2019 limited rt no stable ride on interstate.

[demotte]

new anti sway bar installed (after market one) hoping this would help with buffeting from wind and around semis ,still very little help. Not at all happy with ride on interstate.It is rt limited 2019. Have relaxed grip on handlebars with my hands still no good.Getting very discouraged.

[UtahPete]

new anti sway bar installed (after market one) hoping this would help with buffeting from wind and around semis ,still very little help. Not at all happy with ride on interstate.It is rt limited 2019. Have relaxed grip on handlebars with my hands still no good.Getting very discouraged.

Nothing is going to eliminate buffeting from winds. How long have you been riding your Spyder (i.e. months and miles)?

[Jetfixer]

Try a laser alignment

[h0gr1der]

Try a laser alignment

What he said! My opinion only, in order of stability improvement.
1. Laser Alignment by a competent person who will add some more toe in over the OEM setting of 0° ±0.2°, which isn't enough to keep the Spyder from wandering around on the road. In worst case scenarios, it will feel like it's darting. More ote in makes the bike more stable and resistant to road and wind irregularities.
2. Sway Bar. You've already done this. Great choice!
3. Different tires. Auto tires in the appropriate size added to my bikes stability, but not as much as the alignment and sway bar. Any auto tire that fits is better than the Kenda OEM tires.

[2dogs]

Don't give up yet, hang in there. Don't know how many miles you have under your belt but there is a learning curve to riding a 3wheeler. Some folks get it in just a couple hundred miles and others take several hundred. Took me about 400 to feel really good and now I'm pushing 40k. I was in a 35 MPH gusting cross wind the other day on a two lane highway going in and out of orchards and open areas with 18wheelers passing me going the other direction. Speed limit was 55 but everyone including me were doing 60. With laser alignment, stiffer shocks, car tires front (17 psi) and rear (20 psi) and rear shock pressure at 32 psi, handling all that buffeting was not a problem at all. I was thinking to myself, these conditions don't happen all the time, but dam, this spyder is doing quite well. Not totally rock solid, but very manageable. So, if I can do it, you can do it too. Just do the upgrades and give it a little time, you'll get there.

[canamjhb]

h0gr1der nailed it. Been there, done that. My bike was not ridable above 65MPH regardless of road or weather conditions. I did "everything" without satisfactory results. My tires looked good but I replaced the Kendas anyway. It was like magic. Now the bike rides and handles the way it should have all along. Some have OK experience with Kendas. Some, like me, do not. I suspect you fall into the same category I did. Don't give up. Your bike can be made to behave..... Jim

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I have over 100,000 mi. on various Spyders ….. I have never encountered what the OP has stated ….. so #1. - for this to be a mechanical issue the alignment would have to be off-the charts BAD …. #2. - I find it hard to believe that your sway bar could not be on correctly ….. Spyders have a unique driving technique …. and until it is mastered, anyone will not feel confidant in the way it handles ….. Yes, this is JMHO …… good luck …. Mike

[AeroPilot]

There is always going to be some buffeting from the big rigs, especially when there is a strong crosswind. Had two days of it on our last trip to Arkansas. Strong crosswinds and close proximity to the semis in the opposing lane (two lane highways) are the worst in my opinion.

If there is room, I move to the outside of the lane, and let the blast move me, while almost releasing the handlebars so as not to transfer my body movement to the bike's steering. Just one of the banes of the open roads along with rain, bugs and road hazards... Good Luck on finding what works for you,

[JayBros]

I strongly agree with the posters who recommend laser alignment. I also agree that you are going to feel buffeting on your upper torso from big rigs on interstates, particularly in crosswinds. If you get it properly laser aligned and relax your upper torso in crosswinds and around big rigs you can actually take your hands off the bars and your Spyder should track like an arrow shot from a crossbow.

[h0gr1der]

I strongly agree with the posters who recommend laser alignment. I also agree that you are going to feel buffeting on your upper torso from big rigs on interstates, particularly in crosswinds. If you get it properly laser aligned and relax your upper torso in crosswinds and around big rigs you can actually take your hands off the bars and your Spyder should track like an arrow shot from a crossbow.

I wonder if the average dealership that procures the ROLO alignment system uses the OEM spec or the one that has been determined to work the best? They are not the same thing. Dealerships tend to be stuck in the "this is the OEM Spec" zone.

[ricford]

I have done so before and will again, take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. Taught me just one thing that solved everything. You'll like the course and have a great weekend with fellow bikers.

[DGoebel]

Ricford, are you referring to the MSF 3 wheel course or any MSF course? And what was that one thing, just curious. I haven't been to one in years and the last one I did take was a 2 wheel specific course teaching counter steering and such (that doesn't apply to our Spyders).

For the OP as many have said before..... tires..... I too changed from the Kenda's that were on my Spyder to a pair of Federal Formoza's and it was night and day different handling and "feel" to my Spyder. I KNOW some folks have had good experiences with their Kenda's, but it is a fairly inexpensive handling fix. (as are the alignment and sway bar, I have had all three and really like my Spyder's tracking and handling.

[Skups]

I used to have the same problem, hated the interstate. Put a Baja Ron sway on, M2 shocks and alignment. I'm running stock Kendra tires. Did 215 miles on Sunday, some back roads, some interstate. The Spyder was planted to the road! I never got pushed around by semi-trucks and never felt out of control. Uneven pavement, pot holes and tight turns (on back roads), this thing is solid and corners on rails! I have about 2200 miles experience with the Spyder and there is a bit of a learning curve, loose grip on the bars also good advice. My wife, on the back, even said she enjoyed the 100 miles on the interstate back home. Happy wife, happy life. When it's time for new tires, I'll try some aftermarket ones that everyone raves about.

