Biuld quality

[Fatcycledaddy]

Im pretty Happy camper aside from the alingment, a few $5 screws missing on the body panels , a missing spring on the exhaust of the primary muffler, but who needs all those extras, just ryde! (But make sure you take plenty of oil with you.)

Do the 998's use oil? I have never had to add oil to my 1330. Right at 9,000 miles on this change after the trip and it is still not down at all.:dontknow:

 

[Jim&Teresa]

Happy Spyder Owners

Do the 998's use oil? I have never had to add oil to my 1330. Right at 9,000 miles on this change after the trip and it is still not down at all.:dontknow:

This thread is about the quality of the bike. Well, Spyders are developing like any other piece of equipment and getting refined.

We are VERY happy with both Spyders we have had. :thumbup:

The first Spyder was a 2012 RT Limited - NO issues, very dependable, (it did use some oil and I carried a quart with me during long trips). We traded it in on our 2014 RT Limited.

The 2014 RT Limited is AWESOME :clap: with the 1330 triple and 6 speed trans. I really like the lower RPM's for cruising and the quiet ride.

As far as quality, I think that both of these machines are a very good quality. We also own a Gold Wing which has been around for over 40 years. It's a fine machine, but if I wanted to get really critical, I could probably find a few items on it that I would like improved as well.

Overall, we have over 36,000 "trouble free" miles combined on Spyders. Over 28,000 miles on our 2014 RT Limited - it's been a very good machine! :firstplace: NEVER had to add any oil to this machine - runs great !!!! :firstplace:

We are happy with these bikes and plan on enjoying them - let's ride and enjoy! Mechanical and electrical items can and will fail....handle it at that time - don't worry, be happy!

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree:

 

[rcturner]

Rc has it pretty much correct, IMO. However, the poor assembly is covered by the Quality Assurance (QA) program which prescribes what is expected of each assembly line worker. The traditional QC program is nothing more than an inspection system, and I have always characterized the QC inspector as simply a historian. He/she records the history of the upline assembly workers. I have always defined QA as the system that answers the question, "How do we know what are we supposed to do, and how do we know how well we have done it?" I don't believe BRP understands this as well as they should. One example of an inadequate QA system is the user and service manuals. There are thousands of examples where the nomenclature for a part changes from year to year. The organization of the parts manual changes from year to year. Nomenclature for a part is different in the service manual text vs the parts list vs the owner's manual. The lack of attention to documentation consistency is a clear indicator, IMO, that BRP just doesn't understand QA.

Here is one possible scenario I will speculatively offer. I would expect the fasteners are mostly driven in with automatic drivers that are programmed to stop at the correct torque. If someone grabbed a driver that was set for a lighter torque, or the torque was incorrectly set on his driver, and didn't have the experience or knowledge to notice that the torque was wrong, they could be happily driving screw after screw all day and not know they were (pardon the pun) screwing up. Young people today are not being taught to think, or how to troubleshoot. So often they simply take a tool and use it without the foggiest idea of how to truly know if it is operating correctly.

:agree: with the above completely. QA is a management issue that defines the requirements. QC is the the method that checks to see if the QA requirements are being met. After 40 years of dealing with QA and QC, I feel that QC is pretty much worthless. The problem however, is seldom the people. The problem is almost always at a much higher level.

 

[Dan McNally]

I had some issues with my 2013 RT Limited - most were heat related, and BRP finally fixed them. I'd get on it right now and ride anywhere in the country with no concern whether I'd get there or not - in fact, on Saturday, I'm leaving for a three-day weekend of ryding all day, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

If something breaks, I'll worry about it, then - but not before!

I love this machine - it has provided the most fun I've had as an old man!

 

[sealfloorboards]

I'm on my third Spyder. Overall, I've found them to be maintenance free and well built. However, the fact remains that there is still this ongoing complaining about BRP's quality. If I ever had this kind of controversy and complaining about my Seal Floorboards, I'd have been out of business long ago. The good news, for all of us, is that the great majority of aftermarket suppliers here on Spyderlovers.com make very high quality products and care greatly about Customer Service and satisfaction. We all want to....
Ride in comfort

 

[jcthorne]

Yes but, they shouldn't have to. It should be correct from the factory. This is a big reason my Harley UC found a new home.

You do realize these bikes are shipped to the dealer partially disassembled in a crate. Final assembly IS THE DEALERS RESPONSIBILITY including latch and lid fitment.

Sorry your dealer did not do the work they were paid for.

 

[Jheck]

They do as instructed, make few disruptions. Make 8 and hit the gate, it's just a job for now and a paycheck on Friday.

Honestly, the overall build quality is average or fair. When you consider retail cost vs build quality it is less than fair. The build quality does not need to be perfect, just competitive.

On our machine, and I still consider it a good machine. It was delivered with some issues I had to resolve. Left front wheel assembly was out of balance by 1 oz, the belt tracking was so far off you could smell the rubber as it wore against the pulleys inner flange, the front end alignment made the vehicle very skitterish in corners. I do not consider these to be items the dealer must accomplish. The dealers should simply need to uncrate, assemble a few items, service fluids and deliver. Can Am leaves too many items for warranty repair. This is a quality control issue, that trickles down from top management not enforcing the team to uphold a better level of delivered product.

The basic design is usually good with a few exceptions such as the fires and overheating of past models. Management displayed the basis of policy to follow and it is apparent it is company wide. They do not need to deliver a good product just one that is good enough.

When management realizes that they have the means to deliver a better product with the same cost they will truly succeed, if not they are banking on a unique market that they hope no other manufacturer enters. To be knocked down by a new entry, especially if it is on account of performance and better quality will be difficult to recover from. At that moment, you see brand loyalty vs educated buyer.

this is why I am glad to see Honda entering the market, and I hope Yamaha recovers and gets back in the reverse trike game to. Competition is good for QC. Honda doesn't put there wing designation on just anything, I hope they do well. Not that I want to trade my Spyder on one. But it will force BRP to up they're ante, and this will be good for all of us.

 

[Fatcycledaddy]

this is why I am glad to see Honda entering the market, and I hope Yamaha recovers and gets back in the reverse trike game to. Competition is good for QC. Honda doesn't put there wing designation on just anything, I hope they do well. Not that I want to trade my Spyder on one. But it will force BRP to up they're ante, and this will be good for all of us.

As stated many times, everything mechanical has problems. Goldwing has had brake problems, cracked frames, stater problems, transmission problems, and computer problems to the point of NTSB forced recalls. The difference is people don't dwell on the problems, they look to those without problems, and spend more time riding and less time complaining.

There are several responses in this post alone talking about how their Spyders have a lot of miles on them and have been trouble free.

That does not mean that your Spyder is going to be trouble free when you purchase it. As long as humans are involved in the production there is a chance of human error and something slipping by.

I had a Ford Ranger that I purchased in the 1990's that I purchased for the soul purpose of its reliability. In the first month the drive shaft threw its balance weights and it vibrated so bad it took the muffler off. Second month the clutch master cylinder went out, third month the throttle body quit working, then the rear end went out. The truck had so many problems in the first 6 months I traded it in, yet the records show that the Ranger was one of the most reliable vehicles on the market at that time.
I couldn't agree with that because it was MY truck that was always broken, and if people talked to me about the dependability of the Ranger, I had a very negative response, yet that didn't change the proven facts.

Read the comments about how dependable that peoples Spyders have been, ride it, enjoy it, and if you got a lemon, trade it in and get a newer model because my personal testimony is they are a well built, dependable, fun to ride machine.
almost 16,000 trouble free miles in less than a year.

 

[MOSESS]

Rants

Well after reading Bobs post I am thinking I should never post any thing again. The Rt by the way is a 2015 S. Over all I am okay with it. The quality of the fit and finish sucks, My dealer is 1000 miles from me so dealing with them is not happening any time soon. do I blame them for the issues I am having yes. I know that all bikes have issues. Most of you are happy with your purchase. the thread was about poor build quality.. I did not ask where you happy with your RT or any other model of spyders. Just cant stay on point on this forum..

