Blog-First Ride on the Spyder RT

[Lamonster]

It's been a long day but I figured I better post this now while It's still fresh in my mind, not much stays fresh in there these days.

We started the day with a meeting with BRP and the media folks to go over some of the nuts and bolts of the RT launch and what was expected of us as test riders of the pre production units.

Contrary to a post I just read BRP really wants our honest opinion as riders, good bad and ugly. They did not restrict us from saying publicly if we didn't like something and they encouraged us to report anything we didn't like to then asap and if they can make the change now before they go into production they would.

They also said this is not a TV ad but a personal blog of what we thought of the RT as a end user. We are not getting paid for this, as a matter of fact any expense trip wise is out of our pockets, this is not a compensated review other than we get to be the first in the country to put the RT through it's paces before anyone else. We do have to turn them back in as these are not production units. At that time we can decide if we want to buy one or not. The bummer is we are to turn them in 1-31-2010 and that's my birthday. I guess my birthday present from BRP was being able ride the RT before anyone else and being able to share it with you all. That's not a bad gig if you can get it.

After our meeting we headed out to the units. I pretty much knew how everything worked but they still walked us through the controls and features once again. We did a few parking lot test rides and lined up for our run. The plan was to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway for about five hours but we got stuck in some really bad traffic and we kept having to pull over so the group could all stick together seeing none of us knew exactly where we were going.

This was before we took off. I said we were going for a five mile ride in the video, I meant a 5 hour ride. Guess I was a little tired from the night before.



One of the first things I had to get use to was the "Fly by Wire" throttle. It was a little lite for me and I talked to Mark about that and they have already made a change to add 15% more drag in the production units. If you don't know what I'm talking about I'll try and explain the best I can. The RT doesn't use a throttle cable like the RS, instead it has a wire that tells a computer when to open the throttle bodies. It's more like a potentiometer or rheostat and therefor there is no cable drag or spring to overcome when you twist the throttle. I'm not sure how they add 15% more resistance but I'm guessing it's just software. That's a inside joke. Whenever something needs changed Mark tells the engineers that "it's just software right?" I guess that drives them nuts.

So we head out of the parking lot and right away I start judging it by the Spyder I just put 40,000+ miles on. I worked hard to get my Spyder where I liked it and this was not what I did to mine. The first thing I noticed were my bars were about the same height (4" risers) but these were pulled back more. Turns out that wasn't a big deal but I thought it was at first. I don't know if it was muscle memory or what but you know how it is when you feel like your arms or legs should be somewhere and they're not. That's how I felt at first.

I was a little twitchy on the throttle too because I was use to a certain amount of drag and it just wasn't there. It took right at 30 miles before the bars and the throttle felt fine to me. I think the extra 15% drag will still be good but you can get use to it.

I was wearing a 3/4 helmet with a flip shield. Right away I notice that I wasn't getting any turbulence even with the shield up. As you know the windshield is adjustable and I had it on the lowest setting and that was working just fine for me. I got just enough wind to keep me cool but not so much that it was pushing my head around. I'm not a windshield kind of a guy but I got to say they nailed it on this one. It worked perfect for me and it could be raised another 3.5" if you needed to.

After I got the feel of the RT I started playing with the controls to see how easy they were to operate while driving. I found them very easy to use and kind of fun to play with. The radio worked well but the cruise control didn't. I kept playing with it thinking I was doing something wrong but it turns out there were a couple of units that had a problem and as the luck of the draw goes I got one of those units. This turned out to be a good thing but I'm not to that part of the story yet.

So here we are in the middle of heavy traffic and it's hot, real hot. Stop and go and really the worst case scenario. I was kind of glad because if this thing was going to over heat I wanted it to do it now while I had the support of the Spyder team with me. Guess what, it never did over heat and not only that they really did a great job and getting the heat awy from the rider even when you're sitting still. I had to put my hand by the vent just to make sure the fan was on and it was but none of the heat from the fan gets back to the rider. That was a huge improvement because I know how hot I would have been if I was on my RS.
The only heat I was getting was in the crouch area and they are aware of this problem on our units and have addressed it on the production units. If they got that fixed then they nailed the heat issue as far and getting stuck in traffic or riding down town where you're not moving much air.

