Do not ride on gravel roads?

[sledmaster]

Out of nearly 100,000 Spyder miles since 2007 I would guess that 1,000 of them have been on gravel roads in Minnesota. I generally slow down some, but not to a crawl. Often times it is 50 mph for miles on end. To be fair, I did have to replace one belt, but that was damaged due to hot tar patches and chunks of tar getting stuck on the big sprocket. Yes it is a concern, but just slow down and be smart about it to minimize any paint chipping and rocks getting stuck in the sprocket/belt. The dust is more of a concern, kills the air filter far quicker.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I hate it when they chip seal (hot tar and rock chips) a road here. It is a very common practice in Utah and in rural Utah there is often no other way you can go except over the fresh chip seal.

It's getting to be a common practice all around the country. It's been proven to be very cost effective way to extend the life of asphalt pavement.

 

[Deer Slayer]

It's getting to be a common practice all around the country. It's been proven to be very cost effective way to extend the life of asphalt pavement.

I had to remove a chunk of tar gravel stuff from my rear sprocket.:yikes: So stuff happens every where. :cheers:

 

[sledmaster]

It's getting to be a common practice all around the country. It's been proven to be very cost effective way to extend the life of asphalt pavement.

Agreed. They call it "seal coating" up here. They first spray a hot oil/tar layer then cover it in pea-rock, let it get packed in and then come back later and sweep up the un-stuck pea rock. Typically it is most effective if done one year after the pavement is laid down. Something about helping to keep the oil content in the pavement.

But that is less of an issue than the 100% hot tar pot hole repairs we have to deal with due to the freeze-thaw cycles. They come along with a truck load of hot mix asphalt and fill the craters in the pavement with hot tar and pack it down. If you should come across the repair sites that day, your tires pick up some chunks and it is hell on the belt, sprockets, wheels, the guy behind you. I will flat out turn around when I find roads that are getting repaired that day. WD-40 is a cheap tar remover, spray it on and let it sit for a few minutes, loosens up the tar bond and it wipes right off, cheap.

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: We also keep an eye on the Road "Repairs" up here, and I will always avoid sections that have just been chip-sealed; even with my Jeep! :gaah: We normally give it two days to get a stabilized surface, but I wait an extra day for the bike!
Besides; the detours around the mess normally just ends up adding time and mileage to any ride! :thumbup:

 

[sledmaster]

:shocked: We also keep an eye on the Road "Repairs" up here, and I will always avoid sections that have just been chip-sealed; even with my Jeep! :gaah: We normally give it two days to get a stabilized surface, but I wait an extra day for the bike!
Besides; the detours around the mess normally just ends up adding time and mileage to any ride! :thumbup:

Right on Bob, I'm with you!

That happened on my ride to Sioux Falls and back last Tuesday. Found one of those "being repaired" roads so I whipped around and took a detour. Yep, more time and miles, but I still made it home for dinner that night. Jacked up the mileage from about 416 miles to 462 miles, but I loved every bloody minute and mile!

The highlight was seeing the "Speed Limit 80" signs in South Dakota, I do not remember seeing them, ever, except maybe in Montana back in the 70s? Speedo said 84 :lecturef_smilie:, GPS said 82, and surprisingly I didn't get passed much at all. Well, there are not many cars in South Dakota so that doesn't say much I guess.

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: "Speed Limit 80"? :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:
That'll drain the tanks quickly; won't it?
That reminds of a story about one of the Mercedes-McLaren Supercars...
The "Top Gear" crew was out for a ride in it, and casually mentioned that you could drain the tank dry in just 17 minutes, when your were out on the Autobahn with your right foot buried! :2thumbs:

 

[sledmaster]

I only stopped for gas twice in 462 miles, started full, ended empty!

 

[Bob Denman]

:thumbup: I'm gonna blow that pic up, and hang it in my office!

