Impressions of the 2014 RT with the SE/6

[lonestarmedic]

Got a chance to test ride the 1330 ACE with the new 6 speed this week. Rode it in Boerne, New Braunfels, and San Antonio Texas. Thanks BRP for the demo days. Got both one up and two up time.
1) 1330 and transmission are fantastic. New clutch works great. Compared to the 2013 it is night and day.
2) Torque is good. Roll on in 5th from 1800 rpm up is smooth.
3) Cooling systems work well in traffic jams. Fans came on and blew forward.
4) No heat problems even in 5mph stop and go for 15minutes at above 90 F. Just did not feel it.
5) Steering feels better than 2013.
6) Body roll is acceptable when one up. Needs work on two up for us.

End result is I and the wife had a blast. This WILL be our next "Open Air Touring Vehicle" And I do not have physical problems or limitations. I just found the two up to be relaxing and fun.

Description of how we sit on the Spyder: I am forwad in my part of the seat by about 2 inches when she is behind me. My legs are tucked under me a bit. Especially as I operate the brake pedal. My arms are very flexed on the bars. During one tight full lock turn I actually had my elbow touch my side. She is tall enough that she looks over my head when riding. Top of her head is probably almost 7 inches above mine. She says that her mouth is level with the top of my helmet. This height difference and vertical position is the same on about every bike we ride. I would say we have a combined weight of about 500lbs.

Problems found and cures needed.
1) Wife is 5'10" and large framed. I am 5'9" and a bit. Her leg room is good. However, she pushes me forward on the stock seat. I was about 2 inches forward of the rise, Pushes me too close to the bars. Need to get more room. Thin down the backrest pad? Adjustable bars? Maybe a custom seat that is wider for her without as much rise in the front center of her area.
2) Highway pegs or boards to stretch out on. The toe down tip of the floorboards is a bit of a cramp.
3) With our combined weight we need more roll resistance. Sway bar? Shocks? We tried leaning as a team and it did of course help. I did run the rear suspension up and did not feel a difference.

None of the above deter us from owning a Spyder. In fact for us it is a great vehicle. No balance problems at low speed and stops. We ride a 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale. Have put close to 100,000 miles together. We ride well two up. Can even touch a peg down on occasion in a curve. At low speeds and stops we have to be careful. High center of gravity, 1000 lbs of bike and 500 lbs of people.

We are thinking of the RT-S with the SE/6. No need for the Garmin or the extra chrome. We like the Yellow and black or the congac and black.
Want the factory communications and c.b, Figure we need someone to make us a seat. Possibly the tri-axis bars. Any other thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. Looking to be able to purchase towards end of the year.

J.B. (lonestarmedic)
Floresville, Texas

[ARtraveler]

Thanks for the post and your impressions. Very helpful information.

[Bob Denman]

Sooo... How close are you getting, to "pulling the trigger"?
You won't regret it!

(The Ventures are REAL nice bikes!)

[lonestarmedic]

Bob - just need to recover from last year's sequester and government furlough. It chewed up my
recreational fund!! Thinking leftover 2014 or a 2015. Reality sucks!!

We are sold on the Spyder as the ideal two up touring vehicle for us.

JB

[PW2013STL]

The Trii-axis handle bars are fantastic and a welcomed addition to mine. Reducing the rider backrest thickness may help give you more room. How is the stock seat comfort otherwise for you? If comfortable I would have a the backrest cut down. If not go with a custom seat. The Ron bar(sway bar) will help for the handling. Before changing shocks you should get a few miles on the one you purchase before spending the money to be sure the stock shocks just don't work for you.

[Chupaca]

looks like your sold...a few adjustments and your good to go. Find a good dealer to throw that stuff in...see you on the road on your new ryde.. Great review thanks for that..!!

[Flash Gordon]

Thanks for the great review. I think you will find that the Baja Ron Anti-sway bar will take care of keeping the Spyder flat (less leaning) on the curves. Lamonster makes a great pair of pegs that attach to the bottom of the ryders floorboards that can be adjusted and make your legs much more comfortable. You may need to find a local upholster shop to re-work your seat and or passenger back rest and you will be good to go.

[Bob Denman]

Bob - just need to recover from last year's sequester and government furlough. It chewed up my
recreational fund!! Thinking leftover 2014 or a 2015. Reality sucks!!

Sorry to hear that you got bit, by all of that foolishness...

[lonestarmedic]

I think a bigger swaybar would work well. The stock shocks seem to do well for us two up. Was not sure if the Baja swaybar would fit a 2014.

I know Corbin does a seat and backrest that has better passenger room and comfort. If not, I do have an upholsterer that can do a cutdown on the backrest.

Stock seat does NOT work for us. I want a bit more sit down and in. She wants more width, and that crotch hump where the backrest mounts is not comfortable for her. We have a Corbin on our 1986 and it is really fitted to us.

I figured that LaMonster had pegs. Or someone would have them soon.

Ever see a set for the passenger? Momma might like to stretch that 34" inseam.

We will be out there on a Spyder as soon as we can! Just not going to sacrifice everything to do it. In the meantime I will be a bit more active on here. And we will show up to local events on two wheels so we can drool

JB

[sassoman]

We have a 2014 Rt with the SE/6 and love it .We installed a Ron's bar and it helped,but upping the front tire pressure to 30 lbs really helps the roll under feeling.The factory setting of 20 lbs. just was too soft. I am 5'10" and find the stock seat with a backrest very comfortable even after a 500 mile day.I did order a sheepskin cover though. We had the foot pegs and the knees get tired after about an hour.We now have Web boards and you can move around and after learning to brake with your heal you can stretch out and ride. Going from 2 wheels to 3 is a big step.It took me almost 3 years before I finally pulled the trigger and I am glad I did.No more low speed struggles with 2 up. The first time you pull up on a hill loaded with 2 up and baggage and not have to balance and slip the clutch. You will love the automatic. We found that out at bike week when we were on the main street bridge and took a half hour to about one mile. The two Gold Wings behind us and the two harley dressers were both struggling while my wife and I were laughing and taking pictures.

[lonestarmedic]

Upping the front tire pressure to 30 lbs really helps the roll under feeling.The factory setting of 20 lbs. just was too soft. I

Pretty stiff tire pressure just by my thoughts. Not knowing the machine is this within the normal tire parameters? I guess it would prevent side roll on the tires. And provide some resistance to the tire squatting in a turn.

We agree on the automatic and long, slow lines.

Will have the stock floorboards to start with. Might consider a different setup later. I do not like the toe down feeling.

To stretch out a bit I ended up with my feet wedged behind the little black plastic deflector. And I tried to hit the brake with my heel.

JB

[Bob Denman]

30 psi up front?
That's got to be one stiff ride; at least over any road surface irregularities...

with my 2010; I settled on 18 psi as a decent compromise.
The suggested pressures were just... unacceptable! Once I got to 20 psi; they were too "bouncy"
With the lower profile tires; I'm guessing that they HAD to increase the pressures in order to keep folks from chopping up the tires in the rough stuff.
I have found that 20 psi seems pretty decent; the bike doesn't roll over onto the handlebar end caps, yet it's still able to absorb the lousy road conditions too!

But more than half of the fun is in the experimanting, anyway!

[sassoman]

we rode 1300 miles on our trip to tn over easter with 30 lbs of air in the front tires. It never felt stiff or bouncy. It stopped the roll under feeling we were getting during hard cornering. Y'all must ride slower or less aggressively than we do.We like to actually use the capabilities of the machine. Upping the tire pressure on the front with radial tires is an old stock car trick we used to use to stiffen the front end when we had to use stock springs. It is like changing the front springs except air is a lot cheaper than springs. We like the way it rides with 30 lbs. in the front.

[Bob Denman]

Air is an extra Spring adjustment, that's easy to adjust.
How smooth are your roads? We're usually dodging potholes, heaves, and cracks no matter where we go up here...