Here's the deal. It's not easy to design a stable three wheeled vehicle. The Spyder's design requires the use of a computer controlled system to give it enough virtual inherent stability to be considered safe enough to use by a typical rider. Unlike most stability systems found on four wheeled vehicles where the VSS is considered only an enhancement, the Spyder's VSS is considered essential. The proof of this lies in the the fact that unlike most typical vehicle stability systems the Spyder's VSS cannot be switched off.
BRP had to meet a realistic price point for this vehicle and they examined the need and cost of each and every component. So the entire VSS system had to be relatively low cost. Unlike say a fighter jet or even a Ferrari, there was no room in the budget for expensive, ultra-reliable, high performance components or multiple redundant systems. The VSS had to be inexpensive, each and every component; the computer, the memory, the sensors, the wiring, everything. So your nanny's a pauper, she wears cheap clothes and is missing a few teeth. The software design could then in turn use only what minimal processing power, memory, and the few low cost sensors that were financially practical. Please don't fault BRP for this, quite the contrary. Only truly great engineering can bring you something complex for an affordable price. Overall they did an incredible job, but of course there had to be compromises and every design has its flaws.
So as a system designer what do you do when your low cost, limited functionality, zero redundancy, but highly essential stability system is compromised or even apparently compromised? You go into limp mode that's what you do, and you go into it quick. You can't let the rider who is used to the regular level of stability continue on as normal. If he takes a corner at speed with the VSS off line and the Spyder wipes out BRP could be held liable. You also want him to get the bike to the dealer asap so you make limp mode something he can't possibly live with by limiting the speed severely, perhaps more so than really needed for safety.
BRP is aware of the problems with limp mode and you can bet it's been a topic of discussion at internal meetings. I can hear the engineers offering alternate solutions while the corporate liability attorney and/or management says no freaking way. They're all just doing their job. It's probably still being looked at.
As a systems and software engineer I try to think of what can be done to improve the situation. The first thing I would do would be to release a software change to cut power gradually rather than abruptly to resolve the issue of the rider loosing power suddenly on the highway which is very unsafe in itself. The next thing I would do is to study all the causes of VSS failure to try to find a way to minimize the number of occurrences. I would first look for software solutions because these can be implemented far less expensively than hardware recalls and therefore have a much better chance of being approved for implementation. However, whatever was done would have to be thoroughly tested and retested before being implemented because of liability issues, and that would take time, lots of time.
So that's what's going on for all of you who are wondering why nothing has yet been done about this. I'm not making excuses for BRP, I'm just telling you what's going on based upon all my years of experience in such situations.
BRP is a vast company and produces many, many products. They have only so much time and money to invest in released product improvement and like any properly run company they have to invest their available resources wisely. They'll base the effort expended to fix any single problem on any single product on immediate need and ROI (return on investment). A significant factor in this decision is customer feedback. If a lot of customers or dealers are upset enough about a problem to actually take the time and effort to write to a manufacturer, it should get attention. A lot of people grumble about limp mode but how many are motivated enough to actually contact BRP about it? If you feel strongly enough about this issue and you want it fixed, you're going to have to be a squeaky wheel.
ray:
