F3 Made It Home

[SpyderGTL]

Big day for me as I said goodbye to my big German bike and then picked up my F3S. My wife and I put over 150 miles on it today. The first 100 miles were two-up, as her Spyder was getting new tires installed. Even without a backrest, she said the passenger seat was very comfortable. The next 25 miles was by myself, then we traded Spyders and she rode the last 25 miles home. We both love it!

The only accessory that the dealer had was the Blue Ridge windshield. I thought it worked fairly well. We got it up to over 75 mph heading into a 10-15 mph breeze and the ride was just fine. I rode the K1600 with the windshield in nearly the lowest position, so this didn't seem too different. I'm not sure I would want a taller windshield for summer ryding and I think this one will be good enough for the cold months.

Unfortunately, one accessory that the dealer didn't have was any of the linkages to adjust the footpeg position. So while the UFit concept is a great idea, it only works out of the crate if you happen to fit the #3 footpeg position. That's not what fits me, so I'm going to be a bit cramped until some longer linkages show up. On the other hand, because it wasn't adjusted for my longer legs, my wife was able to drive it. So that worked out well for her!

Tomorrow will be a short lunch ride and some farkle installation, including some temporary (?) storage. It should be another fun day!

So I went from this:
101908

To this:
101909




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[one2doo]

Looks like a great ride enjoy!

[vondalyn]

Nice! Thanks for your comments.

[Chupaca]

Congrats..!!:2thumbs: sorry about the peg position. Seems they would have those on hand. Enjoy it and soon enough they can adjust it for you...:thumbup:

[Tom in NM]

. . . . and your after pictures. That looks like a real change.

I am glad you and your wife are enjoying it. I am interested in your opinions on the differences in the bikes and riding experience - I get that question a lot and now after 7 years mostly on 3 wheels, the previous 40 years is starting to get a little blurry.

Thanks for sharing and welcome!

Tom

[Purple Guy]

:congrats:
Have Fun!

[GunDoctor]

Congrats on the new F3-S, I have the same one with the windshield. My dealer didn't have any brake rods either, but shipped me a +1 as the stock position was not quite there yet for me. I'm 5' 9", but prefer just a little more stretch. Still working on the mount sequence. I find Left leg up on left passenger peg then swing over and planting it on Right side driver peg for now. Enjoy you two.


Another Day To Be My Kid's Dad [emoji379]

[spydaman60]

good luck with the new ride!! :2thumbs:

[MMMII]

Congrats.

[Professor]

My RTL is great, but I sure miss my K1600 GTL. That is one fine motorcycle.

[ARtraveler]

:congrats: on your new ride. Hope they get the parts to "make it yours" as soon as possible. :yes:

[SpyderGTL]

Professor - I agree with you! The K1600 is a superb motorcycle! I'm glad to have been able to spend a few years on one.

Tom in NM - surprisingly enough, there are enough similarities between the big bike and the F3 to make it seem not all that dis-similar, two versus three wheels and the seating position notwithstanding. Both have plenty of immediate power at your right hand, both have the necessary technology, like DTC and ABS, both are very responsive to both throttle and steering inputs, and both have excellent brakes. Most importantly, I can't stop smiling when driving either of them. For me, I decided I could have as much fun on the F3 as on the BMW, with an order of magnitude or two of less risk. That makes it all worth making the switch.

It's also worth noting that we've probably ridden more miles two-up on the F3 in the last two days than we ever did on the BMW in nearly 32,000 miles. I feel a lot better riding with her in the back on the Spyder than I did on the BMW - that risk thing again...


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[Professor]

You make excellent points. The first thing I told my wife after test-riding the RTL is that I think they have copied some things from BMW. There are definitely some similarities. I also feel much less tension having my wife on the back of the Spyder than on two wheels. We are going to have lots of Spyder miles and smiles.