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

[WaltH]

They do make airplanes!!!!!!! :yikes:

As a matter of fact we were on one from Albany to NJ on our way to Daytona last week! ray:

MM

They don't make airplanes. BRP was spun off from the parent company in 2003. BRP only makes recreational products and has nothing to do with the other Bombardier companies. I think they do sell Rotax engines for use in very small airplanes (not sure about this).

 

[mrb]

Lamont- I think most of us still love these unique and innovative vehicles but are concerned for the possible saftey issues.
Those that don't "love them" would have just sold them and moved on, as some have.

The things discussed on your forum and the opinions given may well save some of us from injury - this does not "suck" - you should be proud of the job you do here.

Like other have said I love my Spyder but am concerned. If my concern is proven to be unsubstantiated then that is great.

 

[Sarge707]

I would also recommend everyone find a stretch of country road and practice hitting the kill switch and coasting to a controlled stop.

I believe this procedure is detailed in the owners guide.

Thanks Brother!! I already practise emergency stops at about 40 MPH (Including swerving to the Right -Left). NOW I,LL add your kill switch exercise every ride and then Just go Enjoy the you know what out of my Spyder!!!! I just LOVE the Acceleration on lonely back roads!!!:spyder2::yes:

 

[Smylinacha]

Lamont- I think most of us still love these unique and innovative vehicles but are concerned for the possible saftey issues.
Those that don't "love them" would have just sold them and moved on, as some have.

The things discussed on your forum and the opinions given may well save some of us from injury - this does not "suck" - you should be proud of the job you do here.

Like other have said I love my Spyder but am concerned. If my concern is proven to be unsubstantiated then that is great.

:agree: And I'm a Mom, I have kids and I'd really like to be around for grandkids some day. This board doesn't suck - quite the opposite - there is more info on here than the spyder.brp website. This is the only place where you can get opinions, good & bad. I guess for some people who love their Spyders, they don't like hearing the negatives so yes, that's a total downer. But we need all honesty in here - what is going on, the pros, the cons, the fears, the joys. If it's not a melting pot of emotions, then it would be hard for me to believe that this thing is totally flawless and the company is PERFECT. I work in a place where I'm am working w/ the top of the food chain - THE ABSOLUTE TOP - and believe me, nobody who uses our product knows the inner workings of this place - there's alot of bad w/ the good, that's for sure. We are just good at hiding the bad.

 

[Dochands]

lol at my updated epitaph.

My conclusion from all these posts.

Ride cautiously and follow logical and legal limits for speed and terrain. If you don't trust your vehicle you never push it to the limit.

Know how to stop your bike in the event of an emergency. This needs to be a practiced skill so that muscle memory takes over in the event of an accident. Relying on a quick read of the manual without practice is extremely dangerous.

Risk management is part, perhaps an unfortunate part, of any product. Unless a higher organization gets involved, letters, calls, and complaints can and will go unheeded.

File a complaint with the appropriate agency and feel free to file again should there be another incident. Most recalls are performed based on simple numbers.

I can only hope that these are the unfortunate experiences of a few riders percentage wise but they cannot be ignored and the problem misunderstood or it puts us all potentially at peril.

 

[Smylinacha]

I was following legal limits when my mishaps happened. Still scared me. I don't do the illegal limits anymore - too scared to do them - I miss the good times - I miss going 100 down Route 8.

I do know the emergency rules, I took the course, I've practiced them. So I'm good to go there.

Just alot of stuff lately has taken my enjoyment out of riding. I was so happy to get home from TN in one piece. I had a WONDERFUL time down there but it was always in the back of my mind.

 

[BRPjunkie]

Folks, this topic is getting way out of hand. I respect everyone's right to say their piece, and even complimented MagicMan for his first post and starting this thread. Some things certainly have to be said. They do not, however, have to be said over, and over, and over, and over again. We all get the drift! Let's give this thing a little time, let BRP respond to Pitmon and any others who have reported problems, as Lamont said they were doing, and then, if it needs another push, get behind and shove again. All we are realy doing by:bdh: is upsetting owners, scaring potential buyers, and unnecessarily (for now) beating up BRP. Give them a chance to respond, for heaven's sake. I know it is the "instant" age of text messaging and all that rot, but these things take time. Let's be courteous enough to allow a little. BTW, my absolutely arbitrary opinion is that there are actually several issues at large, related only by the fact that they all may affect the steering. If that is the case, this will surely take some time to sort out.

Going over all the posts over time here, and injecting a bit of my own experience, I have put together my list of possible areas of concern/causes:

1. DPS that has never worked, or has failed completely.
2. DPS fault displayed on cluster after update.
3. DPS that "steers itself", and most often seems to cause excursions to the left.
4. DPS that fails to respond immediately as rider expects, then kicks in suddenly, causing overcorrection. (This is the one the update was supposed to cure.)
5. Intermittent DPS. (Another scary one.)
6. Related sensor malfunctions or sensor(s) out of calibration.
7. Possible CANBUS noise caused by other sensors (GPS?) that affect steering.
8. Possible VCM or related sensor issues that cause VSS errors that affect steering.
9. Programming that can allow certain conditions to cause difficulty in steering Spyder, or loss of control upon failure or malfunction.

I'm sure BRP considered all of these when designing and testing the Spyder, but IMO they need a second, third, or fourth look.

DISCLAIMER: I am not in any way diminishing these real and frightening events or making excuses for BRP or its dealers. Just applying my professional experience as a risk manager.

Possible causes of the reported events involve complex interlinked systems as Scotty notes above. Reports of events on this or other sites do not provide the necessary data for diagnosis. Statistical analysis requires sufficient data to begin to see a pattern. We still do not know how many actual events have occurred, if they are related in terms of specific components, if they are on 2008, 2009, SE, SM, if hardware or software is invloved, if update 1 or update 2 was done, if either was done right by the dealer, etc. Until some of these factors can be identified, documented and fully investigated, the causes will be speculation. Plane crashes even with voice recorders and black boxes take months to resolve. BRP is not ignoring these events and neither they or us are served by trying to guess what is wrong or trying random fixes that may not get to the root cause. It is very possible that there is not a single cause and these events might be random failures of different components. BRP did extensive testing on the design and components in dozens of prototypes. Now there are over 15,000 tests being conducted, however, BRP does not have the same access or control over the test results to analyze. None of us is happy waiting, but until statistical evidence can be obtained, that is what we have to do.

 

[hondaman]

I would not let my EX WIFE ride my spyder after the way the steering was acting today on some country roads.It tried to steer offroad and into a car several times in 3 miles.It just went crazy.If she was on it im shure she would have crashed............................

 

[Questions]

Terrence and Phillip!!!

Now that was the BEST post of the day. I am laughing my azz off

 

[Putt-Putt]

And as I said in a previous post, I called brp TODAY AND HE SAID IT WAS THE FIRST HE HAD HEARD OF THIS. Can I be the only one to call them? :dontknow:

 

[Questions]

And as I said in a previous post, I called brp TODAY AND HE SAID IT WAS THE FIRST HE HAD HEARD OF THIS. Can I be the only one to call them? :dontknow:

Did you talk to Terrence or Phillip?

 

[Firefly]

I had a bit of time (went for a ride) to reflect on the various opinions on this whole subject and decided I really do feel safe on my Spyder. In fact - I still think it's the safest MC on the road.

Looking at the big picture - and comparing riding the Spyder to another MC - hands down the Spyder is safer. A patch of gravel, rain, leafs, a large bunny, etc. are not going to make you kiss the asphalt - like they can do on 2 wheels. There have been 2 Spyders that I know of that hit deer at 60+ mph --- and both riders walked away just fine--- something you wouldn't do on 2 wheelse.

If I was looking to be safe on the road - the Spyder would still be the #1 choice compared to any other bike out there.

Even with a *possible* steering failure - I'll take that slight chance over loose gravel on a curve any day.

Now---- that isn't to say that if my Spyder was having PS problems I would keep riding it--- those that are having steering issues should get them in and fixed asap ---- those that don't have the problems --- be aware--- but realize you're still on the safest bike on the road and your Spyder may never have those problems.

RIDE UP !

 

[Smylinacha]

Well I just posted my complaint on that website - vin # and all.

DISCLAIMER: I am not in any way diminishing these real and frightening events or making excuses for BRP or its dealers. Just applying my professional experience as a risk manager.

Possible causes of the reported events involve complex interlinked systems as Scotty notes above. Reports of events on this or other sites do not provide the necessary data for diagnosis. Statistical analysis requires sufficient data to begin to see a pattern. We still do not know how many actual events have occurred, if they are related in terms of specific components, if they are on 2008, 2009, SE, SM, if hardware or software is invloved, if update 1 or update 2 was done, if either was done right by the dealer, etc. Until some of these factors can be identified, documented and fully investigated, the causes will be speculation. Plane crashes even with voice recorders and black boxes take months to resolve. BRP is not ignoring these events and neither they or us are served by trying to guess what is wrong or trying random fixes that may not get to the root cause. It is very possible that there is not a single cause and these events might be random failures of different components. BRP did extensive testing on the design and components in dozens of prototypes. Now there are over 15,000 tests being conducted, however, BRP does not have the same access or control over the test results to analyze. None of us is happy waiting, but until statistical evidence can be obtained, that is what we have to do.

 

[Putt-Putt]

Did you talk to Terrence or Phillip?

No it was neither one. I fogot his name but was different definitely was French.

 

[Smylinacha]

No it was neither one. I fogot his name but was different definitely was French.

:roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:

 

[rleathen]

Firefly your attitude is commendable !!

 

[Putt-Putt]

Hey what can I say? I had a hard time saying it when he told me it.

 

[Smylinacha]

Hey what can I say? I had a hard time saying it when he told me it.

Check your pm's - just sent you one.

 

[tatt2r]

1st off no disrepect to anyone but I've had this happen and I drive my spyder like an idiot ,,, I keep my mind focused that this might happen if it steers easy fine if it doesn't fine I'm hopeing they fix problem an of course don't want to see anyone get hurt ... I've driven some real pieces of sh!7 in my life and my spyder is still the best vehicle and most fun I've ever owned and I will still ride and just keep my reflexes aware that problems can happen but I will not sell
again no disrespect

 

[SFC]

i bought my spyder in june of 2009 I love it I'm disabeled and can not ride a two will of any weight. I ' happy with how my service man takes care of my recals and attempts to answer questions . I had a problem with my frount tires need to change at 6000 miles and finding no reason. BPR told my service man "too many right turns" stuip me I didn't know right turns would ware the tires out sooner. The dealer found a means of alligniment and built the machine BPR recomened and I will be returning with 11000 miles on my spyder. i am not a wealthy man and do not want to have to sue or take leagle maters or have my family do anything if this bike kills me. but expecting only possitive coments should not expected. I have learned alot from info on this site and have made my dealer a pro. I would much rather see a listing of things peopld have done with the spyder mods add ons.recals ect. This seems more interesting and than "I went were no on has gone before and fill space jab jawing on dumb jokes. This is my first responce bu I agree with a number of people on othe blogs and this location BPR is missing the boat for future bussiness and referrals if they don't jump in and make some corrections repairs. They may need to open the pocket book for a change.???:spyder2::2excited::clap:i love elephants