Blog-Rode from Maryland to East TN and then went for a ride today

[Lamonster]

I decided to go ahead and do the writeup before posting the videos and pictures. I have a ton of videos today.

So I got on the road about 7 am today from the Gaylord in Washington DC and headed toward East TN. I had plans to make it home, get cleaned up and then head over to Deals Gap. That didn't workout as planned but I had a great ride anyway.

As you guys know it's hard to get fuel and then just take right off on the Spyder. It was just as hard to do on the RT but this time I really didn't care if I spent a little more time with folks and didn't make it to the Gap, there's always tomorrow.

This was my first picture stop.



The RT did great as expected and the ride was so cush. This thing is made for the long haul for sure. I had my iphone playing my music from the web and to me it was just as good as my XM radio. The wind protection was fantastic and for the first time that I can remember I was hoping to see some rain. I did get some sprinkles but not enough to matter till the end of the day.

While cruising down 81 I decided to stop by Bristol Speedway for some pics.






I got those and thought I might as well head over to the Snake in Shady Valley seeing it was just down the road a piece. I stopped by the lake and took some pics too.








There wasn't as many bikes out as I thought there would be and after talking with a trooper he said that's because it had been raining on and off and it was suppose to rain some more. He road a HD and was a pretty cool guy. He hating having to crack down on the guys there because he was rider too but there had been a lot of deaths there before they started hanging out. He was just doing his job and I can't fault him for that. I thought that would be a cool pic too so I snapped a few.
Right when I pulled over two of the troopers had just pulled out to chase down some sport bikes. Looks they caught them just before the store.



As soon as I pulled up to the store the owner came out with the wife and was all over the RT. They had been looking at trikes and knew about the Spyder but had no idea they could get one setup like this. He said next time I see him he'll be on a Spyder. I don't think so because I'll be there in two weeks for there big event and he can't get one till Dec.

They have really great burgers there but some how the little gal talked me into ordering "The Snake" burger. I had no idea it was a 1 lbs burger till after I got it. It was great but I couldn't finish it.




From there I hit the twisties pretty hard on 91. I even got the front wheels up a couple of times but I had to really work at it. The nanny is so tame now that I'm really going to hate it when I get back on my RS and that thing kicks in. I guess because it's fly by wire they were able to really kick it in without you really noticing it. Works great now.

Assoon as I got to town it started raining and raining pretty hard. The cars were shooting up a bunch of spray and it was a great test to see how the RT did as far as rain protection. I was very happy and have never been so dry in such heavy rain. As long as I was moving I kept pretty dry. The only thing that got wet was the back of my shoulders and if I had my Batman cape on I would have been dry as a bone. The real amazing thing is my legs never got wet. Most of the time my shins get so wet that it will fill my boot in a rain like that. Oh and I didn't have any rain gear on, just a t-shirt and jeans.

So I get my rain test done and head for the house. I had about 600 miles in today but I still felt like riding. I showed the wife the RT and she seemed to like it but I'm not sure if she want to ride on it yet.



Now my son Alex is a different story, he loved it from the first time he saw it and he really liked it when he saw it in person. I told him to grab his helmet and let go for a ride. We blasted the twisties pretty good and I got to see how the RT did two up. It did great and a blew my boy away in all respects. He loved the seat and come to find out he wasn't even holding on to the grab handles and I was riding hard enough to get in the vss.

That was a pretty huge endorsement for a 18 year old to think the RT was so cool. He said it was like the Escalade of Spyders.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CMJJSu3JaU"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

All and all it was another great ride and I look forward to many more. As far as fuel mileage goes I got about 31 mpg but I expect it to get a little better with time as my RS did.

[Big Arm]

GREAT WRITE-UP Lamont !!!

[jedd]

Thanks bro keep up the in-depth testing!!

[3tracs]

Awesome! Can't wait to see one in person, thanks for the great post Lamont!

[Dudley]

Glad you made it home. Keep us all posted on the new ride. Seems like the King of Cruisers. Happy Trails, my Brother.

[Tom in NM]

That picture with the troopers looks like they caught YOU in a roadblock.

Sounds like a great ride and the Spyder had some real performance traits.

Next time, make sure you pack your Batman cape. Now is not the time to catch a cold.

Tom

[bjt]

[BumbleBee]

Excellent report You are starting to make my decision even easier for me

[Bersquack]

Great report!

[jimclarkf1]

Keeps getting better and better

[Zerocool]

Thanks for the great write-up.

Wife's asking if I want to upgrade, she's really enjoying the rides we've taken recently. I would love to but not sure what the trade-in/re-sale of a PE would be. I may be waiting for a future model w/a larger engine

Can't wait to see it at the BBQ in a couple of weeks.

[ntxYguy2009]

Great write-up Lamont. Can't wait until my boys get old enough to ride with me. By that time maybe I can afford the RT-S with trailer!

See you on the 24th!

[barb36jack31]

Great write-up Lamont! Glad you got home OK. While I can appreciate the weather capabilities of the RT, I just don't care for all the protective plastic. But then again I only do 250 mile days now and no more long haul . (Fl to ME in 2 days) Took the Spyder out today and she ran like a charm. The canisterectomy worked perfectly!

Stay well and ride safe!

[Roger]

Can you ask alex how he liked the passenger foot rest he may have mentioned it in the video but i might have missed it thank you again.

[nipmip2002]

well done, sounds like an awesome ride.

[Lamonster]

Can you ask alex how he liked the passenger foot rest he may have mentioned it in the video but i might have missed it thank you again.

He's not here right now but as far as I know he liked them.

[hawkiii]

Very cool write up. I think I need a RT.

[bjt]

Very cool write up. I think I need a RT.

You and me both. However, I'll be waiting for a while before moving up to an RT.

[Roaddog2]

Have to be Honest here great right up Lamont. My stomach is starting to settle getting used to the front end but the rear end way to Wingy Thingy goin on here for me but thats just my opinion and everyone else is intitled to there own opinion and thats why there are many different Makes and models out there
They will have to be around for a while and earn there reputation and get it lookin a little more classic lookin before I shell out 25k to 30k when I worked for a H-D dealer once our saying was there is a for every seat and there is a seat for every .I will predict after the initail sell off these will be heavely discounted