Demo ride,have a couple questions.

[spyder01]

Have been thinking about getting a Spyder RTL so last night I rode a 2017 RTL leftover.It took me about 10 minutes to get used to the handling,maybe because Ive ridden a lot of ATVs.
1.I felt like it was twitchy and would dart around on a straight road and on turns you had to be very steady or it would be hard to hold a nice line thru the turn.Just me or does it need a better sway bar or do you just get used to it?
2.The brake pedal sits a little high for me is there any way to lower it like an inch?
3.My wife(who has been known to sleep on the back of our GW)felt that she wasn't being held in place very well by the seat or mini armrests.Does anyone make armrests that would hold her in place ,and if so what would be the downside to those if any?
4.Im used to GW with radio/cb/cd/intercom,this thing only has radio with no way to pipe it into your helmets.I already have a J+M sound system with mic in both of our helmets which is vintage from 2003,is there any way to convert this to Bluetooth or what would be another option so we can talk to each other and use our phone to play music or phone calls ?
5.Will this bike hold as much luggage as a GW that had a rack on the trunk?
BTW I absolutely loved my 1st ride,I thought it was smooth as glass and aside from hitting the horn one time instead of upshifting I felt very comfortable even though I had to navigate thru rush hour traffic on a major highway after not having been on a bike for 3 years.

[Buckeye Bleau]

Have been thinking about getting a Spyder RTL so last night I rode a 2017 RTL leftover.It took me about 10 minutes to get used to the handling,maybe because Ive ridden a lot of ATVs.
1.I felt like it was twitchy and would dart around on a straight road and on turns you had to be very steady or it would be hard to hold a nice line thru the turn.Just me or does it need a better sway bar or do you just get used to it? I believe that what you are experiencing is what I call RRB (Road Rut Bounce), a laser alignment may offer some assistance, the BaJa Ron Sway bar can help , but if you want a dramatic difference and almost total elimination of RRB, put car tires on the front, like but not exclusively the Federal Formosa AZ01. Get rid of those aweful OEM tires. SSERIOUSLY!
2.The brake pedal sits a little high for me is there any way to lower it like an inch? That you will get used to, it will be second nature, just like the horn button that I used to push while trying to hit the blinker.
3.My wife(who has been known to sleep on the back of our GW)felt that she wasn't being held in place very well by the seat or mini armrests.Does anyone make armrests that would hold her in place ,and if so what would be the downside to those if any? there are a lot of vendors for this, many are sponsors of this site, visit the home page. I have been told that a lot of people like the Corbin armrests, BRP and Ultimate have good options as well.
4.Im used to GW with radio/cb/cd/intercom,this thing only has radio with no way to pipe it into your helmets.I already have a J+M sound system with mic in both of our helmets which is vintage from 2003,is there any way to convert this to Bluetooth or what would be another option so we can talk to each other and use our phone to play music or phone calls ? z Motorcycle Dave is a site sponsor and he is a wizard with this kind of thing.
5.Will this bike hold as much luggage as a GW that had a rack on the trunk? depends on how I have seen videos on YouTube that show that the RT holds more but I think it has a lot to do with how you pack. The wing has a large area for a big top rack, but put JT's hitch rack on the RT and you will blow the Wing out.
BTW I absolutely loved my 1st ride,I thought it was smooth as glass and aside from hitting the horn one time instead of upshifting I felt very comfortable even though I had to navigate thru rush hour traffic on a major highway after not having been on a bike for 3 years.

Joe

[bhern]

Have been thinking about getting a Spyder RTL so last night I rode a 2017 RTL leftover.It took me about 10 minutes to get used to the handling,maybe because Ive ridden a lot of ATVs.
1.I felt like it was twitchy and would dart around on a straight road and on turns you had to be very steady or it would be hard to hold a nice line thru the turn.Just me or does it need a better sway bar or do you just get used to it?
2.The brake pedal sits a little high for me is there any way to lower it like an inch?
3.My wife(who has been known to sleep on the back of our GW)felt that she wasn't being held in place very well by the seat or mini armrests.Does anyone make armrests that would hold her in place ,and if so what would be the downside to those if any?
4.Im used to GW with radio/cb/cd/intercom,this thing only has radio with no way to pipe it into your helmets.I already have a J+M sound system with mic in both of our helmets which is vintage from 2003,is there any way to convert this to Bluetooth or what would be another option so we can talk to each other and use our phone to play music or phone calls ?
5.Will this bike hold as much luggage as a GW that had a rack on the trunk?
BTW I absolutely loved my 1st ride,I thought it was smooth as glass and aside from hitting the horn one time instead of upshifting I felt very comfortable even though I had to navigate thru rush hour traffic on a major highway after not having been on a bike for 3 years.

