Before I leave the dealership

[Richzim275]

So.... Tuesday I pick up my 2017 RT S and I am planning on driving it home (1.5 hours). This is my first three-wheeled bike. I have only ridden on two. I'm looking for any advice that will make my ride home as comfortable and fun as possible. I have been reading up as much as I can on do's and don't's. I read the operator's manual yesterday while I was at work. But I am a hands on learner so I will be reviewing as I touch the Spyder next week. What is killing me is the wait. I want it to be Tuesday already!!!! Wish me luck and I can't wait to ride!!!!!

[UtahPete]

So.... Tuesday I pick up my 2017 RT S and I am planning on driving it home (1.5 hours). This is my first three-wheeled bike. I have only ridden on two. I'm looking for any advice that will make my ride home as comfortable and fun as possible. I have been reading up as much as I can on do's and don't's. I read the operator's manual yesterday while I was at work. But I am a hands on learner so I will be reviewing as I touch the Spyder next week. What is killing me is the wait. I want it to be Tuesday already!!!! Wish me luck and I can't wait to ride!!!!!

Stay off the freeways for awhile. Find a large empty parking lot (or stretch of empty country road) and practice doing hard straight-line stops at speed; you'll be amazed at how well the bike performs and you'll gain additional confidence in it.

[Bob Denman]

:welcome:
Do you have any experience on ATVs or snowmobiles? Your Spyder will feel most similar to them.
What sort of roads will you be taking home? I'd like to suggest that a route made up of lower speed secondary roads might be the most comfortable for you to navigate. Try to avoid high traffic areas, lean into the turns, don't ride the brake pedal (nojoke), and have some fun! :D

[Mazo EMS2]

Be light with your grip, pretend the throttle is an egg.
Take back roads home if possible so you can vary your speeds and get a good feel of the bike in some corners without having to keep up with traffic
Keep your foot off the brake while riding, some people rest their foot too close to the pedal
Remember, you have to steer in the corners, simply leaning won't steer the Spyder as it would on two wheelers
Upshift at about 4k rpm, and maybe let the bike downshift itself for the first ride out
In the corners, hold firm with the outside foot, push/pull equally with your hands
Don't tense up and relax, otherwise you'll be sore between your shoulder blades
Make sure they set the tire pressures for you before ya leave
Make them go through everything with you, regardless of how simple it may seem. It might help you remember something later on
If ya shut down anywhere for a break, don't forget that pesky "Mode" button when you go to restart
Don't forget, there's not a front brake lever up at your right hand....LOL
Enjoy it!!!!

[Haze]

Stay off the freeways for awhile. Find a large empty parking lot (or stretch of empty country road) and practice doing hard straight-line stops at speed; you'll be amazed at how well the bike performs and you'll gain additional confidence in it.

I rode my ST home from NorthCarolina with no prior experience or training. Very unnerving first few miles.

I agree with Pete.
Find a parking lot and spend some time noodling around.
Get some practice turning figure 8s.
By all means check the ire pressure before the ride.

Have fun and let us know how it goes. Miles of Smiles ahead of you.

[newbert]

After about 40 years of not riding anything, I rode my new 2016 leftover F3-T home about two weeks ago. The advice given by others is spot on. This is what I did:

1. Stay off the freeways, and take the county roads instead. It'll add to the time it takes get home, but you'll enjoy it more, learn a lot, and be safer.

2. I assume that someone will be driving you to the dealer, right? If so, have that someone follow you while you make your way home on those county roads. If they can stay relatively close behind, and prevent other cars from getting between you and them, you'll feel safer.

3. If you find a large empty store parking lot, stop and try some emergency maneuvers for a few minutes. - ie: sudden braking, swerving etc.

Try to relax on it (I'm still working on that, but I'm getting there...), and Have fun!

[ARtraveler]

:welcome: :congrats: and...it looks like they got you covered information wise. :yes:

[2RTsGV]

When my wife and I bought ours, we stuck to the posted speeds especially on the bends and corners until we got comfortable with how the spyder handled and rode. As time went on, (roughly about 300 miles later) the comfort level and confidence grew and so did our speeds.

[RinconRyder]

Stay off the freeways for awhile. Find a large empty parking lot (or stretch of empty country road) and practice doing hard straight-line stops at speed; you'll be amazed at how well the bike performs and you'll gain additional confidence in it.

I would not recommend doing hard or high speed stops on a brand new bike. This can overheat the pads and lessen the braking friction.

