FAULTY AIR RIDE SENSOR ON THE NEW 11 RTS!

[fordguyupnorth]

took delivery of my first spyder ( a viper red rts). came off a 08 harley ultra screamin eagle so it was a scary step. got it home and drove it 18 miles ( only 30 degrees here in michigan) and my fiancee and i hated it! she felt like she was going to be thrown off! and i had all i could do to keep it on the road when i hit a little bump. parked it in the garage and after a sleepless night called my dealer at 9am when they opened to tell them i didnt want it! they advised me they didnt have a "return policy" so we thought we were "stuck" with it! that night not wanting another sleepless night i decided to ride it until i figured out what i was missing. long story short it turned out that when the spyder was started the compressor pump started airing up the shock. problem is it never stopped so i was essentially riding on a "rigid" frame! no wonder my fiancee felt like she was going to be dehorsed! after a while of riding the unit will display a "manual setting" when you push the air ride button. you can hear the air being let out and see the bike lower. wow, what a difference! i have not had it to the dealer but im sure it is a faulty sensor! not very good on brp's part but i guess stuff happens huh. it is very dangerous, scary,and uncomfortable riding on essentially the frame so if anyone else has the same experience be sure to let the unit air itself all the way up until it will alow you to manually deflate the shock. hoping they get it fixed and all else is well from here. i can say once i deflated the shock it was a fantastic ride!
happy trails!:2thumbs:

 

[C3517C]

Yup, same as me.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25328

 

[Dragonrider]

:congrats: on your new RT S. Wish the red was available last year - it IS the fastest color… Happy miles.

 

[johnnyg]

The thing you have to remember is you have to learn to relax on :spyder2: It is a completely different ride than a 2 wheeler. The more miles you ride the better it gets. Give it Time! Try to ride slow until you get use to it. We came from a HD ultra Classic Trust me it scared the S---t the first hundred miles out of me. We bought it May of 2010 and we are turning 14K now. And we love it. I'll take this over any 2 wheels. Now my wife is going to get her license. and she has only drove it for 11 mile and is hooked JC

 

[SpyderDen]

Hang in there buddy. It just keeps getting better. It's not two wheels, but thats why you left two wheels.:congrats:

 

[Barbary]

:congrats:and :welcome:

 

[Jester]

It is still fun to ride 2 wheels, but once you get used to the Spyder, it is awesome!!!!!!! Keeping the rpms up with proper used of the gears will give you a machine that will outperform any Harley I have dealt with. I have a lot of Harley time and enjoy them, but the Spyder is the greatest thing I have come across for my current life station!!!!!:2thumbs:

 

[Slybird]

The thing you have to remember is you have to learn to relax on :spyder2: It is a completely different ride than a 2 wheeler. The more miles you ride the better it gets. Give it Time! Try to ride slow until you get use to it. We came from a HD ultra Classic Trust me it scared the S---t the first hundred miles out of me. We bought it May of 2010 and we are turning 14K now. And we love it. I'll take this over any 2 wheels. Now my wife is going to get her license. and she has only drove it for 11 mile and is hooked JC

I couldn't agree more. :agree::2thumbs::agree: You've made a wise move, my friend! Enjoy the ryde!

 

[fordguyupnorth]

YOUR A GOOD BUNCH OF PEOPLE!

thanks everyone...if nothing else i feel better about buying the thing. (even though im taking it back to the shop already). actually, i think i know what everyone means now when they say you just have to ride one. even with the faulty air ride sensor its pretty awsome to cruise on. i had to manually let all the air out of the shock so it wouldnt throw me off on the first bump! im taking it back to get fixed (hopefully) and should have it back soon. anyway, its quite a machine! not a motorcycle by any means. but a fantastic experience with the added element of feeling very safe! my soon to be bride and i sure will appreciate that this summer! thanks all for your help! i look forward to meeting most of you if i can make it to mo for spyderfest!

 

[ARtraveler]

:welcome: :congrats: on the new :spyder2:. Hang in there, 200-500 miles for two wheeled pilots generally will have you singing another tune about the :spyder2:.

 

[fordguyupnorth]

just wanted to let everyone know i scheduled an appt. on saturday with town and country sports center in cement city,mi. ( someone kindly let me know if we arent supposed to mention names) talked to beth, what a great help she was! very knowledgable gal! kind and friendly! she was familar with this site as well. cool huh! anyway i will let everyone know what they find out with the rts. maybe it will help someone else out in the future. even though its 5 degrees out today i still cant wait to ride the viper red rts for the first time without the fear of being flung from the thing because of the rear shock! thanks again to all who have been so nice and supportive!:2thumbs:

 

[NancysToy]

just wanted to let everyone know i scheduled an appt. on saturday with town and country sports center in cement city,mi. ( someone kindly let me know if we arent supposed to mention names) talked to beth, what a great help she was! very knowledgable gal! kind and friendly! she was familar with this site as well. cool huh! anyway i will let everyone know what they find out with the rts. maybe it will help someone else out in the future. even though its 5 degrees out today i still cant wait to ride the viper red rts for the first time without the fear of being flung from the thing because of the rear shock! thanks again to all who have been so nice and supportive!:2thumbs:

Looks to me like you could pull the R1 suspension relay to disable the compressor, then just air up the system to the desired level with the Schrader valve under the seat. Not sure if you would get limp mode or any error codes, but I doubt it. I have never tried it, but when the new RTS comes in I will experiment with it. It would be a good tool to have in your pocket. Glad you found a dealer to take care of you closer to home.

 

[widowmaker2011]

Looks to me like you could pull the R1 suspension relay to disable the compressor, then just air up the system to the desired level with the Schrader valve under the seat. Not sure if you would get limp mode or any error codes, but I doubt it. I have never tried it, but when the new RTS comes in I will experiment with it. It would be a good tool to have in your pocket. Glad you found a dealer to take care of you closer to home.

Not to place blame anywhere , but there have been a lot of these delivered this way and found to be dealer setup error (you have to be very careful when uncrating and setting up not to bend or otherwise move the air ride suspension switch on the swingarm. If it is bent during prep, it will constantly call for air, resulting in just what you are experiencing.

 

[NancysToy]

Not to place blame anywhere , but there have been a lot of these delivered this way and found to be dealer setup error (you have to be very careful when uncrating and setting up not to bend or otherwise move the air ride suspension switch on the swingarm. If it is bent during prep, it will constantly call for air, resulting in just what you are experiencing.

That was certainly the case on the 2010s, and could be the case here, too. There was a Service Bulletin that addressed that particular issue, explaining the correct way to install the sensor and link, and with new specs and procedure for setting the ride height. That helped many of the later production 2010s. There has already been one reported case of a bad sensor causing the problem on a 2011. The cause of this particular failure can only be speculated on until it is examined by a dealer.

 

[fordguyupnorth]

we are going to the dealer 9am this sat. (feb. 26th) they assured me they will work on it while i wait. i will be sure to fill everyone in on what they find!

 

[fordguyupnorth]

UPDATE

well, took the 3 hour drive to cement city to have my 2011 brand spankin new rts fixed, after all it does have almost 50 miles on it! they cleared the computer, updated the computer, whispered sweet nothings into the computer, and who knows what else...but alas, no such luck. it still turns out it needs a "little computer box" that controls the air shock. naturally no one stocks that so it will have to come from a warehouse from brp somewhere. 7-10 days from now they should have it. then i will know if i can use my new bike! nifty huh. ok,,ok,,,i understand things happen. and i do need to add the folks at town and country powersports are very, accomodating and nice and professional. still this is very frustrating. after years and years of the harley davidson experience....i have to give brp an E on there dealer network.for the last 10 years of owning 3 different harley's i found myself in a harley dealership only when i felt the urge to accessorize. of course harley stores seem to play the same subliminal music that walmart does so the hundreds seemed to just leap out of my wallet! but you know what? i didnt mind! i hope in the coming years brp is able to organize and educate there dealer network with a common vision. i hope there dealers aren't snowmobile stores that happen to sell these motorcycle looking things also. i believe there is so much opportunity with the spyder to ruin it because of lack of education/vision with there dealers! i ran a ford dealership for 15 years so i know first hand the importance of manufacture/dealer relationship. even though my spyder experience hasn't been the best so far in just the handful of miles i have driven i can already see the vast possibilities this vehicle can open up to all walks of life! but from what i experienced today they have a ways to go.after i dropped my bike off i visited 3 different can am dealerships on the way home to look for accessories, coat, hat, gloves, etc.depending on how my rts fix goes i am even going to buy a rs for my lovely bride to be to ride. but i tell ya, it shouldnt be this hard to try to spend money on can am stuff! needless to say i came home empty handed. not a hat to be found, coat, saw a leftover 2009 rs! even my color(red) and couldnt get a salesperson....even though the gal paged for one lots of times:gaah:. well sorry for going off on a tangent its been a long day of driving and as you can see i am frustrated. but what i say is true! i will update on the "fix" i guess in 7 to 10 days.