Is the 'Rocking' Ride Characteristic correctable?

[Poasttown]

First let me say that this post is in no way intended to be a “negative post” on the spyder. I purchased my 2019 F3L new about nine months ago and now have approximately 2400 miles on it. I am very happy with the bike and the transition from years on two wheels to three wheels didn’t seem very difficult.

My question centers around the general “rocking side by side” motion of the bike. Today we spent about five hours on the bike, which was probably the longest up to now, and we both began to get a bit weary of the rocking motion. In fairness, five hours on two wheels I would get a bit weary also.

From my wife’s perspective As passenger she said it feels like the rear wheel can’t decide which front wheel to follow.

My best description is that it reminds me of sitting in a small boat/canoe with two people outside slowly rocking the boat. Not bad and not interfering with the control of the bike in any way but very noticeable coming from the two wheels environment.

I installed a BaJa sway bar which made a significant difference. I think some of this sway is just part of the configuration of the three wheels, and I accept this, however I don’t know how much is actually a fact and how much is correctable. Note, I have not had the alignment checked.

I know this is a bit difficult to quantify with words but where would the “perfectly adjusted” bike fall. There seems to be no steering or shock issues. My plan is to put a lot of miles on the bike and I don’t want to find out later that there was something I could have done to make the ride better.

Thanks in advanced.

Poasttown

[JayBros]

Is the rocking accompanied by any wandering of the Spyder left to right? How loose/tight is your grip on the handlebars? It should be very light. On a level, straight road, what happens if if you lift your hands off the bars? Has the bike been laser aligned by a competent technician using the Rolo system?

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Have you had the front wheels laser aligned by someone using the Rolo system? The factory alignment specs allow for some toe out. It seems ANY toe out will encourage side to side wandering which will cause the rocking you mention. So get it properly laser aligned. Also, Baja Ron sells some spring compressors that will stiffen the front springs. I have them and they help.

Don't rule out the front tires. Kenda tires are not high quality. I had a constant pull to the right, even after a laser alignment, until I took the Kendas off and mounted car tires.

And as JayBros says, keep a loose grip. Let the Spyder steer itself pretty much on the straight roads. If you deliberately steer yet you can cause a lot of wandering since it so sensitive in steering.

[Poasttown]

JayBros
The rocking is more pronounced on older roads with a crown in the center, freshly paved roads are better. I guess this would be expected. It also seems more pronounced at higher speeds. Yes there is a bit of wandering right to left , but again the newer the road the less wandering.

Hands off at slower speeds, 40 mph, on good roads it does seems to track fairly straight.

I do use a pretty relaxed grip.

The bike has the stock alignment. The only thing added was the sway bar which did help.

Poasttown

[SpyderAnn01]

You need to adjust your position in the lane and find where you can get all three wheels on the smoothest piece of road. It can be done and before you know it you will be finding the smooth route without even thinking about it. Also like Jay said lighten up on your grip and have your Spyder aligned too.

[Woodaddict]

if you take a corner a little "spirited", do you have to "work the handlebars" a lot? a lot of back and forth movement to keep the tracking line? that's a sign of miss alignment.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Is the rocking accompanied by any wandering of the Spyder left to right? How loose/tight is your grip on the handlebars? It should be very light. On a level, straight road, what happens if if you lift your hands off the bars? Has the bike been laser aligned by a competent technician using the Rolo system?

.... I've been riding various models of Spyders for 10 years now and have not felt what you are feeling on any of them ..... A sway does help in this area .... but it's no cure if the Alignment is off ..... good luck .... Mike

[Poasttown]

In reference to woodaddicts comment about cornering, and I know this may sound strange, but it seems like the bike get a bit more solid in corners.

Again, because this seems to be a relative common topic and there are a number of mods out there related to this issue I wonder if my bike is outside the normal range or that in fact what I’m experiencing is just a characteristic of the bike.

