Spyder longevity?

[Spyderman12]

I currently have a 2012 RTL which I have been having problems with. That and due to poor service I have lost confidence in the Spyder. My question is how long can one reasonably expect a Spyder to last, and be reliable? Being an old Goldwing rider before this Spyder, wings are renowned for longevity and reliability. In the past I would not have been concerned to ride a Goldwing to 100,000 miles. How many miles can one reasonably expect a Spyder to last before it would be considered old?

 

[Chupaca]

Not a problem

Spyder can match miles with GW's but remember they have been around for 43 years an we have been around for 10...Goldwings built that rep and it was not all good in the begining....Have a twelve myself with 40,000 + no problems...:thumbup:

 

[SpyderAnn01]

I put 59,000 on my 10 RT, and 123,000 on my 14 RT and I currently have 31,500 on my 1 year old F3t. They aren’t as reliable as a Honda but is anything? Get yourself a 1330 and I think you’ll be quite happy.

 

[4 MARIE]

In the case of your RT.. 2 model years and it's old. I know just from reading and my own experience,
that your 12 is not in the same league reliability wise, as the triple.

 

[quasi]

from everything I've read since moving to a spyder, 99 percent of the issues with the spyders have been the electronics not the mechanicals. some of the throttle bodies on the earlier ones gave issue, but with all the electronic gizmos on bikes nowadays its a wonder any of them even make it out of the showroom door. I've had one real problem with my 2012 rts and it was caused by a junk chinese battery.

 

[ARtraveler]

There are a few that have 100,000 plus on their Spyders.

There are a few of us that have decided to keep what we have and are going to be testing the limits as we go. Both mine now have 30K on them. Have had no problems or issues with the 2011. Just this weekend the 2014 will not shift into reverse. I am thinking shift "actuator." Have an appt. to bring it in Thursday AM. This is the "first" issue with my 2014.

Having owned five now, I am not "afraid" of the brand. My 2010 had 36.5K miles when traded off on the new 2014. So far--that was my max miles on any Spyder. I have over 140,000 miles on the combined five.

The big issue IMO--is that the dealership network can be a problem. Not enough experienced mechanics that are knowledgeable enough about the complexities of the :f_spider:. That puts many in the "I am afraid of the Spyder" classification. :thumbup:

 

[pegasus1300]

I came from the Yamaha Venture family and they are similar to your Goldwing. 100,00 miles was just getting broken in. I bought a used 2012 RTL in 2015 with 8500 mi. on the clock. I now 40,000 mi. on it.It runs great. I have not had serious trouble with it and I fully expect it to go 100,000. I think the only thing that might slow that down would be electrical or computer. I too am surprised that anything with as much electronics can even get down the road for as long as one day. Most of the mechanical I can deal with myself. It's the electronics the worry me. I will ride my Spyder until that kills it. I think you could have that problem with anything. Ride your VTwin and enjoy it. If not get a 3cyl and ride the wheels off of that.

 

[Flamewinger]

Park a goldwing in the garage and ride it half a dozen time a year and it will have problems. Ride it and it will run forever. Same thing about the Spyders. Many don't get ridden an often as they should be and the electrical accessories can cause problems. Use it or loose it. My ST was a great little ride and the only reason I upgraded was I'm used to the bigger engines as I had 5 Goldwing. No problems and I would ride it across the US. It's been sitting at a dealer for 5 months and if I bought it now I'd take the engine out and make furniture out of it.

 

[safecracker]

I have 60,000 miles on my 2011 and it runs great. So it uses some oil and it does not get great mileage. Wife and I enjoy it and we will ride it till it fails. Bruce

 

[007james]

I currently have a 2012 RTL which I have been having problems with. That and due to poor service I have lost confidence in the Spyder. My question is how long can one reasonably expect a Spyder to last, and be reliable? Being an old Goldwing rider before this Spyder, wings are renowned for longevity and reliability. In the past I would not have been concerned to ride a Goldwing to 100,000 miles. How many miles can one reasonably expect a Spyder to last before it would be considered old?

There are high mileage Spyders out there, but they are expensive to maintain. At 70 years old, I was getting a little shakey riding my 2002 Vulcan 1500 Classic I had been riding for 10 years, so I bought a new 2012 RT Limited Jan. 2012, and put 55,400 miles on it in 5 years. I had the usual problems with it, as Members report here, such as Throttle Body replacement, God awful Orange Limp home Mode light that shut me down every time some little thing like DP failure, Brakes, Air Bag and Compressor failure, and front tires wearing on the inside needing to be changed every 12,000 miles no matter what I did! I figured I spent about $40,000 on it, during the 5 years I owned it, and only got $8000 Trade for it on a left over 2016 RT Limited. At my 21,500 mile mark, two months ago, my 2016 went in the shop for a grinding and whining noise, that took 2 months to diagnose and repair. It ended out to be the Engine Sprocket issue reported here on various other threads. So, my Summer riding was ruined, as far as the Spyder is concerned, so during the Spyder issues, I bought a Harley Heritage V-Twin, and have ridden it 3000 miles since my Spyder has been in the Shop. At 76 years old, with my wife thinking I am ready for a Wheel Chair instead of a Spyder even, a Harley makes me feel like a Teen Ager again! So my advice is, yes, enjoy your Spyders, but keep a V-Twin Harley in the garage as a Spare when your Spyder takes a Dump, because, TRUST Me,...it WILL take many dumps along the way that will leave you at the mercy of busy Dealers, that will not treat you like a BRP Executive! Worse, in my 6-1/2 years as a Spyder Owner, I have never found any independent Motor Cyle Shops that will even change the Oil or tires on my Spyders, so, keep a Spare or two if you love riding and don’t want any unexpected down time in Peak riding Season. .

 

[ARtraveler]

There are high mileage Spyders out there, but they are expensive to maintain. At 70 years old, I was getting a little shakey riding my 2002 Vulcan 1500 Classic I had been riding for 10 years, so I bought a new 2012 RT Limited Jan. 2012, and put 55,400 miles on it in 5 years. I had the usual problems with it, as Members report here, such as Throttle Body replacement, God awful Orange Limp home Mode light that shut me down every time some little thing like DP failure, Brakes, Air Bag and Compressor failure, and front tires wearing on the inside needing to be changed every 12,000 miles no matter what I did! I figured I spent about $40,000 on it, during the 5 years I owned it, and only got $8000 Trade for it on a left over 2016 RT Limited. At my 21,500 mile mark, two months ago, my 2016 went in the shop for a grinding and whining noise, that took 2 months to diagnose and repair. It ended out to be the Engine Sprocket issue reported here on various other threads. So, my Summer riding was ruined, as far as the Spyder is concerned, so during the Spyder issues, I bought a Harley Heritage V-Twin, and have ridden it 3000 miles since my Spyder has been in the Shop. At 76 years old, with my wife thinking I am ready for a Wheel Chair instead of a Spyder even, a Harley makes me feel like a Teen Ager again! So my advice is, yes, enjoy your Spyders, but keep a V-Twin Harley in the garage as a Spare when your Spyder takes a Dump, because, TRUST Me,...it WILL take many dumps along the way that will leave you at the mercy of busy Dealers, that will not treat you like a BRP Executive! Worse, in my 6-1/2 years as a Spyder Owner, I have never found any independent Motor Cyle Shops that will even change the Oil or tires on my Spyders, so, keep a Spare or two if you love riding and don’t want any unexpected down time in Peak riding Season. .

Not an HD, but I have a 900 Vulcan LT in the garage also. Just added a lowering kit and both feet are now comfortably on the floor. I have put 4,000 miles on it since purchase last June. No riding from Nov - April for winter.

 

[Spyderman12]

There are high mileage Spyders out there, but they are expensive to maintain. At 70 years old, I was getting a little shakey riding my 2002 Vulcan 1500 Classic I had been riding for 10 years, so I bought a new 2012 RT Limited Jan. 2012, and put 55,400 miles on it in 5 years. I had the usual problems with it, as Members report here, such as Throttle Body replacement, God awful Orange Limp home Mode light that shut me down every time some little thing like DP failure, Brakes, Air Bag and Compressor failure, and front tires wearing on the inside needing to be changed every 12,000 miles no matter what I did! I figured I spent about $40,000 on it, during the 5 years I owned it, and only got $8000 Trade for it on a left over 2016 RT Limited. At my 21,500 mile mark, two months ago, my 2016 went in the shop for a grinding and whining noise, that took 2 months to diagnose and repair. It ended out to be the Engine Sprocket issue reported here on various other threads. So, my Summer riding was ruined, as far as the Spyder is concerned, so during the Spyder issues, I bought a Harley Heritage V-Twin, and have ridden it 3000 miles since my Spyder has been in the Shop. At 76 years old, with my wife thinking I am ready for a Wheel Chair instead of a Spyder even, a Harley makes me feel like a Teen Ager again! So my advice is, yes, enjoy your Spyders, but keep a V-Twin Harley in the garage as a Spare when your Spyder takes a Dump, because, TRUST Me,...it WILL take many dumps along the way that will leave you at the mercy of busy Dealers, that will not treat you like a BRP Executive! Worse, in my 6-1/2 years as a Spyder Owner, I have never found any independent Motor Cyle Shops that will even change the Oil or tires on my Spyders, so, keep a Spare or two if you love riding and don’t want any unexpected down time in Peak riding Season. .

I know the feeling! A good friend of mine,that has a very low mileage 2004 Goldwing, is planning on buying the new Goldwing next spring and will make me a good deal on his old wing. I have also come to the conclusion that I will have to get a newer Spyder, 2004 or newer, as my wife won't ride a two wheeler any more after an accident we had a few years ago.