough before to really tell. I also purchased a Krikit belt tension gauge to adjust the belt tension correctly. It took me a good week of riding and adjusting the belt alignment to get it perfect. After riding a short distance the belt will be off the rear pulley just over the thickness of a credit card. It took a lot of patience’s and time for me to get this like I wanted it. I have added other things to the Spyder but these are things I feel they really need to improved the riding and handling.
I have put a round 28,000 miles on the Spyder. Now I will list the problems I have had. There is only one. At about 20,000 miles I started getting the orange screen with the Dess code. It would not start without removing the key sometimes several times. I never got stranded but it did make me pretty nervous. I found on the internet where the Dess module was located and how to change it. I purchased one from Cheap Motorcycle Parts. I removed the front funk and found the Dess module. I did not mount it back at that location. The wires to it were long enough to reach up above the funk so I replaced it by where the water and antifreeze is poured in. That way if it ever bothers again I would not have to remove the front funk which is time consuming. That is the only problem I have ever had and I do ride it pretty hard.
I do all my own service. I change the oil and filter about every 4,000 miles. I have changed the transmission filter one time and I have a K&M air filter. I changed the Spark Plugs at 30,450 miles. That is kind of a hard job.
I feel a Can Am Spyder is a pretty reliable machine. I really miss a two wheel touring bike but at my age I would never go back to one. As far as three wheels I like the Spyder over the trike.
