I'm sure others will chime in, maybe even add more; but here's some earlier threads as starters for you -
Here's a big one that applies to
ALL 'new to Spyder' riders, be they brand new or upgrading from 2 wheels - and don't ignore the stuff posted for the V-Twin models, but do make sure to pay particular attention to the info on the 1330's:
Do's & Do not's:
“Do's & Do Not's” for New Spyder Owners:
February 2022
This information is for both the 900 and 1330 series engines and will be indicated when something applies specifically to one or the other.
There are several "things" a Spyder owner needs to know when buying and operating their Spyder to help them have a better experience, and to avoid causing complications later.
This is a collection of "sage-advice" gathered from various resources on Spyder Lover's and other reliable sources to help...
Sway bar:
Just added Ron's beefed up ultimate sway bar to the new-to-me 2014 RT (with 15k). The difference in handling, just like adding his product to my previous RS, is amazing. Thanks for the support for Spyders, Mr. Baja. Your products are much appreciated!
Dave
* Leave Thursday am on the ride from Wisconsin down into Central Texas and wherever the wind blows us (4 buddies) for 11 days. 11th Memorial Ride since my wife passed in June of 2014. Reports now and then from the road. Ride safe everyone!
Shocks:
When I purchased my '22 RTL, I had the sway bar replaced with the Baja Ron Sway bar. Other than that, the Suspension is all factory. I have noticed that now that I am more comfortable in my handling in corners. I am even starting to lift one of the front wheels off the ground in some of the tighter corners, something which I thought the "Nanny" is supposed to prevent, and it also freaks out the wife when she is with me (and me a touch). My question is will changing out the front shocks help in preventing this, or at least make it not as easy to do?
Mind you, it generally takes
AT LEAST about 1000 miles for
new Spyder riders to even start to get used to the peculiarities of Spyder riding and develop the
smooothness in their control and operation that makes these things behave like a rocket sled on rails - and it often takes
a fair bit longer for those who've got substantial experience on 2 wheels, because they've got years of muscle memory and ingrained responses/feelings to re-train & acclimatise!!
After all, if you want to get the best out of these Spyder things and really start to explore their limits in the twisties, where they have significant advantages over everything else you've ever driven/ridden, and eventually begin to go faster thru the corners than you ever did before, you'll need to learn how to maximise the advantages their greater contact patch, the Brembo brakes, and their inherent stability gives your while braking; you'll need to push some 2-wheel skills onto the back burner a bit and learn that you can't just lean to initiate or even complete a turn on a Spyder (but you
WILL need to lean, and if you wanta go fast and smooooth, to 'kiss your inside wrist'!); you've gotta learn to manage the centrifugal forces you're feeling to your advantage in a way no 2 wheel rider ever did; and above & beyond all of that, you've got to know and innately understand that you've
TWO wheels up front, so whenever just one of those wheels reacts to a bump or drops into a lower bit on the road surface, you'll feel it - and it'll have a
faaarr greater impact on your ride than anything like that which you ever felt on a 2-wheeled machine!
So do the reading; spend some time searching for other threads and read them; take it all on board and work out what parts
you can best use; but above all, give yourself saddle time, and maybe try to let every little niggle you find/feel prompt you to think about whatever it was that
you did that produced that result, and ask yourself what can you do better?? I still do that whenever the Nanny steps in, and there's almost always
something I can improve on!
Welcome to SpyderLovers, Spyders, and the Miles of Smiles these machines can bring!