G'day all,
I've had the 2010 RT for two weeks now and I thought I'd throw my first impressions out there.
Firstly, this thing is a lot of fun to ride. I've been riding bikes for over 25 years, never having been without two wheels in one form or another, but I don't recall having anything that provided such a sense of fun and excitement.
The suspension is a tad sloppy for my liking (I like to ride harder than I probably should). I'll play with settings and tyre pressures before I fork out for new bits.
There is a fair bit of heat that comes up from under the glovebox area but it is no dramas and certainly no more heat than on my last Harley.
We have a cyclone coming our way at the moment so it's pretty windy outside. I just went for a 2 hour ride out on the highway and in my opinion the RT is easier to handle in the cross wind than the Harley was. With two wheels you have to lean into the wind a little and when it gusts or stops in patches you are forever adjusting that lean, pushing all over the road. With the RT you only have to steer ever so lightly into the wind and adjustments for gusts is so much smoother.
Power in my opinion is great. The top end could do with a little more oomph but getting there is great fun with plenty of power on tap. You obviously need to get used to higher revs for it to perform ( higher than my Harley). Power is something that I can't get enough of and more is always better, but the RT is sensational as is. I have a two bros pipe only at this stage. This bike will cruise all day at 140 kmh without issue and overtaking is a breeze. I reckon if you find the throttle response slow your in the wrong gear. It's geared really high/ tall in my opinion you need to ride it as such for peak performance.
Comfort is second to none. The windscreen is great for a breeze when down low and for me, blocks it all out when high (I'm 6 ft tall). The only complaint I have is that it doesn't come with highway pegs as an option. It really does need them. The correct and most comfortable position for me is probably just above and out from the small Blake wings that poke out either side. I'll probably end up buying some Harley boards and create some form of bracket. Other than that comfort is perfect!
As far as some complaints that the RT jumps all over the road and it has touchy steering. I must have a different steering package than those that are complaining about this issue because I don't feel it. The Great Northern Highway up here in the north west of WA is pretty rough and pot hole ridden but the RT holds it's line much better than a two wheeler. Again if yours is twitchy I reckon your not relaxed enough. Tight grip causes twitchiness (I tried it just to experiment).
Anyway, sorry about the long post but I think with many negative posts about the spyder, balance is essential and all the great characteristics should be spoken about to give new and prospective owners two sides. I researched the hell out of spiders before purchase.
If your on the fence, get off and buy one. I can't get enough of this thing! Two wheelers started to become a bit ho hum no matter how hard I rode and my shocking back pain was't coping well.
I won't compare the overall riding experience to a two wheeler because it's a different animal all together. Trust me when I say that the RT is bloody sensational!
All of the above is simply my humble opinion of course.
Dodge
I've had the 2010 RT for two weeks now and I thought I'd throw my first impressions out there.
Firstly, this thing is a lot of fun to ride. I've been riding bikes for over 25 years, never having been without two wheels in one form or another, but I don't recall having anything that provided such a sense of fun and excitement.
The suspension is a tad sloppy for my liking (I like to ride harder than I probably should). I'll play with settings and tyre pressures before I fork out for new bits.
There is a fair bit of heat that comes up from under the glovebox area but it is no dramas and certainly no more heat than on my last Harley.
We have a cyclone coming our way at the moment so it's pretty windy outside. I just went for a 2 hour ride out on the highway and in my opinion the RT is easier to handle in the cross wind than the Harley was. With two wheels you have to lean into the wind a little and when it gusts or stops in patches you are forever adjusting that lean, pushing all over the road. With the RT you only have to steer ever so lightly into the wind and adjustments for gusts is so much smoother.
Power in my opinion is great. The top end could do with a little more oomph but getting there is great fun with plenty of power on tap. You obviously need to get used to higher revs for it to perform ( higher than my Harley). Power is something that I can't get enough of and more is always better, but the RT is sensational as is. I have a two bros pipe only at this stage. This bike will cruise all day at 140 kmh without issue and overtaking is a breeze. I reckon if you find the throttle response slow your in the wrong gear. It's geared really high/ tall in my opinion you need to ride it as such for peak performance.
Comfort is second to none. The windscreen is great for a breeze when down low and for me, blocks it all out when high (I'm 6 ft tall). The only complaint I have is that it doesn't come with highway pegs as an option. It really does need them. The correct and most comfortable position for me is probably just above and out from the small Blake wings that poke out either side. I'll probably end up buying some Harley boards and create some form of bracket. Other than that comfort is perfect!
As far as some complaints that the RT jumps all over the road and it has touchy steering. I must have a different steering package than those that are complaining about this issue because I don't feel it. The Great Northern Highway up here in the north west of WA is pretty rough and pot hole ridden but the RT holds it's line much better than a two wheeler. Again if yours is twitchy I reckon your not relaxed enough. Tight grip causes twitchiness (I tried it just to experiment).
Anyway, sorry about the long post but I think with many negative posts about the spyder, balance is essential and all the great characteristics should be spoken about to give new and prospective owners two sides. I researched the hell out of spiders before purchase.
If your on the fence, get off and buy one. I can't get enough of this thing! Two wheelers started to become a bit ho hum no matter how hard I rode and my shocking back pain was't coping well.
I won't compare the overall riding experience to a two wheeler because it's a different animal all together. Trust me when I say that the RT is bloody sensational!
All of the above is simply my humble opinion of course.
Dodge
hyea::welcome: and :congrats: on your new :spyder2:
