Posted on another board that I lost an engine out in Klamath Falls, Oregon about 2680 miles from home in WV. I had to back track 100 miles over mountains in limp mode or go the 500 miles in limp on to Cheyenne, Wyoming if I was to try and use the bike which was in limp but would run. The other alternatives were to flat bed tow it there and after getting prices I was in sticker shock. I had stopped at both dealers on the way out with problems in the way it was running and one had only been a dealer for about 1 month plus and was actually a Boat place so I had my doubts. They both expressed frustration in the difficulty of connecting with the Tech line without spending half the day on hold and then not getting a clearly defined answer. Maverick Motorsports had spent about two hours looking at it on the way out and could only say something was not right but they could not find what it was so I was hesitant to take it back there. So I bit the bullet and got a 14 foot U-haul and with help fro two friends managed to get it in the back and tied down with 8 1000 pound tie downs. The spyder looked like it was stuck in it's web but she stayed stuck down and solid all the way home through some really rough construction zones too.
I spent well over $3000 to get home with gas and rental fees and such as one normally needs to travel but I made it home in about 5 hectic days feeding about $70 worth of fuel in to the truck every 200 miles or so. Not the nice tidy fill ups for the trike for sure. Dropped it off at the dealer who I bought it from and he had it about 2 weeks when I called and asked what was going on. He said it was ready and I asked for just what it was ready for? He said it is done come pick it up and take it home. I went down there the 33 miles and left my truck and took it for a ride. It ran OK with the only thing I could detect being the vibration under load like when going up hills and stuff.
My questions to the mechanic were what was all the heat and vibration when this occured and what caused the oil sensor light to turn on? This is the third sensor light in the thing and it apparantly went south and started all this stuff. The mechanic thinks that in the mili-seconds before it went into limp mode the computer might have messed up the timing of the injection and that resulted in the vibration, noise, and heat I saw when it occured. I mentioned that it could have breifly locked the engine up and would that not cause bent parts and other woes. He said apparantly not as it runs fine and I tend to agree with him. He said run it like you stole it for awhile and see if anything happens.
So I am here with egg all over my face wondering if I should have stopped at Cheyenne and if they would have been able to get me back on the road or what. Second guessing the heck out of myself has acoomplished nothing though and I guess it should be treated as water under the bridge. One thing is painfully obvious this dealer system is woefully under trained and under supported by the manufacturer. Also the fact that a simple filter for changing the oil has been back ordered for well over a month approaching two means they can't even support the parts issues on the current model and they are touting a new one. What is to happen there on the new one if the parts are different from the older model?
I made it out to Oregon on the bike and back painfully aware of the expense it was costing me in a U-haul so I had my experience with dealers and company support first hand. What really made me laugh was when I called customer support and they said they weren't aware that there was a dealer problem with getting in touch with the tech line. My only comment was if that was their reply they ought to run for political office as that seemed to be most politicians answer these days. Even the lady on the other end of the line laughed at that. I foresee a problem or two in the future of this bike but I sure want to see less trips to the dealer and less expense and worry about the reliability of the machine and being stuck somewhere but I have my doubts after this experience for sure. Bill
I spent well over $3000 to get home with gas and rental fees and such as one normally needs to travel but I made it home in about 5 hectic days feeding about $70 worth of fuel in to the truck every 200 miles or so. Not the nice tidy fill ups for the trike for sure. Dropped it off at the dealer who I bought it from and he had it about 2 weeks when I called and asked what was going on. He said it was ready and I asked for just what it was ready for? He said it is done come pick it up and take it home. I went down there the 33 miles and left my truck and took it for a ride. It ran OK with the only thing I could detect being the vibration under load like when going up hills and stuff.
My questions to the mechanic were what was all the heat and vibration when this occured and what caused the oil sensor light to turn on? This is the third sensor light in the thing and it apparantly went south and started all this stuff. The mechanic thinks that in the mili-seconds before it went into limp mode the computer might have messed up the timing of the injection and that resulted in the vibration, noise, and heat I saw when it occured. I mentioned that it could have breifly locked the engine up and would that not cause bent parts and other woes. He said apparantly not as it runs fine and I tend to agree with him. He said run it like you stole it for awhile and see if anything happens.
So I am here with egg all over my face wondering if I should have stopped at Cheyenne and if they would have been able to get me back on the road or what. Second guessing the heck out of myself has acoomplished nothing though and I guess it should be treated as water under the bridge. One thing is painfully obvious this dealer system is woefully under trained and under supported by the manufacturer. Also the fact that a simple filter for changing the oil has been back ordered for well over a month approaching two means they can't even support the parts issues on the current model and they are touting a new one. What is to happen there on the new one if the parts are different from the older model?
I made it out to Oregon on the bike and back painfully aware of the expense it was costing me in a U-haul so I had my experience with dealers and company support first hand. What really made me laugh was when I called customer support and they said they weren't aware that there was a dealer problem with getting in touch with the tech line. My only comment was if that was their reply they ought to run for political office as that seemed to be most politicians answer these days. Even the lady on the other end of the line laughed at that. I foresee a problem or two in the future of this bike but I sure want to see less trips to the dealer and less expense and worry about the reliability of the machine and being stuck somewhere but I have my doubts after this experience for sure. Bill
