First Sitting

[Dudley]

Well, Jennifer and I had our first look and sitting on the RT yesterday. So, our first impressions:
1. Handlebars need a 4-way adjustment function. Even with my short arms, I had to bend at the elbows and that would cause discomfort after a time.
2. An extended seating area of about 6 inches would give the rider/passenger more room for comfort adjustments
3. Too many buttons clustered together on left portion of handlebar. All that is needed are the basic: reverse, horn, turnsignal, Hi/LO headlight switch. IMO the more buttons you have to play with while looking for the location, the more chance you have of taking your eyes off the road and having an accident.
4. Rider foot pegs and passenger foot boards are perfect
5. Fairing and windshield rate a 10
6. Front storage, though it can hold 2 helmets, is restricted by the narrower width. It may not seem like much, but it will make a difference
7. Overall looks rate a 9. I can't give it a 10 because it still looks unbalanced in proportions.

[NancysToy]

Thanks for your impressions, Dudley. It looks like it will be a couple of months before we see one here in Michigan. The seat and bars are the unknowns that have worried me. I don't mind bending my elbows some...better control and easier steering, but too much could be difficult. You'd probably get used to things in a hurry, however, from my past experience. The concave seat with the high bumstop also worries me a bit. I just don't seem to fit those seats all that well, although 90% of all riders swear by them. I'll add your thoughts to my analysis while we are pondering the purchase of a PE RT-S.

[Dudley]

Well, seems like I have different needs from a lot of people. That's what makes us all so unique. I am not a gadget person...just give me a comfortable machine that runs good and lets ride. We don't listen to music while riding, not even in the car, don't want a GPS (I have a JPS that won't break and we have never gotten lost to where we had to call 911). I could add more, but you get the picture. For all the ryders that love the modern gadgets, go for it. We just want to ride.

[Smylinacha]

Good review Dudley! Haven't seen it yet but just from the brp site, you gotta be a pretty thin or tiny passenger to fit back there - looks sorta squished to me.

[Kjen]

The passenger seat is roomy, just too wide and difficult to mount. Guess you should get on the driver seat first then scoot over the hump and settle in the passengers place. There is a rim/lip around the edge so those with wider bottoms may have an issue if their parts have to sit on this edge. Others were waiting so I didn't play around on it for long. It didn't feel as comfy as ours, but then again, ours has proven itself and we are good to go.

[Smylinacha]

The passenger seat is roomy, just too wide and difficult to mount. Guess you should get on the driver seat first then scoot over the hump and settle in the passengers place. There is a rim/lip around the edge so those with wider bottoms may have an issue if their parts have to sit on this edge. Others were waiting so I didn't play around on it for long. It didn't feel as comfy as ours, but then again, ours has proven itself and we are good to go.

Good to see pics w/ two people on it - yes it does look roomy now by seeing you on the back. And hey, Dudley is SMILING in the middle picture - and what the heck is he doing in the last pic? His arms are all flailing - did you make him mad?

[Dudley]

Good to see pics w/ two people on it - yes it does look roomy now by seeing you on the back. And hey, Dudley is SMILING in the middle picture - and what the heck is he doing in the last pic? His arms are all flailing - did you make him mad?

That wasn't me. That was the man from San Diego who has the Spyder, as does Lamont for until. He had just arrived.
Did you notice our 2009 Sturgis shirts?????