SpyderAnn01
Active member
What is your passenger doing in curves?
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feeling unstable
- Thread starter SailnDive
- Start date
IdahoMtnSpyder
Active member
OK, are you trying to ride the Spyder through curves like a race car, or a two wheeler? If like a two wheeler that is your problem. Handle it more like the race cars you are used to and I'll bet you'll find it corners much better!
canamjhb
Well-known member
Now to add a bit of confusion..... I tried PUSHING with little success. Now, I am PULLING with the inside hand and find it very much more stable. The Pulling action actually places your CL of gravity more towards the inside of the corner. Try pulling with the inside hand while pushing down on the outside foot and bracing your inside knee hard against the bike. While doing all this, lean into the corner and look well through it. Works for me. But I am up for change if I'm doing it all wrong..... I've had an especially hard time converting from 2 to 3 wheels. But using what I described, I now can go back and fourth without a problem......
That PULL not PUSH thing is what works for me too, and I've been passing it on to a lot of the local ryders who are either having these 'unstable feeling' concerns in their transition from 2 to 3 wheels or to those who simply want to go faster now that they are a bit more comfortable on 3 wheels - with pretty much a 100% success rate!! 
hyea:
So I'd agree with canamjhb and suggest that if you want to get rid of the 'unstable feeling' when ryding your Spyder, lean IN & forwards into the corner & PULL with your inside hand rather than pushing with your outside hand!! And use your outside foot to brace & help you move your weight across & down in towards the apex of the corner if you need a bit more stability or just want to ryde smoothly & maybe even faster thru the corner!! :thumbup:
hyea:So I'd agree with canamjhb and suggest that if you want to get rid of the 'unstable feeling' when ryding your Spyder, lean IN & forwards into the corner & PULL with your inside hand rather than pushing with your outside hand!! And use your outside foot to brace & help you move your weight across & down in towards the apex of the corner if you need a bit more stability or just want to ryde smoothly & maybe even faster thru the corner!! :thumbup:
fjray
New member
A lot of good ideas from experienced folks. I tried all the above and gave it 15k but my copilot and I never felt comfortable on the tricycle . We returned to a wing and are comfy again. Spyder had a lot of good features but it's not the magic bullet for everybody so if it isn't working for you move on.
IdahoMtnSpyder
Active member
fjray, I for one commend you for staying around the forum and not trash talking Spyders even if it didn't work out for you! Thanks. :2thumbs: Just like tractor style and ZTR lawn mowers. What works for many does not work for all.
coming from years on Two wheels
My first ride on my GS I thought I was going to fall off. With my first "two up" ride we went up on tree lawn (front yard for some of you). Its a new animal all together you have to learn its ride. The Spyder is not like any other machine you have ever ridden. (some liken it to snowmobile and a four wheeler) Just like when you fist got on a Two Wheeler you had to learn to lean in corners. You can trust the "nanny" a little. I went into a corner what the nanny thought was too hot and it did its thing braking and correcting. Ride the Ride.
Chris
My first ride on my GS I thought I was going to fall off. With my first "two up" ride we went up on tree lawn (front yard for some of you). Its a new animal all together you have to learn its ride. The Spyder is not like any other machine you have ever ridden. (some liken it to snowmobile and a four wheeler) Just like when you fist got on a Two Wheeler you had to learn to lean in corners. You can trust the "nanny" a little. I went into a corner what the nanny thought was too hot and it did its thing braking and correcting. Ride the Ride.
Chris
fjray
New member
No reason to trash the machine. I'm the one that bought it with both eyes open. I have said that if I had rented one for a weekend I probably would not have bought it but that's past history. There are a few things that I have issues with but I'm not the engineer. I would like to see a hand brake standard, a faster starting sequence and a proper frame mounted trailer hitch. The handling is always going to be what it is but I still have the need to lean in the corners and for myself I can carry a lot more corner speed on the wing than I ever could on the spyder.
canamjhb
Well-known member
I agree. I still ride both Spyder and Wing. I can still outride myself on the Wing -vs- Spyder. But then I have been riding Wings for over 30 years and Spyders for one. It took me lots of time, miles, reading, and experimenting before becoming comfortable with the riding style I described in my previous post. I doubt I will ever be able to cruise the twisties as comfortably and quickly on the Spyder. But I am more comfortable on the Spyder when just cruising around town, in inclement weather, high winds, unpaved parking lots, group rides with other 3 wheelers, and riding in shorts and T-shirt on a warm day. To me the Spyder just brings a different facet of riding enjoyment. My advice to the OP is to try different styles as suggested here. Find what works for you best and enjoy the ride.....