I’m going to look into a number of the items listed above, especially an alignment, and tires at the next change interval. I’m generally not a big modification guy. In the past I usually purchase new seats for my bikes, not planned for the Spyder, and a few additional comfort items and then just ride. Hopefully I can resolve this rocking issue a bit more and then move on and just ride.

Thanks for your input.

Poasttown

[stmike 1800]

My bike wanders from side to side also .It is stock as in nothing has been added but my zumo 550 and a altimax rear tire .I set the toe the best i could ,laser aligned is a days ride. one way .

[spyder01]

In my opinion this is a normal feeling that is caused by the fact that it has 3 wheels so instead of leaning into a turn ,centrifugal force causes it to lean to the outside of the turn.At the same time your body wants to lean out also which causes you to counteract that force by holding on tight to the bars which can actually make you steer the bike even deeper into the turn causing a pogo or rocking kinda back and forth effect.Some people just dont notice it bc they hold the line better naturally or they have the sway bar which fights the lean that causes it in the first place.I feel the seating position of the F3 bikes also helps but the real fix is yourself.You need to give it time,after a while you will just learn by instinct to hold your line without even thinking about it and then the bike will feel much better to you.My first year I thought about holding that line smoothly every time I had to take a turn but 2nd year and it was like everything just clicked.Car tires up front help,sway bar helps,better shocks help,leaning into turn and putting weight on outside foot helps and relaxing your grip helps.To me I feel you really DRIVE a Spyder,you just ride a bike.

[JayBros]

I agree with spyder01 in regards to your description of being on older roads with variable surfaces; you're continually changing the plane the three wheels the Spyder is riding on and they are sensitive to that but that's also why the suspension is designed the way it is. For stmike, when a Spyder is properly laser aligned with the Rolo system it will track like an arrow shot from a crossbow. IMO, that's worth an overnight somewhere. And a Bajaron sway bar will put the frosting on the cake, particularly when riding in crosswinds or passing semis, not to mention if you ride in a "spirited" manner where it really excels.

[baxter]

My take on the driving feeling is that on a two wheeler, the front and rear tire to road surface is the same, hence no counteracting sensation from the road surface. Now with the Spyder having three road contacting surfaces trying to find a happy medium, different riding sensation and more of a rocking motion than a two wheeler. Something to get use to.

[AeroPilot]

The Spyder track width of 4 1/2' will make the front wheels "hunt" if you drive in the middle of the lane as usual. On older roads I just slow down and choose to put the rear wheel in one of the tracks and let the fronts ride higher on the lane.... It will still wiggle at times, but just ride on and enjoy the rural routes and scenery.

It's part of the ride along with the wind and rain sometimes...

[BajaRon]

My bike wanders from side to side also .It is stock as in nothing has been added but my zumo 550 and a altimax rear tire .I set the toe the best i could ,laser aligned is a days ride. one way .

I can tell you from experience. If you set your toe without a proper laser alignment system. You are probably way off. Luck beats skill every time. But you just can't count on luck often enough to get you through this life.

[Lew L]

My 2014 RTS tracks perfectly ------ after an alignment by Joe and Anne at Squared away. It's really important to have it done RIGHT.

[Bob204bc]

You can't adjust your way out of this. The movement you are experiencing is caused by wheel ruts or depressions made by heavy vehicles or simply road wear. You have two front wheels generally in the wheel depressions and the rear riding the crown of the road. When the rear moves to one side or the other from the crown you will get a push to the side. The newer the road, the less wear and the smoother the ride. Simple.

[Peter Aawen]

Poasttown, your comments re the stock alignment, the Bajaron bar helping, and the seemingly getting a bit more solid in corners all make me think that your Spyder's handling & stability would benefit A LOT from getting a proper wheel alignment done by someone who knows what they're doing! I don't really believe that this 'rocking' thing is something that's necessarily inherent to Spyders, and what you've already told us suggests you do have a fixable problem.

