First Impressions

[flyday58]

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Heading home from the dealership.
Wife and daughter at San Augustin Pass in the Organs.

[ARtraveler]

and

[Chupaca]

That's quite an impression...great choice.. welcome..!!

[flyday58]

So 110 miles from the dealer to the house, over the Organ Mountains, across White Sands and up US 82 to Cloudcroft, down NM 130 and Russia Canyon Road. First impressions: seems a little twitchy. I'm thinking tires. Talked with the service guy, he has no problem mounting and balancing non-MC tires so that's to be done soon. The grips were a little tiring on the hands so will look at the foam grips that slide over the stock ones. Not sure about the handlebars yet, will take a little more time riding before I think about replacing them.

Had no problem getting up and over San Augustin Pass or up US 82. It was 87º across the desert, 59 in the home stretch so a mostly comfortable ride in a long tee and BDUs. Did notice my nether yaiah were quite toasty; a good stream of heat coming out at the front lip of the seat so I'll take a look at that and see if there's a way to block or redirect it. Not bad but definitely not a ride for Lady Godiva.

My big concern of course was the 5 miles up the canyon and my ultra-steep driveway. I kept it under 15 mph in the canyon and did okay. The last mile is steep and rutted from winter plowing, so it's the most problematic. Just kept it between 5-10 mph and it wasn't bad. Went front-first down the driveway, reversed and tried to back up. It was a no-go, rear tire started spinning in the gravel. Tomorrow I'll turn around and try it nose first, and if that doesn't work I'll be giving the paving company a call to expedite me up their list. It's still a little chillier at night than they like it for paving, but I may have to chance it.

Other than that it was an enjoyable ride. Popped for the back rest and a new Shoei helmet. I'm going to get LED headlights for it, don't like the yellow tint of the ones it has. Guess I'll get up in the morning, try and get up the driveway, then grab some tools and get my farkel on. Cheers eveyone!

[Spin]

Nice! Good luck with it!!

[Bob Denman]

Nice... VERY nice!

[AeroPilot]

Beautiful Vistas. Enjoy the RT and your new chance to customize your Ryde. Wife and I were west of there from Caballo to Silver City and then on to Tucson last October.

As far as handling, make sure the front tire pressures are balanced within 1/2 psi and then enjoy the miles as the ryde becomes yours

[Saluda]

Congrats and enjoy. Our numbers are growing, love it.

[widowmaker2011]

"First impressions: seems a little twitchy. I'm thinking tires. Talked with the service guy, he has no problem mounting and balancing non-MC tires so that's to be done soon. The grips were a little tiring on the hands so will look at the foam grips that slide over the stock ones. Not sure about the handlebars yet, will take a little more time riding before I think about replacing them"

Welcome Spyder Rider!
These comments are most probably related to the same thing. While there is some disagreement on this , most people cannot differentiate between the factory Kumhos and car tires from a handling standpoint (The car tires will wear longer) , and the grips are pretty easy on the hands. So when I hear twitchy and tiring , it reminds me of my first Spyder ride in San Diego at the press intro in 2008, After a ride up the coast I loved the spyder but found it twitchy and my hands got tired. One of the Spyder engineers told me to relax my grip and loosen my shoulders. That afternoon we hit the same 80 mile loop and it was night and day. That was 9 years ago and many spyders ago for me and not one twitch or hand fatigue since. On your next trip out , consciously relax your grip , use small light corrections and let the spyder do its thing.
My guess is that cures it. period. If its still a little nervous for you, you can experiment with the suspension settings and also a laser alignment can bring things slightly more in line.
Good Luck!

[cognaccruiser]

Love that colour. Nice pic.
As far as the twitchiness in handling, I agree that front tire pressure could cause that. What pressure are they at? It can also just be getting used to the different feel of the Spyder compared to 2 wheels. It takes a little getting used to. Many of us over steer the things at first. Bajaron's Sway bar is a big improvement in handling but give it a little time with the stock first.
If your driveway is steep and gravel, the rear is just going to want to spin, I think. Good luck with that part.

Gary

[PrairieSpyder]

"First impressions: seems a little twitchy. I'm thinking tires. Talked with the service guy, he has no problem mounting and balancing non-MC tires so that's to be done soon. The grips were a little tiring on the hands so will look at the foam grips that slide over the stock ones. Not sure about the handlebars yet, will take a little more time riding before I think about replacing them"

Welcome Spyder Rider!
These comments are most probably related to the same thing. While there is some disagreement on this , most people cannot differentiate between the factory Kumhos and car tires from a handling standpoint (The car tires will wear longer) , and the grips are pretty easy on the hands. So when I hear twitchy and tiring , it reminds me of my first Spyder ride in San Diego at the press intro in 2008, After a ride up the coast I loved the spyder but found it twitchy and my hands got tired. One of the Spyder engineers told me to relax my grip and loosen my shoulders. That afternoon we hit the same 80 mile loop and it was night and day. That was 9 years ago and many spyders ago for me and not one twitch or hand fatigue since. On your next trip out , consciously relax your grip , use small light corrections and let the spyder do its thing.
My guess is that cures it. period. If its still a little nervous for you, you can experiment with the suspension settings and also a laser alignment can bring things slightly more in line.
Good Luck!