 

[wyliec]

Well after reading Bobs post I am thinking I should never post any thing again. The Rt by the way is a 2015 S. Over all I am okay with it. The quality of the fit and finish sucks, My dealer is 1000 miles from me so dealing with them is not happening any time soon. do I blame them for the issues I am having yes. I know that all bikes have issues. Most of you are happy with your purchase. the thread was about poor build quality.. I did not ask where you happy with your RT or any other model of spyders. Just cant stay on point on this forum..

I'm a little lost. You posted about the fit/finish of your Spyder, and how bad it is, and not being happy with it. Others disagreed, and stated they are happy with their Spyder. Doesn't sound like they were off point.

And, if you don't feel like posting again because of Bob's comments, that's your choice.

 

[MOSESS]

Build quality

Guys thank you ill delete the post if possible.

 

[Mexican]

I'm a little lost. You posted about the fit/finish of your Spyder, and how bad it is, and not being happy with it. Others disagreed, and stated they are happy with their Spyder. Doesn't sound like they were off point.

And, if you don't feel like posting again because of Bob's comments, that's your choice.

Guys, be nice to Mosses, liberating Egypt and splitting an ocean can make somebody tired for 3000 years!!

 

[beefybudds]

Read the comments about how dependable that peoples Spyders have been, ride it, enjoy it, and if you got a lemon, trade it in and get a newer model because my personal testimony is they are a well built, dependable, fun to ride machine.
almost 16,000 trouble free miles in less than a year.

It just really sucks when you have a $30,000 lemon and take a $10,000 hit to trade the lemon in. Lemon laws do not apply to the Spyder in the great state of Minnesota and I think BRP takes advantage of that.

 

[Bob Denman]

The quality of the fit and finish sucks, My dealer is 1000 miles from me so dealing with them is not happening any time soon. do I blame them for the issues I am having yes.

Why did you purchase your bike from a dealer that's so far away?
Was it pricing?
You might have gotten exactly what you paid for. nojoke

 

[Bob Denman]

That's why I posed it as a question. :thumbup:
There's no doubt, that the dealer will always have their hands on the bike last.
The work that they do will always set the tone for the ownership experience.

A long time ago; I worked at a Honda and Kawasaki Dealership, assembling bikes. The owner of the place always stressed this fact to us. We did our dead-level best, to make sure that the bikes rolled onto the showroom floor, as if we had to ride it home. nojoke

 

[Ex Winger]

I have to agree with most on here.I have a 2015 RT-S and so far 19000 km no problems.It,s the dealer that sets his bike up for delivery and they should have noticed if the seat and frunk were not closing or needed adj.My dealer is 1.5 hours away but a very good dealer.These bikes are no perfect but nothing is.Hope you get if fixed so your happy.These are not cheap toys.I work at a Toyota dealership and we do our best during the pdi to make sure every thing is perfect.
Bill

 

[ruralgirl]

You did spell, "Build" incorrectly, .......

One more thing: :lecturef_smilie: It's "you're": not "your".

At least he didn't put an apostrophe in the possessive form of the word "its"! That always drives me nuts.

 

[Bob Denman]

[h=2]It's and Its[/h]It's and its are two of the most commonly confused words in the English language. However, understanding the difference between these two words is crucial for successful communication.
It's is a contraction for it is or it has. For example:

• I think it's going to snow on Monday.
• It's been a long time since I last saw Ben.
• It's a small world after all.

Its is a possessive pronoun. Its modifies a noun and is used to show ownership. For example:

• The bear carried its cub in its mouth.
• Nothing can take its place.
• The cat licked with its tongue.

Read more at http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/using-contractions.html#BMTQ2CoDM46HTryO.99


This makes us the:

 

[Pampurrs]

It's really sad that this person voices his concerns about the quality of his product, and certain people feel the need to point out his spelling and grammar errors, or make fun of his name. If I made a remark about every misspelled word, improper word usage, or grammatical error I see here, my post count would be as high as Bob the Clown.

He was venting about problems he's having with his very expensive machine. He needed to get it off his chest. He was looking for advice or thoughts from fellow Spyder owners. He did not ask for a grammar or spelling critique, nor was one necessary.

It's no wonder so many people leave this forum and go elsewhere.

My two cents worth....

Pam