So I have had my 09 Spyder RS for a couple of months now and do not like the way it feels going in a straight line at 55 mph and up. It is real sensitive and I would not take my hands off the bars like some people have posted. To cure this, I had a laser alignment in Daytona, bought different shocks (new off and ST), new wheels, and now the BajaRon package. I hope this helps. If not, I will take it to the closest dealer and have them drive it to see if it is normal. If it is, I will just have to build a bridge and get over it.
Excuse me for asking this...
Is it possible that you're gripping the bars too tightly? If you're riding around with the "White knuckle Grip of Death "; try loosening up...
Often; folks try to over-control their bikes. If you try gripping the bars as if they're raw eggs, that tendency can disappear on it's own...
I don't think I am gripping very hard, but I will try to loosen up.
I must say that I did not have a lot of confidence that the BajaRon anti sway bar and heim links would make a difference with straight line handling, but I was wrong. It tightened it up nicely. I probably can't get it any better than it is now. Probably should have done that upgrade earlier. Will update after a few more miles at high speeds.
Just curious how many miles you've ridden on your . It took me over 500 to even begin to get comfortable. At 1000 I'm feeling very comfortable and have gained a lot of confidence in the ability of the machine. I am much more relaxed now. At first I thought I had made a terrible mistake buying it and now I love riding it and can't wait to ride again.
A lot of the shape of the learning curve is based upon your two-wheeled experience. The longer you rode on "Leaners"; the more stuff you have to forget...
If you have ATV or snowmobile experience; that's a BIG help...
1000 miles can be pretty normal...
In fact; it always takes me a couple of hundred miles to remember how the dance goes, at the start do each season.
Just curious how many miles you've ridden on your . It took me over 500 to even begin to get comfortable. At 1000 I'm feeling very comfortable and have gained a lot of confidence in the ability of the machine. I am much more relaxed now. At first I thought I had made a terrible mistake buying it and now I love riding it and can't wait to ride again.
I am at around 600 miles now. I think a lot of it is riding 2 wheels until now and buying a used spyder and not knowing anyone with a spyder to compare notes with. I would like for someone to swop bikes with me for a few miles to let me know that it is fine. The BajaRon adds today really helped.
Excuse me for asking this...
Is it possible that you're gripping the bars too tightly? If you're riding around with the "White knuckle Grip of Death "; try loosening up...
Often; folks try to over-control their bikes. If you try gripping the bars as if they're raw eggs, that tendency can disappear on it's own...
Bob is right . This is usually the biggest problem . If u grip to tight it will pick up any movement.
So I have had my 09 Spyder RS for a couple of months now and do not like the way it feels going in a straight line at 55 mph and up. It is real sensitive and I would not take my hands off the bars like some people have posted. To cure this, I had a laser alignment in Daytona, bought different shocks (new off and ST), new wheels, and now the BajaRon package. I hope this helps. If not, I will take it to the closest dealer and have them drive it to see if it is normal. If it is, I will just have to build a bridge and get over it.
Todays install of the BajaRon handling package.
tire pressure can have an impact on how the spyder runs / turns. Too high and twitchy. Too low and hard to handle.
There is a learning curve from 2 wheels to the Spyder. One of the biggest to overcome is the delay your brain has built into steering reaction of your 2 wheel ride.
On 2 wheels it takes quite some time for input to the handlebars to translate into actual movement of the machine. Your brain factors this lag into the equation so that you don't really notice it. To most 2 wheel riders the input to output is instant. But it isn't. And here is where the Spyder SEEMS 'Twitchy'.
When you add ANY input to the handlebars of the Spyder, the output is truly INSTANT! Your 2 wheel brain interprets this as 'Unwanted' movement and attempts to correct for it. This means added input and again, instant output which your brain then interprets as MORE unwanted effect. It starts a vicious cycle.
Most then attempt to tripod or stiff arm the handle bars. Your grip tightens, your arms get stiff and your shoulders get tight. It is the natural reaction and you may not even notice it. Of course then every little bump and nuance in the road gets transmitted through your stiff body to the handlebars with predictable results. Even more 'Uncontrollable' movement of the Spyder.
The exact opposite approach is the way to go. Consciously relax your grip, loosen up your forearms, relax your upper arms and shoulders. Do not attempt to correct for small movements of your Spyder. In short, relax and enjoy the ride!
The results may surprise you. It sure did surprise me!
So I have had my 09 Spyder RS for a couple of months now and do not like the way it feels going in a straight line at 55 mph and up. It is real sensitive and I would not take my hands off the bars like some people have posted. To cure this, I had a laser alignment in Daytona, bought different shocks (new off and ST), new wheels, and now the BajaRon package. I hope this helps. If not, I will take it to the closest dealer and have them drive it to see if it is normal. If it is, I will just have to build a bridge and get over it.
Todays install of the BajaRon handling package.
As a recent convert to a 2008 Spyder I understand your concern about stability. You've covered all the bases with alignment, shocks, wheels, and Sway Bar. The Spyder has a different feel going down the road, it kind of moves a little side to side but to a two wheel rider it feels like a large amount so we try to out smart it by steering and that makes it worse. I finally found that if I rode it like a horse or an ATV to just relax and let it wiggle side to side and before I knew it the SPYDER went straight where I was looking with no wander. Choking the grips is the biggest problem to over come, just relax and don't try to correct by steering.
I'm a weird one in that I rode motorcycles/dirt bikes for a VERY brief time when I was a kid, goofing off-street. I didn't properly learn how to ride, just thinking it was a big bicycle, i.e. nobody taught me about countersteering.
I wasn't very good, and didn't have any real fun. I put it away for decades.
Enter the Spyder; I buy it, I love it. It gets me interested in two-wheelers again-- the OPPOSITE direction for 99.9% of Spyder owners, I'd venture-- so I go ahead and take the two-wheel MSF and buy myself a bike.
My Spyder experience has both hurt and helped my two-wheel riding. It hurt me during my BRC class-- I had to ride my Spyder to and from the class, and both days it took me an hour or so to get out of the direct-steering mindset and into the countersteering mindset. That wasn't a problem my first day-- you're just rolling the bike back and forth for most of the morning-- but the second day was a different story. I just could NOT get my hands to follow my head. I *know* how countersteering works, but it was hard to consciously convince myself to do it, coming from the Spyder-- again, the opposite of what almost every new Spyder rider coming from two-wheels experiences.
That said, I figured it out well enough to pass the class, and I bought my Ninja a few weeks later, and started practicing practicing practicing my two-wheel riding, step by step, slowly but methodically.
So, how has owning a Spyder first *helped* me ride two-wheels better? The main way is how it convinced me that counter-steering is the only way to turn a motorcycle. If I try to ride two wheels like three, it doesn't work; likewise, if I try to ride three wheels like two, bad things happen. It's taught me how both machines, while similar looking, are VERY different, in uniquely fun ways. Chocolate and vanilla, love them both.
Another way? I ain't gonna lie, the Spyder's "training wheels" helped acclimate me to the fear of traffic and high speed. A few years navigating the road left me unafraid (but still respectful, of course) of riding in traffic. Thus, once I got on the Ninja, I had one less factor to intimidate me, allowing me to focus more on the mechanical differences of riding two versus three wheels.
Anyway, long rambling, but the bottom line is, many, MANY riders ride both two AND three wheels "intuitively"-- which, IMHO, is actually a *really bad way* to ride. Riding *deliberately* gets the most out of each machine, and is, in fact, the only way the physics works, i.e. every rider does it, even if they don't know they're doing it. Appreciating that difference makes all the difference in the world. Switching between two and three wheels on a regular, alternating basis, keeps me from being lazy and relying on "muscle memory" and intuition as a crutch-- every time I switch, I have to "unlearn and learn." A little less effort each time, but just enough that I feel that it really improves my riding on BOTH machines.
Last edited by daveinva; 04-13-2015 at 09:01 PM.
Silver 2010 RS SE5: Triple Play, Taillight, Brightsides, Fender Tips, Easy Risers; Evo Sway Bar; Airhawk R & Beadrider; latch springs; Grab-On grips; Crampbuster; 24" Madstad smoke windshield & deflectors; N-R round bag & soft saddlebags; BRP handlebar bag; Throttlemeister; Spyderpops Missing Air Dam & Air Mgmt System; Rivco driver & passenger boards & pegs; ISCI parking brake extension; Ultimate Midrider Seat w/both backrests, Fox Racing Shocks, Yoshi R-77 exhaust and a whole lotta love!
Trying to get a handle on it
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"; try loosening up...
. It took me over 500 to even begin to get comfortable. At 1000 I'm feeling very comfortable and have gained a lot of confidence in the ability of the machine. I am much more relaxed now. At first I thought I had made a terrible mistake buying it and now I love riding it and can't wait to ride again.
Originally Posted by jwood4242
Vrider... 2014 RT LTD.
I finally found that if I rode it like a horse or an ATV to just relax and let it wiggle side to side and before I knew it the SPYDER went straight where I was looking with no wander. Choking the grips is the biggest problem to over come, just relax and don't try to correct by steering.
