I have run out of patience with BRP.

[rus44756]

The Spyder Blues

I too am frustrated with my Spyder. I have owned about 30 motorcycles, 15 boats, and 35 cars and trucks as well as many 4 wheelers, golf carts, riding lawn mowers and dozens of small engine machines and my RT is the most frustrating machine I have ever owned. Its not the breaking down that is frustrating because all machines can break down. Its the not being able to get it fixed and even more being blamed for it not working. I have a Yamaha outboard motor I paid $15000 for new that never worked from the day I bought it. The dealer just could not fix it, but at least they tried. Yamaha sent a factory tech to the dealer and he could not fix it either so they gave me a new motor without any hassle that has worked ever since. When I take my new Spyder to the dealer they say all of my Limp mode problems are from me riding the brake, WHICH I DO NOT. I pay more attention to my brake foot than the road and only get near it when I have to. I am starting to worry that BRP does not know how to fix some of the problems so they just stall you off until you get so frustrated you sell it or the warranty runs out. You guys that label people complainers need to walk a mile in their shoes. Its sure no fun making a big payment every month for a very large paper weight.

 

[arntufun]

Fastfraser,

You could not be more wrong imo to say buying more Spyders will fix the service issues. All the dealers in my area only have one tech trained to fix the Spyder and my guess is, most dealers are this way. The more Spyders sold the longer our Spyders will take to get fixed. Thats not rocket science to figure that one out. Call me selfish but if we degrade the Spyder so people won't buy them , then that is less time mine will be backed up in the shop waiting for the one tech thats trained, to get around to it. If BRP wont fix the service issues then we should take it into our own hands then. Call me whatever names you want, but I call it like I see it.

Yes the Spyders are 4 years old, and imo that should have been plenty of time to get there :cus: together with their service depts. It's not like it is thier first product. BRP has been around forever with other products but imo this one will fail due to these service issues.

So they had a slots open at the BRP school for Lamont and others that are not techs (no offense Lamont), but they can't train more of there own employees at these dealers that desperately need it ??? Where are thier prioritys ??? BRP has to know by now that thier service depts are the worst in the business.

 

[spyder3]

Actually, the tech that last worked on my bike takes a BRP computer course as his training. There are different levels of service they "graduate" from.

I'm sure lamont or someone else can expand on this. But it does not seem to be all hands on training. Perhaps the heavy duty engine/valve jobs etc...is hands on.

 

[arntufun]

BRP should hire another person to work with Carlo and that person should be Lamonster!

I think you might be wrong in this case. I don't care if you have ten Lamonts working with Carlo, if there is not a Lamont at every dealers service dept and parts available these issues will still be there.

What would Lamont and Carlo accually be able to do from another state ??? Call and check on the status of your machine or check where the parts are ??? I am fully capable of doing that and I have. Am I wrong with my harsh opinions towards BRP ???

 

[NancysToy]

Actually, the tech that last worked on my bike takes a BRP computer course as his training. There are different levels of service they "graduate" from.

I'm sure lamont or someone else can expand on this. But it does not seem to be all hands on training. Perhaps the heavy duty engine/valve jobs etc...is hands on.

That is correct. Techs are certified at different levels. The simplest is the video and "home study" course that teaches the basics. The best is the four-day advanced tech course at the tech facility in Wausau, I believe. Some tech have attended school at Wausau more than once. In short, there are varying levels of "trained" technicians.

 

[StanProff]

getting nervous from this thread

I have a new 2010 RT S and in the process of planning a cross country trip later this year with my wife. So far so good but I only have 1200 miles on the bike at this time, no problems, yet. I am worried now that something is gonna happen a 1000 miles from nowhere! Reading this thread, my confidence is getting lower. I am getting really concerned about taking my wife on a trip like this with a machine that may have major issues. I really enjoy the spyder, I have 5 motorcycles in my garage and have ridden bikes for over 40 years. I thought the spyder was the best thing since applebutter. My wife is afraid of the motorcycles but feels safe on the spyder, I hope I didn't make a $28,000.00 mistake (not to mention personal safety if something breaks in the middle of nowhere). I truly hope these issues are isolated and not typical of the machine. I am in East tennessee and we will be going to the Black Hills of South Dakota and back on a three week once in a lifetime bike trip for my 60th birthday. I hope everyone can understand my concerns, I really do enjoy the spyder and hope that everyones' problems can be sorted out soon.

 

[aka1004]

It's true spyder took me to my happy place when I was riding it and it's funny how much slack you cut for something you love.
Thru all my repairs and tows and downtime, I still had hope for my spyder.
While my spyder was in the shop last time, from march to June, all I thought about was where will I go when I get it back...

I bought brp hid, black panels and rt shocks while I was waiting for 3 month for them to put the engine together. When I picked up my spyder on june 18th, I headed to our office 19 miles away to install hid and shocks but couldn't pull that off. Spyder died at 17th mile. I was numb at that point. No anger, no frustration. As I was pushing my spyder off the street all I can think was ":cus: wake up. This can't be happening"

I went to Vegas(where spyder died and had to hire a transport to bring it back) when I picked up my spyder back in February immediately when I picked up my spyder after 4 month. I went to pick up spyder with my soft saddlebags packed. I still believed in my spyder. I don't know if I will ever ryde my current spyder again or get another one but it will take a lot if miles before I take a trip.

 

[Ga Blue Knight]

I think a major part of this issue is that almost all of the Dealers are small, carry multiple products like water craft and snowmobile, four wheelers and also cater to multiple companies like Polaris, Yamaha etc. Then to complicate matters there is most likely one or two at most techs with the parts guy filling in as the service writer. With this kind of set up and the smaller share of the recreational market compared to watercraft at my dealer it is pretty hard to get in for service same day or even same week. Also if the dealership sells few Can Am products compared to other brands I would doubt that they have a good personal relationship with the BRP Home office. If you look at other motorcycle dealers this is not really the case. At HD they usually have only HD, at Suzuki you find mostly Kawasaki as the second product both motorcycles etc. What BRP really needs to explore are dedicated dealers selling only BRP products or Can Am dealers selling only RS and RT motorcycles perhaps with a few four wheelers thrown in as I have noticed lots of common parts in our machines with the larger Can Am 4 wheelers.

Anyway just some thoughts on the matter

 

[Lone Spyder Ryder]

Thank you all for your encourgment

I would like to thank you all for your encouragement and kind words. I think the saddest thing about this whole mess it that it could and is in a lot of ways a outstanding product. And I do understand things made by man can have problems.
It is the lack of response from BRP that brothers me most. I do think that a lot of the dealers are forced to “floor” more products than they need and can sell and that leave them bind for money for training for techs and having to charge their customers the max in order to stay in business. BRP just don’t seem to care much about making a profit and to hell with both the dealers and their customers.
Again thanks for the kind words.

 

[SteveMac]

I am in East tennessee and we will be going to the Black Hills of South Dakota and back on a three week once in a lifetime bike trip for my 60th birthday. I hope everyone can understand my concerns, I really do enjoy the spyder and hope that everyones' problems can be sorted out soon.

You bet we understand the concern. I absolutely hate it when I read about the problems outlined here. But I still think the problems are a small percentage. Please don't anyone misunderstand, I know the problems here are real and from very reasonable folks, and if I were in their shoes I would be just as ticked off, disappointed, and vocal. So I am not even suggesting they are "Complainers" because I would be the same way if my spyder were out of commission for weeks and even months. Geez I can't imagine.

However, there are quite a few of us who have had no issues, or very minor ones. My biggest problem ( knock on wood) was squeaky brakes replaced under warranty. I have made lots of mods but because I wanted to. So go on your trip and enjoy the trip of a lifetime. Maintenance your spyder well and if something unfortunate happens then cross that bridge on that day. Until then, I still think the big problems are a small percentage of the ownership.

I have 4000 plus miles on my RT since May 2011. Issue free and I can't tell you the joy it has brought to me and my wife.

My heart goes out to those who have major issues such as a motor going out in 17 miles. That sort of thing boggles the mind and yes BRP should immediately step up to the plate and resolve those problems.

I don't know why BRP is apparently ignoring those with major issues but it is hurting the perception of the machine and they need to get a handle on it.

Still, if you have been trouble free and you regularly maintain your spyder, by all means go on your trip and ENJOY! then come back and post the story and pics. There are some folks here who have had a lot of adversity and while your story of trouble free rYding (or mine) doesn't solve their problems, it may at least give them some hope.

For all of you with major issues, my only hope is that BRP resolves them for you and allows you to fall in love with your Spyder all over again.

 

[Lone Spyder Ryder]

When I had my 2008 Spyder and I started having problems with my Spyder and complained about in on the SpyderLovers.com and SpyderTalk.com the majority of members of these 2 Spyder sites inferred that part of the problem was my impatience with the dealers and BRP.
After the loss of my 2008 Spyder to fire, I very foolishly bought a 2009. The power steering failed and turned me into the oncoming traffic lane. Thank goodness I was in a residential area and there was no oncoming traffic. I was trying to counter steer and when the steering released from whatever was going on I dam near flipped it.
I had also started smelling gas again. At a little over 5000 miles the front tires have uneven and excessive ware on the inside. It has stalled and died 2 times and has never had the passing power the 08 had. The gas mileage in 10 mpg lower than the 08.
You did not see any post from me about these problems because I didn’t want to be a “trouble maker or complainer”.
Four weeks ago I took it to Twin Cities Motor Sports in Roseville, CA. Although It is not the dealer I bought the Spyder from it is a lot closer to me than the Lodi dealer and they have to certified Spyder mechanics.
I contacted Carlo at BRP. I was unable to talk to him put he called me back and left me a message saying that although he was going on a 2 week vacation and that he had started a file and had a case number for Twin Cities Motor Sports to use and that the techs working on the Spyder would be able to get any authorization that they would need to work on the Spyder. Twin Cities Motor Sports has not been able to get any kind of response from BRP.
I waited 1 week after Carlo was back from vacation to see if Carlo would respond to Twin Cities Motor Sports request for authorization to work on the Spyder. There was no response from Carlos so I emailed him. I have never got any response to that email so on July 7 I sent this email to all the people at BRP that I have a email address for. As of now 10:30 am July 11 I have not heard from anyone.
The message below is a request for help with the problems I am having with the New 2009 Spyder. It has been in the shop 17 working days and Twin Cities Motorsports in Roseville, Ca. and they have not been able to get any response from your tech support as to what they can do about fixing these problems. So I am sending this request for to all BRP employees that I have a email address to and maybe someone can call and talk to Chris the Twin Cities Motorsports Shop manager.



Carlo,
It has been 3 weeks since I took my 2009 Spyder SM5 into Twin Cities Motorsports in Roseville, Ca.
my problems are as follows;
Potently life threaten safely issues:
1. DPS Steering unit turned me into the on-coming lane, and had there been a car coming I would have been seriously injured and or killed. When the steering "released" I almost flipped the Spyder do to the amount of pressure I was using to try and steer in back into my lane.
2. I can smelling fuel at different times. No particular time or situation. I can smell gas at highway speeds and at stops. I have stopped or pulled over to see if I could find any sign of gas leaks but have yet to find any. This has occurred 5 or 6 times in the last 2000 miles. I know for a fact this is serious.
Non threaten issues:
1. It seems to me that the 2009 have at least a 15 to 20 percent decrease in power from the 2009. The passing and climbing power are noticeably less.
2. I have what I consider is worse front inside tire ware than even my 2008 had and I have had the wheel and tires balanced and checked twice since putting the BRP 6 Spoke rims on. Since the day I picked it up it has not felt the same. I ride the same 100 to 800 mile trips on many of the same roads. I ride slower than I did before so things should be close to the same when it comes to gas mileage, tire ware, and performance. Since the 2009 is a year new I would think if nothing else it should have improved some and it certainly hasn’t.
3. I am getting anywhere from 10 to 15 MPG less on the 2009 (low as 21 mpg, high 25 mpg) then I got on my 2008. I got low as 30 mpg, high 35 mpg). I feel that there is something wrong.
So those are the problems that I have and would like to have fixed.
I took the Spyder into Twin Cities Motorsports in Roseville, Ca. I talked to the owner and I also let him listen to the voice mail that you left me before you left for your vacation. They have the reference number you gave me.
So far 3 weeks later they tell me they cannot get any authorization from BRP for anything test or work they wish to do.
I am trying very hard to handle my issues in a more tolerant manner but to be honest it don’t appear to get any better response from BRP than the way I handled it before. I guess it’s back to the same old song and dance.
Dealer blames BRP, BRP blames the dealer or rider.
Personally I am sick of the sos. This is my first response to the lack of customer service care.
Your Temporary Complaint Number (TCN) was: FBN30-10728
Your complaint identification number (ODI Number) is: 10411083
The ODI Number listed above can be used to view your complaint on our website. It is a direct link to your complaint and can also be entered in the Search Complaints section of our site. Your complaint should become available for viewing within three business days of this notice.
Thank you for helping in our quest to improve the safety of our Nation's roadways for all of the motoring public. NHTSA technical staff members review this information to identify potential safety problems. While you may or may not be contacted by a NHTSA investigator to clarify the information submitted, all reports are reviewed and analyzed for potential defect trends. The NHTSA complaint database provides valuable information to other consumers and to manufacturers.
Thank you,
Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
In closing this post I would like to say this.
If I had not had the steering problem I would not have filed the above report, but like it or not the Spyder has some serious problems that can very well get someone killed.

