Hopefully another Spyder owner

[vindex1963]

I'm going Sunday with my wife to make an offer on this bike. 2012 RT S 2400 miles $13,999 I'm going to offer $11,000. My wife wants her own bike
but she has had double knee replacement in the last year so I think the Spyder is perfect for her. She's never had a street bike so this will be a first.
I'm 55 and she's 53. We're wanting to start doing road trips on our own bikes, for me this is a dream come true!!!!


I started riding when I was eight on a Montgomery Ward's mini bike so something like 1971 and I wore the tread off the tires. Later on when I was 21
I bought my first street bike a 1978 KZ750 that I rode for a short time before selling it and buying a 1979 FXEF Superglide in 1985/86 and rode it 19 years,
167,000 miles. Next came a 2004 Harley Softail Standard I rode until 2009 and I think 48,000 miles. I traded for a 2009 Harley Ultra Classic and her
and I would do 1200 mile weekends frequently. The Ultra became way to much bike for a mostly work commuter so I parked it and bought a used 2004
Victory Vegas with 6200 miles on it in 2011. 2015 the Vegas had 52,000 on it and the Ultra was sitting so I sold the Vegas and traded the Ultra for a
2015 Victory Cross Country. The Cross country has been on two ironbutt rides and all over the Southwest. When Polaris kicked us Victory riders to the curb
I decided I needed a low cost work commuter to keep the miles off of the Cross Country so I bought a dealer left over 2015 Suzuki DL650 Vstrom that had
five miles on it in April 2017. The Vic sees road trips the Strom sees everything else. The Strom is pushing 18,000 miles.

I like to ride, a lot. I have a 2007 Ford Ranger with 65,000 miles on it that sits in the garage on a battery tender.

[Wrongway]

Good luck with your purchase. I'm sure your wife is very excited.
As someone who had a 2011 Spyder RTS and now has a 2014 RT I just want to share a few things with you in an effort to help you.
1. You'll find a thread of "do's and dont's" on this forum. Make sure you both read them, they're important.
2. The 2012 has a 998 V-twin engine which is a very high reving engine. Great engine but as a result of the high reving, it's not very fuel efficient.
3. The clutch on the SE5 semi automatic transmission on the 998 doesn't fully engage (or disengage) I'm not sure of the proper terminology until around 3500 RPM.
As strong suggestion if you purchase the 2012 is to always drive it in "trailer mode". This will not allow the bike to be shifted too soon (lugging). It won't allow the shift until around 4800 rpm.
I bought my 2011 used with 19,000 miles on it. When I bought it, I knew about the dangers of lugging the 998 Spyder and always used trailer mode. At 25,000 miles the clutch was slipping badly. It cost $1300.00 US to have it replaced. The mechanics at the dealership felt the failure was due to the previous owner lugging it.
The 2014 and newer Spyder RT has a different clutch set-up that doesn't engage (disengage) based on the revs so there is no need to keep the revs up.
Hence, it's also a lot more fuel efficient.
4. On the 2010 thru 2013, you'll find the front end of the bike wanting to follow every imperfection in the road. On my 2011 I had a Baja Ron Sway bar put on and it solved the problem.
The 2014 and newer handles much better in stock form and after putting 3,000 miles on it, I'm not sure if the heavier sway bar is needed.

It was suggested to me prior to buying the 2011 that I should buy a 2014 or newer. I didn't listen because I was price shopping and to me "all years of the Spyder RT all looked the same".

I wish I had listened and that's the only reason I'm posting this for you to read.

I'm not a very technical person so some of the terms I've used may not be the correct ones but hopefully you'll get the idea.

Regards
Greg

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

Who is selling this machine, a dealer, personal?
Look around, in my opinion this bike has sat around, a lot. 2400 miles in 7 years?? No way I'd want it. Get him,
or her down to $8000. I've seen cycles of all kinds sold with few miles. These machines, ANY machines need
some break in miles on them. Has this bike ever had a first service? Original oil? Original Kenda tires?
Get yourself or your wife a good clean 2014 .
A '12 for 14k is a nightmare come true.
Chuck

I'm going Sunday with my wife to make an offer on this bike. 2012 RT S 2400 miles $13,999 I'm going to offer $11,000. My wife wants her own bike
but she has had double knee replacement in the last year so I think the Spyder is perfect for her. She's never had a street bike so this will be a first.
I'm 55 and she's 53. We're wanting to start doing road trips on our own bikes, for me this is a dream come true!!!!


I started riding when I was eight on a Montgomery Ward's mini bike so something like 1971 and I wore the tread off the tires. Later on when I was 21
I bought my first street bike a 1978 KZ750 that I rode for a short time before selling it and buying a 1979 FXEF Superglide in 1985/86 and rode it 19 years,
167,000 miles. Next came a 2004 Harley Softail Standard I rode until 2009 and I think 48,000 miles. I traded for a 2009 Harley Ultra Classic and her
and I would do 1200 mile weekends frequently. The Ultra became way to much bike for a mostly work commuter so I parked it and bought a used 2004
Victory Vegas with 6200 miles on it in 2011. 2015 the Vegas had 52,000 on it and the Ultra was sitting so I sold the Vegas and traded the Ultra for a
2015 Victory Cross Country. The Cross country has been on two ironbutt rides and all over the Southwest. When Polaris kicked us Victory riders to the curb
I decided I needed a low cost work commuter to keep the miles off of the Cross Country so I bought a dealer left over 2015 Suzuki DL650 Vstrom that had
five miles on it in April 2017. The Vic sees road trips the Strom sees everything else. The Strom is pushing 18,000 miles.

I like to ride, a lot. I have a 2007 Ford Ranger with 65,000 miles on it that sits in the garage on a battery tender.

[Floridian2017]

A beauty. I hope it does work out for you.

[loisk]

All good info above, but may I add -

Ergonomics Rules

Make absolutely certain your wife is comfy on the RT

I can't even sit on an rt seat for five minutes without hip seizing up - but that's just me.

The F3 range, with easy low-cost peg/bar position changes is wonderful.

Realistically, she has to "choose"

Have fun

[vindex1963]

Thanks for the replies, the tires and oil are new it's a dealer trade in. Look around at used Spyders, pre to post 2014 is an easy 10-1 pre to post on the used market with post going for close to new prices.
Yes it's a price point also, we have a budget and the post 2014's are not in that budget. Buyers remorse is the true nightmare, I won't do that by dropping big $$ on a used cycle and post '14s are big$$$. I gave $5000 for my dealer leftover Vstrom with 5 miles on it. I've been around cycles for 47 years, I ain't no fool, if the deal isn't right I'll walk.

I appreciate the candor.

[Wrongway]

Thanks for the replies, the tires and oil are new it's a dealer trade in. Look around at used Spyders, pre to post 2014 is an easy 10-1 pre to post on the used market with post going for close to new prices.
Yes it's a price point also, we have a budget and the post 2014's are not in that budget. Buyers remorse is the true nightmare, I won't do that by dropping big $$ on a used cycle and post '14s are big$$$. I gave $5000 for my dealer leftover Vstrom with 5 miles on it. I've been around cycles for 47 years, I ain't no fool, if the deal isn't right I'll walk.

I appreciate the candor.

Well said. All the best. I love the blue.

[Ex-Rocket]

My first Spyder was a 2012 RTS in the same color that you are considering. The 2012 RTS was a good year with little known problems. I'd be a little worried about the low miles as I think it does more damage when a bike sits for any extended period. I'm now on my 3rd Spyder. The 998 engines require more maintenance than the newer 1330 engines. But I understand when you say you got to keep within your budget. Good luck with whatever Spyder you end up with.

[loisk]

The Facebook Girls on Spyders is a brilliant place for ladies to discuss/help etc - thoroughly recommend it for your good lady.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I'm going Sunday with my wife to make an offer on this bike. 2012 RT S 2400 miles $13,999 I'm going to offer $11,000. My wife wants her own bike
but she has had double knee replacement in the last year so I think the Spyder is perfect for her. She's never had a street bike so this will be a first.

Play hardball. Start at $9500 or $10k and slowly move up to $11k. NADA low is under $11k and high is $14k. All m/c's sell a lot closer to NADA low than high. I sold my 2013 base RT with 25k miles for $12k three years ago.

[DGoebel]

vindex1963, Get that Spyder, you might try it yourself. '12 RTS ryding buddy Jerry and I just did our first IBA BB1500 on '12 and '13 Spyders last month, (Did a SS1k last year), and are doing a BBG1500 next week hopefully. Nice thing about the 998 V-twin Spyders is you HAVE to stop and fuel about as often as you want to get outta the saddle and walk a bit. We did our BB in 30 hours with Sleep and Meal breaks, I'm talking Waffle House meal breaks too.

[al0vely]

Thanks for the replies, the tires and oil are new it's a dealer trade in. Look around at used Spyders, pre to post 2014 is an easy 10-1 pre to post on the used market with post going for close to new prices.
Yes it's a price point also, we have a budget and the post 2014's are not in that budget. Buyers remorse is the true nightmare, I won't do that by dropping big $$ on a used cycle and post '14s are big$$$. I gave $5000 for my dealer leftover Vstrom with 5 miles on it. I've been around cycles for 47 years, I ain't no fool, if the deal isn't right I'll walk.

I appreciate the candor.

I purchased a 2014 RTS w.11k miles from this site in the spring for $11k.

The extra maintenance cost on the 998 engines made me stick with the 1330 engine model.

Good luck on your purchase- hope your wife enjoys it.