Also when ryding on your rutted road, be careful about getting high-centered.

[flyday58]

"First impressions: seems a little twitchy. I'm thinking tires. Talked with the service guy, he has no problem mounting and balancing non-MC tires so that's to be done soon. The grips were a little tiring on the hands so will look at the foam grips that slide over the stock ones. Not sure about the handlebars yet, will take a little more time riding before I think about replacing them"

Welcome Spyder Rider!
These comments are most probably related to the same thing. While there is some disagreement on this , most people cannot differentiate between the factory Kumhos and car tires from a handling standpoint (The car tires will wear longer) , and the grips are pretty easy on the hands. So when I hear twitchy and tiring , it reminds me of my first Spyder ride in San Diego at the press intro in 2008, After a ride up the coast I loved the spyder but found it twitchy and my hands got tired. One of the Spyder engineers told me to relax my grip and loosen my shoulders. That afternoon we hit the same 80 mile loop and it was night and day. That was 9 years ago and many spyders ago for me and not one twitch or hand fatigue since. On your next trip out , consciously relax your grip , use small light corrections and let the spyder do its thing.
My guess is that cures it. period. If its still a little nervous for you, you can experiment with the suspension settings and also a laser alignment can bring things slightly more in line.
Good Luck!

WOW. You've had a bunch of these! I did notice the tendency to overgrip, and after a while kept telling myself to relax. Didn't notice as much twitching on the latter half of the ride. Also the first part of the trip was a little gusty so that was adding to my stranglehold. If I can get up the driveway today I'll take our local 40-miler around the holler and see how it goes. Oh, and I have the other Ks, Kendas, not Kumhos.

[flyday58]

Love that colour. Nice pic.
As far as the twitchiness in handling, I agree that front tire pressure could cause that. What pressure are they at? It can also just be getting used to the different feel of the Spyder compared to 2 wheels. It takes a little getting used to. Many of us over steer the things at first. Bajaron's Sway bar is a big improvement in handling but give it a little time with the stock first.
If your driveway is steep and gravel, the rear is just going to want to spin, I think. Good luck with that part.

Gary

One of the things that surprised me on the RT is the lack of a factory TPMS. Air pressure is problematic up here; my trucks both have a TPMS and depending on the temperature and atmospheric pressure they range from 35 to 45 psi. AND whichever side sites in the sun will be a few psi higher than the shady side. It's a pain because the TPMS is set for a nominal 42 psi so when they drop below 39 I get the caution light and DIC warning. At least it makes me look at the pressures frequently!

Got a pm from a local guy (Hey Harry K!) who has a sway bar on his, I'm gonna check it out when we can get together. I'll look at the pressures when I go downstairs here in a bit. It's also a good day to get my farkel on so should stay busy, as long as no wifeydo's crop up...

[flyday58]

Also when ryding on your rutted road, be careful about getting high-centered.

Wuzzat? Not familiar unless you mean standing up in the stirrups, ala dirt bike.

[flyday58]

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Nobody wants to see the OF sitting on his new money-sucker, so I give you the cute one.

[PrairieSpyder]

Wuzzat? Not familiar unless you mean standing up in the stirrups, ala dirt bike.

I mean getting the wheels in such deep ruts that the bottom of the Spyder drags on the ground.

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/de...s/high-centred

[DGoebel]

Congratulations on your new Spyder and I agree with those that talk about relaxing your grip. If you grew up as a motorcycle rider driving the Spyder is a lot more relaxed in the hand grip and shoulder area, at least then I was used to.

go'n mobile

[Jimboregon]

"First impressions: seems a little twitchy.

On your next trip out , consciously relax your grip , use small light corrections and let the spyder do its thing.
My guess is that cures it. period. If its still a little nervous for you, you can experiment with the suspension settings and also a laser alignment can bring things slightly more in line.
Good Luck!

Yes. I thought I'd made a mistaken purchase on my first ride home. Then, I found out it has power steering! Ride it with a light touch. Enjoy!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[Jimboregon]

TPMS? FOBO. Look 'em up. Lamonster Garage. www.lamonstergarage.com

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[honda]

Relax and give yourself a thousand miles before spending any money. They are a great bike and you will really enjoy it.

[flyday58]

TPMS? FOBO. Look 'em up. Lamonster Garage. www.lamonstergarage.com

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Thanks for the link, they're on the way!
Also ordered some LED headlights. Had to show the Farkel Faerie the door after that, but I suspect she didn't go very far...

[flyday58]

Spent Saturday installing all the addons I bought, or most of them. Have absolutely nothing to get the top spring off the cat so didn't get the air bag Rock Armour donut installed. AND I don't have a lift so not sure I'm gonna be able to get the scoot high enough off the ground to drill the holes needed for the bump skid install. Holloman AFB is close and we're out there all the time getting groceries so I'll check to see if they have an auto hobby shop. Most AFBs do, or used to. So now waiting for headlghts, Magyc Myrror magnets, and FOBO TPMS.

I was able to get up my driveway yesterday after four attempts, but I had to start in the garage and still was slinging rocks everywhere. Gotta get this sucker paved and soon. That or bolt a winch to the tree at the top of the driveway and winch the RT out when I want to ride.
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