pontow
New member
No more Dancing Spyder! Many thanks to Joe and Ann Meyer at Squared Away for the laser alignment they performed over this past holiday weekend. Made the ride to Las Vegas from San Diego to get the alignment done and then turned it into a 3 day weekend away for the Missus and I. My front wheels were "crabbed inward" on both sides. This explained the "battle" that I would sometimes feel going around a curve in the road. The bike seemed to first follow one front wheel and then suddenly jump to the line being pointed to by the other front wheel. The alignment took care of this. I am also running Bajaron swaybar and Doc Humphrey's nuts (2 in each front spring) and find that 22 lbs. in the front tires works best for our two up riding. Those mods together with about 1500 miles of Spyder riding to unlearn the 40+ years of two wheel riding have finally made it all come together. I don't believe there is any one thing that is the ticket but rather a combination of all. And what works best for one individual may not be the best for the next person. We each need to find our own combination.
This 400 mile ride each way was also a test for the new Gel insert that I installed into the seat. It was a Gel and memory foam "sandwich" that I ordered from Motorcycle Dave (a sponsor on this forum). It really wasn't all that bad to remove staples, cut out a "hole" for the Gel/foam sandwich to fit down into, glue down some headliner material to "blend in" where the gel went and the original foam areas (Dave also supplied that material) and then staple the cover back on using a $22 Harbor Freight pneumatic staple gun. Dave will also go to great lengths to answer any questions you might have. He spent considerable time over the telephone with me.
The seat was a 2013 BRP Comfort Seat (driver position further to the rear, no backrest option slot) that I purchased from another forum member. The stock seat for me was 50 miles maximum and butt burn would begin. With the Comfort Seat, my seating position was much better (better leg room) but I would still get the butt burn within 50 - 60 miles to the point where I needed to get off of the bike. Would also feel discomfort the following day. The gel/foam insert didn't make for a "super comfy" experience but it did make it OK. I was able to do the 400 miles up and back with only mild discomfort but that may be because I haven't done any real distance in a while. A gas stop and walk around for 5 minutes, ready to go again. Granted, the 107 degrees we hit in Palm Desert on the way home didn't exactly add to the comfort level. Definitely a success from a budget standpoint and a viable option to try before going to an aftermarket seat. I also had Russell Meyer Day Long seats on my past two BMW's and loved those seats but this seems to be working for us on the Spyder.
This 400 mile ride each way was also a test for the new Gel insert that I installed into the seat. It was a Gel and memory foam "sandwich" that I ordered from Motorcycle Dave (a sponsor on this forum). It really wasn't all that bad to remove staples, cut out a "hole" for the Gel/foam sandwich to fit down into, glue down some headliner material to "blend in" where the gel went and the original foam areas (Dave also supplied that material) and then staple the cover back on using a $22 Harbor Freight pneumatic staple gun. Dave will also go to great lengths to answer any questions you might have. He spent considerable time over the telephone with me.
The seat was a 2013 BRP Comfort Seat (driver position further to the rear, no backrest option slot) that I purchased from another forum member. The stock seat for me was 50 miles maximum and butt burn would begin. With the Comfort Seat, my seating position was much better (better leg room) but I would still get the butt burn within 50 - 60 miles to the point where I needed to get off of the bike. Would also feel discomfort the following day. The gel/foam insert didn't make for a "super comfy" experience but it did make it OK. I was able to do the 400 miles up and back with only mild discomfort but that may be because I haven't done any real distance in a while. A gas stop and walk around for 5 minutes, ready to go again. Granted, the 107 degrees we hit in Palm Desert on the way home didn't exactly add to the comfort level. Definitely a success from a budget standpoint and a viable option to try before going to an aftermarket seat. I also had Russell Meyer Day Long seats on my past two BMW's and loved those seats but this seems to be working for us on the Spyder.
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hyea:
