CyncySpyder
Teddys favorite human
In preperation for Teddy's Maggie Valley & Lamonster Bar-B-Q trip
Trying to learn from past experiences and to not repeat the bad ones, so we hooked up our Moto-Mate Camper to Teds Red Sled, and litterally took it for a shake down cruise to see just how much shaking was gonna be going on this time & we learned a thing or two
Having the camper in tow, every bump is exagerated, but no where near how it was with our SpyderFest trip. Changing the PSI in the tires, along with adjusting the preload on the Elkas has made a marked improvement. But I'm thinking, or I should say I'm feeling, something still isn't right with the rear of Teds Sled. Its still a pretty stiff ryde compared to before we switched to the car tires, and that may just be the nature of the beast with having stiffer sidewalls than that of the OEM tires that we replaced. Its not unbearable, just not nearly as smooth as it was before the switch.
The fronts, now with the adjustments done, I don't really notice much difference, but that rear tire, I do. I mean, if we run over a man-hole cover dead center with the rear tire, doing only 25-35 mph, there's such an impact and jarring that it feels almost as if the rim of the wheel is taking the hit, and therefor, transferring that motion throughout the frame of the Spyder :yikes: and to us :shocked:
I've actually pulled over twice that this has happened, to make sure the rim was ok and didn't get cracked, and never noticed anything out of the ordinary looking, so we've gone on. And both those times, it was without the camper in tow, and the rear air-suspension set at its stiffest setting. I've tried adjusting the air-ryde to see if that would change anything with this situation, but it really only raises and lowers your seating position, and doesn't really effect the comfort of the ryde, at least as far as I have been able to notice.
Not sure if maybe I should try a different PSI in the rear tire and see if that helps, but I've tried a few different scenarios, and we're sitting at 26 PSI in the rear now, and I'm not sure if I should try more or less. We were at 34, then 32, then 28 & now at 26 and that has gotten the ryde as stated, much better than before, but still jarring if the rear tire hits a pot-hole or man-hole cover dead center. Being a car tire, I'm afraid to go to low, but I don't know what that limit really is being on a Spyder RT-S, do you?
Also noticed that the new sun-canopy, while far from ideal, but due to being out of time, will have to suffice for this trip, tho mounting strategies have to be changed. Using the suction cup mounts worked, and it stayed on, but in cross winds, that thing would bobble from side to side, that I'd almost get motion sickness watching the effect in the Teddy-Cam display, as we have the camera mounted to the inside front of the Sun-Canopy, so any wobble is visible in the display. So I figure today, after work and hopefully the shop has the new Wind-Shield support and motor in and can get it installed before our trip
ray: that I'll try remounting Teddy's new Sun-Canopy. I'm thinking that using the standard ram-mounts on both the sides will give it more lateral support that its desperately needing now, and then using the one suction cup mount for the single front middle support, that way I don't have to drill a hole and weaken the entire structure. Not sure how it will pan out, will have to do it and see, but am thinking it should do well enough for this trip.
On the way home from the auto-wash, we got caught in a bit of rain about 5 minutes from the condo. We were up on the I75 bridge going over the Ohio River that's right in front of where we live, and all kinds of ppl were straining like crazy at seeing Teddy standing up in his carrier, as if he was pose'n for pics in the rain :doorag: Every persons face I looked at had a Huge Grin from :2thumbs: ear to ear :2thumbs: and it put a smile on my mug as well. But then, we encountered something we hadn't encountered, as of yet. We took our exit off the bridge and made our way thru the side streets for about 2 minutes til we got to our condo. Pulled up to the garage, and pulled Teds Sled in front ways, with the camper hanging out about a foot, and then I proceeded to get out the leaf blower and give Teds Sled a nice blow dry since it was just cleaned and waxed. Next thing I know, a car pulls up and parks in my neighbors parking spot in the lot, and I didn't think anything of it, just that my neighbor had company. Well let me tell you, she wasn't there for my neighbor at all :shocked: she was there for TEDDY :yikes: She got out of her car and walked up to our garage, and with me blow-drying the Sled, she motions for me to talk to her, so I shut the blower off so I could hear her, with a confused look upon my face, I ask if I could help her.
"Oh My God!!! I've never done anything like this, please understand, I swear I'm NOT A STALKER!!!:shocked:"
Well, that sent red flags up for me right away, cause I've had issues (real ones) with Stalkers in the past, and that's one reason I'm NOT on FaceBook. But usually when someone you don't know makes a statement like that, its usually cause they are but don't want you to think they are:lecturef_smilie: So I was pensive to say the least, but also know the effect Teddy has on people, so I tried keeping an open mind with the young lady :dontknow: and sure enough, it was innocent I asked what was up and she proceeded to tell me how she has an 8yr old little boy at home, who loves Spyder MotorCycles and when she saw us on the bridge, and with Teddy ryding and standing and posing with his Doggles on she said she couldn't help herself, and that she just had to get a picture of Teddy on the Spyder for her little boy :clap: "Please Please Please, I'm so sorry for following you and I know this isn't right, but it would just make his day:bowdown:" I just smiled and laughed and nodded sure 
I grabbed a Teddy-Treat and put his Doggles back on him and asked him to stand up in his carrier and pose, and as long as he knows I have a Teddy-Treat for him, he's all for it :clap: So we even did a few Hi5's for her to catch on film for her kid, and I swear, she was so thrilled, & I even had Teddy give her a Hi5 or two and I thought she was gonna cry for a minute She repeatedly apologized for bothering and stalking us, and kept thanking us over and over as she looked at the pics she had just taken
Was actually pretty cool, tho to be honest, we're used to all that fuss out in public, but not at home, so at first, I was a bit worried, but should have known better
hyea: I just wish I could've seen her kids expression as she showed him those pics and told him about meeting Teddy hyea: The pup does it again :doorag:
Trying to learn from past experiences and to not repeat the bad ones, so we hooked up our Moto-Mate Camper to Teds Red Sled, and litterally took it for a shake down cruise to see just how much shaking was gonna be going on this time & we learned a thing or two
Having the camper in tow, every bump is exagerated, but no where near how it was with our SpyderFest trip. Changing the PSI in the tires, along with adjusting the preload on the Elkas has made a marked improvement. But I'm thinking, or I should say I'm feeling, something still isn't right with the rear of Teds Sled. Its still a pretty stiff ryde compared to before we switched to the car tires, and that may just be the nature of the beast with having stiffer sidewalls than that of the OEM tires that we replaced. Its not unbearable, just not nearly as smooth as it was before the switch.
The fronts, now with the adjustments done, I don't really notice much difference, but that rear tire, I do. I mean, if we run over a man-hole cover dead center with the rear tire, doing only 25-35 mph, there's such an impact and jarring that it feels almost as if the rim of the wheel is taking the hit, and therefor, transferring that motion throughout the frame of the Spyder :yikes: and to us :shocked:
I've actually pulled over twice that this has happened, to make sure the rim was ok and didn't get cracked, and never noticed anything out of the ordinary looking, so we've gone on. And both those times, it was without the camper in tow, and the rear air-suspension set at its stiffest setting. I've tried adjusting the air-ryde to see if that would change anything with this situation, but it really only raises and lowers your seating position, and doesn't really effect the comfort of the ryde, at least as far as I have been able to notice.
Not sure if maybe I should try a different PSI in the rear tire and see if that helps, but I've tried a few different scenarios, and we're sitting at 26 PSI in the rear now, and I'm not sure if I should try more or less. We were at 34, then 32, then 28 & now at 26 and that has gotten the ryde as stated, much better than before, but still jarring if the rear tire hits a pot-hole or man-hole cover dead center. Being a car tire, I'm afraid to go to low, but I don't know what that limit really is being on a Spyder RT-S, do you?
