Goldwinger first Ride...

[stick405]

New here... Stopped by my local dealer yesterday and took the latest and greatest RT for a demo.....I love the reverse concept.. Didn't have too many issues with the trike accept for the dang overseer... It seemed more skittish than a go cart... It takes quite a bit for me to get nervous about riding bikes however, I thought, this machine and I could very easily part ways..because of the steering... So what happens? do I get use to it.. does it need fixing..can the steering be dampened a little... Or is this the way it is... get use to it....

[Chupaca]

if its the first time...let loose of the death grip. These machines have a DPS dynamic power steering and if you don't relax your in for a jittery ryde. If you master the the roadster as is you may find some additional aides will make it handle better. Most new ryders have suffered this but the machine is extreemly well built and programmed. Little ryde time and you will witness the wonders of ryding them...

[Bob Denman]

Welcome to the MadHouse!!
Over-controlling the bike is just about the most common thing that happens at first...
If you relax your grip, and sort of let the bike just go straight down the road: it normally does just that!
My first couple of miles; I thought that I had just made a #$25,000 mistake!
Once I decided that if a Ski Doo snowmobile could track straight down a trail; there's no reason why these beasts couldn't do the same on a road, everything smoothed out, and the clouds lifted...
Seriously; it does normally take at least a couple of hundred miles to "reach an agreement" with the bike.

[ARtraveler]

Chupaca and Bob have you covered.

Glad to hear you did a test drive. Over control will make the seem a bit skittish at first. I used to suggest pretending that there are eggs between the grips and your hand. Don't break the eggs.

A properly set up will track like it is on rails--without hands on the bars. However--not recommended to drive that way.

I have had a little experience. My signature says it all.

[Pirate looks at --]

Well you have just heard from three of the most experienced people on this board. What I can add is that it really doesn't take all that long to get used to it. The toughest part is remember not to counter stear! Very quickly you will not even be thinking about it any longer. You will just be enjoying the Ryde.

[MouthPiece]

The demo bike needs a laser alignment.

Chris

[STELLING MAN]

I too came from about 35 years of riding a Goldwing, I felt the same way as you for the first 500 mi. after that I found what to do now everything Is OK. You will get used to It believe me..

[spydermanstever]

New here... Stopped by my local dealer yesterday and took the latest and greatest RT for a demo.....I love the reverse concept.. Didn't have too many issues with the trike accept for the dang overseer... It seemed more skittish than a go cart... It takes quite a bit for me to get nervous about riding bikes however, I thought, this machine and I could very easily part ways..because of the steering... So what happens? do I get use to it.. does it need fixing..can the steering be dampened a little... Or is this the way it is... get use to it....

Welcome to the wonderful world of "spydering" as I choose to call it. I got into the Spyder for about 4 months now and have put about 10000 km on mine. What has been said here by others is quite true - at first you will have sore hands and fingers from the nervous grip you will have on the handlebars, but once you relax and get the feel of the machine, you will see how well it handles. The first thing I noticed is how steering is so responsive, as well as the acceleration and the feel of the ride. I am glad I bought mine in spite of the jokes I hear people make about them.

[Ex Winger]

When i first bought the spyder and traded in my Wing i thought this a nice trike.Got it home took it for my first ride wife on the back and thought what did i trade my Wing.Took me over 1000 km but now love the ride.Never worry about droping it.A bit of gravel in the turn who cares.Trust me you,ll love it .Just takes time.
Bill

[BajaRon]

Most likely, it's you... I know it's hard to believe. Had a great deal of trouble myself. Same comments you made. But I discovered it was me all the time.

It is possible that the RT you rode needs an alignment, had too little air in the tires or something else was wrong. But even if this were true, it's still going to be mostly you.

I can guarantee you that if I had test ridden a Spyder before I purchased. I would not have gotten one. But I was too deep into the gator pond to give up. Plus, Lamont (who got his a month before I did) was riding circles around me and I couldn't allow for that!

[dlby]

Took me 1500 miles before I was able to realize I needed to learn the bike, not have the bike learn me.
Did not think I could ever relax & enjoy.
Thought I would never be able to get a drink unless at a stoplight.
Never be able to use cruise control!
Felt like a video game gone wild

Thats old history now!
The machine is awesome and feels just like home

48 years on two wheels including wings
From now on a Spyder Guy

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I497 using Tapatalk

[Gator37]

Glad you made the test ride. I felt the same way the first test ride I took. Have ridden two wheelers for almost 60 years and the Spyder was pretty squirrly. A Bajaron Sway bar and lightning my grip on the handle bars made a world of difference. It will take you a couple of hundred miles to get the feel of it then you will never look back. Welcome from Central Washington and ride SAFE.

[4 MARIE]

First impulse is to squeeze the grips, hang on for dear life, etc.
Once you "loosen the reins" , relax the grip, and just kind of allow
Spyder to establish it's momentum, it will all work out.
One of the most casual, performance machines you could ever want to own.
Oh it doesn't happen overnight, but before long your confidence increases
with the miles you log.

Most folks here have a 2 wheel history, and wouldn't settle for just any three wheeler.

[Deer Slayer]

I changed from 200,000 miles of Gl1800 to a 2014 RS-S. First absorb the DVD that comes with a Spyder then forget most every thing you know about motorcycles. Thing that are the same are, wind in your face, can get wet, and yes you can fall off

[PrairieSpyder]

Others have covered the "over control" thing pretty well. I don't know where in Kansas you are, but if you buy one and want to go for a ryde, PM me and we'll meet up.

[Highwayman2013]

If you make the plunge you will enjoy it.

[beadaholic]

I have never rode a motorcycle unless you count when I was 7 years old and the little motorcycle my Dad bought me, then crashed with my little brother of 2 years behind me, into a parked boat, and I would not ride it again. I got the worm for the Spyder or it had bit me when I saw one locally here in Mexico (believe me that was amazing as I am 2000 miles into Mexico) and could not rip it from my brain. I kept thinking about it, had no idea what it was, but I knew I wanted one. I am a woman, and I live here in the middle of no where all alone, no fellow motorcycle riders or anything to guide me. So I saved my money (no financing here) and saved my money (took me 3 years), looked around and only could find a RS or other models I didn't want, I wanted an RT! Well finally found one, with 300 km on it! It was brand new! The people would not let me try it out, and I couldn't because I didn't know how. I had no experience. My friend and worker(I am 55 and he is 20 or 21) went with me to bring it home if I bought it, the big IF, they had told me it was an SE, and it was an SM but we came to an agreement, I paid up all that money (Here they are way more than in the US and carrying all that cash around was sorta scary), and they gave me the only key, and off he went with it. I was worried with him on it, because he knew 2 wheels and not 3. By then I knew more, had been on this group reading up, and knew it was not the same animal. But he managed to ride it here, it was a 2 hour trek that turned into a 3 hour one or 3 1/2 hours, poor guy, it rained cats and dogs on him, it hailed on him (quarter sized) and beat his face all up (he had an open face helmet with sunglasses on) his eyes were swollen, and his lips. Anyway we got the thing home, and now it was time to learn to ride it, mine is a manual, I wanted an SE but hey, I got what I could, I had been looking for months and was tired of waiting. This was a good deal. Well in 30 minutes I could change it up to 3rd gear and go around, after that it was a piece of cake, I learned with it, on it, and stopped driving my car completely. Poor thing. yikes, the car is jealous. I love my RT and being I don't know anything else, it seemed easy to me, but at first I too had the death grip, I would hit patches of irregular road that would push me all over it, and the two front tires would hammer each differently (ripples in the road) but every single then that happened to me taught me something. I let off very fast on the "death grip" and now even do my own maintenance being there are hardly any dealers here. I even went on my first Spyder trip with other's of my species, whew, that was hard, but again I keep learning more and more. It has given me so much joy to own and I cannot imagine me without my beloved Spyder! Good Luck!

[Don in E Texas]

I'd like to ad this link to help you with a Spyder.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?41346-quot-Do-s-and-Do-Nots-quot-for-new-Spyder-owners

Do's and Do Not's. Well worth you time to read.

Enjoy your new Spyder - and of course photo's of your Spyder posted here on the forum are a must.

Don

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

New here... Stopped by my local dealer yesterday and took the latest and greatest RT for a demo.....I love the reverse concept.. Didn't have too many issues with the trike accept for the dang overseer... It seemed more skittish than a go cart... It takes quite a bit for me to get nervous about riding bikes however, I thought, this machine and I could very easily part ways..because of the steering... So what happens? do I get use to it.. does it need fixing..can the steering be dampened a little... Or is this the way it is... get use to it....

I'm going to guess you've not ridden an ATV. The Spyder steers much like an ATV, only you can go faster and it's much more stable. Eventually the thrill and feel of cornering on a two wheeler gets replaced by, IMO, an even greater thrill and feel of the Spyder cornering. It's just different. On a two wheeler there is a sweet spot going around curves where you can hit the right speed, curve sharpness, and lean, and the bike will go around on its own with no effort at all on the handlebars. With the Spyder you DRIVE around the corner. You participate in the cornering process, you're not just along for the ride. At least that's the way I experience it. For me 24k miles on my Spyder has been more of a joy than 52k miles on the 1800 Goldwing I had.