Front wheel in the air

[Spyder777]

So... I'm riding as usual with my wife. 16 psi in front, 27 in rear. RSS with factory setting on Fox shocks. Everything stock. 2700 approximate miles on Spyder. We ride the mountains and we ride them hard. We are used to VSS kicking on in the curves often and until today Nanny has done a wonderful job of keeping all 3 wheels on the road.

Today, taking a hard left, our front left wheel came at least 1 foot off the asphalt. I immediately hit brakes and the wheel dropped back down. WTF?? I thought that it was impossible? Is it possible that my aggressive riding over the last 2500 miles has dampened the shocks so much that this becomes possible? We ride on, slower than before, and when we stop I adjust the front shocks. I see between 6 and 7 threads showing from the bottom. Go for a solo test drive. Seems stiffer. Wife on back and we continue onward following our friend on a '75 BMW R90S through the Pisgah forest up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Seems better. Rides better. But a little fear/uncertainty remains.

What happened? Does anyone know? Do I need to have my VSS checked or is this "normal"?
I was under the impression that the Nanny was keeping all 3 down all the time.

Has this happened to you?

 

[sabunim5]

Easily possible to lift a front wheel, lots of us have done it, although a foot is pretty high. The nanny will retard the ignition and/or apply the appropriate braking if you are in danger of flipping. For me, it is much more likely in quick turns from a stop or a very slow speed. Not sure about the others out there.

 

[ThreeWheels]

I used to lift a front wheel occasionally. Especially on the Dragon or The Devils Triangle.

I haven't done it this season. I attribute that to replacing the 2010 OEM shocks with a set of 2011 OEM ones.

 

[DocRags]

The first time Erags lifted a tire was on the Blue Ridge Parkway near a scenic overlook. I honestly thought we were going to roll over. My response was similar to yours, with me screaming " :cus:I thought this couldn't do that" in my mike. My second comment to him was "If we are on YouTube tonight I am going to KILL you!" The "nanny" can be overcome with certain (shall we say, "aggressive") driving techniques; it's not foolproof...I figure lifting a tire is just a little warning to you to watch what you're doing in curves. I wonder if the road in the park wasn't banked a little, too, since the amount of tire elevation seemed excessive that first time it happened to us. It was the only time we've lifted a tire that I got scared :yikes: ..the other times haven't seemed to be much off the ground.

 

[aka1004]

pretty easy to lift inside wheel.
before i got evo's antisway bar, inside wheel used to come off the ground all the time while turning and i am pretty sure it was me letting go of throttle that brought it back to ground, not the spyder's vss or other safety features.
it still happens here and there but only when i accelerate really hard out of the turns(not curves).

 

[ARtraveler]

Glad you came out all right. opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:

 

[serf]

I've had this happen but only when riding 1up. It's happened on tight turns and once in a round about. The round about scared the crop out of me because like you see fit a good ways off the pavement. When the wife is on the back I now slow it down a bit.

I did notice today that since I've installed Ron's anti sway bar that it kept us both flatter in the turns and it seems to work even harder to keep its flat with the added weight.

 

[jerpinoy]

Have fun riding but don't forget " murphy's law"

 

[ThreeWheels]

Think of ot this way...................

Lifting a wheel on the Spyder is the same as scraping the pegs on a two wheeler.

 

[Bob Denman]

There is NOTHING built by man; that can't be outwitted by somebody who's really trying to end up as a statistic somewhere... :shocked:
It's actually an easy thing to do since the Nanny doesn't prevent the wheel from coming up; she can only react TO it.
On the bright side... you found a limit, and survived the view over the edge! :thumbup:

 

[MikeinGA]

I've had this happen but only when riding 1up. It's happened on tight turns and once in a round about. The round about scared the crop out of me because like you see fit a good ways off the pavement. When the wife is on the back I now slow it down a bit.

I did notice today that since I've installed Ron's anti sway bar that it kept us both flatter in the turns and it seems to work even harder to keep its flat with the added weight.

I have never had any of the front wheels off the ground, the Nanny always kickin and slowed me down each time. After I had the BajaRon install his anti-bar swaybar I can go faster in turns and makes it more stable on the highway and the still the Nanny will not let the wheels lift on my Spyder RS-S.

Mike

 

[Bob Denman]

Oh; She will... you just haven't found the limits yet! :roflblack: :shocked:

 

[docdoru]

I have never had any of the front wheels off the ground, the Nanny always kickin and slowed me down each time. After I had the BajaRon install his anti-bar swaybar I can go faster in turns and makes it more stable on the highway and the still the Nanny will not let the wheels lift on my Spyder RS-S. Mike

Can I...?

 

[Black Pig]

Yep! Regularly on the Bowling roundabout (between Dumbarton & Clydebank) It's a riot!:yes:

 

[gazunni]

We were just on a fall colour ride and the fellow behind us was using a GoPro HD and was videoing the ride. We took a corner and he actually captured in one of the video frames our inside wheel coming off the ground. It is only the second time it has happened to us. Riding two up on an RTS. Have Elkas on the front.

The video he shot of the colour ride was really cool. Take a look ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Cfop-hVt6gs#! )

 

[donnellpj]

My Nanny is very particular. She does not like tight cornering while I'm in the throttle.

I typically brake coming into the corner, ryde through the apex, then throttle out of the corner, pretty standard for spirited ryding, but when I come in too hot I definitely get scolded, and even worse if the angle is too sharp.

 

[Colin]

Not quite true

I have never had any of the front wheels off the ground, the Nanny always kickin and slowed me down each time. After I had the BajaRon install his anti-bar swaybar I can go faster in turns and makes it more stable on the highway and the still the Nanny will not let the wheels lift on my Spyder RS-S.

Mike

I have the Aussie Swaybar fitted, and yes you can go faster and the Spyder sits flatter, but the swaybar actually just means that Nanny will kick in a little later if you should happen to get it wrong. Like it was said earlier, Nanny doesn't PREVENT it only REACTS.
I have managed to get an inside wheel up when 2-up and Nanny did kick in, but it certainly gave me a reality check, It happened when taking off from a set of lights and turning right and using a bit more throttle than required

 

[NancysToy]

My Nanny is very particular. She does not like tight cornering while I'm in the throttle.

I typically brake coming into the corner, ryde through the apex, then throttle out of the corner, pretty standard for spirited ryding, but when I come in too hot I definitely get scolded, and even worse if the angle is too sharp.

Which beats the heck out of sliding along the pavement on your nose! She's doing her job. With good technique she is quite quiet, with poor technique, she is more active, with really bad technique she may not have enough reflexes or muscles to save your skin. She is not a cure-all, just an aid.

 

[StanProff]

The first time Erags lifted a tire was on the Blue Ridge Parkway near a scenic overlook. I honestly thought we were going to roll over. My response was similar to yours, with me screaming " :cus:I thought this couldn't do that" in my mike. My second comment to him was "If we are on YouTube tonight I am going to KILL you!" The "nanny" can be overcome with certain (shall we say, "aggressive") driving techniques; it's not foolproof...I figure lifting a tire is just a little warning to you to watch what you're doing in curves. I wonder if the road in the park wasn't banked a little, too, since the amount of tire elevation seemed excessive that first time it happened to us. It was the only time we've lifted a tire that I got scared :yikes: ..the other times haven't seemed to be much off the ground.

Lifting a tire on the Blue Ridge Parkway?? It is not intended for agressive riding, I have ridden it many times on daily runs and also the length of it from Cherokee to Waynesboro at the Skyline drive. I don't remember ever lifting a wheel or the nanny kicking in. The southern end from Ashville to Cherokee is the more twisty area, i am sure it could happen there if your not careful on those switchbacks.
Your right about the parkway roads being banked or decending radius or something like that, it can be tricky and it is real easy to get a little over confident and those wierd curves can sneek up on you.

 

[donnellpj]

Which beats the heck out of sliding along the pavement on your nose! She's doing her job. With good technique she is quite quiet, with poor technique, she is more active, with really bad technique she may not have enough reflexes or muscles to save your skin. She is not a cure-all, just an aid.

Haha! Thanks Scotty, once again, you strike right to the core,...it must be my poor technique,...

Ill try to stop sucking.

/sigh