DPS Problems, We Can No Longer Ignore "The Elephant In The Living Room"

[NancysToy]

I made xerox copies of all my stuff - license, credit cards and they are stashed away under lock and key. So that way if I ever lose any of them, I've got them handy. And the best thing, nobody knows where I stashed them and they'll never figure it out!

This is a good idea while on a bike trip, too. Stash an extra copy of everything somewhere safe. If your wallet get stolen or something, you have copies of registration, driver's license, and insurance to show the police if necessary, plus you have the account numbers to call and cancel the credit crads immediately. Just make sure the stuff is not likely to be easily stolen or gone through. Now if I could just remember where I stashed my copies and that $50 bill for my last touring ride.

 

[Way2Fast]

When the VSS kicks in and hits the brakes its a totally different feeling than when the steering locks. The steering 'lock' feels like you're pushing against a magnetic force. If you've had your VSS kick in and hit the brakes --- you'll know its a different feeling than the steering lock.

I have wondered if the system can confuse 'feedback' from the road (coming from the front wheels) as user input.

The truth is that the VSS does not necessarily cause all 3 wheels to brake at the same time under all conditions. In some conditions it only brakes one wheel, the one with the least amount of traction, to maintain stability. When riding on a straight roadway, if some malfunction caused only the left front wheel to brake, the vehicle would take an unexpected turn to the left. The harder the braking the more severe the turn. Similiar to an automobile with brake problems causing the vehicle to "pull" to the right or left upon braking. Only difference is the computer is appling a brake without the operators knowledge. The "steering lock" that some have mentioned might occur when the operator tries to overcome the uneven force that is being applied to the steering because of the brake effect on only one front wheel......just an idea.

 

[Blane270sx]

When the VSS kicks in and hits the brakes its a totally different feeling than when the steering locks. The steering 'lock' feels like you're pushing against a magnetic force. If you've had your VSS kick in and hit the brakes --- you'll know its a different feeling than the steering lock.

I have wondered if the system can confuse 'feedback' from the road (coming from the front wheels) as user input.

I was just wondering I have been one of the Lucky ones and have never had any problems but the wife rides the Bike mostly and it worries me because all 100lbs of her could not fight a steering problem so it does suck that this sticks in the back of my mind. I just hope we get a firm answer to put this at rest and we can all ride without worry.

 

[Firefly]

The truth is that the VSS does not necessarily cause all 3 wheels to brake at the same time under all conditions. In some conditions it only brakes one wheel, the one with the least amount of traction, to maintain stability. When riding on a straight roadway, if some malfunction caused only the left front wheel to brake, the vehicle would take an unexpected turn to the left. The harder the braking the more severe the turn. Similiar to an automobile with brake problems causing the vehicle to "pull" to the right or left upon braking. Only difference is the computer is appling a brake without the operators knowledge. The "steering lock" that some have mentioned might occur when the operator tries to overcome the uneven force that is being applied to the steering because of the brake effect on only one front wheel......just an idea.

Yup--- fully understand how it works. Maybe some road 'feedback' from the tires can mess up the 'drivers input' it's supposed to read.

It would be nice if they could just find a mechanical or electrical part that isn't working within spec-----

They have some new 2010 ATV's coming out with power steering-- and you can bet it's using the same technology. One interesting thing they have done different is that it has two settings so you can choose how much 'assist' you get. One of the other brands (either polaris or yamaha) has an atv with power steering and people complained it didn't give them enough 'feel' of the trail ---- and this is why BRP decided to make theirs adjustable.

This should be a good thing for us that they are putting the PS technology into another vehicle--- more products they have to stand behind.

 

[Longlegs]

:agree: Whenever the VSS kicks in, I'm still able to steer with no extra resistance. But when the "lock" occurred, it was definitely in the handlebars, it wasn't coming from the wheels.

To Blane270sx (and others) - maybe to help ease your mind, when I had my steering problems, it wasn't a matter of "wrestling", it was very momentary. The bad stuff would probably happen if someone over-reacted and way over-corrected.
Since I was on vacation and not about to turn around and go home, I started to think of it like how you mentally prepare for the situation where one side of your car goes off the edge of the road - if you remain as calm as possible and gently pull back onto the road, there's no problem. But if you panic and jerk the steering wheel, you're going to end up going off the other side of the road.
It probably happened to me 10 times or more over four days. It was definitely something I wanted fixed as soon as I got home, but I felt like I could handle it for a few days.

When mine locked, I didn't feel like I would be able to control it over about 40mph. It felt like it would steer right of the right side of the road if I let off my preessure. When I wanted to correct to the left it almost felt rusted in place and would only move in jerks. I didn't think I wanted to try my luck with a 55mph jerk of the steering. I justed wanted to post my experience to help someone to be more informed as to how much risk there is in riding with this type failure. By what I have read there appears to be varying degrees of resistance from machine to machine.

 

[Blane270sx]

:agree: Whenever the VSS kicks in, I'm still able to steer with no extra resistance. But when the "lock" occurred, it was definitely in the handlebars, it wasn't coming from the wheels.

To Blane270sx (and others) - maybe to help ease your mind, when I had my steering problems, it wasn't a matter of "wrestling", it was very momentary. The bad stuff would probably happen if someone over-reacted and way over-corrected.
Since I was on vacation and not about to turn around and go home, I started to think of it like how you mentally prepare for the situation where one side of your car goes off the edge of the road - if you remain as calm as possible and gently pull back onto the road, there's no problem. But if you panic and jerk the steering wheel, you're going to end up going off the other side of the road.
It probably happened to me 10 times or more over four days. It was definitely something I wanted fixed as soon as I got home, but I felt like I could handle it for a few days.

Well in most of the situations it has come across as the steering pulling you into other lanes or off the road. I wish I could experence the problem as it would make it easier for me to let the wife loose to ride instead of letting the bike go. It is a tough call if it where me I would not be worried but you always worry about others more than yourself and I do not want her to get injured if it does happen. Like I said I have had no problems with the Bike at all but I know of a few that have and it sucks that she just does not want to chance it. Wish there was a way to duplicate the problem so she could be comfortable practicing controlling it if it were to happen maybe that will be a new addition to the 2010 owners manual.

 

[bcspyder]

While my loss of steering episode was pretty dramatic, what worries me the most is the limp mode. When my steering decided to move me into the next lane I could handle that. Losing power in traffic at 90 KPH however, is a very bad thing.

 

[Smylinacha]

Since I was on vacation and not about to turn around and go home, I started to think of it like how you mentally prepare for the situation where one side of your car goes off the edge of the road

Ummmm, No, NOPE, NO FREAKIN WAY. When I'm on vacation all I wanna do is mentally prepare for the fun I'm gonna have, not envision myself going off some freakin embankment. What are you smokin dude?!

 

[Neez]

While my loss of steering episode was pretty dramatic, what worries me the most is the limp mode. When my steering decided to move me into the next lane I could handle that. Losing power in traffic at 90 KPH however, is a very bad thing.

Yeah, now imagine it happening at night due to burnt brake light bulbs. Where does BRP get these ideas? Fortunately, NMN has the solution to that hair-raising possibility.

 

[Firefly]

I've got a feeling the steering issue is multi-faceted and that there may be more than one problem causing these various abnormalities.

Seems the 'newer' problem is more like the system is taking control and causing veering - where the original problem was steering 'lock' or 'binding' and then releasing while you were pushing on it.

Anyone know if they use this power-assist in any other road vehicles--- like did Bosch make it for them (like much of the VSS stuff) ?

 

[Degaman]

Both times it happened it to me, it was the 'binding' kind. Once after coming out of a hard turn at 50 mph it kinked at mid-steer, and the other time while passing a semi on the interstate at 80 mph, again at mid-steer. Both times, after the initial 'kink', I was able to maintain control with minimal effort.

Although somewhat disconcerting, I feel like I will be able to overcome like circumstances in the future. Hopefully, since the DPS software fix, this will be a moot point.

Not necessarily complaining, just providing a 'heads-up' if anybody else experiences something similar.

Despite the performance nuances inherent with a newly conceived vehicle, I LOVE MY SPYDER!!!

 

[Don in E Texas]

With my conversation the other day with BRP. I was told that all the problems that caused the surging & backfiring is with after market exhausts including the Hindle. That those were the machines effected.

SO DOES THIS APPEAR TO BE THE CASE???

Anybody-- have this surging & backfiring with totally stock machines????

:dontknow: :dontknow: :dontknow:

'08, SE5 --- Stock. Ran fine prior to "Fix" -- ran terrible after. Right now I've done the "canister" fix and the bike runs great. Never had steering issues, no fire either -- but those problems are in the back of my mind at all times.

Still waiting on my dealer/BRP to come up with something that will correct the problem that was caused by the "Fix". Yes, dealer and BRP have been notified.

don

 

[NancysToy]

'08, SE5 --- Stock. Ran fine prior to "Fix" -- ran terrible after. Right now I've done the "canister" fix and the bike runs great. Never had steering issues, no fire either -- but those problems are in the back of my mind at all times.

Still waiting on my dealer/BRP to come up with something that will correct the problem that was caused by the "Fix". Yes, dealer and BRP have been notified.

don

Don't understand. The second (ECM) update should cure your miss. If it doesn't, you probably have a bad plug wire, spark plug, coil, or other conventional difficulty. You may also have had a bad purge valve, which is why the canister fix worked. There is a test procedure in the manual that the dealer can perform.

 

[Putt-Putt]

'08, SE5 --- Stock. Ran fine prior to "Fix" -- ran terrible after. Right now I've done the "canister" fix and the bike runs great. Never had steering issues, no fire either -- but those problems are in the back of my mind at all times.

Still waiting on my dealer/BRP to come up with something that will correct the problem that was caused by the "Fix". Yes, dealer and BRP have been notified.

don

Any other pure stock machines have this problem after the update????

Just trying to fine out if this is only related to bikes with exhaust mods.

 

[Smylinacha]

My Spyder will be heading back to the dealer on Monday - he's gonna check on some things.

 

[krb1945]

Keep up the positive...

waves. BRP will get this problem resolved. All new products are debugged and evolve over time. And that is what is happening right now with the Spyder... it is evolving and it will take a little more time to get it perfect./Ken