buffeting by wind

[bassman]

I had my laser alignment today on my new 2013 RTS SM 5. When the technician put the laser on it he said it was dialed in right. On the way home from Winston Salem to Myrtle Beach it still was weaving and dancing. I talked to an active Spyder Lover at the dealership who was having his first service on his new 2014 RTS. He had the vented windshield and Baker Wings. Are there any other solutions to wind buffeting? I know the Spyder has a large front but so do big Harleys and Goldwings. I owned a 2001 Harley Electra Glide. I rode in 30- 40 MPH winds and never felt like I do on my Spyder. This morning at 4:30 AM when I left Myrtle Beach it was calm and few cars were on the road. I even thought about not having the alignment but when I got to I 40 the sun was up and there were many cars and big trucks on the road. Passing 18 wheelers or riding behind them made me feel like I was going to tip over. I am on a limited budget after spending 1100.00 at the dealer today. Which, vented windshield or Baker Wings, do you recommend and why? I had Baker Wings on my 1998 Concours and felt like they did not help much. After adding a vented Rifle windshield it was better. Please help this newbie!

[Jeriatric]

Could be you just need to loosen your grip. Relax and let the wind move you, but don't let that movement become input at the bars. jm2c

[DJFaninTN]

Baja Ron Sway Bar …. really helps

[bassman]

Baja Ron Sway Bar …. really helps

How does a sway bar help buffeting? I just do not understand that? I have relaxed my grip. Alignment is spot on. I put the windshield in every position. This morning with no wind and no cars on the road was fine. Am I going to have to ride only at night?

[SpyderAnn01]

I agree, loosen the grip and get a BajaRon Sway Bar. Also, you might want to lower the windshield. I have found that if the windshield is all the way up you get quite a bit of buffeting

[bassman]

I do not understand how a sway bar helps wind buffeting. I had the alignment. I relaxed my grip. Even rode with one hand. This morning with no wind and few cars was fine. Am I going to have to ride only at night?

[Jeriatric]

Am I going to have to ride only at night?

That wouldn't work here. All to often it blows around the clock

Some movement in windy conditions is to be expected. As is, a little movement when approaching a truck, motorhome, or other large vehicle.

How many miles have you logged on a spyder. It may be that it's still a little new to you. If, you are convinced that's not it. See your dealer.

[DJFaninTN]

I am sure someone will come along and explain it better than me. All I know is I had the sway bar installed last weekend. Before that if I got behind a truck on the interstate I'd be blown all over the road. I jumped on the interstate today and the bike was as steady as you'd want it to be and the wind was blowing about 20mph and I was running 70mph.

My front end was just like yours. It was almost perfect so I did not have to have anything to mess with on that end.

[bassman]

I rode 400 miles today. That puts me a little over 1 thousand miles on the Spyder. Most of today's miles were on Interstates. I mainly rode 72 MPH with the cruise on. If I get a sway bar could I put it on with limited mechanical skills? By the way I got my first motorcycle when I was 15- a Honda MT 250 dirt- street bike. It was one of the first 2 strokes Honda sent to the USA. You could ride on the road back then at 15. Have had various bikes thru the years and have ridden several friends bikes including Goldwings and big Beemers. Tried out a 2006 BMW RT 1100 in 1998. Dealer would not get right on a 2 year old new bike. This was the smoothest bike I have ever ridden. Bought the 1998 Concours without riding it first. Worst bike I have ever owned. I will figure the Spyder out. Just frustrated.

[Jeriatric]

Understand your frustration and that this isn't your first rodeo. Tho, it is your first spyder, and that's all I meant. It is different. The best advice I can offer is give it some time. The ron bar is not a diificult install and comes with ver good instructions...from all I have read. I do not hsve one myself....may, one day tho.

[SMAUG]

did you check the tire air pressure?
Is it set to spec in your owner's guide?

[bassman]

did you check the tire air pressure?
Is it set to spec in your owner's guide?

