My First Day

[daveinva]

Okay, technically Saturday was my *third* day with my new 2010 RS SE5 Spyder (0.8 miles on the odometer ), but I didn't feel comfortable taking out my new ride on Thursday and Friday into post-work rush hour in the D.C. area., so the fun had to wait until this morning.

Like, 6:00 am this morning!

Got up, got my gear on, went outside to a beautiful cool morning in Northern Virginia, and fired up the Spyder for its first ride.

First order of business was grabbing air for the tires at 7-11. My out-of-state dealer actually gave me the Spyder with 7 & 20 as the pressures. Gee, thanks guys. Filled it up to a sportier 20 & 27 (I'm a big boy, I needed the help-- also had the shocks & springs at 5 & 7, I don't want to mess around!)

Not thirty seconds after I pull into the 7-11, I've got not one but *two* guys coming up to me to talk about the Spyder while I fill the tires. It's 6:00 am. On a Saturday. Yup, this is owning a Spyder, alright.

After that, get on the road and drive into Crystal City. All the roads are nicely paved, all the office buildings are devoid of employees, and it's just pleasant car-free riding for a while. Then I reached a mall parking lot nearby to do some PLP... and with nice blacktop straightaways, try it out at speed (I'm a "hard break-in" kind of guy-- not with the tires and brakes, but I definitely row those gears).

After a couple hours of this, I return home in some light traffic. A little intimidated, to be sure, but not about the Spyder-- just the other cars trying to kill me (they're *all* trying to kill us, right?? )

I took a nice long break, went on some errands with the GF, then took the Spyder out for a spin again before dusk as it was cooling off. 35 miles for my first day, all with a smile!

The Spyder ran great. I learned in my trike class on a manual Spyder RT, this was my first time riding an automatic Spyder RS-- the auto transmission is a dream, it's amazing how nice it is to NOT have to mess around with a clutch, especially in traffic. Also, I appreciated the spirited sprinting of the RS, it definitely had more gumption than the RT I learned on, especially from a launch (the RT on a launch felt like it wanted to rattle apart, the RS is much more assured).

Alas, not all is well: I'm increasingly worried that the Y gaskets are boned on this one right out the door. But that's a subject for another thread.

Anyway... I'm already planning on going out again at dawn tomorrow to get more riding and practice in. This thing is soooo addictive, the moment I'm off of it, I want to be back on it.

I'm one happy rider!

[SpyderDen]

on your new ride. It has only just begun.

[SpyderSteve]

on your new ride. It has only just begun.

It can only get better

[docdoru]

[SpyderWolf]

Welcome to the world of Spyder addiction. You think wanting to ryde all the time is bad, wait until you start modifying it.

[JJW SpyderRider]

&

My daughter lives in Columbia and I visit the area and I agree they ARE tring to kill us.

[daveinva]

Welcome to the world of Spyder addiction. You think wanting to ryde all the time is bad, wait until you start modifying it.

Heh, before I even rode the thing I already installed the frunk liner and a Cortech tank bag. Oh, and my sway bar is on the way .

Actually, as an aside, looks as if I'll be giving a LOT of money to ESI here in soon enough. My GF came out to the parking lots this morning to watch me run around, and then I had here "escort" me home through the mid-morning traffic. Riding behind me, she noted that the stock tail and turning lights were quite weak and not all that visible, so off to LED mod city I go...

BTW, anyone who has the front LED turn signals from ESI... I've read good things about their rear lights, but it sounded as if the front turn signals weren't all that great, i.e. little-to-no improvement over the stock front signals. Any verdicts?

[BikerDoc]

[SpyderAnn01]

[fastfraser]

ON.

[Hawk Eye]

&

Pete

[VaughnCat]

Okay, technically Saturday was my *third* day with my new 2010 RS SE5 Spyder (0.8 miles on the odometer ), but I didn't feel comfortable taking out my new ride on Thursday and Friday into post-work rush hour in the D.C. area., so the fun had to wait until this morning.

Like, 6:00 am this morning!

Got up, got my gear on, went outside to a beautiful cool morning in Northern Virginia, and fired up the Spyder for its first ride.

First order of business was grabbing air for the tires at 7-11. My out-of-state dealer actually gave me the Spyder with 7 & 20 as the pressures. Gee, thanks guys. Filled it up to a sportier 20 & 27 (I'm a big boy, I needed the help-- also had the shocks & springs at 5 & 7, I don't want to mess around!)

Not thirty seconds after I pull into the 7-11, I've got not one but *two* guys coming up to me to talk about the Spyder while I fill the tires. It's 6:00 am. On a Saturday. Yup, this is owning a Spyder, alright.

After that, get on the road and drive into Crystal City. All the roads are nicely paved, all the office buildings are devoid of employees, and it's just pleasant car-free riding for a while. Then I reached a mall parking lot nearby to do some PLP... and with nice blacktop straightaways, try it out at speed (I'm a "hard break-in" kind of guy-- not with the tires and brakes, but I definitely row those gears).

After a couple hours of this, I return home in some light traffic. A little intimidated, to be sure, but not about the Spyder-- just the other cars trying to kill me (they're *all* trying to kill us, right?? )

I took a nice long break, went on some errands with the GF, then took the Spyder out for a spin again before dusk as it was cooling off. 35 miles for my first day, all with a smile!

The Spyder ran great. I learned in my trike class on a manual Spyder RT, this was my first time riding an automatic Spyder RS-- the auto transmission is a dream, it's amazing how nice it is to NOT have to mess around with a clutch, especially in traffic. Also, I appreciated the spirited sprinting of the RS, it definitely had more gumption than the RT I learned on, especially from a launch (the RT on a launch felt like it wanted to rattle apart, the RS is much more assured).

