2013 Spyder RT Limited SM5 reverse works but won't back up a hill due to limiter

[PonderosaRT]

My 2013 Spyder has been unable to back up using reverse gear on anything but a level surface since day one. It shifts into reverse just fine, but there is no power available when in reverse. This "safety feature" electronically limits the revs when in reverse. I presume that this is to prevent someone from unintentionally backing up at high speed. The power I get at the rear wheel is barely enough to move the machine at walking speed while in reverse on a level surface. Backing uphill, even slightly uphill is impossible. I see that Can Am ATVs have this feature but they also have a manual override button to make backing up possible in any situation. I've searched the forums on this site high and low and have seen at least two descriptions of this same exact problem but none of the comments were of any help. I've called several dealers in several different states and none could offer any assistance, so please don't suggest calling a dealer unless you know from personal experience of a dealer that can truly help with this problem - in that case please give me their contact info. Also, please don't lecture me about how to operate a clutch and/or throttle. After well over 50 years in the saddle and behind the wheel of hundreds of different motorcycles, cars and trucks I think I have the hang of manual transmissions by now. Learning to live with this defect (NOT a feature) is not acceptable. I don't care if my Spyder is "protecting" me from racing up my driveway backwards at 50 mph. As it is, I can't pull out of my driveway at all (it's all uphill from my garage), so I have to stop at the top and back it all the way down. Not convenient, and if I forget and just pull into the garage like any normal person operating any normal vehicle then I need to maneuver this cumbersome rig 180 degrees before I can get out of my drive.

I know this topic has been brought up by others somewhere on the forums but I haven't seen any solutions to this problem. Can anyone help?

Thanks!

 

[Mikey]

Your forward movement OK, no slippage??

 

[Peter Aawen]

The 'Reverse Safety Feature' simply restricts your Spyder's speed to no more than 9 mph/15 kph when in Reverse gear - but it sounds like yours isn't letting you go anywhere near that fast, so it sounds like something else is wrong...

Sure, there's gonna be less traction when in Reverse and trying to go uphill, but even with the speed restriction, you still should be able to spin the rear wheel in Reverse gear, at least a little. My 2013 RT Ltd certainly can, and unless there's a traction issue, like loose gravel, wet leaves, etc, it can also reverse uphill at speeds of up to 15 kph with relative ease before the speed limit function kicks in! It's done it on some pretty steep hills, too!

You don't see a VSS or traction control light flash when you try to Reverse uphill, do you?

 

[Snowbelt Spyder]

Well, the specific drivability issue that the OP is describing is probably a bug, but there was no documented fix. Brand new machines were doing this. Chatter on the forum from back around 2012 - 2013, once you sort through it all, appears to show that what the OP is describing, was first witnessed around that time frame negatively affecting only the RT SM5. The SE5 operated in reverse normally. So, did the GS/RS SM5s. If you have an SE5 you probably never experienced this exact problem. Some say RPM is limited in reverse to about 2000 RPM. Others say higher, but also getting input from rear wheel speed. Pretty low RPM for torque from a 998. Any rear wheel slippage and the engine would sometimes shut down. There was a lot of word of mouth from actual experience, but nothing actually in writing in any manuals. People pretty much had to adjust to it and operate the throttle and clutch to work around it. Looks like something introduced with the 2010 RT, and some folks had thoughts that a software update around 2011 put this in. Regardless, numerous dealers were contacted and all said that this was "normal" behavior. Of course they did. No adjustment. No solutions. A lot of frustration. So, Sorry there Ponderosa. There's just nothing to do but park accordingly...or trade up.