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Unstable ride feeling........
As I get more miles on the Y, the "jittery" feeling going down the road is getting a bit better.
Keeping a light touch on the bars and focusing your attention FARTHER down the road helps.
BUT.....I decided to put a bit more pressure in the tires to see what that would do.
To my surprise, as I added 5 PSI over the recommendation to each tire, that caused the axle/frame to raise up noticeably; maybe a half to 3/4 inch.
And it seems to have made the ride more stable too (sidewalls flex less ??).
Some additional seat time is needed to see for sure but at the moment I'm happy.
I suspect that tires with stiffer sidewalls might be even better.
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SpyderLovers Ambassador
Tires
Are you talking about the stock tires? Kenda?
ENJOY YOUR TIME ON YOUR SPYDER
Ryde with a Friend and Stay Safe.
My Spyder ..... 'Little Blue-Boy'
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Put at least 300 to 1k miles before you decide to do any mods. If your still feeling the quirkiness, add a Baja Ron upgraded swaybar. Compared to most it is a pretty cheap mod.
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Good to hear
You do have to find the best pressure for your ryde. A relaxed grip is the start then tire pressure and balance then a good laser alignment and you will be fine.
2012 RS sm5 , 998cc V-Twin 106hp DIY brake and park brake Classic Black
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Originally Posted by Little Blue
Are you talking about the stock tires? Kenda?
Yes.
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Originally Posted by Tazzel
Put at least 300 to 1k miles before you decide to do any mods. If your still feeling the quirkiness, add a Baja Ron upgraded swaybar. Compared to most it is a pretty cheap mod.
I'm a bit over 3K miles now.
I do NOT have a problem going around turns or corners.
I ride conservatively and do NOT notice objectionable sway.
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Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie
Originally Posted by Easy Rider
I'm a bit over 3K miles now.
I do NOT have a problem going around turns or corners.
I ride conservatively and do NOT notice objectionable sway.
I take it you're saying this in response to the 'add a better sway bar' comment?? If that's the case, you might be interested to know that a better sway bar CAN help reduce the twitchness some get on the straight & level while running the standard swaybars on their Spyders!!
While for swaybars generally that might not necessarily be the case, but in the particular case of our Spyders (& other vehicles with similar front end designs) the front suspension & steering design our Spyders have is such that if one side moves up or down a little, it WILL vary the camber and the toe in/out slightly on that side as the suspension articulates, and that contributes significantly to the twitchiness some experience. Sure, it might only be fractions of inches or degrees, but it is enough of a change to make itself felt!! The std swaybars simply don't 'equalise the suspension articulation between wheels' sufficiently to reduce this twitchiness below noticeable levels, but the BajaRon bars DO equalise the articulation across both wheels much better by passing any flex experienced on one side of the suspension across to the other side much more & in doing so, effectively equalling the articulation, which means that any variation in Camber and toe in/out caused by the flexing gets more closely matched on the other side too! So instead of having just one wheel increase & then relax (or vice versa) its camber & toe as the suspension flexes, making a noticeable twitch in the directional stability of the Spyder, BOTH wheels react much more in concert with each other & by doing that, cancel the twitchiness out!! When one wheel increases toe & changes camber, so does the other; and so too when one wheel decreases toe & changes camber the other way, so does the other - and that just doesn't happen anywhere near so much with the lightweight standard swaybar as it does with a stronger BajaRon bar!!
So fitting a BajaRon bar CAN & DOES significantly improve the straight line stability on a twitchy Spyder as well as significantly improving cornering & reducing excessive sway & buffetting induced wandering!! As will increasing the pressure in the Kendas (& significantly compromising traction & ride, et al when you do!) or fitting better tires with stronger sidewalls & running them at the correct pressure for the load you put on them!!
Last edited by Peter Aawen; 03-13-2018 at 08:21 AM.
Reason: y vs i
2013 RT Ltd Pearl White
Ryde More, Worry Less!
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30 psi
I have 2015 St i bumped mine to 3o psi handling everything seemed better that may be to high but I think 15 to 17 is way to low.
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Laser alignment solved all my problems and I have a lot of problems.
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Too much tire pressure will adversely affect ride quality...
But if you like what you feel: go with it!
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Originally Posted by Easy Rider
Yes.
Better take a look at the sidewalls on the OEM tires just to be sure that your +5 PSI above recommended doesn't exceed the Maximum PSI for the tires. Just out of curiosity, have you had your tires laser aligned???? If not, I would highly recommend you have it done. Squared Away goes to many Spyder events throughout the US. They are good people.
Mike
2021 Marsala Red Metallic RT Limited
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I might be wrong...
But I think that he's good: all the way up to 36 psi.
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Very Active Member
My Kenda’s say 30 psi max. If it's still twitchy after 3K miles, the alignment is in question.
Last edited by Highwayman2013; 03-13-2018 at 08:54 AM.
2016 F3 Limited
2019 Ryker Rally
2014 Suzuki V Strom 650
2020 CSC TT 250
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Thanks for double-checking me on this: I wasn't sure that I had remembered the max psi correctly.
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I have no doubt that some people have solved their "problem" with an alignment.
I also have no doubt that some like the overall ride better with an after-market sway bar.
But I have to assess the evidence that I see on MY ride.......with MY riding conditions and riding style.
And a really LOT of people report really good results with different tires.
While the jury is still out on the tire pressure change (not enough miles to get a good feel for the difference), it really appears that the "fix" for ME is going to be tire related. Worn out or not, they might get replaced soon.
At this point, no need to keep repeating the recommendations for after-market modifications.
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Very Active Member
Absolutely no recommendations, only two questions:
Are you 100% certain the alignment of your Spyder is correct?
Translating your problem to an automobile, if you had similar discomfort with the behavior of the vehicle and you thought new tires might help would you lay out all the coin for a new set of sneakers before you were 100% certain the alignment of the vehicle was correct?
Artillery lends dignity to what would
otherwise be a vulgar brawl.
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Cognac 2014 RT-S
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Good point:
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Originally Posted by JayBros
Are you 100% certain the alignment of your Spyder is correct?
No. But the symptoms are not typical for an alignment problem.
And if the tires are crap, they are crap and need to be replaced anyway.
And they will be a bit less expensive than what I usually put on my cars.
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Very Active Member
Too much air pressure in the front tires rounds out the contact patch and makes the bike twitchy.
The bike sets up "on the balls of it's feet" and becomes too sensitive to anomalies in the road.
Having too little air pressure flattens the contact patch making it relatively more difficult to turn, but the bike is more stable.
For myself, I've found about 18 PSI is good while using the stock Kenda. I don't know what might be a good pressure for other brand tires.
If you are around 17 to 24 PSI and the bike feels like you're constantly riding behind a semi truck, then you most likely need a laser alignment.
A properly set up Spyder should track like it's on rails.
If not, something is wrong, either an alignment, or perhaps one of the suspension components, such as ball joints.
I don't go for the "loose grip" theory. Trust me, I went through that same journey in 2010 when I first bought my Spyder, and no one had any experience with them.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...hlight=journey
Of course, that's my opinion. I could be wrong, and I'm sure someone here will let me know if I am.
If it ain't broke, don't break it.
IBA #47122
2020 RT Limited Asphalt Grey
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Tires
Originally Posted by ThreeWheels
Too much air pressure in the front tires rounds out the contact patch and makes the bike twitchy.
The bike sets up "on the balls of it's feet" and becomes too sensitive to anomalies in the road.
Having too little air pressure flattens the contact patch making it relatively more difficult to turn, but the bike is more stable.
For myself, I've found about 18 PSI is good while using the stock Kenda. I don't know what might be a good pressure for other brand tires.
If you are around 17 to 24 PSI and the bike feels like you're constantly riding behind a semi truck, then you most likely need a laser alignment.
A properly set up Spyder should track like it's on rails.
If not, something is wrong, either an alignment, or perhaps one of the suspension components, such as ball joints.
I don't go for the "loose grip" theory. Trust me, I went through that same journey in 2010 when I first bought my Spyder, and no one had any experience with them.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...hlight=journey
Of course, that's my opinion. I could be wrong, and I'm sure someone here will let me know if I am.
I agree I run with 18 on my front kendra's and 24 on the rear and it works perfect for me.
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Very Active Member
Originally Posted by Easy Rider
No. But the symptoms are not typical for an alignment problem.
The one thing missing from this thread is input from "God," -- Joe Meyer. The only activity that has aligned more Spyders than Joe is BRP and they have a reputation of sending them off the assembly line on a spectrum that runs from pretty good to totally ed up. A PM to Joe would probably elicit a response that would tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the details of precisely aligning Spyders and what out of spec settings can do to it and how it can make it feel on a ride. Joe's never laid a hand on mine; he's just a friend. Mine came from the dealership laser aligned and tracks like an arrow shot from a crossbow so I don't know what a misaligned Spyder acts like.
Artillery lends dignity to what would
otherwise be a vulgar brawl.
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Cognac 2014 RT-S
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Very Active Member
Originally Posted by Easy Rider
No. But the symptoms are not typical for an alignment problem.
And if the tires are crap, they are crap and need to be replaced anyway.
And they will be a bit less expensive than what I usually put on my cars.
No one is arguing about the tires, they are crap. More than one person was surprised by an alignment. Me included. Twitchiness on the spyder usually means toe out condition. 5 years 2 spyders and over 50,000 miles here, and many more people have more. There are common problems and one is alignment. I believe I heard 1% come from the factory aligned perfectly, just going by the people that do that sort of thing. Remember we here are trying to help you.
Last edited by Highwayman2013; 03-13-2018 at 06:17 PM.
2016 F3 Limited
2019 Ryker Rally
2014 Suzuki V Strom 650
2020 CSC TT 250
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Hmmmmmm
Easy Rider,
if you can, bring it to me at Spyders on the Bayou. If it does not need an alignment, it is free. We should be able to help you, or at least eliminate the variables. I hope you can make it! Joe
Joe Meyer
Dealer for the Outlaw/ROLO laser Alignment system
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One of the big problems arguing tire pressure is the gauges. The avg pressure gauge is highly inaccurate. My gauge might show 15 and yours might show 18. You don't buy an accurate gauge at Walmart for $2.98.
You need a quality gauge. Where to get them is another argument.
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Originally Posted by ThreeWheels
I don't go for the "loose grip" theory.
It's not a theory......but it is two different problems.
When transitioning from 2 wheels, erroneous rider inputs to the bars can be VERY disruptive until you get used to it.....and loosening your grip can help prevent that. So can looking farther DOWN the road.
Once you get over that, tiny little external forces like uneven roads and small wind gusts can cause it to FEEL like it is dancing sideways at times.
Whole different problem.
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