That said, there's no denying that because of the two wheels up front, you will always get more 'road surface feedback' than you do on a 2 wheeler & the subsequent movement in your ryde; but if you practice looking out ahead waaaay down the road at where you want to go, scanning back over your intended path all the way to the road/path you want to follow immediately in front, then back out to as far ahead as you can see/plot your intended path; all the while gently guiding the Spyder along that intended path without trying slavishly stick exactly to it and correcting for all the little bumps & deviations that are going to occur along the way, you will generally minimise any side to side rocking motion induced by being too tight/tense or fixated on your steering &/or the impact of having two wheels up front, if not actually reducing it to nothing noticeable!

However, if you get the alignment sorted and always practice watching the road/your intended path waayyy out ahead instead of reacting to whatever's close in to the front of your Spyder and you still get this rocking motion, then you should probably have a look at the ball joints (uppers especially) & the inner frame mounts for the 'A' arms, to check for abnormal wear &/or loseness; and do also get the tires and rims checked for roundness AND true!! And not just the fronts, either!! Don't forget to get the rear checked as well - that 'rear wheel not deciding which front to follow' that your wife mentions could well mean that it's the rear tire or rim that's out of whack!! The OE spec tires are notorious for being pretty poorly 'quality controlled' during their construction, and I've seen quite a few that were significantly out of round; just as many that had their tread laid at an off kilter angle to the 'true' rolling direction of the carcass; and some few that had both of those issues!! Then there's all the other tire construction issues that might be contributing; and of course it could be the rims themselves, altho that's not something that occurs all that often (but it HAS been the case on a few Spyders! Even brand new Spyders, straight out of the box!! )

Sooo there's some food for thought & maybe a bit of help.... I hope you get it sorted soon!

[Jaxfann]

In my opinion this is a normal feeling that is caused by the fact that it has 3 wheels so instead of leaning into a turn ,centrifugal force causes it to lean to the outside of the turn.At the same time your body wants to lean out also which causes you to counteract that force by holding on tight to the bars which can actually make you steer the bike even deeper into the turn causing a pogo or rocking kinda back and forth effect.Some people just dont notice it bc they hold the line better naturally or they have the sway bar which fights the lean that causes it in the first place.I feel the seating position of the F3 bikes also helps but the real fix is yourself.You need to give it time,after a while you will just learn by instinct to hold your line without even thinking about it and then the bike will feel much better to you.My first year I thought about holding that line smoothly every time I had to take a turn but 2nd year and it was like everything just clicked.Car tires up front help,sway bar helps,better shocks help,leaning into turn and putting weight on outside foot helps and relaxing your grip helps.To me I feel you really DRIVE a Spyder,you just ride a bike.

Good comment - you drive a Spyder/Ryker - you ride a bike!!!!

[janliker]

Asphalt roads are generally smoother but they tend to rut (ie wheel track) due to the heavy loads they are subjected to. I've noticed that mine will weave slightly if the rutting is bad.

[Poasttown]

Thanks for all the helpful comments. I’m not sure how long the stock tires last but my plan is to replace the tires when needed with an upgraded brand and get an alignment at that time and see what happens.
Thanks again.
Poasttown

[safecracker]

As mentioned above, the Spyder has a much narrower front wheel width than most autos. So it will wonder side to side on rutted and off camber roads. It is just the way it is.

[ThreeWheels]

JayBros
The rocking is more pronounced on older roads with a crown in the center, freshly paved roads are better. I guess this would be expected. It also seems more pronounced at higher speeds. Yes there is a bit of wandering right to left , but again the newer the road the less wandering.

Hands off at slower speeds, 40 mph, on good roads it does seems to track fairly straight.

I do use a pretty relaxed grip.

The bike has the stock alignment. The only thing added was the sway bar which did help.

Poasttown

I know I'm coming late to the party, but from your description it sounds like an alignment issue.
Also tire pressure is important. If you're running much more than 20 psi in the front, it can make the bike feel twitchy.