Welcome, and it sounds like your initial experience was much like my own -- just couldn't stop smiling. (And hitting the wrong buttons, too...)

1. Most agree that it needs a better anti-sway bar, and if you search for "sway" on the forums here, you'll see any number of posts on the subject. One of the sponsors of Spyderlovers, BajaRon, has an upgrade for the anti-sway bar and the Heim links for it. Here's a link to his entry:

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...rs-amp-Helmets

As a new 2017 RT owner myself, I wanted to put in some miles on it before I made any fundamental changes in the Spyder, but I'll be making that upgrade at some point this summer.

2. Yes, here's a link to a relevant thread: http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...dal-Height-Mod

3. Yes, here's a link to a relevant thread: http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...hlight=armrest

4. I don't know of a way of converting that to Bluetooth, but FWIW, Sena's headsets (pricey, yes, but generally pretty good) offer FM radio on the headset itself, and of course are Bluetooth-enabled for playing music from a phone or other source as well as offering intercom capabilities. I also see that J+M is now offering this capability in its newer models.

5. I'll leave that to others with experience across both platforms.

[ARtraveler]

The other posters have you covered on your questions.

Attached is a good informational thread that addresses handling.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...-Spyder-owners

[DGoebel]

+1 What they said, I just put the BRP RT (flip up, nicely padded) Armrests on and my wife loves them! VERY Solid mount too, now that I see how they integrate into the backrest mounts. Though she has already slept behind me without them.
My '13 rides like a dream with the BR Bar and car tires.

[spyder01]

Thank you to all,I am still trying to make a deal with local dealer.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

4.Im used to GW with radio/cb/cd/intercom,this thing only has radio with no way to pipe it into your helmets.I already have a J+M sound system with mic in both of our helmets which is vintage from 2003,is there any way to convert this to Bluetooth or what would be another option so we can talk to each other and use our phone to play music or phone calls ?

Compared to the 'wing the audio system falls short. There is no intercom in the base system. You have to add the BRP CB unit which includes the intercom capability and adds the connectors for wired helmet headsets. An adapter can be added to enable phone calls while traveling but you have to use a GPS that has mic input and pair it with your phone using Bluetooth.

If you do not want to use wired headsets, and don't plan to use CB a lot, the better option is a handheld CB connected to the Sena SR10 Bluetooth adapter. Then use BT helmet headsets. You do have to use the Sena PTT button as the Spyder PTT button is not an ordinary push button type switch in a mic circuit. There is a Sena SM10 BT adapter that can be connected into the bike audio. In short, with BT you can use a CB, communicate with your passenger, communicate with other bikers, listen to the Spyder audio, and connect your phone. But from what I have read here (I don't use a BT headset) getting all the devices to work together can be tricky. If you do group riding BT still does not have the capability and versatility that CB does for bike to bike communications.

There is no way currently to use the BRP CB radio with BT helmet headsets. Sena has their Freewire system that connects the bike audio to a BT headset, but the adapters are not made for the Spyder. They have them for the Goldwing and Harleys. I think the Harley cable could be modified to work on the Spyder but as far as I know no one has done it yet, and I have no compelling reason to try it, yet!

The Spyder audio does a good job of integrating iPod into the system. You can control the iPod from the handlebar controls. You use an iPhone in place of an iPod. There are work arounds to use streaming services like Pandora using your smartphone. The Spyder radio does a p*ss poor job of pulling in weak FM stations. Other than that it is good.

To turn console audio speakers on and off you have to go into the cluster settings screen. It's not as simple as it is on the GW.

[stmike 1800]

Why does BRP make life so hard ,if honda can do it 20 years ago why can't brp in this day and age. I do not even have my bike home yet ( 2018 RT L ) and i am puzzled. I am OLD and hate most off the new stuff that is suppose to make life easier ,all this does is make my head hurt.

[Mr. White]

Sticker shock on the CB. You have to buy the CB wiring harness, CB and antenna and the total is about $1,000. FYI

[Musashi]

I can't speak to the newest models, as I own a 2012. But I do have a lot of ATV, snowmobile, and motorcycle experience. So I wanted to respond to the "road shimmy" question based on my perspective.

