Spyder, reputation for unreliability?

[trikester]

Have any of you heard anything like this?

In the complex, where my shop is, there is a motorcycle rental outfit. I've gotten to know the owners and the other day I was talking with them and I asked if they had considered renting out CanAm Spyders (they've seen mine before). The reply shocked me.

He said they wouldn't add Spyders to their rental stable because of the poor reliability and long down time when repairs are needed. He added that those two things can kill a rental business. So, of course I asked where he had heard about poor reliability and long repair time.

He said there is a business in our area that rents Spyders (I didn't know that) and they have had a poor record of reliability and experienced long down times for repairs. When I said that I have not had any trouble with mine, but I had read of some complaints on this forum, he reminded me that those rental Spyders rack up mileage fast, because they are being ridden almost constantly, so they would have a lot more miles than mine does.

I also wonder who does the repairs on the outfit's rental Spyders?

As I asked at the beginning of this post: Has anyone else heard anything similar to this? I was pretty surprised, not expecting to hear what I heard. I was even surprised to hear there were rental Spyders available in my area. :dontknow:

Frank

 

[Recluze]

21,000 miles on mine and I have never had to walk home. Well except for the one time I ran out of gas.

More to the point, the steering issue alone would make this bike unsuitable for a rental bike.

 

[trikester]

More to the point, the steering issue alone would make this bike unsuitable for a rental bike.[/quote]

Good point. I wonder if that is what most of their troubles have been?

It would be great to be able to question someone at the rental outfit but at this point I don't know them.

 

[tatt2r]

12 months of riding in new england

no problems here ....

 

[Jimmy Neutron]

Not only that but I wonder if because they are strictly going after the most profit they can if the simply meant that A plus B minus C meant less dollars for them.... Just wondering:chat:

 

[M2Wild]

I think you are talking about that MetroAsian guy in Cali who rents out Spyders.

 

[kalavera]

To be continued.Ugg boots http://www.ugg-bootstore.co.ukhttp://www.ugg-bootstore.co.uk/ free shippping Ugg bootsugg boots

This dude has 3 posts and all three are junk. Looks like you got a spambot. I just deleted 28 spambot accounts on antother form I run. I tightened security so now they cant post till admin or mods approve their account.

 

[sleepman]

Well considering in less than 9,000 miles I've had an exhaust gasket go, a relay, the battery corroded, head gaskets leaking, a bad spark plug wire, and now my steering has started acting weird. I'd have to agree that perhaps there is the potential for them to be unreliable.

 

[cousin]

Well considering in less than 9,000 miles I've had an exhaust gasket go, a relay, the battery corroded, head gaskets leaking, a bad spark plug wire, and now my steering has started acting weird. I'd have to agree that perhaps there is the potential for them to be unreliable.

do you think the prior problem are the BUGS that needed to be work out??

 

[sleepman]

do you think the prior problem are the BUGS that needed to be work out??

I guess that would be a matter of opinion. I know a lot of folks say that first years have bugs that need to be worked out. I subscribe to that theory to a degree, at some point though I would say that my issues have driven me past the point of calling these bugs.

If the Spyder were a normal bike it would have been gone from my stable, because it's so much fun to ride I've given it several reprieves.

 

[trikester]

I guess the thing that worries me about the possibility of poor reliability is that I ride in very remote areas often times and I'm by myself. I'm sure there are many others on this forum that do the same thing. It would be nice to have "the warm fuzzies" about the machine I'm riding.

If I do break down, some of the areas I ride don't have cell service or it is very spotty, but for that I carry a sat phone.

I'll be riding again in the SoCal remote southern desert on Thursday. So far, all is well with my Spyder. :thumbup:

 

[babyanlee]

Knock on wood - 3500 miles on NO trouble

 

[AnthonyG]

I also ride alone and in somewhat remote areas. I probably will stop going alone after the problems I have read about and am experiencing with my bike. If BRP is monitoring Spyderlovers, they will find many unhappy owners.

 

[zzneonzz]

I hate hearing about the problems and fears that people seem to be experiencing with the spyder. I know several spyder owners both with SM and SE's and none have had the problems a lot of people are describing myself included on my SE5 6k miles no issue's. The way i feel about it is anything mechanical can and will eventually break down on you but if you limit yourself on what you do because of that fear then whats the point?

Like others have said in the past 9 times out of 10 your only going to hear the bad on the forums not the good. From what i have seen here its the same people that tend to have the same issue's over and over again...you rarely hear the veteran riders having issues. But hey thats just my take on the situation.

 

[Firefly]

Only problem I've had is the steering issue - which is really a big concern. Mine didn't start acting up until I hit 5,000 miles - now I've only ridden 500 miles since then (due to weather).

I talked to my dealer and they had no idea of this problem. I wanted them to order parts ahead of time to fix the DPS - but they said they can't until they look at the bike - not too happy about that. Crazy me - I expect them to keep parts in stock or be able to get them overnight when needed.

I don't believe a rental company can use the BRP warranty like us end users can - since they are using the bike for commercial purposes.

BRP is really dropping the ball on this steering issue. My personal belief is that they won't issue a recall because that would be an admission of a known problem.

 

[bjt]

I hate hearing about the problems and fears that people seem to be experiencing with the spyder. I know several spyder owners both with SM and SE's and none have had the problems a lot of people are describing myself included on my SE5 6k miles no issue's. The way i feel about it is anything mechanical can and will eventually break down on you but if you limit yourself on what you do because of that fear then whats the point?

Like others have said in the past 9 times out of 10 your only going to hear the bad on the forums not the good. From what i have seen here its the same people that tend to have the same issue's over and over again...you rarely hear the veteran riders having issues. But hey thats just my take on the situation.

:agree: The only reasons that I wouldn't ride my Spyder someplace are the cold, wet weather or the relatively short range (150 - 180 miles) of the fuel tank if I thought I was traveling somewhere that gas stations are scarce.

 

[Dudley]

6000 miles and all is well with our SE5. Had the transmission fix done and the parking brake fix. Transmission shifts a lot better, but still wants to crawl in stop-and-go traffic at times, but I can live with that. The parking brake worked a lot better before the fix, just gotta keep working the cable adjustment till it catches with just a couple of clicks. Have plans to ride about 8000 miles this summer from California to Nova Scotia, and back through Washington to Jacumba, CA. Will go in faith. If it breaks, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. As I have said before, this is a machine with mechanical and electrical parts, either of which can dump on you at any time. So let us all put aside our fears and enjoy our Spyders. It's a new machine. It causes many people to stop and gape, take pictures (even had at least one car passenger take our picture as we were going home the day we bought ours) and ask questions. For some unknown reason I have noticed that a lot of cars end up on the small patch of surface on the shoulder of the road when they pass us...hopefully no one will go off completely one day and get hurt. Ryde Safe everyone. The summer is just around the corner!:bowdown:

 

[sleepman]

Like others have said in the past 9 times out of 10 your only going to hear the bad on the forums not the good. From what i have seen here its the same people that tend to have the same issue's over and over again...you rarely hear the veteran riders having issues. But hey thats just my take on the situation.

Actually I'm a veteran rider and have had issues with the Spyder. Personally as an experienced rider I expect more reliability from my bikes than what I think folks who are just getting started or who are only weekend riders do. With the amount of miles I put on in a year I expect my vehicles to be trustworthy and dependable. To me it's not a matter of how many people are having issues with their spyders, but the issues that I am having with mine.

 

[Firefly]

I filed reports today with the NHTSA and the Canadian version of them pertaining to the steering failure.

This is a SERIOUS danger to all riders. My steering was fine until around 5,000 miles - then it started to go on and off and 'lock up'. When you're in a turn and it's too tight and pushing it hard--- only to have it kick back on suddenly--- this is SCARY.

There has been 1 serious injury in California due to this steering failure, and a Spyder death in Texas that *could* have been caused by this failure.

This should be the #1 concern for all Spyder owners!

Please contact BRP, your dealer and the NHTSA and file reports if you are having ANY steering issues.

 

[trikester]

I filed reports today with the NHTSA and the Canadian version of them pertaining to the steering failure.

This is a SERIOUS danger to all riders. My steering was fine until around 5,000 miles - then it started to go on and off and 'lock up'. When you're in a turn and it's too tight and pushing it hard--- only to have it kick back on suddenly--- this is SCARY.

There has been 1 serious injury in California due to this steering failure, and a Spyder death in Texas that *could* have been caused by this failure.

This should be the #1 concern for all Spyder owners!

Please contact BRP, your dealer and the NHTSA and file reports if you are having ANY steering issues.

:agree: That is very scary! I can't help but think about this now, when I'm rounding a tight curve in the mountains.