Quote Originally Posted by Illinois Boy View Post
Regarding the battery cable locations... READ RULE #1 which asks that you read the manual from cover to cover. You'll see answers to more than you realize you didn't know.

Second, stop the habit of even touching the brake. Just simply quit doing it...

Thirdly; shifting too early is causing you to not get the most of your machine -- and as mentioned, potential trouble down the road later when a few things start to wear out from the added stress you are causing from loading the engine too much. Spyders thrive at higher RPM's, and their power-curve is at the high-end of the RPM spectrum. Running one at low RPM's results in the lack of horsepower/torque; a rough running motor, and rougher shifting. Again... try using the "trailer-mode"... it will not let you shift out of first-gear until you are at about 28 MPH. That will show you how high the engineers designed the RPM's to go. Something to think about.

Overall.. it appears there are several problems that are caused by the riders rather than the machine. Learn to follow the suggestions and you'll soon be enjoying your Spyder a whole lot more. And remember the rule to "Have Fun!"
It's taken me a few days to respond to this - my wife and I took the Spyder up to Big Sur for a couple of days (leaving from Santa Ynez, 170 very picturesque miles each way). Very, very fun.

I learned to stay far from the brake very early on, but the high RPMs are new for me. On this trip, I took a completely different approach and ran the bike between about 5000 and 7000 RPM most of the time, often only going from third to fourth when I hit 60-65mph (I don't think I touched fifth gear once). It does fool you in the 4000's and makes you feel as though you are pushing it, but once you pass the low 5000's it really smooths out and rides better than it ever has for me in the past - it's like getting a free upgrade!

Ironically, I recall asking my dealer when to shift before my test ride, and the questions wasn't treated with a whole lot of respect, so I shifted when it felt right (pretty much what they said, I think), which would have been in high 3000's or the 4000's. Now, I'm trying not to shift under 5000, and prefer hitting at least 6000 first. I wish somebody has told me that from day one - but I'll settle for learning it now. Hopefully others will benefit from this thread.

Thanks again.