Dealer did check tire pressure today. Was off a little and he adjusted. My issue is wind buffeting. Do all Spyders react the same to a little wind? Big trucks?

[Cruzr Joe]

did you check the tire air pressure?
Is it set to spec in your owner's guide?

Try different front tire pressures 16, 18, 20, and see which one feels better to you. believe me the difference between 16 and 20 is huge. This is a test that will cost you no money and may improve your ride, and be sure that both front tires are at the same pressure. If this doe's not help you have lost nothing but 30 minutes of your time.

Cruzr Joe

[Dan_Ashley]

I had the same problem.
Sway bar helped.
Windshield down helped.
Relaxing grip helped.
Learning how the Spyder reacts to me and the environment helped.

I don't know why. But all of the above made me a happy guy--except today when the wind was 55 to 60 MPH. Just too much...I saw a truck fall over today.

[chuck gross]

One thing that I have noticed that helps as strange as it may seem is keeping the engine at the proper power band/rpm 5k to 6k is really the sweet spot for the Rotax engine if you are cruising on the highway or freeway at 70 mph you should still be in 4th gear I have found this really helps to stabilize the spyder and power right through any wind buffeting and this is the proper way to run the Rotax motor there are quite a few posts about how to run and shift the Rotax properly enough about that.
The other thing to do is adjust the shocks to the stiffest setting I am assuming the 2013 has the adjustable shocks like the 2011 RT you must first jack up the front end and get the wheels off the ground to do this adjustment.
And I agree with the previous post put the windshield all the way down unless you are in a big rainstorm or bug infested country roads you should be looking over the top of the windshield.
If none of the above suggestions help get the Baja Ron sway bar.
My wife rides an RT and I ryde an STL and I have noticed quite a bit less wind buffeting on my ST as it sits lower has a smaller front end and smaller windshield as well.

hope this helps and relax and enjoy the ryde

[bassman]

I just do not understand why Spyders are so affected by wind. I am no engineer by my Chevy Z 71 is taller, wider, has a bigger front engine, etc. I know it weighs more but the Spyder and a Harley are in the same league weight wise! Maybe I need to get me another Harley. I wanted a Spyder due to a broken ankle in an accident 4 years ago. It is fun to ride around town and it sure brings a lot of attention. Went to a high school soccer match last night and everyone who came in commented how neat it was. There was no demo to ride. I rode it in the parking lot before signing the paperwork. Not the same.

[bikeguy]

Hey, bassman, it took me more than 1,000 miles to really get used to riding the Spyder. It reacts so much differently than a 2-wheeler that the more 2 wheel experience you have sometimes makes it even harder to get used to it. I had test ridden a couple of different Spyders but the wind wasn't blowing when I did. Took delivery on my 2010 RT and left the dealers looking forward to my 40 mile ride home. Got on a 4-lane with not much more than a 10 mph crosswind and immediately thought I had made the worst mistake of my life. I literally could hardly keep it in my own lane. A motorcycle that can't be ridden in the wind is completely useless in west Texas. It was terrible. Now, I knew from reading Spyderlovers that I had to have a loose grip on the bars but, believe me, the fact that your brain knows it, don't mean that your body will do it. There is just too much ingrained 2-wheeler muscle memory to overcome in a few miles. I won't go through all the process I went through to get to the point that I could ride it happily. I'll just say that my RT went from being the worst thing I've ever ridden in the wind to being the best thing. Later, I added a BajaRon sway bar which helped straight line stability as well as drastically reducing body roll in corners. By the way, I still ride a 2-wheeler also and, now, it's no problem at all to go back and forth from two wheels to three. Don't give up on the Spyder.

Cotton

[Dan_Ashley]

I just do not understand why Spyders are so affected by wind. I am no engineer by my Chevy Z 71 is taller, wider, has a bigger front engine, etc. I know it weighs more but the Spyder and a Harley are in the same league weight wise! Maybe I need to get me another Harley. I wanted a Spyder due to a broken ankle in an accident 4 years ago. It is fun to ride around town and it sure brings a lot of attention. Went to a high school soccer match last night and everyone who came in commented how neat it was. There was no demo to ride. I rode it in the parking lot before signing the paperwork. Not the same.

Not the same. Fun. Different. Wind grabs it more than some other vehicles. You will eventually adjust to this.

On a Spyder, You can't high side or low side crash. Chicks dig it. I rode a varityy of motorcycles for about 4 decades. The Spyder is not the same as a two wheeler. It is fun. It is a gas. I love it. I think attempting to replicate a two wheeler with a Spyder is going to disappoint. Just like trying to replicate the feeling of eating a taco by eating a hamburger. Both are good. They just are not the same.

My my biggest complaint about the Spyder is that I need a 12 volt plug in the glove compartment, and the ambient air temp is always wrong....get that: complaining about accessory outlets and a thermometer ON A MOTORCYCLE! I am such a dweeb.

[LLSailor]

but changing the preload on the shocks and time have made most Kansas winds and trucks very manageable.

[SPYD1]

All great suggestions!

[bassman]

I am married and committed to the Spyder. I will give it a while. I paid cash from my insurance check from a motorcycle crash 4 years ago. Just got the money in January. Of course we did not get enough for all the bills as the 17 year old who was text messaging when she hit my son head on at 52 MPH had the state minimum insurance in SC- 100000. Five people were injured with medical bills totaling over half a million. God was with us as we all lived but my son has permanent nerve damage in both arms and both hands. I will walk the rest of my life with a limp as I broke my ankle and the bones were sticking out of my ankle. But as I said, we could be dead. I am thankful for that. My son's wife had our first grandkid, a girl, in December. She is precious.

[Jeriatric]

My first ride was out of La. across Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and half way into Ca.(about 1600 miles worth - in 2 days - that includes picking up a trailer and having a hitch system installed in Az.) on a totally stock RT. Which I sat two inches to forward on and another two inches too low on. In wind, truck traffic and other normal riding conditions. It was a blast. That said, sometimes we all make a mistake and get something we simply can't or do not want to get used to.

[Dan_Ashley]

I am married and committed to the Spyder. I will give it a while. I paid cash from my insurance check from a motorcycle crash 4 years ago. Just got the money in January. Of course we did not get enough for all the bills as the 17 year old who was testing messaging when she hit my son head on at 52 MPH had the state minimum insurance in SC- 100000. Five people were injured with medical bills totaling over half a million. God was with us as we all lived but my son has permanent nerve damage in both arms and both hands. I will walk the rest of my life with a limp as I broke my ankle and the bones were sticking out of my ankle. But as I said, we could be dead. I am thankful for that. My son's wife had our first grandkid, a girl, in December. She is precious.

I am glad you are continuing to heal. I got hurt as LEO in 1978. It took 11 years to heal, but I did not stop my life during that time. So, for one who's been there, I say, there can not be enough money to pay for the damage to lives. It is up to each of us to decide to live a good life and to not curl up. I had to make this decision new every day. So, I truly hope for the best for you.

[Bob Denman]

bassman,
Give this a try...
pull your knees in against the "tank", and use them to steady yourself up on top of the bike.
Why?
Think of yourself as a big "Sail" up on top... You're getting hit by the same crosswinds as the bike.
As you get hit; you tighten your grip on the bars, and are adding little steering "inputs"...
That might be what's got your bike jumping around like a toad on a hotplate.

tighten your knees, and loosen your grip...

[Oklahoma Spyder]

The 2013 does not have adjustable front shocks. But you must put 20 pounds in front tires to get a good assessment. And on the 2013 the Baha Ron sway bar and links really does help!!. The 2014 has stiffer shocks and performs pretty well without the ron bar, so any 13 owner replacing shocks should consider getting the 2014 shocks for the replacement.