 

[sledmaster]

There is a toll road in south Texas that is posted at 85, maybe you would like this one better? :yikes:

 

[Bob Denman]

 

[sledmaster]

Now that we have completely and totally hijacked this thread, maybe we should let it go back to the regularly scheduled programming? :cheers:

 

[will]

Thanks for the info on the gravel roads as I will be spending the summer in Northern MN, to escape the mid Atlantic heat. And there are a lot of gravel roads around the place we live that I want to go on for photography. Although some freshly graveled roads last summer had some pretty soft new gravel that surprised me in my Jeep.

The other thing I noticed is that, from a size perspective, the Spyder qualifies as a class 2 off highway vehicle. I am thinking of getting the permit so I can go on the Soo line trail for about two miles to some ponds for photography. I will have to get the out of state resident permit. But the road from Swatara is in good shape.

 

[frj322]

We’re a 2 Spyder family, matching his and hers F3s models. Last summer we moved to our new place down a mile dirt/gravel road. No problems for either bike yet. Just keep our speed under 10mph... now dust and dirt, that’s a WHOLE ‘nother issue. You’re gonna be washing your Spyder VERY frequently! Just slow down on the dirt and enjoy the ride!!

 

[johnsimion]

The Spyderpops belt guard may be a good idea if you can get it perfectly aligned the first time, which IMO requires a lift so you can work comfortably directly under the Spyder rather than beside it. The tolerances are extremely small -- this thing has to be centered in a space of no more than 1/2". Also, the Spyderpops piece has to be aligned perfectly the first time, because there is NO room AT ALL for adjustment once it's in there. I spent several hours taking off parts and elevating the Spyder as best I could, trying to put mine on. I did multiple test-fits and when I went final I thought I had it perfect, only to discover that it was actually rubbing up against the belt. The Spyderpops rock guard cannot be bent or adjusted once it's in place. I tried cutting it back but in the limited space had no luck with that, either. If I left it in place, the hard guard piece would be rubbing up against and damaging the softer belt, which was totally unacceptable. I thought about taking the guard off and trying again, but "taking it off and trying again" is ALSO not an option because as I found out, doing so ruins the piece. I declined to buy another guard because I was couldn't even figure out what I had done wrong and I still screwed it up. Also, once I researched the situation I found that there are actually very few reported instances of ruined belts on Spyders relative to the entire production and so few on Harleys as to be practically nonexistent. I came to the conclusion that this is a cure searching for a disease. My advice is to skip it and just go slow on gravel.

 

[Gwolf]

I been riding 2 wheel and 3 wheel belt final drive bikes on one mile in and one mile back out, limestone road for the last 40 years. Rode chain drive bikes on the same roads before that. The limestone is not hard as gravel, but it has large chunks of hard stone and pieces of sharp sea shell mixed in it. I rode a 3 wheel Sportster with a conversion kit and no belt guard at all for 20 years before I bought the Spyder. Had no problems with it and the belts lasted the average time. Usually ride in and out down the limerock road at least once a day, sometimes more. I am not real concerned about the Spyder belt. If it breaks I will put another one on. Bought it last April and got 8,000 miles on it now. There is no damage to the belt so far. Don't over think it, just ride it and inspect the belt now and then.

No belt guard at all on this one. I put 350,000 miles on that Sporty in 20 years........... and thousands of times up and down the limestone road.

 

[ozarkryder]

I had a 1990 Harley FLHS, and had the original belt when it was sold this last summer. Lived 6 miles down a gravel road 12 of the 29 years I owned the bike. Did have some evidence of small rocks getting caught between the belt and rear pulley, but nothing critical. There was a small hole punched through in the center of the belt, but after watching it carefully I pretty much dismissed it and just checked it out when I remembered. It seemed to be fine and I ran it like that for the last 4 years I owned the bike.

A belt guard is available from multiple sources, or you can easily make one yourself If you're a bit handy: https://www.spyderrt.info/u-do-it