Mechanic Wanted in Florida

[Peteoz]

The bottom line is, most mechanics do not like working on the Spyder. It is more difficult and, in many ways, a one of a kind machine. It's almost like they engineered it to be hard to work on.

The certified BRP trained tech at our local Can-Am dealer quit a few years ago and opened his own shop down the street from us because he hated working on Spyders. He's a very good mechanic and I'm sure he did a good job while at the dealership. But now he sends all his Spyder work to us and we send most of our 2-wheeled work to him.

We are nearly exclusively Spyders all day long (except in the winter when things slow down). We do work on other things from Side-By-Sides to lawnmowers over the winter when Spyder business is slow. And even an occasional 2-wheeler or golf cart. (We've got a mechanic that used to to equipment maintenance work at a golf course). We can do much more than just Spyders. But I'm always going to put Spyder/Ryker customers first because that is who we are. Working on just one product as our main course gives us an advantage in the Spyder/Ryker world over those who regularly work on everything from boats to bikes to snowmobiles along with the occasional Spyder/Ryker.

In many ways the Spyder/Ryker are peculiar beasts. We love the machine and though a challenge sometimes. Our guys really enjoy working on them. And I can say, without hesitation, that Spyder/Ryker owners are the world's best customers. They enjoy their machine and we enjoy making them happy.

……and I think some owners lose sight of that level of complexity, Ron, and bitch and moan when a good Spyder shop charges above their local bike shop rates. In my mind, they are worth every cent. Heck, to even work on a ‘20+ RT requires you to remove not only the Tupperware, but also the black “under” cover which all adds to the overall time taken/cost.
I only wish we had a few shops like yours out here in Oz. I travel 5 hours to mine and am prepared to pay whatever he charges as I know he does a first rate job……as does BajaRon, Lamonster and several others.:2thumbs:

Pete

 

[Leaping1]

OUCH!!! :yikes:

That hurt! I know it's just an oversight.

 

[BajaRon]

Mechanic Wanted in Florida

As well as 49 other states and a few territories.

OUCH!!! :yikes:

That hurt! I know it's just an oversight.

Just to clear things up on this. I didn't take what Gwolf said as personal. His post was generic and so was mine. We both wish there were more good service departments out there. The Spyder and their owners don't always get the top quality service that they deserve. I don't see what we do here at BajaRon's as anything special. It's our customers who are special. The Spyder/Ryker are great machines. They just need a little help from time to time (don't we all!).

In short, we're all good here!

 

[ARtraveler]

Coincidently, today I met up with the two gentlemen from SC that purchased my F3's in October of last year. Both had very good things to say about Ron and his work on their machines. They made the drive to see Ron and have their vehicles serviced.

They were on their way back from the rally in Hot Springs AR when they stopped by my home to visit and take us to lunch.

 

[PMK]

In a very sad way, almost all mechanical type trades are in dire straights to find good techs, honestly they struggle just to find techs.

These industries accept the talent they get, and hope for the best.

FWIW, the aviation industry is an industry I know. Shops, once they learn you have any experience, and have been within the industry for years, they immediately state a job offer. Truth told though, my answer is no, as I have done my time, and prefer not to be the go to guy to constantly fix other techs incompetent mistakes. My long time friends, I have worked with have the same attitude. Ironically, most of the offers are making an hourly wage at about 50% shop rate. Simply less expensive to have few if any come backs, and have happy customers willing to pay for quality workmanship by experienced mechanics.

Years ago, as I was winding down my aviation career, I purchased BUDS, BUDS2, and a ROLO Laser Alignment set up. Unfortunately, even though Spyders are not that complicated, it is easier to work 1/2 the hours and pocket a lot more money. So the ROLO (modified by me to allow far more accurate alignments than oem ROLO), and the BUDS just sits there collecting dust.

Overall though, yes, Spyders do require gaining access and closing up, but they are pretty simple machines. Find a good tech, with awesome tech skills and strong electrical troubleshooting skills and they are you best value.

 

[DickB]

I'm in Lake Placid FL and dealers are 2 hours away. I went to one dealer because of a problem with my Ryker's VSS kicking in way early on left turns only. I was charged $170 to be told there was no problem. This was after I pointed out a service bulletin dealing with such problems that called for a Steering Update Kit.

I do as much work as possible myself on vehicles, so I installed the Update Kit myself. The last steps are to recalibrate the Steering Angle Sensor (SAS) and yaw sensor. I called another larger dealer in the other direction to ask about getting that done, and the tech knew exactly what I was talking about. It seemed clear to me this second dealer had a lot more experience - I have been back there for tire mounting and balancing.

I decided to bite the bullet and get a BUDS, in large part to avoid all day trips for service (more if I would need to trailer the vehicle in) and fixed the left turn issue myself. Oh, and the dealers had a month-long backlog on appointments - another reason for DIY. In addition to the Update Kit, I diagnosed a bad SAS with BUDS (it would not hold a zero setting - it would have likely caused at least two trips to a dealer to find that) and fixed it with a used SAS at a fraction of new cost.

I got a 2014 Spyder RSS a while back, which threw a yaw sensor fault shortly after I got it. I fixed that with a used yaw sensor and BUDS. BUDS also works on my Sea Doo Spark, so I figure I have paid for the BUDS in time and money. With a 10-year-old Spyder and at least some dealers who likely will not work on it, it is also a peace-of-mind thing for me.