Also noticed that the new sun-canopy, while far from ideal, but due to being out of time, will have to suffice for this trip, tho mounting strategies have to be changed. Using the suction cup mounts worked, and it stayed on, but in cross winds, that thing would bobble from side to side, that I'd almost get motion sickness watching the effect in the Teddy-Cam display, as we have the camera mounted to the inside front of the Sun-Canopy, so any wobble is visible in the display. So I figure today, after work and hopefully the shop has the new Wind-Shield support and motor in and can get it installed before our trip
ray: that I'll try remounting Teddy's new Sun-Canopy. I'm thinking that using the standard ram-mounts on both the sides will give it more lateral support that its desperately needing now, and then using the one suction cup mount for the single front middle support, that way I don't have to drill a hole and weaken the entire structure. Not sure how it will pan out, will have to do it and see, but am thinking it should do well enough for this trip.On the way home from the auto-wash, we got caught in a bit of rain about 5 minutes from the condo. We were up on the I75 bridge going over the Ohio River that's right in front of where we live, and all kinds of ppl were straining like crazy at seeing Teddy standing up in his carrier, as if he was pose'n for pics in the rain :doorag: Every persons face I looked at had a Huge Grin from :2thumbs: ear to ear :2thumbs: and it put a smile on my mug as well. But then, we encountered something we hadn't encountered, as of yet. We took our exit off the bridge and made our way thru the side streets for about 2 minutes til we got to our condo. Pulled up to the garage, and pulled Teds Sled in front ways, with the camper hanging out about a foot, and then I proceeded to get out the leaf blower and give Teds Sled a nice blow dry since it was just cleaned and waxed. Next thing I know, a car pulls up and parks in my neighbors parking spot in the lot, and I didn't think anything of it, just that my neighbor had company. Well let me tell you, she wasn't there for my neighbor at all :shocked: she was there for TEDDY :yikes: She got out of her car and walked up to our garage, and with me blow-drying the Sled, she motions for me to talk to her, so I shut the blower off so I could hear her, with a confused look upon my face, I ask if I could help her.
"Oh My God!!! I've never done anything like this, please understand, I swear I'm NOT A STALKER!!!:shocked:"
Well, that sent red flags up for me right away, cause I've had issues (real ones) with Stalkers in the past, and that's one reason I'm NOT on FaceBook. But usually when someone you don't know makes a statement like that, its usually cause they are but don't want you to think they are:lecturef_smilie: So I was pensive to say the least, but also know the effect Teddy has on people, so I tried keeping an open mind with the young lady :dontknow: and sure enough, it was innocent
I asked what was up and she proceeded to tell me how she has an 8yr old little boy at home, who loves Spyder MotorCycles and when she saw us on the bridge, and with Teddy ryding and standing and posing with his Doggles on she said she couldn't help herself, and that she just had to get a picture of Teddy on the Spyder for her little boy :clap: "Please Please Please, I'm so sorry for following you and I know this isn't right, but it would just make his day:bowdown:" I just smiled and laughed and nodded sure I grabbed a Teddy-Treat and put his Doggles back on him and asked him to stand up in his carrier and pose, and as long as he knows I have a Teddy-Treat for him, he's all for it :clap: So we even did a few Hi5's for her to catch on film for her kid, and I swear, she was so thrilled, & I even had Teddy give her a Hi5 or two and I thought she was gonna cry for a minute She repeatedly apologized for bothering and stalking us, and kept thanking us over and over as she looked at the pics she had just taken Was actually pretty cool, tho to be honest, we're used to all that fuss out in public, but not at home, so at first, I was a bit worried, but should have known better
hyea: I just wish I could've seen her kids expression as she showed him those pics and told him about meeting Teddy hyea: The pup does it again :doorag:
I know the easy answer is to avoid doing that, but we all know that's not always possible. I'm just trying to figure out, if the tire had enough or even too much pressure, then it shouldn't feel like the rim would be hitting, so maybe I don't have enough pressure, and when we have the direct impact on the rear tire, then the tires sidewalls give too much, allowing for the impact to actually be felt on the rim of the wheel itself :dontknow: I'm just not sure :helpsmilie: 