[youngers]

my 2012 has been a blast , bought my 2012 r-t with a little over 5,ooo miles { yes it did have o-ring clutch problem , fixed my self for 15 dollars and 2 days of easy work plus got too know my cycle a lot better ... } I now have 10,300 miles on her , only other problems I have had were the flash on the dash ( take the key out and wait for 5 minutes ) and one time with bad gas , but as for a 2012 she is a heck of a good starter cycle for any one looking to get into spyder world ...

[vindex1963]

Thank you everyone. Ironbutt on a Spyder, cool!!!

[irvin48]

wow, another victory owner! used to be on the forum too. i hope everything
works out and you enjoy the ride. we are on our third season with our rt. two
knees an a hip told me a vic wasnt for me anymore. wife didnt want to fall over.
20,000 miles on the cr and 16,000 on the spyder. dont ride the wifes spyder.
then you will want one too!--irv

[Highwayman2013]

Welcome, I see you made the jump from the Stromtroopers forum.

[Bob Denman]

We can't wait to hear what happens on Sunday: Good luck!
And

[pegasus1300]

Former Venture/Royal Star owner. I went to the Spyder in 2015 when I bought a 2012 RTL. It had 8500 miles on it and now has 40,000+ on it. It has run just fine for me,was in my price range,and has done everything I have asked it to do,including pull a trailer thru the Black Hills and the Wasatch Mts. Be sure to read the Do's and Donts sticky,esp the stuff at the first part about V Twins 998 motor. Wait until you have about 1000 mi on it to decide what changes you want to make. I think your wife will love the Spyder and what a great adventure for the two of you to travel around on your own bikes. BTW,if you don't already know this you can get 2 Bluetooth helmet headsets and pair them so you can talk to each other on the road.

[robhowen]

The best to you and welcome to the club.
Rob

[vindex1963]

We both use the Sena 10.

[ARtraveler]

Play hardball. Start at $9500 or $10k and slowly move up to $11k. NADA low is under $11k and high is $14k. All m/c's sell a lot closer to NADA low than high. I sold my 2013 base RT with 25k miles for $12k three years ago.

This is good advice. Check out the SL for sale site. See what is NOT selling. Many ads near the high end of NADA. Five hundred lookers and NO takers usually means price to high.

I have a nice 2011 RT for $11K (magnesium silver). No calls or lookers in a couple years now. But...I am in AK.

[vindex1963]

Who's

Baja Ron? Sounds like the guy to buy filters from.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Who's

Baja Ron? Sounds like the guy to buy filters from.

And sway bar and brake pads and some clothing and other stuff. He has an ad on the home page.

[PrairieSpyder]

I'm going Sunday with my wife to make an offer on this bike. 2012 RT S 2400 miles $13,999 I'm going to offer $11,000. My wife wants her own bike
but she has had double knee replacement in the last year so I think the Spyder is perfect for her. She's never had a street bike so this will be a first.
I'm 55 and she's 53. We're wanting to start doing road trips on our own bikes, for me this is a dream come true!!!!


I started riding when I was eight on a Montgomery Ward's mini bike so something like 1971 and I wore the tread off the tires. Later on when I was 21
I bought my first street bike a 1978 KZ750 that I rode for a short time before selling it and buying a 1979 FXEF Superglide in 1985/86 and rode it 19 years,
167,000 miles. Next came a 2004 Harley Softail Standard I rode until 2009 and I think 48,000 miles. I traded for a 2009 Harley Ultra Classic and her
and I would do 1200 mile weekends frequently. The Ultra became way to much bike for a mostly work commuter so I parked it and bought a used 2004
Victory Vegas with 6200 miles on it in 2011. 2015 the Vegas had 52,000 on it and the Ultra was sitting so I sold the Vegas and traded the Ultra for a
2015 Victory Cross Country. The Cross country has been on two ironbutt rides and all over the Southwest. When Polaris kicked us Victory riders to the curb
I decided I needed a low cost work commuter to keep the miles off of the Cross Country so I bought a dealer left over 2015 Suzuki DL650 Vstrom that had
five miles on it in April 2017. The Vic sees road trips the Strom sees everything else. The Strom is pushing 18,000 miles.

I like to ride, a lot. I have a 2007 Ford Ranger with 65,000 miles on it that sits in the garage on a battery tender.

You've gotten all sorts of advice already. So I can only add GOOD LUCK in your quest for that RTS! My first Spyder was an '11 RTS, and it was a great machine. I've heard that the '12s have a good reputation.

Be careful, though. After you and your wife get to some of the Spyder rallies and start socializing with other Spyder owners, you're going to want to farkle, upgrade, farkle, and farkle again!

As aside . . . car and bike dealers in this region are all closed on Sunday. Too bad for them. They've lost some impulse purchases from me.

[vindex1963]

Today is the day, off we go to make an offer.