Can Am Spyder ST wobbly in the turns

[Tazzel]

Had a chance to ride my friends ST and man is that thing wobbly in the turns. At least you could tighten the shocks up on the earlier models of the spyder. That made it a little better. The ST is little scary in the Colorado mountain roads. Its to bad because I have a friend in her early 70's that was looking to buy one and she said its to unstable in the turns. Its to bad because she just had an accident on her 2 wheeler. I told her that people are saying to put a better swaybar on and it solves the problem but she said "why should I have to put a mod on it to make it handle right when I just drop 18k on the thing". She has a point

 

[03hdjill]

Had a chance to ride my friends ST and man is that thing wobbly in the turns. At least you could tighten the shocks up on the earlier models of the spyder. That made it a little better. The ST is little scary in the Colorado mountain roads. Its to bad because I have a friend in her early 70's that was looking to buy one and she said its to unstable in the turns. Its to bad because she just had an accident on her 2 wheeler. I told her that people are saying to put a better swaybar on and it solves the problem but she said "why should I have to put a mod on it to make it handle right when I just drop 18k on the thing". She has a point

Just to let you know, I have a 2013 ST Limited without a better sway bar and have absolutely no problems riding sweeping or twisting mountain roads. I love my Spyder.

 

[Colin]

Had a chance to ride my friends ST and man is that thing wobbly in the turns. At least you could tighten the shocks up on the earlier models of the spyder. That made it a little better. The ST is little scary in the Colorado mountain roads. Its to bad because I have a friend in her early 70's that was looking to buy one and she said its to unstable in the turns. Its to bad because she just had an accident on her 2 wheeler. I told her that people are saying to put a better swaybar on and it solves the problem but she said "why should I have to put a mod on it to make it handle right when I just drop 18k on the thing". She has a point

Im sure there was an upgrade kit for the ST, and some models were eligible for it at no cost. Check with your dealer and get him to ask some questions of BRP

 

[NZSpyderRyder]

Suspension upgrade

I have a 2013 ST Limited and my shocks were upgraded to the Fox ones f.o.c, but they didn't upgrade the sway bar.
You can get a Fox shock and sway bar kit from BRP.
Mine rides fine and to be honest I haven't found a massive difference since they upgraded the shocks.

 

[Saluda]

Ditto

Just to let you know, I have a 2013 ST Limited without a better sway bar and have absolutely no problems riding sweeping or twisting mountain roads. I love my Spyder.

Same here.

 

[coz]

the death grip

sounds like a case of newbie death grip.:yikes:

 

[Tazzel]

sounds like a case of newbie death grip.:yikes:

Hey, all I can say is I have a 2012 RS SE5 with 10k miles that I put on myself and there is a big difference with stablity between the stock RS and the ST. So if you have not ridden both then I would say Its a case of you dont know what your talking about.

 

[Chupaca]

Really..!!!

not knowing anything about the ST you borrowed its hard to say. I would not be so quick to judge. If she is in her 70's she is less likely to fly round corners and the stock set up will work fine. They did make changes and the later units came with the changes. If the one you rode did not upgrade maybe he should..check vin# at dealer and see. If she is buying new she will have no problems...:thumbup:

 

[DrewNJ]

Hey, all I can say is I have a 2012 RS SE5 with 10k miles that I put on myself and there is a big difference with stablity between the stock RS and the ST. So if you have not ridden both then I would say Its a case of you dont know what your talking about.

Sorry bro but coz DOES know what he is talking about and is spot on. If your 70 year old lady friend has very limited time on a spyder I'd bet the majority of the wobbly feeling is because of the rider and just not being used to how it rides.

Sure, the rs feels more stable but the st doesn't feel "wobbly" at all. And yes, I have a good amount of seat time on both machines.


Sent from my Venue 8 3830 using Tapatalk

 

[coz]

and another thing

i've been around here a long time and have heard it all. spyders are a very peculiar ride the first few times ESPECIALLY coming off of two wheelers. been there. also check the air pressure in the fronts, it's most likely low.:thumbup:

 

[PMK]

I would not slam the rider or the bike yet.

As mentioned tire pressure seems to be a bit important on our heavier 14 RTs, but could be important on the other machines as well.

As for the wobbly, there are a few ways to consider this description. It could be rider induced, it could be chassis instability. Before going crazy, get the front wheels aligned. Our machine was crap in corners when we first got it. At first I thought it was me. Over controlling and so forth. In the end, I focused on how it felt when cornering. The bike would be fine on turn in, then mid turn as the bike became more set, the suspension compressed and bump steer played havoc in unpredictable steering. The machine would dart to the inside, causing more control to the outside. Then it would happen again and again until the corner ended.

I have not had the laser alignment yet. I took a guess and cranked some toe in into the tie rod. It got better. Even the wife noticed immediately. Better but still a bit twitchy, I added a bit more toe in. Now it corners a smooth line with little effort and no corrections.

May not be the problem, but is easy enough to work out. With a good setup, I believe these machines can be pretty stable, even without the add ons. The add ons will likely improve a good machine more than they will as they mask the root cause.

PK

 

[DrewNJ]

People, especially new riders, need to spend more time actually riding and getting used to the machine.
Way to many people think that since they have xx amount of years on two wheels, that they know how the spyder should handle.

The one and only time I heard someone say they were comfortable on the spyder day one was a guy I ride with that grew up riding snow mobiles. He had ZERO time on 2 wheels.
The funny thing is that he left his spyder BONE STOCK. Says it handles like it should just the way it is.

Ride more, worry less!

Sent from my Venue 8 3830 using Tapatalk

 

[Highwayman2013]

Our Rt had a lot of toe out and was a handful In corners but after the Rolo guys did an alignment it handles great.

 

[ARCTIC]

Hey, all I can say is I have a 2012 RS SE5 with 10k miles that I put on myself and there is a big difference with stablity between the stock RS and the ST. So if you have not ridden both then I would say Its a case of you dont know what your talking about.

I started on a RS and put 6,000 miles on it before trading for a ST. I have 950 miles on my ST and will say that It takes a little time but the ST will handle just as well. Trust me :2thumbs:

People, especially new riders, need to spend more time actually riding and getting used to the machine.
Way to many people think that since they have xx amount of years on two wheels, that they know how the spyder should handle.

The one and only time I heard someone say they were comfortable on the spyder day one was a guy I ride with that grew up riding snow mobiles. He had ZERO time on 2 wheels.
The funny thing is that he left his spyder BONE STOCK. Says it handles like it should just the way it is.

Ride more, worry less!

Sent from my Venue 8 3830 using Tapatalk

Never had a motorcycle. I came from snowmobiles and ATV's. If only I could get that rear tire to step out through the corner and lift the front wheels off the ground exiting I'd be in heaven :roflblack:

 

[Tazzel]

I would not slam the rider or the bike yet.

As mentioned tire pressure seems to be a bit important on our heavier 14 RTs, but could be important on the other machines as well.

As for the wobbly, there are a few ways to consider this description. It could be rider induced, it could be chassis instability. Before going crazy, get the front wheels aligned. Our machine was crap in corners when we first got it. At first I thought it was me. Over controlling and so forth. In the end, I focused on how it felt when cornering. The bike would be fine on turn in, then mid turn as the bike became more set, the suspension compressed and bump steer played havoc in unpredictable steering. The machine would dart to the inside, causing more control to the outside. Then it would happen again and again until the corner ended.

I have not had the laser alignment yet. I took a guess and cranked some toe in into the tie rod. It got better. Even the wife noticed immediately. Better but still a bit twitchy, I added a bit more toe in. Now it corners a smooth line with little effort and no corrections.

May not be the problem, but is easy enough to work out. With a good setup, I believe these machines can be pretty stable, even without the add ons. The add ons will likely improve a good machine more than they will as they mask the root cause.

PK

Thanks PK. I guess everyone focused on the 70 year old but I noticed it big time too on the corners. My friend with the ST has the sway bar and Elks ordered but I will tell him about the tie rod. The 70 something year old also took a ride on my RS and liked it much better, took the corners at high speed with no problems, but I have the Elks shocks on so it makes a big difference. I did not mean to to talk the ST down I like the bike but I like my RS better. Since I have had a RS for over 2 years I tried to tell my friend to put some time on the ST before he started making mods. Told him also to get to the Dealer to get the update to help with the heat and the steering and then see what he wants to do. But he is a modafobic and there is no force on earth that can stop him.

 

[ARCTIC]

But he is a modafobic and there is no force on earth that can stop him.

I definitely know several people with the same disease.