[UtahPete]

I would not recommend doing hard or high speed stops on a brand new bike. This can overheat the pads and lessen the braking friction.

Good point.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I would not recommend doing hard or high speed stops on a brand new bike. This can overheat the pads and lessen the braking friction. I beg to differ on this ..... new pads & new rotors need to be " mated " or broken in properly ... you can ask the dealer if they did this but I doubt they did .... maybe someone can post what it says on the info sheet that comes with BAJARON's EBC pads....... Mike :thumbup:

[Bensonoid]

Make sure your wheels are torqued properly, your tires are inflated correctly, and they gave you enough gas to get home. My ex-dealer failed with all three.

[ARtraveler]

I beg to differ on this ..... new pads & new rotors need to be " mated " or broken in properly ... you can ask the dealer if they did this but I doubt they did .... maybe someone can post what it says on the info sheet that comes with BAJARON's EBC pads....... Mike :thumbup:

:agree: I think this information is in the manual--but the dealer should have covered it?

Brakes and tires need about 300 miles to get seated and run in properly. So they should be conservative in the first 300 miles. :thumbup:

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

:congrats: & :welcome:..... a lot has already been covered, so I won't repeat .... if you have the SE trans, memorize the starting procedure before -hand....... I never use the emergency KILL switch because when I started using it I would often forget it was on :banghead::banghead::banghead: .... and then go into panic mode when the Mtc. wouldn't start..... my feeling is they give you a key to shut the bike off ....how many things do you need to accomplish this task ............. enjoy ..... try and stay calm .... it helps a lot.... Mike :thumbup:

[Tyris]

On my first trip home from dealer I preferred following my wife rather than leading, especially if on unfamiliar back road path. Navigating was one less thing to worry about. Good luck and enjoy.

[Chasinsparks]

please read the do's and don'ts on this page, they are very helpful. Do not use a death grip and most advice i can give is RELAX. I just logged 1000 miles today since I bought my bike I was like you never owned a 3 wheel and only test drove one for about 15 mins a year before I actually purchased. I read and understood the do and don'ts and took a lot of advice from this site.

If you look for my past post you will see the hardest thing for me was fact my face hurt from the smiling all the way home, my trip home was around 2 hrs for my first ride it was great.




So.... Tuesday I pick up my 2017 RT S and I am planning on driving it home (1.5 hours). This is my first three-wheeled bike. I have only ridden on two. I'm looking for any advice that will make my ride home as comfortable and fun as possible. I have been reading up as much as I can on do's and don't's. I read the operator's manual yesterday while I was at work. But I am a hands on learner so I will be reviewing as I touch the Spyder next week. What is killing me is the wait. I want it to be Tuesday already!!!! Wish me luck and I can't wait to ride!!!!!

[clinard]

One important thing to remember is that your body position on the hwy needs to be further to the right. My first ride home I kept my body position in the left hand track like I did on 2 wheels. At the first stop my friend that was following corrected me and told me to get my wheel off of the line.

[Bam Bam and Pebbles]

I guess, as usual, im gonna be the one person who does things completely different. I had a 180 mile ride home from the dealer and I took interstates the entire way. The friend of mine who drove me to the dealer followed me. I prefer interstates because they are faster, duh, and I think safer in a lot of ways. Yes, people may cut you off but that happens on all roads. But there are no crossroads or driveways for people to pull out in front of you, no animals for the most part meandering in your way, plenty of lanes to choose where you want to travel. Roads are generally in better shape and have less debris in them. YMMV

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Repeating some of the thoughts above in different words. Don't even think about trying to steer the Spyder like you do a two wheeler. There is NO counter steering with a Spyder. Steering is a full time job on a Spyder, especially in corners. Take it easy, know that it will be different, and you'll have it it down pat in a few hundred miles. As Bob said, if you have experience riding an ATV you'll be comfortable by the time you leave the parking lot.

Other than that, enjoy the automatic shift, and know that you can panic stop a lot faster and in a more controlled fashion than you could on your two wheeler.

Read the Do's and Don'ts thread at the top of the first page of General Discussion.

[Joerolwing]

So.... Tuesday I pick up my 2017 RT S and I am planning on driving it home (1.5 hours). This is my first three-wheeled bike. I have only ridden on two. I'm looking for any advice that will make my ride home as comfortable and fun as possible. I have been reading up as much as I can on do's and don't's. I read the operator's manual yesterday while I was at work. But I am a hands on learner so I will be reviewing as I touch the Spyder next week. What is killing me is the wait. I want it to be Tuesday already!!!! Wish me luck and I can't wait to ride!!!!!

I rode from Nashville, TN to Prescott, AZ about a month after I purchased my RTS SE6. I had spend a good bit of time on SpyderLovers and learned to be watchful for the "dreaded orange screen". I'm an early riser and didn't know about the night time Orange tinted screen. I just about turned back for home before it got light enough for the orange to go away and I finally figured it out and stopped worrying.

[MurrayBrown]

So.... Tuesday I pick up my 2017 RT S and I am planning on driving it home (1.5 hours). This is my first three-wheeled bike. I have only ridden on two. I'm looking for any advice that will make my ride home as comfortable and fun as possible. I have been reading up as much as I can on do's and don't's. I read the operator's manual yesterday while I was at work. But I am a hands on learner so I will be reviewing as I touch the Spyder next week. What is killing me is the wait. I want it to be Tuesday already!!!! Wish me luck and I can't wait to ride!!!!!

If you have come from a motorcycle, REMEMBER ... there is NO HAND BRAKE. Don't get yourself into a "situation" where you would normally grab the hand brake. THERE IS NO HAND BRAKE. That was the hardest thing for me to learn ... almost the hard way at a railroad crossing .....

[nealperkins]

Either you or your dealer run the unit up to 75 mph and certify you got round wheels. My first 4 front wheels were not.

[canamjhb]

I rode a friends Spyder for 5 minutes before I purchase mine. Rode the new (to me) bike home 1,500 miles with tornadoes in the area (Oklahoma) and 50 MPH+ side winds a good part of the way. Also towing my new RT622 trailer for the first time. Turns out I blew the seals in both front shocks early in the trip. (BTW, NO Can Am dealers stock shocks anywhere between Tulsa, OK and Mesa, AZ). I white knuckled it home with both front tires bouncing like beach balls at every bump. The selling dealer did take care of me with shocks but now I am finding that trip home was not representative of how the Spyder handles. (Thank God) I am now learning white knuckling is not a good thing. Having good shock absorbers is a good thing. Have Patience and ride easy within your ability and it will become easier. I come from riding a Goldwing for over 25 years and have owned a Can Am Commander 4WD. I think the 4WD experience better prepared me for the Spyder riding. More similar than 2 wheels.


Good Luck and go slow

[RTman10]

4 weeks ago I did what you are about to do. I had a 50 mile ride home with 10 minutes previous experience. Everything that's been said is spot on. Now with 900 miles on the clock it's getting much easier but steering still takes a lot more cinsentration than two wheels. I like the auto shift down so much I hardly ever bother to override it except for a quick overtake . In my first 2 minutes of riding sat at a level crossing in view of the dealership I switched off to wait fir the train and then couldn't start again. That kill switch is easily tripped. Good luck.

[nealperkins]

Bottom line, I did the same thing you're doing and no problem...at all...EASY TRIP. Not that all these suggestions may be good. You can be very confident!

[Buckeye Bleau]

You stated that you read the do's and don't page but I want to elaborate on part of it, especially if you take the good advice to stay on two lane roads.

There are ruts in most all roads caused by multiple vehicles tracking the same path, you cannot see them but they are there. Also the roads are crowned and tilted.

When you first Ryde the Spyder those two things will tug on the Byke and cause slight direction changes that you are not expecting. You have three tracks not two, not four and they are not the same width as the other vehicles.

IF you fight these slight changes you will tire, you will feel as though the Spyder is not right for you. RELAX enjoy the Ryde keep your grip light.

This is what they are talking about with the light grip, I did not get it for many miles, just RELAX.

Joe

[drhunt204]

I remember buying my Spyder and instead of driving it home I rode it all day on a trip with friends who were on their two wheel bikes. I had never rode a Spyder before but I went to the dealership ready to deal on a used one. They were wanting to sale it so after a short information session I rode all day. What everyone says about trying to relax your grip is true. The first 30 miles I felt like the front was very very twitchy (which caused me to tighten my grip and over steer more). I remembered the do and don't suggestions on this forum and found a more relaxed grip didn't cause near as much twitchy movement to the front end. It also helped that I had an atv for years so I was able to transition from two wheels to three faster. Looking back I probably should not have planned an all day ride on my first day but it all worked out OK and I had a blast!

[PrairieSpyder]

Everyone's got you covered with advice, so I'll just say :welcome: and :nopic: