Begs the question

[P.W.]

Heck we just bought a 19' RTL last Saturday, still waiting for delivery.......Never even rode it!
But, not coming from a true motorcycle back ground I hope it'll be easy to get used to.....not worried.

P.W.

 

[2dogs]

I rode two different spyder demos prior to making a purchase. One was squirrely as all get out and the other one took to a straight line like it was made for it. Both were RTs. Looking back, the squirrley one must have been way out of alignment. I noticed that the squirrely one sat in the dealer parking lot for a long time after I purchased mine. I just wonder now many potential spyder buyers rode that spooky spyder and were deterred from ever owning a spyder. Mine was a little squirrely until I had it "Squared Away" properly. Both sides were out of alignment and just enough that each complemented the other and it was fairly stable. 2 1/2 inches on one side and 2 on the other. The only obvious problem I had with mine was severe cupping. The dealer's service manager had told me that was normal, "they all did that."

 

[P.W.]

I'm having it laser aliened by the dealer before I take possession to make sure all is good.

 

[Airborne]

As I mentioned in a previous post, the dynamics on three wheels are totally different from two wheels. I think the fact that I owned a Ural sidecar outfit before buying a Spyder was a factor in my case. If you think a Spyder handles differently, try a sidecar. On a sidecar left turns are different than right turns. If you take a right turn too fast it will lift the car. When you accelerate, it wants to veer right. When you decelerate it wants to veer left. Even with all those idiosyncrasies, it was a hoot to ride. But my point is, by comparison, the Spyder felt very tame.

A friend of mine has a Suzuki Bandit with sidecar attached and he's told me of the characteristics of the handling so i had an ides, mind you he carries a great dane in the side car to balance things up, gotta say though it's quite sight to see this Dane coming down the road with helmet, goggles and scarf flying in the wind.

 

[Airborne]

They sell very well. The main thing with the spyders (not the Ryker) is the fact that they have a DPS (Dynamic power steering). This is a electric steering assist system and it tends to work against the converted two wheel ryder who depends on leaning as the better part of ryding. It can be very sensetive to the white knuckle grip of a new ryder making it a bit scary as it corrects jerky unsure movement. Once you gain confidence that the spyder has the ability to track well and you relax that grip you will find a great ryde. This process will vary with each ryder. Some may take longer than others with a rule of thumb of 300 to 500 miles. I got on it with no test ryde and rode it like I had owned it all my life. There are many adjustments that can be done but really recommend that after you get comfortable with it. :thumbup:

Now i've been on her for a while makes perfect sense, however my point was for and about the people who say yes, this looks great and ride a demo, a first time ride on one. It can feel daunting, i understand they sell well but how many walk away i wonder.

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[Airborne]

Heck we just bought a 19' RTL last Saturday, still waiting for delivery.......Never even rode it!
But, not coming from a true motorcycle back ground I hope it'll be easy to get used to.....not worried.

P.W.

Hey PW, CONGRATULATIONS!!! don't worry, as mentioned i am now getting very comfortable with about 1400 km on it, just follow the posts and advice from these good folks on this site. Have fun

 

[Fatcycledaddy]

I rented one for a day before I purchased mine. 50 miles in I thought I was nuts, but a couple of hundred miles later I was completely sold.