New Mods & Impressions

[NancysToy]

I think Dltang ruined me. :joke: Last year she made a comment that we had done little to modify Nancy's Spyder. Now I seem to have gotten carried away. We just underwent another round...although partly for good reason this time. Here are the lastest additions, and my thoughts:

1. BRP GIVI bags. I mentioned these before, but have some time on them now. I also had a chance to compare ours to BRPJunkie's GIVI setup. His sits a little higher and the turn signals are closer together (even more than stock) and mounted in the rear fender. He cleaned up the standard installation and they look nice. I am really getting used to the way the BRP mounts look, with their turn signal extensions. I like where the signals are up high, and they are wider spaced than stock. Very visible! Although we don't seem to take off the rack, it is a slick setup, and the Spyder looks more sporty again in a jiffy. Very sturdy, well-engineered brackets.

The GIVI bags are splendid, and BRP added a reflector strip on the back, that the standard GIVI bags do not have. Please note that the plastic lens is not a reflector! If you have anything other than the BRP version, you will need something additional to make it more visible, and I highly recommend that approach. I would love to have one of the NMN Genesis light kits for the GIVI, but ran into some snags. Don't want to run them plain because I think the outer lights should also be brake lights (and turn signals?) I would like to retain the standard, amber signals, but being inboard of the outermost lights might be confusing. Magic Man's Triple Play kit combined with the Genesis kit can almost do all I wanted...but I am still unsure of the red signal lights that are necessary with the Triple Play conversion. I do like the visibility of the amber (Euro fashion). Twisted Throttle sells a ReflectGard Scotchlite kit to go behind the V35 lens to make it act as a reflector. I am considering it while I ponder the Triple Play and Genesis.

2. BRP Comfort Seat. The seat is pretty nice. Great detail! Not as hard as the Corbins I've owned. Not as wide as the Russells. It placed Nancy an inch or two higher and an inch or two back, just what her new knee needed. Unfortunately that made quite a reach to the bars, even with the BRP riser. More on that later. The seat was surprisingly comfortable to me, since I like the way the stock seat felt. (OK, so I'm odd!) I have yet to do a real long ride to test it long term. Probably won't be a cure-all...I get a sore behind just sitting at this cozy computer chair. The altered seating position made the shifter sit in a different spot than Nancy is used to. She says she will get used to it, but has to point her foot more to upshift now. I ride too many different bikes to have noticed it at all. The seat seems to provide better lateral support in the turns, either because it is firmer, or wider, or flatter, or all three. Between that and the new risers, this baby really corners well now!

3. NMN/ESI 3" Risers. The new riding position for Nancy necessitated additional risers. We had the BRP 1", so had to go with the 3" kit. No real struggles with installation...would have been easier if I just cut off the grips, but I am a cheap Dutchman. I had a struggle getting to the ties to extend the cables. I was unable to tilt the clutch cylinder as far forward as I would have liked. Nancy needed quite a bit of angle on the risers to reach them well. If I were doing it again I might have removed the BRP riser and used the 4" NMN/ESI. That would have given me the same position but less angle on the riser, so the clutch cylinder could have been more level. The new risers made the Comfort Seat less comfortable for me. I don't know why. The changed seating angle made it hit a slightly different part of my behind, I guess. Nancy is far more comfortable, though. That's what counts. :thumbup:

The difference in the steering is everything others here have said, and more! With a stock Spyder you pull on one bar in a turn, but can only twist slightly with the oppsite shoulder, and not really push. The risers allow bent arms...and pushing and pulling at the same time. They truly halve the steering effort. Much more control, no strain on the core muscles. They are everything they are cracked up to be. Even though she is much shorter, and still leans a bit, Nancy noticed the difference immediately. Gotta learn to ride this thing all over again now.

4. Coil Ground Wire. While I had the side pod off, I decided to add the coil frame ground wire. We have an SM5, so this was not a necessary item. I wanted to see if it would calm down our irregular idle problem. Besides, it made no sense to me that the coil frame was not properly gronded, since it is attached to the rubber mounted oil tank bracket. I experienced no changes from this mod. The Spyder is neitehr beter nor worse. I am happy, though.

Pictures are also in my album and My Mods section. Now, to hoard my meager, fixed income so I can afford to modify something else. Deb, you've created a monster! :joke:
-Scotty

 

[DynamoBT]

Lookin' Good Scotty!! Your recommendations are most valued!

 

[dltang]

Scotty,
Are you accusing me of being a bad influence? I thought those days were over in high school and college....:joke:

I know Nancy is enjoying everything and that is all that matters. :2thumbs:

 

[NancysToy]

Scotty,
Are you accusing me of being a bad influence? I thought those days were over in high school and college....:joke:

I know Nancy is enjoying everything and that is all that matters. :2thumbs:

Don't worry Deb, you'll always be that mischievous young girl to me. :joke: BTW, I'm easily led astray...especially as far as messing around with bikes goes.

Nancy has some health issues, and isn't riding much. She merely tested the mods. I'm sure she'll be happy when she gets a chance to ride like she wants to.
-Scotty

 

[DragonSpyder]

I found the richer you make the idle circuit with either juice box or O2 Modifier the idle becomes smoother. This may be just a bandaid but it works for me.

 

[Smylinacha]

Great post - I got my comfort seat arriving on Friday. I couldn't stand it any longer. The stock seat was ok for like 3/4 of the ride but then I'd start to hurt. But it wasn't the hurting so much as the "sticking" to the seat. I felt like I was sitting on something tacky - just stuck and couldn't move around too good on it. And yes, I think the best investment (besides my Gerbing liner) is the NMN risers - I have the same height but in black - what a difference - steers a whole lot better and no more neck, shoulder blade pain - those risers are a life saver for me! Oh yeah, can't forget about the CHAD either - I can finally wear a beanie helmet in the summer, don't have to wear goggles since I don't get much wind in my eyes anymore and it also hides the Gawd ugly mirrors which I haven't gotten around to just yet - that might be my next project.:2thumbs:

 

[Roaddog2]

Lookin Good hyea::2thumbs:

 

[BRPjunkie]

Scotty,

Thanks for the tip on the non-reflective red plastic lens on the Givi V35 cases. Since I never follow myself, I just asssumed they were reflective. I guess Givi must think red plastic looks good on the back of the cases. I may try the Twisted Throttle tape, but at $35, I may go with the BRP approach first and just add a strip of Scotchlite red reflective tape for $3.

 

[NancysToy]

I found the richer you make the idle circuit with either juice box or O2 Modifier the idle becomes smoother. This may be just a bandaid but it works for me.

Our idle problem is a bit more complex than that. We have the stock muffler, so we don't get the "lean surge" that some folks have experienced, and is probably what you are describing. Our idle just plain sticks high, escpecially after a hot start. Normally in the 1700-2400 rpm range, but can go as high as 3600 rpm. No engine braking at all under those conditions! Once you come to a complete stop, it returns to normal in a second or two. It may be in need of a Spyder psychiatrist.
-Scotty

 

[BajaRon]

I found the richer you make the idle circuit with either juice box or O2 Modifier the idle becomes smoother. This may be just a bandaid but it works for me.

Hmmm.... Maybe I'm missing something but as far as I can tell there is no program in the Juice Box to richen the idle circuit.

First Mode (Green) Not Used
Second Mode (Yellow) + Fuel on Accelleration
Third Mode (Red) + Fuel on Full Throttle
Forth Mode (Green-Blue) + Fuel on Cruise
Fifth Mode (Yellow-Blue) Timing for Accelleration (Yellow Mode) is turned on.
Sixth Mode (Red-Blue) Timing for Full Throttle (Red Mode) is turned on.

No Idle mode... :dontknow:

 

[Neez]

Scotty, to what point on the Spyder did you run the coil frame ground wire? The battery negative post, perhaps?

 

[BajaRon]

Scotty, to what point on the Spyder did you run the coil frame ground wire? The battery negative post, perhaps?

Any good ground will do. There is a dedicated grounding post near the center of the frame infront of the engine on the left side (sitting on the bike). That's were I ran mine.

Didn't do anything for me either but made me feel better.

 

[NancysToy]

Any good ground will do. There is a dedicated grounding post near the center of the frame infront of the engine on the left side (sitting on the bike). That's were I ran mine.

Didn't do anything for me either but made me feel better.

I went to a handy spot on the engine, since I could run the wire along the oil return line and not get near hot parts, and there was an empty, tapped bolt hole there. BRP specifies the frame ground that Ron described, which is also fairly easy to access with the panels off. BRP also specifies tying in the oil cooler, too.

Made me feel better, too.
-Scotty

 

[Capt John]

Looking good Scotty, thanks for the write up. As always very informative!

 

[sabunim5]

Our idle problem is a bit more complex than that. We have the stock muffler, so we don't get the "lean surge" that some folks have experienced, and is probably what you are describing. Our idle just plain sticks high, escpecially after a hot start. Normally in the 1700-2400 rpm range, but can go as high as 3600 rpm. No engine braking at all under those conditions! Once you come to a complete stop, it returns to normal in a second or two. It may be in need of a Spyder psychiatrist.
-Scotty

I have the same problem with PE 1232. Not very often, but now it worries me as my wife is learning to ryde the Spyder. At first I thought I had done something wrong with my I7 throttle lock installation, but I am now convinced that the throttle lock has nothing to do with the high idle. The occasional high idle is really not a problem for a person with lots of years and miles, but it really worries me when she is the pilot. ray:

 

[NancysToy]

I have the same problem with PE 1232. Not very often, but now it worries me as my wife is learning to ryde the Spyder. At first I thought I had done something wrong with my I7 throttle lock installation, but I am now convinced that the throttle lock has nothing to do with the high idle. The occasional high idle is really not a problem for a person with lots of years and miles, but it really worries me when she is the pilot. ray:

:agree: I ride the Spyder, but the idle problem and failure to decelerate as expected, are merely a nuisance to me. The Spyder is Nancy's first street bike, so I worry greatly about her and her lack of experience to cope with the unexpected. So far all my cries to BRP that this is a safety hazard have fallen on deaf ears. They seem to have no answer, so they choose to ignore it. Problem in diagnosis may stem from the fact that for some strange reason it returns to idle after it stops moving. Hard to hook it up to BUDS in transit.
-Scotty

 

[NancysToy]

A Little Addition

......1. BRP GIVI bags. The GIVI bags are splendid, and BRP added a reflector strip on the back, that the standard GIVI bags do not have. Please note that the plastic lens is not a reflector! If you have anything other than the BRP version, you will need something additional to make it more visible, and I highly recommend that approach. I would love to have one of the NMN Genesis light kits for the GIVI, but ran into some snags. Don't want to run them plain because I think the outer lights should also be brake lights (and turn signals?) I would like to retain the standard, amber signals, but being inboard of the outermost lights might be confusing. Magic Man's Triple Play kit combined with the Genesis kit can almost do all I wanted...but I am still unsure of the red signal lights that are necessary with the Triple Play conversion. I do like the visibility of the amber (Euro fashion). Twisted Throttle sells a ReflectGard Scotchlite kit to go behind the V35 lens to make it act as a reflector. I am considering it while I ponder the Triple Play and Genesis.......

Scotty,

Thanks for the tip on the non-reflective red plastic lens on the Givi V35 cases. Since I never follow myself, I just asssumed they were reflective. I guess Givi must think red plastic looks good on the back of the cases. I may try the Twisted Throttle tape, but at $35, I may go with the BRP approach first and just add a strip of Scotchlite red reflective tape for $3.

I would not discourage anyone from getting the NMN/ESI Givi bag lights...and the Triple Play if it is within your means and fits your needs. Please don't look at what I have done and said as belittling Evan's fine product. Lights are better than reflectors any day of the week, and the No Magic lights are tops! I thought about the Scotchlite backing a while, and decided to pass on the Twisted Throttle kit. Too expensive for what it is. I considered adding my own reflective tape behind the lens, where the white backing material is now, but I was not sure how it would reflect through the lens instead of in the open. I didn't have any here to experiment with.

Instead, for a short term enhancement until I can do the lights, I put a chrome backing behind the lens. I got a $5 roll of chrome tape from the automotive section at the store, cut it to match the white plastic backing, put it in the lens, backing paper and all, then backed it with the original white plastic. I don't know how it will work at night, but in the daytime it reflects a lot better. It does not reflect at an angle to the sides like a real reflector or the 3M reflective tape, though. Still better than it was, especially in the daytime looks department.

The picture shows the difference between the exposed reflective strip BRP added and the stock lens. This shows the reflective qualities. What the picture doesn't show is how much more alike the strip and the lens appear in daylight now, with the added chrome backing. Before, the lens was obviously darker, but now it appears about the same (except in photos). The second picture shows the components...lens, new backing, and the original. Maybe not a functional mod, but a decent appearance thing. I may also add some black reflective bag panels to add more rear visibility at night, for the time being.
-Scotty