James Thorne, who is in Houston, has Ryker alignment equipment and we (Squared Away) will be doing Ryker alignments at Spyders on the Bayou Rally
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James Thorne, who is in Houston, has Ryker alignment equipment and we (Squared Away) will be doing Ryker alignments at Spyders on the Bayou Rally
I just received my lock for the parking brake today.
Purchased on eBay from a company I cannot name here. Cost was $24.99 including shipping. It is listed on eBay as BRP park brake lock.
Now if it will warm up enough to be able to install (mid 20's to 30 is too cold to work outside) or ride.
So, I dropped by the Tyler dealer yesterday to visit. I mentioned to the service rep that my Rally tended to "wander" but admitted that this was my first three-wheeled platform and I didn't know what was normal. The lead tech that does all the Spyder alignments came out and gave me the standard lecture about "three wheels, road surface, crown ...bla bla bla", but he was very willing to take it out and ride it for me. When he got back he said it was definitely out of alignment and they would fix it. He had to order the Ryker wheel adapters for the ROLO machine and will call me when I can come in for alignment. He did suggest I not do any high speed riding until they get it adjusted. He also complemented the power and comfort the Ryker has.
So far the folks at Broadway Powersports in Tyler have been very easy to get along with.
Yeah, I got the same song and dance from my dealer and from BRP. I've been riding/racing karts, cars, and street bikes for 34+ years and I know an alignment issue when I feel one. I raced 3-wheelers and quad-racers for years in my youth, and I've also ridden several other Spyders (RT's and F3's) that didn't behave this way. This might be my first reverse-trike for street use, but it's not my first rodeo.
Mine was considerably out of alignment and would drift hard-right during hands-off, steady-state, and coast-downs. The good news is that I had the laser alignment done by James Thorne (@jcthorne , Thornolis.com) yesterday morning, and it made a WORLD of difference in the twitchy, darty behavior of my Ryker. The cost was $150 and about an hour of time... DONE, take my money! :thumbup:
The darty/twitchy behavior on grooved pavement is still there, but I'm convinced that it's a function of the track width combined with the tire tread/pattern. Some tires are very susceptible to grooved pavement, and these crappy Kenda's undulate between the groves on Houston's concrete highways too easily. I'll burn through the rear tire on my Ryker soon enough, and I'll replace it with a Yoko or something else with a better tread pattern (and more grip). I'm not sure how to handle the front tires, but I'll figure that out eventually. I usually re-shoe all of my bikes soon after purchase anyway... it's just the limited options for the Ryker's size that makes it troublesome.
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QM
QM-Glad you were finally able to get the laser alignment done and that it helped alleviate the issues you were having.
I've been considering a used Ryker (with all engineering specs and stuff) on CycleTrader. But a decent 2019 Can-Am Ryker 600 ACE starts with $8,499 - not sure now, as I'll have to sell my old 2006 Can-Am SPYDER...
I am going to be keeping a watchful eye on this thread and others like it.
The tail wagging is concerning to me.
I have read that some people are ready to get off of their Rykers after only 50 miles due to the arm workout they claim to get from the steering input.
Being as how I am looking at a Ryker to be another form of transportation,doing some 150-200 mile day rides, it seems there are many things to consider before jumping on one of these.
I like the detailed input (with videos) on this post.
If you purchase a Ryker, you just need to be prepared to have it laser aligned. BRP does not cover this. They consider the factory 'alignment' good enough. Much experience with the Spyders and now Rykers has shown the benefits of a proper laser alignment on these trikes.