The excitement of getting your new ride is one thing, but riding it home is on a completely different level. Enjoy and by the way, take the long way home if you can!!!
337 miles down, 263 to go before I'm done with the break-in period. 20150206_154841 copy.jpg
Got to the store yesterday and found out that there was an incident with the stripe. So, no stripe yet, but I got to see the color of it and I'll like it a lot once it's installed.
First impressions:
1. The foot pegs are larger than expected, and comfortable
2. It is smaller than the ST (they weren't parked next to each other, but near)
3. I like it!
I tried out the foot position and at the factory position 3, I thought it was comfortable while I was sitting in the store and in the parking lot. Unfortunately shortly after leaving I realized that position 4 would be better for me. I'm 5' 6.5" but I have long legs. My knee started aching not too long into the ride, so we decided to make our first stop (to show off to my co-workers), and then head back to get the foot position changed. On the way back to the store, we got stuck in traffic due to an accident and had to change our route, and ended up just heading north towards home and later went farther north to show it to some other friends (and get those break-in miles out of the way).
Impressions of handling/driving:
1. LOVE how it corners, so smooth and fast!
2. Acceleration is smooth. I haven't done any hard accelerations yet since I'm following the break in recommendation.
3. How it downshifts on its own is weird compared to my old 2012 RTL. I'm used to downshifting myself -- not a fan of the auto-downshift and this one just reinforces that for me. It seems to stay in whatever gear I'm in until about 25mph and then it drops down through all the gears to 2nd all at once until 10mph where it then shifts into 1. Today I tried downshifting on my own and I like it better. I'll probably continue "paddleshifting" either direction.
4. All gears but 6th will decelerate rather rapidly if you let off the throttle. 6th either doesn't do that at all, or does it much more slowly.
5. I didn't experience any vibrations at any speed. I got onto the highway from one exit to another today so got it up to 75, still smooth as silk.
6. Can't see the green turn signal light at all in the daylight. If I hadn't gotten the LEDs, I'd probably still be driving around with my idiot light on. The LEDs on the fenders are what I'll have to look at to see if my turn signal didn't cancel. LOVE the LEDs both daytime and night -- they really light up the back at night. the front with auxilliary lights is plenty bright without adding any additional lighting. IMG_1288.jpgIMG_1289.jpgIMG_1291.jpg
7. Yesterday I felt like I was fighting the seating position all day. I felt like I had a death grip on the handlebars, and I felt like the wind was really pushing me back with no windshield, and since I kept pushing back with my legs, my butt got super sore in the saddle.... it wasn't a good day for most of the day, but by nighttime, I started leaning forward at the waist towards the handlebars instead of trying to stretch my arms to the grips. Remember, I got the attitude handlebars, which does say "leans the torso forward". Once I got the right position with my body, everything but my legs just kind of clicked into place. I didn't feel like I was fighting the wind, my grip and arms and shoulders loosened up and my upper body was quite comfortable.
7. Went back to the dealership this morning to get the foot position changed to 4 -- SO MUCH BETTER!!! Now both my upper and lower body felt comfortable, and I put nearly 200 miles on it today.
Windshield: I have the gauge spoiler instead of a windshield. I have long legs, and a short torso -- the wind hits my upper chest and shoulders and head. I felt like I was fighting the wind most of the day yesterday and thought I'd have to break down and get a windshield, then once I leaned forward so that I had bent elbows and a relaxed grip on the handlebars, it changed the feel totally. I can still feel the wind, but it's like a comfortable pressure rather than something I want to fight. I doubt I'll get a windshield anytime soon.
Wind gusts: Today was a windy day. Flat lands were getting gusts up to 45 mph and some areas (that I drove in) in the mountains got gusts between 65 and 85 mph and some of those felt like they were going to take my head off along with my helmet. The F3 was rock solid in all of it, no drifting, no wobble, its low profile from the side was totally different than my RTL which did catch the wind like a sail. Today the only sail was me, and I did notice it. I doubt a windshield would have made much of a difference because the roads I was driving on twist and turn and go many directions, so the only time the windshield would help was when I happened to be going directly west.
Driving in the mountains:
I drove home from the dealership via the mountains. I went up highway 6 outside Golden and then on Peak to Peak highway to Highway 7 (south st. vrain canyon) down to Lyons and all I can say is OMG!!!! Not only couldn't I wipe the stupid grin off my face, but if I were a little younger and that kind of girl, I would have SQUEEEED like a teenager at a One Direction concert. I loved my RTL, but the F3 blows it out of the water for having fun on twisty roads -- so glad I made the switch.
Nanny:
ok... I'm driving by the break-in guidelines, so I would have been surprised to hear from her. Not a peep. Maybe she pulled a Mary Poppins and moved on to the next family who needed her.
I was wondering what happened to you. One minute you're on your way to the dealership and then nothing. Two days later we hear that you are just out having fun. Good for you - and I completely understand.
Somehow my short trips to the library or store, which are about 2 miles away, to return a book or pick up some milk, turn into 65 mile trips. I think it's a space time thing that the F3 does. It's a feature. I love it.
Nice write up. All the F3 riders are nodding their heads and the rest of the Spyder owners now have some good explanations as to why we grin so much.
Glad to hear all is well & hope to meet you sometime.
I'm glad you got your F3 and thanks for that nice report and pictures. Being as I just got to sit on a silver F3-S SM6 yesterday at my dealer I can now relate to how much better this machine looks and feels. Your report just wets my appetite to go out and demo ride it. Old Man Winter hasn't released his grip on Northwest Ohio yet although two days in a row of 40 degrees is helping reduce the 8 or 10 inches of snow we just got. Still very wet and sloppy roads with tons of salt on them and freezing rain is coming tonight. I'll get that demo, but it might be a month away yet. At six feet tall with 32 inch inseam I'll need the number two peg extension rods and a taller windscreen. I'm also looking at the passenger backrest and some saddlebags for some two-up day tripping with my wife. Thanks again for the nice write-up!!
We're up to 500 miles on the break-in and I still have time to go back out (time for a little 1-up fun) now that I've walked the dog and stretched out the muscles a bit.
Today was windy again, started out with 45-55mph gusts down here on the flats. Don didn't think that was much fun on 2-wheels so we decided to make it a 2-up day on the F3-S and go check out one of the canyons that just opened up in December after being closed since the September 2013 floods. After we got done with that we decided to do a loop up Big Thompson canyon to Estes Park and back down highway 36 to Lyons.
Getting on and off:
Awkward! Don got on first and I got on 2nd. I had to grab onto his shoulders and kind of manhandled him while I swung my leg over.
When it came time to switch, I couldn't figure out how to dismount from the passenger seat with the driver still on board.
Maybe I'm just not used to being a passenger? It got slightly better with practice, but not by much. Luckily we don't drive 2-up that often.
The seat:
not bad, but for passenger comfort nothing beats the RT.
The ride:
At first I had a death grip on the hand grips and didn't feel comfortable without a backrest. I was leaning forward all over Don (he didn't mind). As we switched off throughout the day, I relaxed more and didn't feel like I had a death grip anymore. Don made the same comment later in the day. It's easy to lean into curves with no backrest.
Overall, we both decided we'll feel better when the (tall) passenger backrest gets here for those rare times that we ride 2-up.
The handling:
Nearly all the driving we did today was twisty canyons and mountains. A second person on board was barely noticeable.
337 miles down, 263 to go before I'm done with the break-in period. 20150206_154841 copy.jpg
Got to the store yesterday and found out that there was an incident with the stripe. So, no stripe yet, but I got to see the color of it and I'll like it a lot once it's installed.
First impressions:
1. The foot pegs are larger than expected, and comfortable
2. It is smaller than the ST (they weren't parked next to each other, but near)
3. I like it!
I tried out the foot position and at the factory position 3, I thought it was comfortable while I was sitting in the store and in the parking lot. Unfortunately shortly after leaving I realized that position 4 would be better for me. I'm 5' 6.5" but I have long legs. My knee started aching not too long into the ride, so we decided to make our first stop (to show off to my co-workers), and then head back to get the foot position changed. On the way back to the store, we got stuck in traffic due to an accident and had to change our route, and ended up just heading north towards home and later went farther north to show it to some other friends (and get those break-in miles out of the way).
Impressions of handling/driving:
1. LOVE how it corners, so smooth and fast!
2. Acceleration is smooth. I haven't done any hard accelerations yet since I'm following the break in recommendation.
3. How it downshifts on its own is weird compared to my old 2012 RTL. I'm used to downshifting myself -- not a fan of the auto-downshift and this one just reinforces that for me. It seems to stay in whatever gear I'm in until about 25mph and then it drops down through all the gears to 2nd all at once until 10mph where it then shifts into 1. Today I tried downshifting on my own and I like it better. I'll probably continue "paddleshifting" either direction.
4. All gears but 6th will decelerate rather rapidly if you let off the throttle. 6th either doesn't do that at all, or does it much more slowly.
5. I didn't experience any vibrations at any speed. I got onto the highway from one exit to another today so got it up to 75, still smooth as silk.Jim
6. Can't see the green turn signal light at all in the daylight. If I hadn't gotten the LEDs, I'd probably still be driving around with my idiot light on. The LEDs on the fenders are what I'll have to look at to see if my turn signal didn't cancel. LOVE the LEDs both daytime and night -- they really light up the back at night. the front with auxilliary lights is plenty bright without adding any additional lighting. IMG_1288.jpgIMG_1289.jpgIMG_1291.jpg
7. Yesterday I felt like I was fighting the seating position all day. I felt like I had a death grip on the handlebars, and I felt like the wind was really pushing me back with no windshield, and since I kept pushing back with my legs, my butt got super sore in the saddle.... it wasn't a good day for most of the day, but by nighttime, I started leaning forward at the waist towards the handlebars instead of trying to stretch my arms to the grips. Remember, I got the attitude handlebars, which does say "leans the torso forward". Once I got the right position with my body, everything but my legs just kind of clicked into place. I didn't feel like I was fighting the wind, my grip and arms and shoulders loosened up and my upper body was quite comfortable.
7. Went back to the dealership this morning to get the foot position changed to 4 -- SO MUCH BETTER!!! Now both my upper and lower body felt comfortable, and I put nearly 200 miles on it today.
Windshield: I have the gauge spoiler instead of a windshield. I have long legs, and a short torso -- the wind hits my upper chest and shoulders and head. I felt like I was fighting the wind most of the day yesterday and thought I'd have to break down and get a windshield, then once I leaned forward so that I had bent elbows and a relaxed grip on the handlebars, it changed the feel totally. I can still feel the wind, but it's like a comfortable pressure rather than something I want to fight. I doubt I'll get a windshield anytime soon.
Wind gusts: Today was a windy day. Flat lands were getting gusts up to 45 mph and some areas (that I drove in) in the mountains got gusts between 65 and 85 mph and some of those felt like they were going to take my head off along with my helmet. The F3 was rock solid in all of it, no drifting, no wobble, its low profile from the side was totally different than my RTL which did catch the wind like a sail. Today the only sail was me, and I did notice it. I doubt a windshield would have made much of a difference because the roads I was driving on twist and turn and go many directions, so the only time the windshield would help was when I happened to be going directly west.
Driving in the mountains:
I drove home from the dealership via the mountains. I went up highway 6 outside Golden and then on Peak to Peak highway to Highway 7 (south st. vrain canyon) down to Lyons and all I can say is OMG!!!! Not only couldn't I wipe the stupid grin off my face, but if I were a little younger and that kind of girl, I would have SQUEEEED like a teenager at a One Direction concert. I loved my RTL, but the F3 blows it out of the water for having fun on twisty roads -- so glad I made the switch.
Nanny:
ok... I'm driving by the break-in guidelines, so I would have been surprised to hear from her. Not a peep. Maybe she pulled a Mary Poppins and moved on to the next family who needed her.
My dealership had the u-fit "stuff" but not the thing that they will set up in the showroom that all the "stuff" fits into to get your best seating/handlebar position, so all we could do is sit on the available F3s and try to figure out what was comfortable, but changing the linkages for the foot position isn't instantaneous, so on Friday with only stock position (position 3) available I thought it was fine. I was able to try the stock handlebar vs my attitude handlebar, and I really prefer the attitude bar, but I wasn't able to try out either the long reach or short reach which might have been interesting to see if I preferred one of those instead.
On Saturday I went back and had them switch my foot position from 3 to 4 (slightly farther away from the rider's body). Here are pictures of me on day 1 when I was fighting the handlebar and the foot position 3 -- sorry the picture is turned sideways, I have it rotated on my laptop, but when it saves here, it's turned. Too late to take a "landscape" picture from that day.
The next picture is from today when I had foot position 4 and had gotten comfortable "leaned in" to the attitude handlebar so that my elbows are bent and my upper body and grip is relaxed. It feels like I'm leaning forward more than I actually am. 20150206_154841.jpg20150208_093011.jpg
TODAY is the day!!
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don't know your weather conditions but sure hope you can ryde it...
Ryder... 
Originally Posted by vondalyn