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Alwaysonwheels
New member
The stability is even better as a paraplegic. The greatest help was the laser alignment as then I could focus on me and not fight the bike. Just put on many miles it gets better.
Anybody that's not in a similar condition as yourself, has no reason to complain about the handling of a Spyder. My hat's off to you. Many a safe and enjoyable mile to you. YOU GO MAN!! Mac:firstplace::thumbup:
I have been riding motorcycles now for 60 years. I have put about 10,000 miles on my 2015 Spyder RT in about 5 months of riding time and came off a 2015 Gold Wing F6B and I can say I can corner and ride twisties just as well on the Spyder as my F6B. It took me some riding to learn and you better have good tires and have it well aligned. It is different and now I would rather ride the Spyder than any Gold Wing. For two wheels I would go to a BMW Bagger.
Sway bar is a good option as it will hold the trike more level during cornering. Try using a stiff arm for turning, meaning instead of just turning the bars lock or semi lock your outside elbow, this will help eliminate the feeling of flying off.
I would not recommend alignment as a cure as the only alignment that can be done is a toe adjustment which does not affect handling only tire wear. This is more of a mental adjustment than a physical one.
Also learn to relax as once you feel confident the little quirks will fade away.
Once you master it an RT type trike will run with the best cruisers or tour bike and in general outperform them all especially on unpaved and back country roads.
I design reverse trikes for a living and this is not an uncommon concern you have.
PMK
Active member
Wheel alignment, especially toe setting is very relevant in how any vehicle handles. Yes it will afeect tire wear also.
A vehicle with toe out is less inherently directionally stable and suffers from the ability to return to centered unless assisted by the driver.
Additionally, as you corner a toed out vehicle, the outside tire will transition from pointed away from the corners inside radius, to neutral followed by snapping to pointed inward towards the corners inside radius.
The inside wheel almost imediately is pointed towards the corners inside radius. These transitions, especially in a wide radius turn give an unstable wandering feel.
A vehicle with proper toe in setting will enter the corner where the outside wheel is already pointed towards the corners inside radius. The inside wheel again transitions quickly on account of Ackerman effect, providing stable smooth control through corners.
Adding insult to injury, the Spyders very basic steering and front suspension design suffers from bump steer toe out. So, as you enter a corner, and weight is applied to the outside wheel, the tendency is for the wheel to point away from the corner, adding further instability.
Heavier riders tend to generate more toe out via bump steer.
Honestly, the alignment specs will vary from exact when comparing a heavy rider, light rider, or designed typical riders weight.
IdahoMtnSpyder
Active member
I'm going to say that is all true, except for an ATV. Last year I changed out the tie rod ends on my Honda Foreman ATV. Naturally, I set the tires for some toe-in. When I took it for a ride around the neighborhood it was squirrely as h*** in turns. After repeated changes I finally found the best handling was with a fair amount of toe-out. When I mentioned this to my brother he said he looked at a side-by-side at a dealership. When he told the guys it looked like the tires were toed out they said that was how they needed to be.
:hun: Why? :dontknow:
PMK
Active member
4 x 4? Sometimes they prefer different setup than 4 x 2. Also amount of balloon shape of the tires has an effect.
Keeping the topic focused on asphalt driven, front steer, but not driven type front ends.
Often race car setup will favor slight toe out for circuit track setup, simply because it has the inside wheel already turned in to provide a fastener transition and rotation. These are traits counterproductive for a Spyder.
Can I make the F3 lean.
With regards to the Spyder F3 can I switch the flat profile rear tire for a rounded one if available and setup the front/rear suspension with adjustable Elka shocks so the entire bike can lean into the corners. Honda came out with a Neowing prototype that offered this design but I don't see why this can't be adapted to the Spyder.
With regards to the Spyder F3 can I switch the flat profile rear tire for a rounded one if available and setup the front/rear suspension with adjustable Elka shocks so the entire bike can lean into the corners. Honda came out with a Neowing prototype that offered this design but I don't see why this can't be adapted to the Spyder.
ARtraveler
R.I.P. Dwayne
:welcome: and :congrats: on your first post.
If you can get it figured out--a lot of people would be interested. I am guessing big bucks for those mods in order to get everything right and in compliance with safety standards.
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