When did you use the nanny?

[gnorthern]

I have read multiple posts from people who have had the nanny kick in. What EXACTLY were you doing when it happened? For example instead of saying going too fast around a curve, say something like doing 65 in a curve marked for 45 mph. Also did you have a passenger or lots of luggage?

I look forward to your answers.

Thanks.

P.S. Possible bonus points for the people who wish they could turn off the nanny (I actually only remember one). Why do you want to turn it off?

[AeroPilot]

Going 20 over posted recommended speeds doesn't trigger the nanny if you have the right line and smooth cornering technique. I've only felt the nanny when the tires start to lose their grip such as a quick jerk on the steering around a sharp turn and maybe a little reverse crown where the inside tire lifts a little. Or when going too fast on water covered roads, again when one wheels speed starts to "float" and triggers nanny to tell me to SLOW down. Good prompts when needed! But I tend to not be aggressive around Nanny!

[Roadster Renovations]

Just about every time I get wheel lift on a corner the nanny kicks in.

Funny story; Since I have a Daytona and can disable part of the nanny if I wish, a few weeks ago it had just rained, was very early with no traffic around town, and on the way over to workout I was playing a little with the nanny off. I took a corner a little too fast and almost did a 180. I corrected my turn, turned the nanny back on and stopped playing the rest of the way over there.

[Chupaca]

The nanny and I, solo or two up, go round and round. The last thing I'm looking at when she kicks in is the Speedo. The roads where she and I meet require your full attention or you will be littering... I have come to depend on her more than one should. But oh what fun and she's got my back...

[JayBros]

I agree with Gene. The two biggest Nanny saves for me have been when I had to make a serious change of line in a curve, once when there was a pot hole about half way into a tight turn and the second when a moron cage driver was coming at me across the yellow line. Both times, no time to check the speedo, was 110% focused on changing my line to avoid a big aw s**t! The other times she's kicked in were me just diving into a turn at too high a speed. Again, I'm not focused on the speedo, just where I want to go.

[ARtraveler]

When "nanny" comes on, you will most likely not notice the little light up on the dashboard. You will be busy with other things. It is similar to the AWD warning that I get on my Subaru when it kicks in. Your manual will show you what it looks like.

She saved me a couple times when I was learning about the hydroplaning. Don't drive through an inch or more of water at speeds above 50 mph. Both times she saved me from doing a 180. I then learned my lesson.

[ruralgirl]

Don't drive through an inch or more of water at speeds above 50 mph.

EGADS, I really am getting old. A quarter inch of water and I'm down to 40mph on these nearly treadless Spyder tires!

[Ben Burped]

I was a new Spyder rider with my wife behind me when I met the nanny. I made a too sharp right turn onto a side road when I felt a sudden deceleration. I asked my wife if she felt something and she told me that I had gotten a front wheel up. Thank BRP for the nanny.

I took a trike course given by the State and they encouraged me to push things during maneuvers to actually learn to trust the nanny. I came out with a greater respect for the nanny. It isn't pussifying your ride, it is trying to make sure that you are as safe as you can be. It's not stupid proof, but it really raises the stupid bar. Trust the nanny, she will be there for you when you need her.

[Peter Aawen]

with that lot - especially Gene, Jay, AK etc.... I met the Nanny quite a few times early in the piece while I was learning where her limits were, & there's been a couple of really speccy saves since then too, one when I was being followed by a senior LEO Motorcyclist Trainer who was completely Gob-Smacked at how I/the Spyder (with Nanny intervention) could've avoided what looked like certain death from a speeding & out of control sedan coming the other way on the wrong side of the road on a blind curve!! Afterwards, the investigators measured the distances involved in us avoiding & worked out my reaction time & the Nanny's response; they very quickly decided the slightest of absolutely miniscule delays in either response would have meant that someone died... probably me.... but I got to ryde on astride my unmarked Spyder (albeit with a newly stained seat! ) & the other bloke, once they cut him out of what was left of his car, got an all expenses paid holiday courtesy of our Govt!

Since then, I've put a lot of effort into learning the limits the Nanny imposes on me/my RT, and I certainly appreciate what the Nanny does, but I still pretty much make every ryde yet another in the continuing series of 'How to ryde spiritedly without provoking Nanny intervention' rydes that I'm running! Most rydes I can get thru without waking her up, but add just a degree or two of handlebar angle; be a fraction too slow in getting my weight across & inside on a tight corner; twist the throttle just a fraction too much/too early coming out of a corner; or maybe even just push on the outside bar instead of pulling on the inside bar on a really tight corner & she's instantly awake & doing her thing the moment I exceed the current parameters. Would I like to be able to dial some of those parameters back juuust a little?! YOU BET!! Some of them, maybe even a LOT!!

Even just dialing some of them back to what the current RT's & F3's enjoy would be fantastic, but I can certainly appreciate why they are set where they are when you consider the number of 'novice ryders' or even the number of experienced 2 wheel riders that simply never even want to explore the limits of their machines or those the Nanny imposes upon them. And I'm fine with that, you can ryde however you will but still, surely BRP could make SOME allowances for those ryders who are willing & able to develop the ryding skills that push those current 'cover our arse' baby sitting limits they've got dialled in?!?

Doing that, ESPECIALLY if they allowed it to be applied to those older machines where the ryders are now more than capable of handling the more restrictive limits imposed back then & would now appreciate exploring a little further; doing/allowing that would make an already fantastic machine into an absolutely Fanbloodyphenomenaltastic machine!! ..... it's such a shame that I just don't think there is anyone smart enough or brave enough in the organisation to see what wonderful things for their image & the Spyders image that doing this would bring.

Jeez, imagine a reliable & well put together machine something like ours that also allowed you to loosen up the Nanny limits as you got better/more used to it, AND one that had a supportive & helpful dealer network & parent oganisation that had an ethos of exemplary customer service & quickly & decisively resolved any issues that slipped thru their rigourous testing & quality control?! Wouldn't that just make a killing in the bike market... Hey, c'mon, a fella's allowed to dream, isn't he??

[d.o.spyder-rts]

I've only had nanny kick in one time and since it was my first experience, shocked me a little. I was making a right hand turn down my road, not going fast at all ( don't remember how fast-wasn't looking at speedo) when she kicked in. The only thing I could figure that she determined that I was attempting too tight of a turn for the speed I was travelling. Dale

[Woodaddict]

yep, had nanny care for me too. On Tail of Dragon, with wife on back, going around curves briskly. Wheel sensors could have detected wheel lift. Couldn't tell any braking by her, but may have felt throttle go off. Saw nanny light blinking multiple times. Spyder must also use steering angle in its "safe" calculation.

[Peter Aawen]

E

..... Spyder must also use steering angle in its "safe" calculation.

Yeah, I reckon it uses a whole lot, in fact, it probably uses everything it can... And that includes things like the steering angle & I suspect how hard/fast the DPS is or just was working - cos sudden/quick steering input wakes her up a whole lot quicker than slow & steady steering input, even if that smooth input is ultimately to a bigger steering angle!!

Then there's things like the throttle setting (both the throttle opening position & the speed of opening/closing, as for the steering), gear selection, yaw sensor, passenger seat sensor, wheel speed sensors individually & collectively, brake pedal sensor, ABS activation.... all sorts of stuff gets checked to determine as best the computers can that what you are intending &/or if the manoeuvre that you just dialed in will actually work with all the readings as they are & how (quickly or otherwise) they are changing!!

It's a pretty complex thing, but Bosch have done a really fantastic job of getting it all to work together to keep the Spyder on an even keel & travelling in the desired direction! If you make the effort, as you get more accustomed to ryding your Spyder, it's likely you'll be able to get better at feeding in the control input in a smooth manner & to a level juuust short of something that'll wake the Nanny up, making for a smooth but remarkably quick ryde safe in the knowledge that the Nanny is waiting poised in the wings to intervene if you fluff something or one of the road parameters jumps up to bite you!!

But it'd be sooo nice to know that I could dial some of the settings back a bit, or adjust things enough to add maybe another 5 degrees of steering with a given throttle setting in order to keep the rear wheel juuussst sliding a little to get me around that hairpin a tad faster..

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

In going around curves I think the yaw sensor is the primary input. I know after I put Ron's shock adjusters on I had less nanny response on curves at the same speed as before because the Spyder didn't lean as much.

[Pirate looks at --]

When I did a wheelie! Yes you can for a moment! Turning left from a complete stop at an intersection. I did a full lock turn to the left and gave it full throttle. Left front wheel was about even with my eye level! Nanny said; "We'll have none of that!" And the wheel dropped promptly! It was kinda cool for a moment........ant it was good news and bad news....I didn't go over backwards but......there was some oncoming traffic I needed to run away from!

