Newby Ryker owner learning things every time I use it.
So it's been about 8 weeks since I picked up two Rykers in Nebraska and transported them home to AZ in my toyhauler motorhome. They will both fit in the garage, but I have to put them in "69" style. The first one I drive in frontally, as far to the right and forward as possible. After shutting it down, I have to lift the rear tire and move it over about a foot. Difficult, but do-able. Then comes the tricky part where the second Ryker has to be backed up the 10 ft ramp at just the correct angle to tuck in to the left of the first one. I put an old chair cushion against the first Ryker's left side to protect it. I performed this task 2 or 3 times over the last 8 weeks, usually being successful after 3 or 4 runs up the ramp. The back tire tends to want to spin out and lose grip as it ascends the ramp, so you need some decent speed to get it done.
Last nite around 11 pm I was attempting this tricky maneuver again to get ready for a short trip. I tried a dozen times to load the second cycle, but the drive tire kept spinning out, and I lost all momentum before getting all the way up the ramp. A few times I actually got the rear tire up on the garage floor, but it would still just spin out and not let me fully enter the garage. It was getting late and I was getting frustrated.:banghead: This was the first time I had tried to load the Rykers at my home, so I thought maybe the angle of my driveway was steeper than where I had previously successfully done this task. I decided to sleep on it and try fresh in the A.M., maybe even turn the motorhome around so the front end is lower and reduce the steepness.
While I was thinking about this last night in bed, I then had "Eureka" moment. What mode do I have the transmission in? I got up this morning and checked. The Ryker was in Sport mode. I switched it to Economy mode, and the Ryker reversed up the ramp much easier with very little spinning out of the back tire. I had the Ryker in Economy mode on my previous successful loads. So now that is a lesson I have learned. :opps:
So I left this morning heading north with the Rykers in the toyhauler to spend some time riding on the twisty, curvy highways of Mingus Mountain up by Prescott AZ. But the traffic on I-17 was a bumper-to-bumper crawl because of the holiday traffic, a small brush fire, a car fire and a jack-knifed semi truck. So about 30 miles out of town, I turned around and came home. Maybe I'll just keep the Rykers loaded in the garage and head up in a few days. :D
Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans :yes::coffee::clap::2thumbs:
Might yours be a bottoming issue?
Any chance your Ryker is bottoming at the top of the ramp were the ramp connects to your toy hauler? Looks pretty steep to me and I had the same thing happen to me when I was loading my Ryker into a trailer the day I purchased it. Just a thought. My rear wheel spun some before making it into the trailer and at the time I thought the rear wheel wasn’t getting traction. I discovered the real reason the rear tire was spinning when I went to unload it the next day. This may not be your problem but I thought it was worth mentioning as perhaps it might help someone else. Our Rykers don’t have a lot of ground clearance. All that said, if all three wheels are on the same plane, then the above scenario wouldn’t apply to you
Best,
Jake
Reddick Fla.
“Character is much easier kept than recovered” - Thomas Paine