:chat:
Update to out of patience with BRP 07/12/2011
I got a call this morning from Carlo and he has contacted the dealer to get the ball rolling. I called the dealer and I was told that they would begin working to diagnose the problems with the Spyder in the morning and it was their top priority.
I will update you all as this progresses, I would so like to believe in the Spyder all connected with it but there has been a lot of troubled water gone under the bridge. I have gone as far as to consider this and I am not kidding. I have always been a wanderer and lived for years traveling in a school bus doing construction in the western United States. The Spyder opened up a whole new world for me at a time in my life that I really needed. So for all of you who own a Spyder that has had no issues or those who had issues that were taken care of in a honest and prompt time I wish you well and envy you all because believe me my 08 and I had our “Rock Star” monuments. I just wonder if I can find that with the Spyder again. You all ryde safe and take care of each other, after all we are "all" in this together. :chill: trying to keep myself cool

 

[aka1004]

:2thumbs:
I am waiting for same phone call from Carlo or owner of the dealer.

 

[SteveMac]

Hang in there Leoejr and AKA1004.

I really hope BRP takes care of these issues for you.nojoke

 

[angel]

"So they had a slots open at the BRP school for Lamont and others that are not techs (no offense Lamont), but they can't train more of there own employees at these dealers that desperately need it ??? Where are their priority's ???"

I have to agree. that is great for Lamont just don't see why it being done.
Our bike have been great!! Nomads is now running great with whatever they did to it.

Good to see lately that an owner that has issues can voice them and get some positive freed back rather than fed to the sharks.

I do feel we all have a trendily blame the dealer, in some cases it may be correct but in most the problem lay with communication from CA that just don't happen you all ride safe

 

[che57vy]

Spyder Problems

I have a friend who has all the GM certifications that you can get, he always says that just means you can read.You have to use your common sense too. And any GOD given talent you have.

 

[NancysToy]

I have a friend who has all the GM certifications that you can get, he always says that just means you can read.You have to use your common sense too. And any GOD given talent you have.

:agree: My dad was a mechanic all his life, and a master mechanic when he retired. The kid across the street went to school and got certificates for all kinds of things, including diesel repair. That boy couldn't even change his own oil! nojoke School is good, but it doesn't teach everything. Some of the ability is contained in the genes.

 

[timpani]

Finaly some action. I hope it is fixed soon!

 

[Trickie Dick]

Something to think about.

"So they had a slots open at the BRP school for Lamont and others that are not techs (no offense Lamont), but they can't train more of there own employees at these dealers that desperately need it ??? Where are their priority's ???"

I have to agree. that is great for Lamont just don't see why it being done.
Our bike have been great!! Nomads is now running great with whatever they did to it.

Good to see lately that an owner that has issues can voice them and get some positive freed back rather than fed to the sharks.

I do feel we all have a trendily blame the dealer, in some cases it may be correct but in most the problem lay with communication from CA that just don't happen you all ride safe

I think one of the problems with the training of the techs is that the dealers have to be involved in the training of them. Probably to the extent of having to pay at least part of the bill to have them trained by BRP. In this industry the turnover is tremendous and it is also seasonal. Therefore many times the dealer doesn't want to pay to have a tech trained knowing he may not be around in the future. Even if BRP picks up the tab for the training the dealer may be hesitant to send someone who again may not be around. Or he may be in such a position that he can't spare him.
So we end up with dealers with minimally trained techs; probably via video only. :dontknow:
And of course, as so often is the case, the customer suffers.

 

[bone crusher]

I am troubled by discussions like this. They seem to come in waves. I don't at all doubt that leoejr has had serious problems with his Spyder. Indeed, the previous one burned. His frustration is understandable and we ought to support him in getting action on his problem.

What troubles me is the litany of complaints about the Spyder and BRP. We don't have an accurate figure of how many Spyders have been sold though someone said they had heard 20K. How many out of that number have burned, had DPS problems, hesitation problems? Let's imagine that 1000 owners have had any one of these problems. That leaves 19,000 who haven't.

Owners like Nancy's Toy, Lamonster, BajaRon and others have consistently -- and I believe rightly -- pointed out that the vast number of owners seem happy with their bikes, that other brands have similar problems, that these sorts of problems can be expected with totally new designs like the Spyder has. The few do not speak for the many.

I am NOT ignoring nor defending the slowness and lack of response on BRP's part. But these are complex issues. I would guess that for every person who has had difficulty like leoejr has apparently had, there are three who have been helped quickly and efficiently by Carlo. We seldom hear about these folks.

Would it not be better for a few of the active posters here to help leoejr by calling his dealer and asking why the delay? Would we not be helping him more by contacting Carlo and asking him to expeditiously respond? Why do we wait for Lamont to make that contact.

We talk much here about the constant help SpyderLovers is to our efforts to modify, fix, design, repair our beloved Spyders. And it is right we do so. But if this is the community that we loudly proclaim, what are we doing AS A COMMUNITY to help one of our members? Perhaps it is time to show dealers and, if necessary, BRP that the community we talk about is also a community that acts in support of its members.

ken tompkins

Ken, my man...where the heck have you been? Are you still using the G4? I think the last upgrade threw some things out of whack...have to call Cardo and see...

What's up?

 

[Lone Spyder Ryder]

update: looked good for a few days

Posted 07/17/2011
Well today is a very bad day for me. I can no longer pretend that everything will work out ok with my Spyder. If and when I get my Spyder back from the shop I will be parting ways with the 09. The big question for me is how I am going to do it. Upset and mad as (*&(^ hardly says it at all.

Last Monday, 07/11/11 I got a call from Carlo saying that they were contacting Twin Cities Motorsports 1720 Douglas Blvd. Roseville, Ca. 95661 (916) 780-4826 and would give them authorization to start working on my Spyder. This was the 23rd working day that the Spyder had sit waiting to be worked on. I called Twin Cities Motorsports and talked to Chris the shop manager and was told that BRP had been given 2 hours of labor to diagnosis the problems that I am having. Chris said that was just what they needed and that they had a few things jobs to finish up and that they would start on my Spyder Tuesday morning first thing, and that my Spyder was now top priority.
Talk about starting to get excited, at last I am going to get my Spyder fixed and I will be back on the road. I hear nothing Tuesday or Wednesday so around 3 Thursday I call and they tell me Chris will call back. He didn’t call back so on Friday I was really hot so when I call there Friday and stay on hold till I get disconnected. When I called back again and tell them I want to talk to Chris and they don’t want me to have to come up to the dealership, that I knew they had not done anything to the Spyder but I was going to talk to Chris one way or another and find out just where things stood. Well I was finally put through and I asked Chris what had they done so far his answer totally blew me away. “we have not even started on your Spyder. We have been having a big sale on water craft and they sold so many that they didn’t have enough people to prep the new water craft for delivery so they wouldn’t be able to work on my Spyder till they got everything they sold delivered.
Needless to say things have been going downhill since.
So it is hard telling when I will get and now that I have lost it and told the dealer what I thought about them I would not trust them to do anything correctly but I don’t have many choices. I know one thing I will not ride it again until the someone tells me it has been fixed.
There” lies” the problem with both BRP and its dealers. Really care about anyone or anything other than selling new products. Once you have bought their product you are just problem for a lot of the dealers. If it is not an easy fix that can be done at the maximum personal experience over a period of 3 plus years of dealing with BRP and their dealers, this is what I know for sure
BRP: b designed and built and a super fun product, the Spyder. They found out after (?) they released it that there are some serious problems with this machine. Two of these problems could cause life threaten events.
1. When a vehicle can on its own steer you into oncoming traffic this is a very serious problem and let me tell you this problem had not been fixed. This just happened to me on a new Spyder that (had) supposedly had the new DPS replace and all updates done to it before I even bought it. The day I picked it up I asked the same thing again and was told it was completely taken care of.
2. When you cannot fill a vehicles gas tank to the top (no I am not talking about filling it until it over flows) and numerous owners have all had this problem to me it is problem, and a design flaw. Who knows if it could be connected to the fires that have happened. The company producing these vehicles should find out what the problem is and fix it. Especially when this fuel problem can and may very well be connected to the vehicles self-igniting while you are riding it is absolutely terror until you get off of it. You dam sure don’t want to be on the freeway when it happens. Ask Donzo or one of the others how scary it is. It is one thing to be loyal to a product and to sing its praises; it’s another to be blind to problems that exist.


Well tomorrow starts a new day. I have to start trying to find a solution of how to get rid of the Spyder without losing some big bucks. How do you sell something you are selling becasue you don't trust it.