Bottom Panels

[Mowerman]

I had the dealer remove the lower right panel on my RT. Was wondering if the Left side panel could be removed also. Thinking it may help let some heat out of the engine compartment. Also just had the recall done and no heat problem was showing. Hopefully it stays that way.

 

[rabtech]

Mine is gone. And it did help a lot with the heat.

Sent from my Galaxy S3. I may have made a spelling error or may have some grammer issues. My fingers are way to big to type on this tiny screen!

 

[can-am sam]

Is this the bottom splash cover?

 

[cuznjohn]

pans

what year are your bikes, when i removed my bottom pans i didn't notice any difference but the left pan opened the bottom of the engine up but the right pan had another floor board under it. so being the bike was going to go in for the heat issue i put them back on.

 

[jerpinoy]

Mine flew off but replaced by BRP.

 

[Havasu Rider]

I removed mine shortly after I bought my 2010 RT Limited new. I had installed a right side heat shield and did not notice any problem and the tempertures remained the same. My mechanic at the time said they were only there because of Calif. noise requirements.

 

[Huddleston]

I had the dealer remove the lower right panel on my RT. Was wondering if the Left side panel could be removed also. Thinking it may help let some heat out of the engine compartment. Also just had the recall done and no heat problem was showing. Hopefully it stays that way.

What exactly are you calling the lower right panel? Some of the responses in this thread are talking about the splash panels underneath the Spyder. It sounds to me as if you are talking about the Bottom Rear Side Panel. This is the panel immediately beside the brake pedal. Page 49 of your manual identifies the various side panels.

 

[Mowerman]

It is the panels under the bike. The one under the radiator is off. Was wanting to know if the left one under the bike can be removed. 2013 rts

 

[ulflyer]

I don't have a '13 but I'm pretty sure the left splash pan will also come off. Lay down and look under it. Without it on the pre-13 models, oil and motor filter change are much easier....and cleaner!

 

[stewartj239]

It is the panels under the bike. The one under the radiator is off. Was wanting to know if the left one under the bike can be removed. 2013 rts

So you're talking about the left and right belly pans directly underneath the bike. The left one can come off for sure and as others have noted, it makes oil changes easier. I don't have my right one off because others have noted that it does protect some wires on the 2013, but I will inspect further this winter and remove it too if possible.

Glad to hear you didn't have any heat related issues with the recall work. I didn't either. My dealer told me that they haven't seen one yet, so it is definitely a minority that is having the problems.

 

[ThreeWheels]

My thoughts..............
There was a lot of talk removing the lower left panel when the 2010's came out.
It makes changing the oil and oil filter easier. Heat was a secondary issue.
I chose to leave the panel in place.
I noticed that the belt sprocket is located above the panel, so the panel tends to protect the sprocket from road dirt.

Of course, my advice given in this electronic format isn't worth the paper its printed on.

 

[kepople]

While i have no idea what i am talking about, my issues with heat are over 90 amd sitting at a stop light. In which case, removing the bottem panels wont help much unless it can help release heat when i am going slower in traffic. To that end when i am slowing the heat is still rising and not being forced out the bottem.

I really beleive the root of the problem is the enogine running a bit too lean.
Any one know which sensor feeds this info back to the computer?
i wonder if theres a way to fool it, or tweak the mixture?

 

[Huddleston]

While i have no idea what i am talking about, my issues with heat are over 90 amd sitting at a stop light. In which case, removing the bottem panels wont help much unless it can help release heat when i am going slower in traffic. To that end when i am slowing the heat is still rising and not being forced out the bottem.

I really beleive the root of the problem is the enogine running a bit too lean.
Any one know which sensor feeds this info back to the computer?
i wonder if theres a way to fool it, or tweak the mixture?

I don't know for sure, but have been told, that it is the O2 sensor that gives this info to the computer. There is one in each exhaust head pipe. I was receiving a lean code in Bank 2, and it was suggested that I swap the sensors to see if that made a difference. I did, but it did not change and the code was still showing Bank 2. There does not appear to be any way to adjust the sensor.

 

[stewartj239]

In which case, removing the bottem panels wont help much unless it can help release heat when i am going slower in traffic.

What I've done as well as removing the belly pan is remove the OEM wind deflectors. They route the wind around the upper vents and the belief is that by having air run over the vents will actually help draw the air up and out. Removing the belly pan might not do anything to help, but visually, it seems that it would allow more air to flow up from the bottom to the top.

I really beleive the root of the problem is the enogine running a bit too lean.

This is my belief as well. Luckily, my 2013 runs rich and I have NO heat issues even after riding for extended periods of time (hours). Mine was a late production run (May 2013), so I'm wondering if they changed the EFI map as problems were being discovered. I know there was a bearing recall, but mine already had the updated part from the factory.

 

[3 Wheel Addict]

I had mine off last night to install the Bajaron sway bar and my left side would expose a bunch of wires and such. I'm thinking it would be better to have them on and maybe add louvers to them. There is lots of hoses and wires up in there and it wouldn't take much to jam road debris up in there, mine are staying and there has to be a better answer to air flow!