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Frutrated and Embarrassed

spyderdreams

New member
Frustrated and Embarrassed

I had to wait until I cooled off before I wrote this. :chill: If I hadn't, it would have been laced with so much profanity it wouldn't be printable. :cus: Here's my story:

It was a beautiful Saturday, 80 degrees, humidity below 50%. I was leading a group of Goldwingers and eager to show them what the Spyder RT could do. Made it to Daytona fine with stops at Main St. and Sunshine Mall in south Daytona. When we got ready to leave, I turned the key and nothing happened.:shocked: No lights on the dash at all. Nothing was left on. I checked the battery cables for looseness. They were tight as far as I could tell. Thinking the battery was dead, we hooked it up first to a Goldwing then a car. Dash lit upon lightly but not enough juice to turn her over. Ended up having it towed to Daytona Fun Machines.:gaah:(tow truck took over an hour, but that's another story, added to the frustration).:mad: All that they could find was a "slightly loose battery cable". Again, that was the first thing I checked and they appeared tight. Everything else checked out fine. $47 later I was on my way home. But that's not all.

The following Saturday, mounted the Spyder at 6am for a trip to Kissimmee for a rally. Again with a group of Goldwings. Backed out of the garage, Spyder would not shift into second gear(paddle shifter).:cus: :banghead: Frustrated and pissed with the previous weekend on my mind, I threw my bags in the car and took off. At the meeting location, of course the Wingers wanted to know where was the Spyder. My story prompted remarks like "you need to take that thing back and get your money back" and "I see a new Wing in your future". Upon returning found that the bolt holding the paddle shifter was a little lose. Tightened it up and Spyder seems to shift fine now.

Now, can these problems occur with a Wing, or any other cycle, car or truck? Absolutely! It has just been very frustrating when they fire up ready to go and I'm dead in the water. These are not the only problems that I have had. It has gone into limp mode. Again with my Wing buddies right there.

Just had to vent. I certainly hope significant improvements are being made on subsequent models. I still love the ride. May even buy a future model. But I'm tired of wondering what problem I will incure each time I ride her.:pray: I rode a Wing for six years prior to buying the Spyder without the first problem.
 
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I went from BMW's and Harley's to a Goldwing 1800 in 2005, kept the bike 7 years, traded it in on the Spyder. I never once had a problem with the Wing, I just decided with my wife's help to get off two wheels. My choices were limited since I did not want a conventional three wheeler. I really like the Spyder. I had problems with my first 2012 Limited at 200 miles. The bike had an electrical problem. The dealer offered my wing and money back or another 2012 RT Limited. I took the replacement. The set up as everyone has posted is critical, having a good dealer that knows the bike is also critical. I now just have 1350 miles on the new one but it is running really well. I really enjoy the ride and hope to have many trouble free miles.

Today I can say that I would do it all over again, sorry to hear your concerns, it is embarrassing, disappointing and frustrating... Wish you well finding a good dealer.
 
I feel for you! You are living my worst fear. I traded in my 2009 Goldwing for a 2012 Spyder. The Goldwing was without a doubt the best bike I have ever owned! Goldwings are known for needing nothing more than oil and tires, and since you owned one for six years you already know that.

I'm hoping that my new Spyder will earn my trust in time! The reliability factor was/is a big issue for me! On the other hand the fun of riding the Spyder, along with all it's unique features, makes it worth the gamble.

I hope you have seen the last of any problems with your Spyder.
 
Sorry to hear about your troubles. But when comparing your goldwing to the spyder, just remember how long goldwings have been around and how young the spyder is. When spyder gets to be that old I'm sure the problems being experienced now will be a thing of the past. Hang in there.
--Paula
 
Sorry to hear about your troubles. But when comparing your goldwing to the spyder, just remember how long goldwings have been around and how young the spyder is. When spyder gets to be that old I'm sure the problems being experienced now will be a thing of the past. Hang in there.
--Paula

:agree:

And also consider that both of these issues should never have occurred with good dealer setup IMO.
Sorry for your frustrations. Hope that is the end of them!!
 
COULD BE DEALER FROM HELL CLUB MEMBER

Sorry to here about you're problems, been there done that....You checked the batt.connections and were OK....They check and slightly loose ...please deposit $ 47......give me/you a break......Sometimes I think some DEALERS think they have a license to STEAL and they consider us to be MORONS.......again sorry you are having problems......Mike.....:thumbup:
 
:welcome: Sorry to hear of your bad experience. Hoping that once the "bugs" are out that all will be well. I have owned 3 :spyder2: and put on more than 50,000 miles. No major problems with any of them.
 
