[Doru]

RS2008 SM5 with 129K miles under BRP Best Warranty:
Original Rotax 990 engine quit suddenly September 2010 with 87K mileson the Salt Flats during the 130 miles/hour attempt (front and back pistons melted) tacking out the turbine from the Aerocharge Turbo; all maintenance done in the service including valve check 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 and 84K, shimmed at 48K. See BOSSWeb.
Second Rotax 990 2010 engine stalls unexpectedly at 42K miles during the 2011 Spyder Triangle Event 20 miles NE from Reno, NV on the highway (previous oil change done under 2,800 mile in NY state). All maintenance done in the service including valve check 12 (99), 24 (111) and 36K (123K). See BOSSWeb.
If the first incident was an accident, the second was a coincidence and I do not believe it. So I called Rotax (Austria), Aerocharge and Aprilia (Germany and US):
1. The Aerocharge Turbo: dial in at 12-14 fuel/air ratio; no other turborized engines melt down.
2. Rotax 990 OEM non-forged (cast) pistons: unanimously they need to get replace from any Spyder that supposed to run long time under full throttle; already they are many other owners with the non-turbo engine failure.
3. Fuel management- fuel pump and injectors: according to Aprilia engineers, the Spyder have the tendency to lean in long full throttle instances due to lack of fuel (fuel pump and/or injectors).
BRP did not cover the warranty on the first engine; paid cash for the second engine (full list price) and engine installation (swap 3 times, still full list price). According to BRP: because the second engine was cash purchased, carry no warranty, despite the purchase and installation in a BRP authorized dealer. Spyder transportation, rental cars or plane tickets were not covered either.

[burg650]

Now you know why I would not buy another spyder, or for that matter another BRP anything.

[TharkunRT]

I had heard from a friend in Carson City that your Spyder was in the shop, sorry to hear about the problems.

But before bashing BRP here on the forum, how about informing the members here of your engine mods and how you like to
run the engine maxed out most of the time. The Spyder was not designed to be a race bike.

[jomion]

That is a bit odd...Everything that I heard about the STOCK Rotax engine was that it was essentially "rock solid" and "bulletproof." I can say the same for my Honda automobile engine. But as soon as I mount an aftermarket Turbo on EITHER vehicle, I would know that all bets were off as far as expected reliability or warranty. And I certainly would not blame the manufacturer for an engine meltdown after I had made major modifications to the engine.

But keeping the dialog open, I am asking that others with non-turbo STOCK Rotax engine that have suffered a similar catastrophic failure. Any others?

[RattiganRoger]

jomion, on 11 August 2011 - 11:25 PM, said:

That is a bit odd...Everything that I heard about the STOCK Rotax engine was that it was essentially "rock solid" and "bulletproof." I can say the same for my Honda automobile engine. But as soon as I mount an aftermarket Turbo on EITHER vehicle, I would know that all bets were off as far as expected reliability or warranty. And I certainly would not blame the manufacturer for an engine meltdown after I had made major modifications to the engine.

But keeping the dialog open, I am asking that others with non-turbo STOCK Rotax engine that have suffered a similar catastrophic failure. Any others?

I think there is more going on here than being admitted to.

[Chagnon]

RattiganRoger, on 12 August 2011 - 12:36 PM, said:

I think there is more going on here than being admitted to.

why would anybody think they would not void the warranty , the spyder and brp is not perfect but to bash them on this is crazy ,mind you i dont think they a make a perfect bike out there, do we not hear complaints out there from harley, yamaha ,honda etc. riders