[PMK]

I wonder if the average dealership that procures the ROLO alignment system uses the OEM spec or the one that has been determined to work the best? They are not the same thing. Dealerships tend to be stuck in the "this is the OEM Spec" zone.

Doubt a dealer could convert from the degrees of toe setting to linear inches setting and compensate for the distance the targets are placed from the stub axles.

[Ex Winger]

Doubt a dealer could convert from the degrees of toe setting to linear inches setting and compensate for the distance the targets are placed from the stub axles.

Nice when you buy a new bike then you should replace the sway bar and the shocks.Now get it aligned with new tires to get it to handle like it should have when you picked it up.I agree you may have to do this to get it to handle properly but how would you feel if you bought a new car and had to do all this just to get it to drive properly.Maybe just me but for the price of theses bikes they should not need mods from the factory

[Mikey]

Nice when you buy a new bike then you should replace the sway bar and the shocks.Now get it aligned with new tires to get it to handle like it should have when you picked it up.I agree you may have to do this to get it to handle properly but how would you feel if you bought a new car and had to do all this just to get it to drive properly.Maybe just me but for the price of theses bikes they should not need mods from the factory

I am on this bus!!!

[spyder01]

I am on this bus!!!

I agree.Ive done all this stuff now and its finally starting to feel acceptable at 13 k miles.The biggest thing though was me getting used to it and the quirky way it handles.I think the design of having 3 wheels and the centrifugal force pushing you to the outside of the turn which makes you brace yourself with the very same arms that are trying to steer it nicely thru a turn make for a tricky handling bike.Ive gotten use to all of that but what I really hate is the super tight hairpin turns where you have to turn the bars all the way,really makes for a workout on the arms.

[Scotts8826]

A few weeks ago I was traveling 2 up and pulling a trailer in western Kansas. Winds were steady at 26 mph with gusts to 33. Accounting for wind from traveling at 70 mph, adding the 26-33 mph wind, our bodies were being hit with the equivalent of a Cat 2 hurricane. I was thankful I was on a Spyder and not a 2 wheeler. I felt the wind pushed me more than the Spyder.

[AeroPilot]

We left the motel in Pratt, KS on our way home last Friday and the wind was out of the South at 10-20 mph; two hours later in Garden City, KS it was out of the N at about the same speed. Thankfully I got another alignment at Lamonster Garage Thursday morning (55,000 miles on the 15 RT) and that and my Kumho Solus' on front made the ride bearable if not fun at times.

What traffic was on Hwy 400 and 50 was mostly semis (that I noticed) and by the time we hit Colorado, the wind was quartering at our back...like they say about the weather- "If you don't like it now, wait 15 minutes"

[Kinderhook]

I ride interstate quite a bit and encounter semi trucks regularly. I ride an f3s with all stock suspension and find the bike little bothered by semi wind. Your body feels the buffeting and if you try to overgrip you will cause the bike to sway off course: try to keep the handlebars pointed straight down the road. Your machine does not need additional input to stay on line. I have driven over 70,000 miles on a gs and f3 and never found a need to change out stock sway bars or shocks. I corner well above posted speed advisories (50 in a 30 posted, for example) and faster than most riding companions. A lot of what you read is from newbies who haven't learned to ride properly.

[UtahPete]

I ride interstate quite a bit and encounter semi trucks regularly. I ride an f3s with all stock suspension and find the bike little bothered by semi wind. Your body feels the buffeting and if you try to overgrip you will cause the bike to sway off course: try to keep the handlebars pointed straight down the road. Your machine does not need additional input to stay on line. I have driven over 70,000 miles on a gs and f3 and never found a need to change out stock sway bars or shocks. I corner well above posted speed advisories (50 in a 30 posted, for example) and faster than most riding companions. A lot of what you read is from newbies who haven't learned to ride properly.

[Fat Baxter]

My tires looked good but I replaced the Kendas anyway. It was like magic. Now the bike rides and handles the way it should have all along.

My experience was that replacing the Kendas did more for handling than adding the BajaRon swaybar.

One sad fact of riding Spyders RTs is that they have the front-end aerodynamics of a barn door. There's a lot of surface area up front for crosswinds to pound on. Good tires and proper alignment go a long way to keeping the Spyder planted while the bodywork shakes in the breeze.

[Philip1]

I found on my ‘14 RT-s filling the gap between the rider and the trunk reduced felt buffeting quite a bit

[UtahPete]

Maybe just me but for the price of theses bikes they should not need mods from the factory

They don't.

[pegasus1300]

I have to agree with Pete. They do handle adequately as they come from the factory. My Spyder was 3 years old when I bought it. The PO put 8500 mi on it before I got it. He thought it was great. I rode it for a year before I did anything to it. The biggest improvement was the number of miles I put on the Spyder and time and effort in developing my Spyder riding skill. I read the "how to ride a Spyder" section in the owner's manual. I laid out practice course as they suggested. I read the sticky here Do's and don'ts of riding a Spyder. I guess I am a slow learner but it took me several weeks and a few 1000 miles to really get comfortable on the Spyder. If it has been awhile since I have done some hard cornering, I still talk myself through the corners. When I added the BajaRon bar, the alignment, the better front tires I could really feel the difference. Be patient with yourself, and your ride. It does take some time. This is really different from almost anything else you have ridden/driven. Have your dealer check it out to make sure there aren't any mechanical problems if you are worried about that. Ride, Ride, Ride.