I Hate To Be Negitive B-U-T

[2dogs]

I like what you are saying. A few years ago, I would have jumped on the first Japanese Spyder-type lock, stock, and barrel. Money is also an issue these days now that I am retired and no longer teaching on the side.

Today, I would adopt a wait and see for a couple years at least, to see how everyone else likes them. (beta testers). :roflblack:

I am guessing a first version would be a little less than what we are used to, and for a little more money. The old "sell it for what the market will bear." They know there are some who are going to jump on them right now, regardless, if and when.

I purchased the first model Yamaha Venture made in 1983. That machine packed my wife and me all over the western US several times over several years in a row without so much as even a hiccup. It had all the bells and whistles that my 14 RTS has today with the exception of the paddle shift and the on the fly rear suspension adjustment. One of the two most reliable and best rides I've ever owned. My guess is that all the big 4 Japanese companies have in their possession one or all of BRP's model spyders, and have digested all their faults and have refined models of their own ready to build and market in the not too distant future.

 

[jiffy]

I think the Japanese bike lovers are in luck with offerings from Yamaha and Honda. The Honda NeoWing sure looks a lot like an F3S.

 

[ARtraveler]

I purchased the first model Yamaha Venture made in 1983. That machine packed my wife and me all over the western US several times over several years in a row without so much as even a hiccup. It had all the bells and whistles that my 14 RTS has today with the exception of the paddle shift and the on the fly rear suspension adjustment. One of the two most reliable and best rides I've ever owned. My guess is that all the big 4 Japanese companies have in their possession one or all of BRP's model spyders, and have digested all their faults and have refined models of their own ready to build and market in the not too distant future.

Now that is a coincidence. I also purchased a new 1983 Yamaha Venture, but bought mine as a left over model in 1984. I also drove that one all over the place and it never gave me any major repair problems. That was my first "Cadillac" bike. I also test drove a Wing at the same time, but the Venture won out for me.

I also have a 2014 RTS and in 43,000 miles so far...no problems with it either. Its the Yellow one in the signature below.

 

[2dogs]

Now that is a coincidence. I also purchased a new 1983 Yamaha Venture, but bought mine as a left over model in 1984. I also drove that one all over the place and it never gave me any major repair problems. That was my first "Cadillac" bike. I also test drove a Wing at the same time, but the Venture won out for me.

Yep, easily accessible oil filter, and air filter, shaft drive, adjustable headlight from the driver's seat, cassette player accessible to the driver, never any valve adjustments, and 4 powerful cylinders that got a constant 50 MPG at any speed on regular gas. When Yamaha comes out with their reverse 3 wheel leaning cruiser........... well, BRP may become history. Ha, got 43k on my 14 also.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

American quality has been dropping since corporate America decided to go for "rape-me" level profits.

Only partially true. In 1958 my brother was ecstatic that his car tires lasted 16,000 miles. My 1970 Dodge station wagon was shot at 100k miles. Now we have 50k to 80k mile tires and the 2005 Nissan Maxima I just turned over to my daughter is running strong at 130k miles. BTW, the Maxima, and my Titan, are American made in Canton, MS. John Deere tractors and Caterpillar crawlers are sold all around the world and hold their own against any foreign made machine. An engineer I worked with in the mid-80's came from General Motors. At that time they designed and manufactured for a target of 7% defect rate. The bean counters determined that. Soooooo, quality is greatly variable around the world and among all manufactured products. But all in all, it is much higher today than 50 years ago. Years ago when I was working in Quality Assurance one quality guru said if you wanted to see examples of some of the poorest quality in the world, he could show it to you ......... in Japan!

 

[SuperG]

And they would have to try harder to make a good bike. Perhaps they would succeed.

In the mean time I am happy that it is built or at least assembled in Canada, part of North America B.T.W, with an engine that is built by people, Austrians if I believe what I've read, being paid first world wages. That is more than I can say about most of the motorcycles on North American roads at the moment.

I believe in the connection between a luxury vehicle and the number of problems reported. The spyders are on the pricey side and of course they don't sell as well as a standard motorcycle.

As mentioned above - I think Can-Am is putting out a fine product built and doing it paying first-world wages.

 

[PinkRosePetal]

I believe in the connection between a luxury vehicle and the number of problems reported. The spyders are on the pricey side...

As mentioned above - I think Can-Am is putting out a fine product built and doing it paying first-world wages.

You reckon? If you look closely I think you'll find China cast into the rear wheel. You can be sure it's not the only part.

 

[Lawrence]

I have a new 2020 RTL also but have never heard of anti-dirt force shield,can you explain. Thanks

 

[Peter Aawen]

.....
After the first two weeks of ownership, I found that the anti-dirt force shield has totally and completely failed with no warning of any kind.
.....

I have a new 2020 RTL also but have never heard of anti-dirt force shield,can you explain. Thanks

Hi Lawrence, I dunno if you'll understand my Australian accent too well (after all, we do call it 'Strine where I am Down Under. ) but here in Oz, that's what we call 'takin the piss outta you!' :thumbup:

So, at the risk of continuing the facetious bent of some of the posts/posters in this thread (et tu, Lawrence? ).... he was joking; having a dig; having you on; pulling yer leg; or like I said above, he's takin the piss outta you! :roflblack:

Except it's not strictly directed at YOU Lawrence - in his original post, it was directed at ALL his potential readers... Basically, they're all expressions meaning to mock, tease, joke, ridicule, or scoff. It's a joke at the readers expense..... or maybe it's really a joke ON Threewheels.... or at least his Spyder?? :dontknow: But then, my 'anti-dirt force shield' gets better/thicker/stronger every time I ryde, except when it rains of course... then some of it washes off! . opcorn:

 

[Freddy]

I have a new 2020 RTL also but have never heard of anti-dirt force shield,can you explain. Thanks

:yikes: :roflblack: :welcome: :cheers:

 

[MONK]

You reckon? If you look closely I think you'll find China cast into the rear wheel. You can be sure it's not the only part.

Best of luck finding ANY vehicle sold in the US/Canada/UK/etc that doesn't have parts made in China/Japan/S. Korea/Mexico/etc. Literally impossible. Harley Davidson, the "All American motorcycle" has 70% of it's parts made outside the US. Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford all have many parts made outside the US/Canada.

 

[Fatcycledaddy]

I purchased the first model Yamaha Venture made in 1983. That machine packed my wife and me all over the western US several times over several years in a row without so much as even a hiccup. It had all the bells and whistles that my 14 RTS has today with the exception of the paddle shift and the on the fly rear suspension adjustment. One of the two most reliable and best rides I've ever owned. My guess is that all the big 4 Japanese companies have in their possession one or all of BRP's model spyders, and have digested all their faults and have refined models of their own ready to build and market in the not too distant future.

I have owned 3 Yamaha venture royals. 1986, 1989, and 1991. While being great bikes ahead of their time, they were NOT without their own set of problems. The stator was weak, carburetor diaphragms were weak, and with hard shims for valves it cost as much to check them as it did to adjust them. Then there is a seal for where the output shaft for the driveshaft that would fail and cause them to leak oil, and the front fork seals that would need to be replaced regularly. They tried to fix the fork seal problem with rubber boots on the front forks of the 1991.

So yes they are great bikes, I still own the 1989, but they, as with anything mechanical made, had their own set of problems.

Now I can talk about all of the great things of the ventures, how they had more performance and better handling than any other touring bike at that time, how it pulled my camper trailer with ease, how I only had to work on it one time when on a trip, and so on.

So just like anything in life, we can dwell on all the negative things about something, or we can dwell on the positive things about it. I am not saying that we need to ignore the negative things, but are we blowing them out of per portion by thinking only about those?

I own two spyder RT Limited models, one 2015 that I put 52,000 miles on before I hit a deer with it the first week of Aug., and the 2020 rt limited I pick up on the 14 of Aug. and now have over 800 miles on it. Neither one are perfect, but man are they a lot of fun! I also found them both EXTREMELY dependable.

 

[Fatcycledaddy]

Agreed!!! Just take the drive pulley failures as one example. Folks like us buy these machines coz we simply want one. Many experience buyer remorse, or at least alarm, not too long thereafter. Some keep going back for more punishment. We are a niche market and BRP has us by the short & curlies and keep serving up the same levels of quality & reliability.
nojoke

Hmmm...here we have a bike with traction control, stability control, a nanny that tries to keep you safe, mine is paddle shift, downshifts automatically, the floorboard drops when braking hard, yet when snapped back in place hold my weight, the windshield moves up and down, and a design like nothing else on the market today.

I myself think it is an engineering marvel.

 

[SuperG]

You reckon? If you look closely I think you'll find China cast into the rear wheel. You can be sure it's not the only part.

You've got a point. We live in a global economy and nothing is 100% native anything.

 

[FastOldGuy]

Brutal... Most people Know Quality but DO NOT WANT TO PAY FOR IT. Manufacturers are faced with Volume or Quality. Most choose Volume but it can Bite You/Them In the Ass at some point. It's Not Only BRP, It's 95% of everything we Buy. Want a Bitch session, my 2018 H-D StreetGlide rides like ****. The OEM shocks on the bike are Crap and a lot of the engineering is Piss Poor. Boats, Cars, Homes, you name it. Get into Russian quality and you'll really get Pissed. A replacement part probably Will Not Fit out of the box.

 

[carbonation]

This is all unsubstantiated opinion, displaying a lack of understanding how large, complex organizations function.

You don't know me, I don't know you.
I will say I am quite familiar with several "large, complex organizations function" though.
While aware this will not change your mind, I've been on design, manufacturing, and service teams. I've created training for technicians. Written service manuals. Interfaced with Boeing, Ralston-Purina, Enterprise Lease, Xerox, Fiserv, OSG, GM, Ford, Chrysler, True Manufacturing. A few others.
I'm pretty sure that I have a good grasp on many aspects of business and company strategy.
Absolutely, by far, best quality control and seamless manufacturing... Toyota. (For normal folks. Wealthy folks can still get a Lear or Shuttle.)

 

[2dogs]

I have owned 3 Yamaha venture royals. 1986, 1989, and 1991. While being great bikes ahead of their time, they were NOT without their own set of problems. The stator was weak, carburetor diaphragms were weak, and with hard shims for valves it cost as much to check them as it did to adjust them. Then there is a seal for where the output shaft for the driveshaft that would fail and cause them to leak oil, and the front fork seals that would need to be replaced regularly. They tried to fix the fork seal problem with rubber boots on the front forks of the 1991.

So yes they are great bikes, I still own the 1989, but they, as with anything mechanical made, had their own set of problems.
......

My only issue was the stator and it was replaced under a recall. By the way, if it's true, HD has had a patent on a leaning reverse trike for years now. I've seen the diagram before and possibly someday it may be produced. Guess where the HD factory has moved.

 

[happyspyder2039]

Who cares what the wires look like. As long as it works. Ryde and enjoy.

 

[pegasus1300]

Now that is a coincidence. I also purchased a new 1983 Yamaha Venture, but bought mine as a left over model in 1984.

I also started luxury touring on a 1983 Venture bought in 1986 with 23,000mi. sold with 103,000, a 1986, 1987,1988, and 2 2008s. loved the V4 motor. Still have the 1987. If I could keep it up I would still ride it. It is still one of the most modern "antiques" around. Although it has 3 wheels I have always felt at home on the Spyder because it felt "Venture like" to me. With nearly 60,000 mostly trouble free miles on a VTwin I expect to get a 100,000 miles out of it.
I had thought of converting it to 3 wheels, but it would have cost $15,000+ with no reverse ,no ABS, no FI, no traction Control, no Stability Control, and still been a 15 year old trike in the end. I bought my 2012 used with only 8500 mi. for $15,000. With all of the above plus fewer miles plus the paddle shifter, what an upgrade that was. There have been a few glitches with the Spyder that aggravate me, but so far I can deal with them, and work around them. It is still a ball to ride and I ride it every chance I get.

BTW I no idea there were so many former Venture/Royal Star riders here.

 

[ThreeWheels]

BTW I no idea there were so many former Venture/Royal Star riders here.

Previous bike. Previous wife. More hair.