UPDATE 2014 RTL, and 80 degrees

[Guzzi]

Took new 2014 RTL down to Mike at Outlaw/ROLO yesterday to get the alignment set. He and I were surprised as it was less than 1/8" off total! Not enough to fool with at this point (60 miles). First new 2014 Mike has had in the shop, and he took it out for a ride. He loves it! Today the wife and I took a 150 mile ride to get some miles on the RT and her Harley Road King. 80 degrees out; fantastic day!! A few pics below. As far as the RTL, seems to be a GREAT improvement over my 2012 RTS!!! Very smooth runner, fantastic smooth 6 speed trans, smooth ride, very quiet vs my 2012, great handling. Better at every point so far. In fact I would say it's so close to my ex 2007 Goldwing in comfort and quiet its uncanny! BRP HAS REALLY DONE A GOOD JOB, with the changes.

THE WAIT WAS WORTH IT!! :ohyea::ohyea:

[Bob Denman]

:congrats: Have you played around with the "ECO Mode" yet at all? :dontknow:

[Guzzi]

:congrats: Have you played around with the "ECO Mode" yet at all? :dontknow:

eco mode seems to work fine. The only thing I notice is, I have to take my eyes off the road momentarily, to see when to shift. That I do not like! After using ECO for a few miles in town, it was no problem to ignore the eco mode screen, and just short shift when starting out, as the 1330 really don't care what gear you are in, so it achieves the same effect and you can watch the road and other traffic. What a great bike! Love it! 175 miles so far; Riding again today and will have the first tank fuel mileage. :):)

[Bob Denman]

:thumbup: Thanks for the info! :2thumbs:
...Waiting to see how your fuel economy report reads... :shocked:

[Bob Ledford]

glad to hear that you finally had taken delivery. You had to wait long enough for it. Mike is a straight shooter. From the sound of the alignment check the guys at DFM did another excellent dealer prep job. Enjoy your ride!:yes:

[Guzzi]

:thumbup: Thanks for the info! :2thumbs:
...Waiting to see how your fuel economy report reads... :shocked:

1st fillup on the new 2014 RT LIMITED. Warning light on at 180 miles. Gassed up at 185 miles. Took 5.649 gallons. 32.8 mpg for the first tank. I'm Pleased!!! This SPYDER is so much better than my 2012, in every way, it's no comparison. My 2012 only averaged 27.5 over 14000 miles, so the 2014 is lookin good. :ohyea::ohyea::ohyea:

[Bob Denman]

That sounds about like a 20% increase in fuel economy... :clap: :thumbup:

[ARtraveler]

Glad to hear you are having such a good time on the 2014. :2thumbs::2thumbs:

[Guzzi]

That sounds about like a 20% increase in fuel economy... :clap: :thumbup:

we'll see what YOSEMITE SAM II does over the next few tankfulls; and I would expect to gain some mileage as he breaks in. I'm not a hard or abusive rider on equipment, but I don't let any grass grow either. I usually take several long trips a year on the road, and am planning tentively on going from New Smyrna, Fl to San Antonio, TX within the next 2 months. After that probably a trip either to the west coast or up to the Canadian Maritimes; so we'll see about the fuel. At this point this machine is all I had hoped for and such an improvement over my 2012. I have noticed BRP has not made much of an improvement in the belt vibration around 75 mph! Only been there a couple of times, and if like my 2012, after a few thousand miles and several belt adjustments, it finally calms down to where it did not bother me much, or maybe I learned to ignore it. Hope the same for the 2014.
:2thumbs::2thumbs:

[ulflyer]

Mine comes on right at 74 MPH, no matter what gear its in, and stays on up thru 85 which is as high as I've gone and then only momentarily.

[Guzzi]

Mine comes on right at 74 MPH, no matter what gear its in, and stays on up thru 85 which is as high as I've gone and then only momentarily.
I agree! Wish BRP would adress the issue for us long distance freeway riders.

[Bob Denman]

I've got a question that's been bugging me :shocked:...
Those new twin "snouts" up front; where do they route airflow to? :dontknow:

I haven't seen where anybody has discussed them yet! :D

[ulflyer]

I've got a question that's been bugging me :shocked:...
Those new twin "snouts" up front; where do they route airflow to? :dontknow:

I haven't seen where anybody has discussed them yet! :D

Bob, the snouts flow the warm air out on each side. Hard to tell yet if it will be a problem in summer but certainly since the heat is divided by two, and the radiators are further out, it shouldn't be. I did notice riding yesterday in 40 to 60 degrees I could feel the heat on my feet and shins. Felt good at those temps. That temp guage doesn't go up and down much as it did with the earlier machines. I've not been in a lot of town traffic but when I have sat at a few lights the guage hardly moved.

The OEM shocks feel pretty good and with the front lasered it tracks straight on interstates and smooth surfaces. Couldn't ask for better. However, still wanders a bit on uneven secondary roads which I think might be improved upon with a Ron Bar. It really helped on my '11 so I'll go that route again before heading off to Springfield.

[Bluehole]

Just landed a 2014 a couple weeks ago. First tankful yielded 32.8 MPG. Looking for improvement on that. Have located a dealer with new laser alignment equipment and will have that checked out as the weather turns better up here in the pacific northwest. First impression was very very good. My first 3 wheeler ever---45 years riding 2 wheels. A bit strange at first but got into the hang of it pretty fast. Gotta take written/skills test for Washington state before getting endorsement on license. Hope to accomplish that this coming weekend.

[Bob Denman]

:welcome: :congrats:on the GREAT color of that bike!! :2thumbs:

[Bluehole]

:welcome: :congrats:on the GREAT color of that bike!! :2thumbs:

Back at you!! Great machine!! Got #000282 Got a couple hundred on it and all is well thus far. No leaks of any kind. Am smelling something like burnt rubber at the rear sprocket. Thinking the belt needs a bit of adjustment. Keeping my nose to it.

[Bob Denman]

Keep an eye out for an accumulation of belt dust on the rear wheel... :shocked:
Good Luck! Here's to hoping that it's just normal stuff; getting seated-in! :cheers: :2thumbs:

[StanProff]

Keep an eye out for an accumulation of belt dust on the rear wheel... :shocked:
Good Luck! Here's to hoping that it's just normal stuff; getting seated-in! :cheers: :2thumbs:

:thumbup: on the belt dust. If it is rubbing the least bit on the flange, you'll be able to write your name in the dust inside the rim in no time.

[den1953]

I've always had some belt dust accumulation on my belt driven bikes, some worse than others. The bikes with saddlebags (baggers) seem to collect the worst, must be something to do with airflow. I haven't had a Spyder yet but this makes me think the built-in luggage on the RTs affect the airflow much the same way.