This was where we pulled off to wait for the rest of the group to catch up.



From there we proceeded to get lost. As you know that's not always a bad thing but it was kind of funny making all those u-turns. I'm usually the one that leads and does that.

By this time we were way off schedule and needed to get something to eat. That took about a hour to get to where ever we were and get some food. Right away as we pulled into town the people started checking us out. We found a parking spot and didn't even get off the RT's before a couple of gals came out of the building to start asking questions. It was great to see Mark doing the Q&A instead on me. I went ahead and videoed it.



From there we talked about what we liked and what we didn't like about the RT. I think we all felt like the bars were a little too close at first but got use to it pretty quick and it wasn't a big deal. Now that you have more of a upright riding stance it could really use a drivers backrest but that may be left up to the aftermarket guys. All in all I think we were hard pressed to find something we really hated about the RT. It has plenty of power even with the extra 230 lbs and the braking was great too. I would like to see the seat dished out a little more so you sat in it but I seemed to be the only one that felt it needed work.

After lunch we fueled up and headed back to the hotel. We made one more stop along the way and that's when Martin asked if I wanted to swap bikes so I could try the cruise control. I said sure and didn't think much about it because we had another toy to try. I had my iphone 3Gs and I asked if it would work in the built in ipod connection. They were pretty sure it would but hadn't tested it. It didn't work as a phone but it would have worked just fine as a ipod but I didn't have any music loaded. So then I asked if it would work with Pandora. They never heard of it but we tried it and it worked great. Pandora is a free app for the iphone that is pretty much just like XM raido but it streams music from the internet. I was able to listen to Pandora all the way back to the hotel with no problem.

That brings me to my next thing I love about the RT. The sound system on this thing is wild. I got to tell you that when I take these long rides cross country with my XM and earbuds it is a pretty painful deal by day two of the ride. My ears will swell and sometimes I get sores from having them in 16 hours a day. With the speaker system on the RT this will never be a problem again. I don't know how they did it but some how they have the speakers angled so the music is going in my head, I mean I don't hear it in front of me or in back of me, I just hear it as if I had earbuds in. It blew me away how well that worked. You just got to try it to hear what I'm talking about. There was plenty of push through the speakers too and having the volume go up and down as you increased speed was real handy, I loved it.

So now for the Nirvana part of my ride. You remember when I told you my cruise control didn't work on my RT and that turned out to be a good thing? Martin offered to let me ride his Spyder to check it out? What I didn't know is his RT was a SE (semi auto) and to be honest with you I've only drove a SE up and down my driveway one time. I loved the auto tranny in my Boss Hoss and if I could have ordered a SE when I got mine I would have but instead I wound up with a SM and it's been just fine for 40,000+ miles. So today I get a chance to put some real miles on a SE and I fell head over heals in love with that thing, no joke. This really completed the package for me and the more I rode it the more I liked it and hoped we would get lost a few more times before we made it back to the hotel.

This thing shifted great and to me felt faster than the SM. It was nice to be rolling along at 50 mph and when the whole world stops in front of you all you have to do is hit the brake. Riding through town was no longer a drag either because I didn't have to work the clutch on and off in stop and go traffic. I honestly can't see a downside to going with the SE and that may just put me over the top to buying one. It changed the whole ride for me even though the SM worked great too, this just worked better.

I almost forgot all about the cruise control but that thing works great. When you pick a speed and hit set it's set. There's no drop in speed no nothing it works so good that it's unexpected when you let go of the throttle. I never varying more than 2 mph and when you hit the brakes or shift a gear it kicks out. Once again it's the best cruise control I've ever used.

So now I'm blowing down the road listening to my favorite tunes on my iphone 3Gs on Pandora with one of the most killer sounds systems I've ever used with the best wind protection I've ever had and I wasn't having to think about clutching or burning up in stop and go traffic and I'm thinking it just don't get much better than this.

If this sounds like a paid endorsement it wasn't, this is how I really feel after spending the day on the Spyder RT. You just got to try it for yourself.

[3wheeldemon]

Great report Lamont, but you are going to kill of envy some of the guys/gals

PS: bro, we got the same bday!

3WD

[mcguire1511]

How dose the RT Exhaust sound compared to Our Stock, Hindle,Micron, Two Brothers and others?? Any sound clips??

[spyryder]

1-31-2010.....that's almost 5 months!!!

[dave01]

Nice report. I heard yesterday it will be Jan before the production units come out. For me thats good cause it will give me more time to sell the bike and Spyder. Any issues with the new one you rode like we have ( surging, missing etc? ) .
How about footpeg positions? Same as on the current models?
Also glad to hear they ducted the heat away from the rider. I was cooked yesterday by the time I finished my ride..LOL

[tjfischer]

Nice review Lamount.

[Tom in NM]

I know what you mean about the SE5, it blew me away too. There was a thread yesterday where some one was asking if it was ready for prime time, even Bonecrusher thought it was "good to go".

I described the SE5 feeling like when you get on the expressway and know you are not going to be shifting and you can relax and just ride - all the time in all the gears.

Did the RT have a speed that it cruised at? Where the engine and gears smoothed out - like the 6th gear lots of us have been craving? It is probably just a software adjustment.

You had a lot of great comments - did anybody else say something that you thought was insightful?

Great report.

Tom

[bjt]

Great write up bro. BTW, I'm still jealous.

[Lamonster]

Great report Lamont, but you are going to kill of envy some of the guys/gals

PS: bro, we got the same bday!

3WD

Cool

How dose the RT Exhaust sound compared to Our Stock, Hindle,Micron, Two Brothers and others?? Any sound clips??

The pipes sound like a stock bike, doesn't compare to any other pipe other than stock. To be honest I really don't recall how a stock pipe sounds but I will say that have some sort of tuned trumpet air box and it sounds killer when you really get on it. I never really hear the pipes unless I'm off the Spyder.

1-31-2010.....that's almost 5 months!!!

Yea I'm digging that.

Nice report. I heard yesterday it will be Jan before the production units come out. For me thats good cause it will give me more time to sell the bike and Spyder. Any issues with the new one you rode like we have ( surging, missing etc? ) .
How about footpeg positions? Same as on the current models?
Also glad to hear they ducted the heat away from the rider. I was cooked yesterday by the time I finished my ride..LOL

They plan to have these in the Dealers hands by Dec. and every dealer should have a demo unit by Nov.

I didn't have any of those issues on my unit or the SE I drove.

It's funny, when I mount the RT I use the passenger floor boards because they are closer to my RS peg location. They moved them about as far forward as they could.

I know what you mean about the SE5, it blew me away too. There was a thread yesterday where some one was asking if it was ready for prime time, even Bonecrusher thought it was "good to go".

I described the SE5 feeling like when you get on the expressway and know you are not going to be shifting and you can relax and just ride - all the time in all the gears.

Did the RT have a speed that it cruised at? Where the engine and gears smoothed out - like the 6th gear lots of us have been craving? It is probably just a software adjustment.

You had a lot of great comments - did anybody else say something that you thought was insightful?

Great report.

Tom

I found that the SE was a little more forgiving on in the low rpm's and I never felt it to be buzzy on the SM or SE. I'll have a longer ride today and I'll keep better tract of the speeds and rpm's.

Sounds a lot like my RoadGlide.....with an extra wheel......I can see where my future is headed.....

Nice Review

Never rode anything like a RoadGlide so I can't compare it to that but if the RoadGlide is like this that's killer.

[Trickie Dick]

Nice review. I'm sure you will covering other things as you get more into it. I thought, "no way" when they came out with this in regards to price. The more I hear about it, the more I want it. Nice to hear some good things said about the SE. Gets a little tiresome hearing the naysayers on it.
Dick

[BumbleBee]

Excellent report

All my questions have been answered in your report. Thanks so much

Have fun ryding, don't forget that silly grin

[docdoru]

Whenever something needs changed Mark tells the engineers that "it's just software right?"

[DynamoBT]

BRP knew what they were doing when they made you one of the RT-5!! Your facility with the techno gagets and getting us reports in such a timely mannor is fantastic!! I feel like we're there with you!

I can't wait to hear more as you put the RT-S through its paces. Can you hook your trailer to it since they didn't provide you with one? I would think trailers other than BRP's would still work. Kinda weird if they didn't.

Keep the reports coming. You sound like a kid in a candy shoppe!!! Your enthusiasm is infectious!

[V-MAN]

Lamont -

The new RT sounds GREAT so far ... I think you should take a little detour through Pittsburgh on the way home! Sure like to see it in person

[Greg H.]

Great report, Lamont!!!

Thank You!

[Smylinacha]

Excellent report! So now you have to let this thing go on your B-Day - does this mean you get to buy it out or you can get dibbs on a brand spankin new one if you want?

Also you mentioned the windshield - you said it goes up and down - does it also go back and forth?

Another thing you mentioned about Pandora and your I Phone..... I don't have an I Phone but have an Instinct touch phone and I can listen to tunes, watch TV & stuff but it really drains my battery w/ any web type applications. Does it have an accessory thingy so you can plug your I Phone in, like a cig lighter adaptor or something?

[Bersquack]

Wow, amazing report and so much details.

Man, do I wish I was in your shoes these days!

Keep up the good work!

[MizMuffet]

Loved your report. Glad you're getting this opportunity and can share it with us.
I love Pandora too. Can't believe it's free. It's so much better than xm/sirius. I use it with my iPhone on my Spyder, too.

Lamont, have you tried Navigon, GPS for iphone? It's great, too, and you don't need a seperate GPS unit. It keeps your iphone on. You can use Navigon and listen to music on your iphone at the same time. And the Navigon's speaking voice will come right out of your speakers, too. You can hear it over the music.

As far as keeping the iphone powered, I have the 12 volt in the trunk, and just run a cord from there to my console mount, keep the iphone plugged in and charging the whole time, if I'm going to be using it all day.

[bjt]

Whenever something needs changed Mark tells the engineers that "it's just software right?"

I think thats a management "fix" or at least a hope for a fix for a lot of things in this type of industry. We get the same thing at our plant. We'll have something broken mechanically and they always at least want to consider some type of software fix instead of fixing the mechanical problem. It's been so ingrained that the advantage of software controls is that it's easy to make changes.

[dltang]

Hey Lamont, Great write up!! I told Brian that talking to you last night on the phone was like talking to a kid that had just opened his favorite Christmas present. It was so fun to listen to you. I can't wait to watch it all unfold as you maintain a weekly blog of your experience with this wonderful new machine.

[Big Arm]

Thanks for the great write-up Lamont. We are all envious of you. Waiting to hear your report after the ride home.
Ride Safe

[rupbre]

Lamont.. Can you tell me if I can use my current Hindle pipe on the new RT. Also, how is the vibration thru the feet. My wife would like to see what the rear storage is like if you get a chance. You lucky dog.

[DannyS]

Great work Lamont, we are lucky to have you there since we won't get a look or ride for a while. Keep up the reports there are a lot of folks hanging on them.

[jvicker]

They plan to have these in the Dealers hands by Dec. and every dealer should have a demo unit by Nov.

Nov/Dec!!! That might work for you in Tenn. but it's winter in Wis.

[DynamoBT]

There is a Factory Demo Tour coming to NH in late September. What do all of you think? Will they have the RT or not?