The Spyder's front end handles very similarly to an ATV, but you need a "light touch" on the handlebars like with a snowmobile to get that over-responsive steering thing out of the experience. Due to the upright driver posture, I know that the handle bar riser would help with this. I just haven't taken that mod on yet, because I can be mindful of it. For me, it only becomes an issue where you least want it to be an issue: at high speeds (70 mph and up) like Interstate cruising. This handle bar riser thing depends on your personal ergonomic needs. The taller you are, the more likely you are to want it. I'm 6'1". I feel like my arms about 1" too short (ie. handle bars are 1-2" too low). This causes me to "lean in" to the controls, putting more pressure on them than I should. The issue is that the stability control computer in the Spyder senses the micro-effects of force being exerted on the controls and interprets this as a need for minor adjustments. Sway bars and tire changes and what not can help mitigate this for people who can't or don't want to use activity modifications (OEM mfgs LOVE people like this!). I just have to be mindful of it during rapid acceleration and ease off the handle bars a bit more than feels natural. I admit it is a bit counter-intuitive. Then it isn't a problem.

The rear end of the Spyder...for obvious reasons...handles more like a snow mobile than a quad, but with digital stability controls that are second to none. You may get a bit of fish-tail when accelerating into an immediate right/left turn from a stop; like leaving a parking lot or stop sign and entering into a highway with a relatively high avg speed with oncoming traffic. Mostly, this only happens when roads are wet, on gravel/dirt, etc. On a 2 wheeler, you would go down for sure under conditions the Spyder will immediately recover from without even getting off the throttle. If you're 2-up, this really won't happen hardly at all. But I've done it a few times solo. I live in a very rural area with lots of 2 lane 65-70 mph speed limits with gravel roads and parking lots adjacent. I instinctively backed off the throttle the first time this happened, and then had to get on it hard after the blink of an eye it took the Spyder to true up the rear end. After that, I tried just staying on it a few times and found that it always trues up in the blink of an eye, even under steady acceleration.

Finally, I'm sure some folks here can point you in the right direction regarding rear passenger arm rest options. They do exist, but aren't cheap from what I've seen. Then again, if you were a GW owner you are quite used to paying a premium for what you want.

On the comms issue, I suspect you'll have to update your equipment. This is a negative reality of this modern digital wireless age. Every few years, stuff becomes incompatible and outdated. You buy a new bike, a new TV, a new computer, a new phone, and nothing works with your existing stuff. My wife and I use high quality blue tooth ear buds with our phones to run in helmet music and nav. If we want comms, we use Jawbone MILSPEC ear pieces with our phones. We have both. We ride separate bikes, but we only use the comms on long trips. The music quality sucks when it is only in 1 ear. The reason I mention this is that our approach is cheaper and totally independent of any system integrated into a specific vehicle (personal portability). So we don't have to buy new gear very often. In fact, our Jawbones date back to 2008 and are still the best in class by a good margin for hands-free voice comms. If you wear a full helmet, this option isn't practical. You have to be able to touch the ear piece to activate certain features. But the Jawbones are AWESOME at cancelling road noise, wind, etc. Just another way of skinning the entertainment, navigation, comms cat if it works for you that runs through your phone instead of the bike, car, truck, boat, etc. FYI, charges last about 8 hours on ear buds and 12 hours on Jawbones.

[spyder01]

I'm getting some good info here.I already have J+M wired helmets,but they make a conversion kit which uses our mic and speakers and just adds a bluetoothbox on side of helmet.This should allow us to talk and listen to any phone calls and use amazon prime music service that we already have.The only downside I can see is you have to charge the batteries every nite on a trip.Does anyone have any experience with J+M BT headsets?BTW I did put a deposit down on a 2017 with 0 miles,its Orbital blue and we may be picking it up this weekend.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I'm getting some good info here.I already have J+M wired helmets,but they make a conversion kit which uses our mic and speakers and just adds a bluetoothbox on side of helmet.This should allow us to talk and listen to any phone calls and use amazon prime music service that we already have.The only downside I can see is you have to charge the batteries every nite on a trip.Does anyone have any experience with J+M BT headsets?BTW I did put a deposit down on a 2017 with 0 miles,its Orbital blue and we may be picking it up this weekend.

I trust you're getting the $4500 rebate, or I should the UP TO $4500 rebate, and whatever dealer discount you can finagle out of them!

Local dealer told me yesterday there are no 2017 RT, RTS, & RTL, models anywhere in the region.

[spyder01]

I trust you're getting the $4500 rebate, or I should the UP TO $4500 rebate, and whatever dealer discount you can finagle out of them!

Local dealer told me yesterday there are no 2017 RT, RTS, & RTL, models anywhere in the region.

Got the 4500 discount and a little more.This dealer had the blue one that I wanted so I have to drive a little to pick it up.