I feel for you! You are living my worst fear. I traded in my 2009 Goldwing for a 2012 Spyder. The Goldwing was without a doubt the best bike I have ever owned! Goldwings are known for needing nothing more than oil and tires, and since you owned one for six years you already know that.

I'm hoping that my new Spyder will earn my trust in time! The reliability factor was/is a big issue for me! On the other hand the fun of riding the Spyder, along with all it's unique features, makes it worth the gamble.

I hope you have seen the last of any problems with your Spyder.

:agree: I too am an X Goldwing guy, I have owned 5 in the past. I waited until now hoping that they now have a handle on things at BRP. So far so good 1000 miles and counting. No problems.
 
I agree with Bob on this one. Dealers, and just some of them, have been the root cause of some of our issues. Maybe its time for a dealer training program for the Spyders?
 
How you describe your approach to riding makes perfect sense :thumbup:... But it's an imperfect World and no manufacturer is going to dare to try and stay in business without keeping their lawyers busy redesigning products so that they are idiot-proof... :gaah:
...And then we bring in dumber idiots to beat their attempts! :shocked:
I applaud Can Am's efforts while realizing that they've STILL got a way to go...
You're going to have to post some pics of your conversions...
 
I would agree the rider has a duty/onbligation or what ever to ride within their own limits and the limits of the machine.
I would like to see pics as well of your machine. From the sound, it does not resemble either my GS or my RT.
Many of the things you would delete are the reasons, many of us buy Spyders.
I have a little over 25 K, combined on my Spyders. The only problems, I have had is my big foot and the brake pedal.
I belong to Gold Wing Road Riders and while the Wing has a ecellent record, Read Wing World mag about all the Tech Tips problems. As a example, it was suggested by many to carry a spare alternator, if you were traveling on a 1500 and did not buy the aftermarket "Compufire" (sp) alternator.
Safety is a big thing to me. I agree "Big Goverment" and "liability" has carried some safety things to extremes, But I would place more "ability" on a steering/suspension system built by trained full time engineers then a "homebuilt"
Just My Opinion
Oldmanzues
 
I had a 2011 RTS that exhibited the same problems. Let me add that I did have 12k trouble free miles before this incident. Driving with no problems stopped for gas and would not start. Towed to dealer only to be told that battery cable was loose. Had the 12k done at the same time. Took the bike home, two days later no start, jumped it and drove it. Charged the battery for a week ( on and off) drove it and several times just barely started later in the day. On Friday the following week, (see my other post in Tech talk) the head lights came on, guages did their thing, but when the safety message came on nothing, just a blank screen and all the controls on the handle bars would not work. It would start if charged, but would not go into gear. Even though it started without having to press the mode button, the tack did not show any movement, just stayed at zero. Had it towed to the dealer again, this time I am told that a connector to the power steering had melted and the power steering module had burned up. The 40 amp fuse to the power steering was not blown, but the 60 amp fuse to the rectifier was. Everyone scratching their heads, and the only thing that they wanted to do was to say either my jumping or charging the battery caused the problem (per the BRP tech support). They did agree to fix it under warranty but since no one could tell me why it happeded.... well. Anyways, I traded it in and got a new one (yes took it in the shorts) and I hope you do not have similar issues.

On a different note, the 12k bill was $1600 and change... Is that normal. I didn't have to actually pay that since I bought a maint. program with the bike but still....

Willy
 
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I am not trying to rub salt into the wound or anything like that but five years ago I test drove a spyder and just fell in love with the notion of owning one.
5 years ago was March 2007. Did you work at Can-Am? First Spyder GS/RS enter the country October 2007, Spyder serial number 001 was delivered to Jay Leno at Leno’s garage in Burbank, California ...:popcorn:
 
5 years ago was March 2007. Did you work at Can-Am? First Spyder GS/RS enter the country October 2007, Spyder serial number 001 was delivered to Jay Leno at Leno’s garage in Burbank, California ...:popcorn:
There was a great deal of test riding by invited guests, and debriefing by the engineers, done at the unveiling in February or March of 2007.
 
Well the pics looks intriguing...
Are you going to be offering conversion kits or completed units for sale?? :shocked:
PM me with some more info... my interest has been awakened... :thumbup:
 
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