[trucker1]

We were one a 2 lane running around 70 in a 55 trying to blow the sutt out of her. Wife wasn't watching and leaned the opposite direction at the time we entered the curve then it just kinda went down stream from there. Good thing there was a school house about a mile down the road that we got to pull off into. Got everything to reset and off we went again. Plus I got the are you in a hurry lecture while at the school parking lot. Then the Nope just having some fun came out so had to buy a steak dinner for that answer. Ha ha.

[easysuper]

About 80 miles into my first ride crossing the Oregon-California border, scared the heck out of me but in a good way. I have never had her spank me again and have tried several times after I had about 30K miles under my belt.

[crna59]

As a S/TEP 3-wheel instructor, we teach our students to drift. Now as you know, Spyders don't like to have their rear wheel spun out of control. When going around a left hand corner, we hang WAY off the rig and the nanny will sometimes kick in and apply the right brake or cut out some cylinders to keep the left wheel on the ground. We have to "trick" the nanny by hanging off the Spyder even more. When we successfully do it, we can drift or "slide" around a corner like no one's business.

Now the trick is to ride the Spyder on 2 wheels down the length of the range. I've seen it done..... I'm still trying to perfect that maneuver!!

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

One of the ladies in the local Spyder RA chapter said when she was taking a m/c rider course the instructor told her to turn hard enough to lift the inside wheel. She told him it couldn't be done. He said, "Let me ride it and I'll show you how to do it!" He couldn't!

[asp125]

65 in a 45 curve, yup. Also tight right into a banked driveway and lifted the inside tire. And trying on purpose to drift it in gravel, snow, and doing a burnout. Nanny says "Act your age!" and puts an end to such hooliganism.

[trucker1]

One of the ladies in the local Spyder RA chapter said when she was taking a m/c rider course the instructor told her to turn hard enough to lift the inside wheel. She told him it couldn't be done. He said, "Let me ride it and I'll show you how to do it!" He couldn't!

I guess she proved him wrong didn't she. A reality check is a wonderful thing sometimes.

[Roadster Renovations]

I guess she proved him wrong didn't she. A reality check is a wonderful thing sometimes.

It can be done, but not from a dead start. You need to accelerate to about 10 mph, crank the bars left or right, and punch the throttle at the same time. When we first got our RT I learned
how the nanny functioned in a parking lot before getting it on the road. I was getting 15-18" wheel raise momentarily until the nanny kicked in.
Now with the Daytona, it can easily get wheel lift at a stop. Also, cornering around S curves if I give it enough throttle we have lift off.

In all cases, I have learned to trust the nanny. She does her job well.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I guess she proved him wrong didn't she. A reality check is a wonderful thing sometimes.

I actually did it during the GWRRA Trike Rider Course. After all the regular training stuff was done the instructor offered everyone the option of lifting a wheel exercise. We rode in a circle around a cone and sped up to the point where the wheel would lift. I got it to lift but only about an inch or less before Nanny said enough is enough. IIRC the front tires were sliding and squealing at that point. The turning radius I think was as tight as the Spyder would do.

[rcturner]

One of the ladies in the local Spyder RA chapter said when she was taking a m/c rider course the instructor told her to turn hard enough to lift the inside wheel. She told him it couldn't be done. He said, "Let me ride it and I'll show you how to do it!" He couldn't!

This instructor is an idiot. No way should he be telling her to do something like that and he should never be on her machine abusing it and trying to show her how it is done. I would suggest that a conversation with his superiors would be in order.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

This instructor is an idiot. No way should he be telling her to do something like that and he should never be on her machine abusing it and trying to show her how it is done. I would suggest that a conversation with his superiors would be in order.

Maybe a case of where machismo overwhelmed good sense?

[SPYDERGUY1]

Acouple or more times for me. Lifted the right front wheel off yhe ground cornering extremely aggressively, NANNY SHUT IT DOWN INSTANTLY, now I know, also a few times doing burnouts, if ya keep her straight no problem, but as soon as the rear kicks out, NANNY SHUTS IT DOWN INSTANTLY, quit the burn outs as rear tire not cheap, but it was fun, and the cornering issue never happend again. Had to CHECK IT OUT THO. Yes the Nanny works fine.