Back in the game

[Dwight]

After a long absence from this forum my wife and I are again considering an RT. We sold our 2010 RT in the fall of 2010 after 16k miles of riding, and 7 visits to the shop for warranty work. This is not gonna be a rant, just some history. Our dealer (Reno Powersports ) in Kansas City certainly treated us well and I have no complaints about them. The RT was going to be our ride to Alaska in 2011 but we lost trust in it. We bought a 2011 HD CVO Road Glide and I added a Champion trike kit to it. Other than having a new front tire mounted at Wasilla we had no other problems.
Now to the point. Other than the overactive nanny I (we) really liked this bike. I'm an above knee left leg amputee so the advantage of thumb shifting was huge. Now, nearly 10 years later power steering, thumb shifting, single pedal brakeing, no clutch lever or front brake lever, and the abundance of other creature comforts has us again considering the RT.
So now a little help from you guys and gals. We can afford a new RT but there's a huge amount of used, low miles RT'S for sale. We are retired so travelling is ok. I've been looking at MY 2017 and up and we're looking for your favorites to help us decide. The limited edition would be our choice, I would like to have the old school GPS but that wouldn't be a deal breaker.
Educate us please!

Dwight

 

[2dogs]

Dwight, I believe you are thinking in the right direction. Do a computer search and find what you are looking for at a reasonable price. If it's far away then fly there check it out and if you like it, make an adventure out of it and drive it home. Good luck in finding what you want.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hi, I have a 14 RT - basic, and this will be my last Spyder ( 73 ) ..... the ONLY issue I ever had with it was the DESS module, and this is easily fixed DIY for about $ 135.00 or a dis-abeling it via BUDS..... when BRP switched to the newer instrument cluster, I think they made a mis-take .... I was able to improve my radio 100% by just changing to better speakers.... according to smart folks who have tried on the new cluster say that fix won't work. As I reported here recently a 2014 RTS w/low miles sold here for $ 10,500 ... annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd if you need/want more Reliable power - Monster Fuel will do it for about $350.00 .................. welcome back .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[RayBJ]

Warranty needs to be a consideration. I'm new to 3 wheels and went with a 2020 RT. I thought about older models but researching these beasts' history I went with latest & most refined with the warranty umbrella.

 

[milryder]

I'm also a customer of Renos Powersports and they have treated me well with a can am defender and XMAX 300. I'm just beginning to consider the RT but will probably be another year or so as still enjoying the XMAX of which I cancelled a cross country trip this past summer. The 20s seem a reasonable deal now with really no changes to the 21 year. I may wait to see what the 22s bring. Good luck in your search.

 

[Possible]

Glad to hear you were treated well at Reno Powersports, I've done a little business with them and always been happy.

I rarely buy anything new, so I'm the wrong person for advice on buying new. We bought our 2013 used and have been
very happy with it so far. We've only had time to put a few hundred miles on it, but so far, so good.

 

[JayBros]

I intentionally bought my Spyder at the end of MY 2014 and rolled 69K+ on the clock this past weekend and I intend to ride it until I am no longer able (79 now). With the exception of a water contaminated tank of gas, fully reimbursed by the C-store owner, and a faulty parking brake motor replaced under warranty at about one year of ownership, I have had zero problems with the bike. In fact, I purchased the B.E.S.T. extended warranty that expired unused in Sept 2019.

The 2020 RT was, IMO, rushed into production without adequate R&D testing and proper attention to production quality control and, as usual with BRP, their spare parts logistics for new models is well behind the power curve. The 2021-late production that is to begin in January may be free of the 2020 muck ups but I wouldn't hold my breath. The earliest new RT version I would even remotely consider would be MY 2022.

 

[davev1pa]

This is a great time to buy!!! Find a used RTL with a GPS and a good service record ...plenty of folks take good care of them...I would have reservations after ur history but have no doubts you'll find something reliable and fun! I bought a used 2012 RTL in March with 3k for 10k and loved it soooo much I bought a 14 RTS with 30 k for 10.5 as well!! Love em both!! PS my wife stole my first one and got her license so that was a surprise for sure!!!

 

[ARtraveler]

Welcome back after your hiatus with the site. Glad to hear you are thinking RT again. Happily, other than the DESS issue with some early 1330's, most RT's are trouble free to their owners.

I would recommend considering a 17 or above (just because of lower mileage). It is a buyer's market now with the season ending.

I own both a 2014 RT-S (45,200 miles currently) and bought a new 2019 F3L last December. I am very happy with both but like the F3 a bit better. The difference between F3 and RT is comparing "cruiser" to "goldwing."

 

[fatboy]

Dwight my wife has what your looking for 2018 ltd asphalt dark with 622 trailer to match