Alas, not all is well: I'm increasingly worried that the Y gaskets are boned on this one right out the door. But that's a subject for another thread.

Anyway... I'm already planning on going out again at dawn tomorrow to get more riding and practice in. This thing is soooo addictive, the moment I'm off of it, I want to be back on it.

I'm one happy rider!

Hopefully you can get out on to some country roads and really enjoy it! Have fun, watch out for deer and the city squirrels! We use our Spyders as daily transportation and have found that one of the dangers is people will move over into your lane because they are busy looking at your Spyder!

[Doxmom]

Thanks for the Trip Report on your first Outing. I'm looking at Spyder's - the RS SE5. Yesterday, had the chance to sit on both (thus confirming it's RS for me). I've been riding a few years- Cruisers, and one Super Scooter. Just sitting on the RS I definitely noticed how much different it feels to lean forward. I see on the Forums that Risers are available (Heli) and wondered if adding Risers put's you more upright position - and more comfortable for us Cruiser types. The RT was way to large (and expensive). I just gave my Kawasaki Vulcan 1700, a new 2010 to DH cuz it was just too much Bike after my Kaw 900. He sold his even bigger Vulcan 2000 (reluctantly). Most likely will be "sitting out" this riding season- and riding Passenger w/hubby for awhile (unless I win the lottery). So, I'll be hanging out here on the forum to learn as much as I can. I'm in Atlanta,and seems there is a company Motorcycle Training Institute that offers classes w/Spyders. I'm going to check that out.
Happy Riding, Karen

[COOLMACHINE]

Love to read your story Dave.
Shoot us a couple pics when you have time.
Jerry

[SpyderWolf]

Thanks for the Trip Report on your first Outing. I'm looking at Spyder's - the RS SE5. Yesterday, had the chance to sit on both (thus confirming it's RS for me). I've been riding a few years- Cruisers, and one Super Scooter. Just sitting on the RS I definitely noticed how much different it feels to lean forward. I see on the Forums that Risers are available (Heli) and wondered if adding Risers put's you more upright position - and more comfortable for us Cruiser types. The RT was way to large (and expensive). I just gave my Kawasaki Vulcan 1700, a new 2010 to DH cuz it was just too much Bike after my Kaw 900. He sold his even bigger Vulcan 2000 (reluctantly). Most likely will be "sitting out" this riding season- and riding Passenger w/hubby for awhile (unless I win the lottery). So, I'll be hanging out here on the forum to learn as much as I can. I'm in Atlanta,and seems there is a company Motorcycle Training Institute that offers classes w/Spyders. I'm going to check that out.
Happy Riding, Karen

Risers can definitely get you sitting in an upright position if that is what you desire. What may help a lot is to try to find some Spyder owners near you so you can check out their Spyders and mods. Many have risers and would likely be happy to let you sit on their Spyder and see how it feels to you. I believe the Heli bars give you the most versatility in position adjustments, but many on here are perfectly happy with straight risers alone.

[daveinva]

Love to read your story Dave.
Shoot us a couple pics when you have time.
Jerry

Will do! I need to make a good avatar...

Should have done it today... put on 50 miles riding up and down the George Washington Parkway to Great Falls and back down to Old Town Alexandria. Once the mid-afternoon crud moved through, it was a beautiful blue day here.

After a 100 mile first weekend, things I *know* I'll be modding:

1. I need footboards / highway pegs. The RS stock position isn't bad, I'm finding myself actually getting used to it, but I really do need to be able to move around from time to time. I know all the options out there (since I lurked around Spyderlovers for months ), now I just have to choose one and pull the trigger.

2. I need the anti-vibe grip weights and some sort of larger grip. I was quite good about using a loose grip all weekend long, that *really* helps, but even then, after a couple of hours in the saddle today my throttle hand could scramble eggs.

3. My earlier worry about bad Y gaskets seems to be misplaced, or at least I hope it is. Yup, it's warm in the saddle, but not intolerable. Although, I wear full-up mesh pants when I ride; I can't imagine running around town on this thing in shorts-- even if the risk was for me, that heat would scorch my flesh off in no time.

4. Still need a lot of practice on my turns, especially the 2nd gear variety. The Spyder is quite docile in the sweepers, but anything sharp takes planning (the magical butt-shift before a turn). DEFINITELY helps to lean forward as well as out. Can't wait until my sway bar gets here

5. I'll need a better windshield at some point. For tooling around town south of 45 mph, the RS windshield is surprisingly okay. North of 45, it's like it isn't even there, as expected. I'm fine for doing a bit of higher-speed riding, but anything longer than an hour will need a bigger windshield for sure.

6. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm going to hit my 600 mile service waaaay sooner than I thought I would.

My fingers remain crossed that I got a good one, and no bugs show up. I figure *something* will go wrong at some point, I'm going to do my best to be zen about it. I'm okay with a shop visit or two, I just don't want to end up in a month-long parts-shipping h-e-double hockey stick.

(Then again, perhaps I've already got my first bug out of the way: the dealer up in Philly installed the 12v outlet in the trunk like I asked, but when I got it down here, there wasn't any juice-- thankfully, the wires were fine, they just never bothered to put in a fuse. Nice attention to detail, guys!).

Anyway... love it. Absolutely love it. Most money I've ever spent without buyer's remorse

[NancysToy]

You might want to consider some sort of throttle lock (friction device) like the Throttlemeister, to give your right hand some relief. There are also full-tilt cruise units available. A throttle rocker is also a help to some riders.

[ARtraveler]

on the new ride