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REliability

Thopper

New member
So please tell me ...is the spyder reliable? I asked this before
And received some pretty stupid comments lome no bike is perfect
Go visit this forum and that forum etc. It is a simple question
Yes or no! I read about allot of problems.... Does anyone go
On long trips with confidence? I was told on this form if that i
What you want buy a goldwing... Is that true?
 
So please tell me ...is the spyder reliable? I asked this before
And received some pretty stupid comments lome no bike is perfect
Go visit this forum and that forum etc. It is a simple question
Yes or no! I read about allot of problems.... Does anyone go
On long trips with confidence? I was told on this form if that i
What you want buy a goldwing... Is that true?

I've been all over this country and coast to coast many times with no issues. I'm heading from here is East TN to Durango CO and then down to San Diego and haven't given reliability a second thought.
nojoke
 
[QUOTEhey lamonster are u they same dude from the valk days? I had two of those
and loved them. If you are the same guy I trust you never sent me down the
wrong path with that crazy bike info. Zanesville lives! If you are confident in
the spyder web I am buying one tomorrow... No bs I have a line one one at chappAral mirror sports 011 rs for23.9 otd . Iam puttin my faith in your testimonial


Chapparal
 
That is the Lamonster you know about.

I have no problem with :spyder2: reliability. I have been all over Alaska, very far from repair and other services. Never had a mechanical breakdown on the road. To date I have accumulated over 60,000 miles on three :ani29:,s.

I wouldn't let others scare me away. Test drive and see what you think and if its for you.

As a previous poster said--set up of the machine is very important. Make sure you use a dealer with a good reputation.

Good luck on your hunt. :2thumbs:
 
I have a Spyder RT-S SE5 2010 Model

Went from the UK across to France. Belgium and Germany over 1,000 Miles in a week - No problems

Currently on over 6,000 miles - No major issues - Good dealer is important as already said


Good luck -The more time you think of getting a Spyder will give you less time to enjoy it !

Eddie Sheppard
Reading UK
 
hey lamonster are u they same dude from the valk days? I had two of those
and loved them. If you are the same guy I trust you never sent me down the
wrong path with that crazy bike info. Zanesville lives! If you are confident in
the spyder web I am buying one tomorrow.
.. No bs I have a line one one at chappAral mirror sports 011 rs for23.9 otd . Iam puttin my faith in your testimonial


Chapparal
That's me. Post some pics of your new Spyder :doorag:

attachment.php
 
I have put 4200 miles on mine since I bought it in Feb. I have not had a single issue with it. check out my mods to it on the link at bottom.
We have a lady on here who just made a 11,000 mile trip. No problems.
 
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I echo the comments: NO reservations about buying a Spyder RS, I'd buy another one today.

The main issue is that after the first few years of production the Spyder appears to be no more or less reliable than most other bikes, it's a pretty good machine, especially at this time in its development cycle (other bike designs literally have decades on the Spyder). BUT the ability for repairs/aftermarket care is limited to BRP dealers, and no amount of marketing should convince anyone that's not a downside.

For example, a Harley could break down more often than the Spyder but it could matter less to a rider given the widespread dealer network and availability of independent shops-- you're always going to find somebody who could work on a Harley, no matter where you are, parts are on hand or within a day of getting to you, etc. Ditto most Japanese bike manufacturers.

Buying a Spyder, however, is an implicit acceptance that if it DOES break down-- and anything man-made breaks down eventually-- your choices for repair are going to potentially be limited, perhaps even frustratingly so.

Personally, if your area doesn't have multiple dealers within ~1-2 hour riding distance, I'd think long and hard about what your attitude will be like when you have a problem. Many riders here on the forum are in that situation, bought anyway, and have been happy as anything. :thumbup: I just know that *I* appreciate the peace of mind that comes with knowing I can (relatively quickly and easily) get out of trouble if/when I do have a problem, and thus having a relatively robust dealer network around me was an important-- nay, it was absolutely critical-- consideration before I bought such a mechanically-complex new design.

But I also knew that given those limitations, if my Spyder breaks, it's likely not going to get fixed as fast as a Harley (let alone a car-- the Spyder is not a car, BRP, don't let the commercials fool people). I'm okay with that, I accept that-- ZEN, MY MAN, ZEN!-- but some owners may not want to deal with that. That's a personal choice-- one I made, happily, and again, would make again, the Spyder is just THAT much fun.
 
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Gosh, if I let forum talk scare me off of buying something I would not own anything as these are the places where people come to ask about problems, not tell us everything is A-OK. If you really want a scare, go to boat forums before you buy one of those (and you won't buy one). I own two boats also.

Go for it - they are a BLAST!
 
I guess it all comes down to where you are at in the scheme of things. I purchased a 2011 RT SE5 in August of 2011. First and formost I absolutely love the ride and my wife loves it too; in fact she has repeatedly given me the go ahead to add anything I want to the bike. All that being said I would have to be very emphatic that the Spyder I purchased is not very reliable. I have 4700 miles on it, took it from Cheyenne to Cuba so I've had it out on the road; but I have also had it in the shop over a dozen times for things such as throttle body problems, control module problems, wiring harness problems, dead battery problems ( still waiting for my dealer to get me the new radio module that is bad so I wont have to carry a buzz box with me if I'm going anywhere over night) and a few other minor problems that I had to have the dealer fix as I'm not that tehnically orientated. I still love the ride and am planning to take the bike to Alaska next month but I must admit that I will also be keeping my finger crossed each day that my ride will finally get it right and keep me motoring on. It's not so critical when I'm on a trip by myself and something goes wrong but it becomes panicsville when the missus is along and we are trying to keep to a schedule so if health concerns arise we can make it to a hospital or airport to get her back to her doctors. We are not going to be scared away from making the trip but at 74 one must be realistic about equating what has happened and what could happen. Bottom line I like the Spyder but I'm still questioning the reliability.
 
We have a 2010 RTS SE5. Got it in Feb of 2010 and have just over 25,000 miles on it with no issues. Last year made two round trips to TN from Florida. At some point in the future when we are pet free we will be riding back to WI. Reliability is not an issue with us.
 
I had a 2008 Rs that went 45,000 miles. It never failed to start, never threw a code, never went into limp mode. It had no mods done to it and I believe that a lot of problems some people have are because of poorly installed or poorly designed mods, especially electrical. I parted with this Spyder because of poor/detrimental dealer service and a critical flaw that has now been corrected.. At the time it was a newly introduced machine and its reliability was surprising to me.

I now have another 2008 RS and intend to keep it away from dealers as long as possible. I am sure the dealer network has improved in the last four years. This one has had its electrical systems modified and it has thrown codes and gone into limp modes. This helpful forum has allowed me to correct those issues at a total cost of about $20 and a total time of 30 minutes. None of the problems were related to the electrical system being moded. I am heading out to meander around the country for a few weeks and I am not concerned about the Spyder failing. I can always leave it at a dealer and take the train home.
 
Hi. I asked the same thing before I bought mine.
Unfortunatly I did not have the $ to buy new one and did not want to give up riding altogether due to arthritic knees.
So i took a chance and got a rs 2009 model.. borrowed the cash for it so i am in it for the long haul.
I called up local dealer who checked it out,,said all updates were made etc
..My friend picked it up for me since bike was in another city..drove it for 8 hours ,highway back roads, no issues.
So far i have had it roughly 4 months.. Yes I am afraid to take it on any long distant rides due to the issues I have read about them..but I have not had any issues at all..
The longest ride I took her on was approx 2 hours..
I like the bike..but honestly if I could afford a harley trike..that would be my choice.
It sucks being poor
 
I've had my RT since November 2010 and just had its 12,000 mile check up last week. I haven't had any problems but do believe the dealership has an enormous amount to do with that. If they don't know what they are doing and are not willing to go that extra mile to figure something out there will be problems. The spyder is no different than any other piece of equipment- there are lemons occassionally. In those cases I think they just need to be scraped and start over. I work at a hospital and see new equipment come out. We feel like we are checking out the equipment for the company. The difference is the companies ususlly make it worth our while- I don't see that BRP does that. I love my spyder and have no intention of giving it up and hope my dealer stays open. They rock and from everything I hear they are the best in the country. .bj
 
Hi. I asked the same thing before I bought mine.
Unfortunatly I did not have the $ to buy new one and did not want to give up riding altogether due to arthritic knees.
So i took a chance and got a rs 2009 model.. borrowed the cash for it so i am in it for the long haul.
I called up local dealer who checked it out,,said all updates were made etc
..My friend picked it up for me since bike was in another city..drove it for 8 hours ,highway back roads, no issues.
So far i have had it roughly 4 months.. Yes I am afraid to take it on any long distant rides due to the issues I have read about them..but I have not had any issues at all..
The longest ride I took her on was approx 2 hours..
I like the bike..but honestly if I could afford a harley trike..that would be my choice.
It sucks being poor


WHY not the RTS ? :dontknow:

There should be used Harley trikes out there you could have gotten .
 
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