Firefly
Active member
My impressions after 1,900 miles on my new F3.
My background:
2008 Spyder GS - put 80,000 miles on it. Had Elka shocks, sway bar, tons of mods.
2012 Spyder RT - put 24,000 miles on it. Had Elka shocks, sway bar, tons of mods.
I had one week to get this F3 ready to go to Maggie Valley and only put 100 miles of testing on it before hitting the road.
I outfitted the F3 before leaving with:
F4 tinted shield - 28". I'm 5'8".
MRA X-Creen Tour Variable Windscreen Spoiler
Lamonster/Ultimate backrest.
Givi V35 sidecases using custom mounts made by site sponsor MBL innovations.
Cruise control.
Heated grips.
Various ram mounts, wired iPhone and Garmin.
Short reach bars.
2-up rear shock.
The first thing I noticed is the smoothness and power of the ACE 1330. Wow.. what a great engine. All the power you need for any circumstance. The power band is great in each gear and you'd be hard pressed to ever lug this thing. Being able to slow down in gears 4,5,6 without downshifting is great. Passing power is great. Thrilled with this powerplant.
I did notice the clutch is noticeably harder to pull, but now see there's an assist kit to make it more like the RT.
Forward leg position took a bit of getting used to, as did mounting and dismounting the bike, but overall the position felt great. It was set at 3 - the factory default. I felt I had to lift my leg a bit to get to the brake and the same on downshifting. I didn't adjust either of those pedals but I see where it can be done. My knees hurt quite a bit, but the used to on the RT as well. I'm going to switch to the #4 position and see how that feels.
The short reach bars made the steering way easy and helped me maintain a more upright riding position from the waste up which felt really good. When I rode with the original bars I felt pain in my shoulders due to leaning and hunching forward.
The seat is horrible as expected. Far too soft for long rides, got used to it but will be replacing this winter for sure... most likely with a Corbin like I had on the other Spyders.
Adding the beefed up rear shock helped a lot. Never bottomed out even with the V35's fully loaded. The front shocks felt mushy and need to be firmed up, but BRP didn't bother to put adjustment tools in the tool kit. ugh.
Handling was good but will be better with proper shock adjustments I'm sure. Took one time on the Dragon to figure it out as it's far different than the GS or RT. Didn't (couldn't) lean off the bike like you had to on the GS/RT models.
The nanny is MUCH more relaxed and not as noticeable when it does kick in.
The F4 shield works great up to about 65-70 mph.. then you become a bobblehead. This is why I added the MRA X-Creen Tour Variable Windscreen Spoiler. Adding that made things smooth as could be and I ran 85 much of the time on the highway.
Rode in the rain a bit, did the 209 rattler up to Hotsprings in the rain and the F3 performed fantastic.
Storage was great with the V35's. Used an old rear seat bag to make up for the lack of a rear trunk.
Gas mileage was better than GS or RT but dropped considerably when going 85 as would be expected. These always get worse MPG on the highway due to wind resistance.
The extended range with the better MPG and larger gas tank was GREAT. Every day when we left for a ride from Maggie Valley we didn't have to worry about gassing up along the way. We were able to do 175-200 mile rides with ease and no concerns of running out of gas. It was great not to have that worry. On the highway running 85 mph I could only get around 175 on a tank before all bars were gone and I felt I better gas up.
I found the F3 fantastic and easy to work on.. so much easier to get to things... I love it.
So thus far I'm thrilled with my transition to an F3. I'll be adjusting or replacing the front shocks, replacing the seat, adding foglights, marker lights, additional wiring for some more gadgets, coating the panels for scratch protection, maybe floorboards, upgrading the clutch with the assist kit and some other things.
I was really worried when I first started riding this that I had made a mistake as I had my RT really tuned in and riding great.. but those worries are gone now and I'm really excited to ride and work on my Spyder again.. something I had lost with the RT as it just felt more like a Griswold stationwagon.
So there's my .02 (plus a few more) on transitioning from a GS to an RT to an F3....
My background:
2008 Spyder GS - put 80,000 miles on it. Had Elka shocks, sway bar, tons of mods.
2012 Spyder RT - put 24,000 miles on it. Had Elka shocks, sway bar, tons of mods.
I had one week to get this F3 ready to go to Maggie Valley and only put 100 miles of testing on it before hitting the road.
I outfitted the F3 before leaving with:
F4 tinted shield - 28". I'm 5'8".
MRA X-Creen Tour Variable Windscreen Spoiler
Lamonster/Ultimate backrest.
Givi V35 sidecases using custom mounts made by site sponsor MBL innovations.
Cruise control.
Heated grips.
Various ram mounts, wired iPhone and Garmin.
Short reach bars.
2-up rear shock.
The first thing I noticed is the smoothness and power of the ACE 1330. Wow.. what a great engine. All the power you need for any circumstance. The power band is great in each gear and you'd be hard pressed to ever lug this thing. Being able to slow down in gears 4,5,6 without downshifting is great. Passing power is great. Thrilled with this powerplant.
I did notice the clutch is noticeably harder to pull, but now see there's an assist kit to make it more like the RT.
Forward leg position took a bit of getting used to, as did mounting and dismounting the bike, but overall the position felt great. It was set at 3 - the factory default. I felt I had to lift my leg a bit to get to the brake and the same on downshifting. I didn't adjust either of those pedals but I see where it can be done. My knees hurt quite a bit, but the used to on the RT as well. I'm going to switch to the #4 position and see how that feels.
The short reach bars made the steering way easy and helped me maintain a more upright riding position from the waste up which felt really good. When I rode with the original bars I felt pain in my shoulders due to leaning and hunching forward.
The seat is horrible as expected. Far too soft for long rides, got used to it but will be replacing this winter for sure... most likely with a Corbin like I had on the other Spyders.
Adding the beefed up rear shock helped a lot. Never bottomed out even with the V35's fully loaded. The front shocks felt mushy and need to be firmed up, but BRP didn't bother to put adjustment tools in the tool kit. ugh.
Handling was good but will be better with proper shock adjustments I'm sure. Took one time on the Dragon to figure it out as it's far different than the GS or RT. Didn't (couldn't) lean off the bike like you had to on the GS/RT models.
The nanny is MUCH more relaxed and not as noticeable when it does kick in.
The F4 shield works great up to about 65-70 mph.. then you become a bobblehead. This is why I added the MRA X-Creen Tour Variable Windscreen Spoiler. Adding that made things smooth as could be and I ran 85 much of the time on the highway.
Rode in the rain a bit, did the 209 rattler up to Hotsprings in the rain and the F3 performed fantastic.
Storage was great with the V35's. Used an old rear seat bag to make up for the lack of a rear trunk.
Gas mileage was better than GS or RT but dropped considerably when going 85 as would be expected. These always get worse MPG on the highway due to wind resistance.
The extended range with the better MPG and larger gas tank was GREAT. Every day when we left for a ride from Maggie Valley we didn't have to worry about gassing up along the way. We were able to do 175-200 mile rides with ease and no concerns of running out of gas. It was great not to have that worry. On the highway running 85 mph I could only get around 175 on a tank before all bars were gone and I felt I better gas up.
I found the F3 fantastic and easy to work on.. so much easier to get to things... I love it.
So thus far I'm thrilled with my transition to an F3. I'll be adjusting or replacing the front shocks, replacing the seat, adding foglights, marker lights, additional wiring for some more gadgets, coating the panels for scratch protection, maybe floorboards, upgrading the clutch with the assist kit and some other things.
I was really worried when I first started riding this that I had made a mistake as I had my RT really tuned in and riding great.. but those worries are gone now and I'm really excited to ride and work on my Spyder again.. something I had lost with the RT as it just felt more like a Griswold stationwagon.
So there's my .02 (plus a few more) on transitioning from a GS to an RT to an F3....
. 
