1st post.
Good to be here. Looking forward to being a part of this community. Just picked up a beautiful red and black 2020 RTL - my first experience with three wheels after 55 years on two. WOW! What a difference, but after only 24 hours I'm getting the feeling of the bike, and I no longer reach for the front brake or clutch levers. Not long ago, I sold a red sports car that I loved, and I feel like the Spyder does a great job of combining sports car and motorcycle - and a luxry one at that. In fact, I already call it my three wheel luxury European Sports car. Very impressed with the drivetrain and the smooth power of the three cylinder engine. I've owned inline fours that buzz at speed (Kawasaki Concourse), and V-twins that vibrate and shake (Solid mount Sportster), but this three cylinder is quite smooth with nice, even, torque. And that reverse gear! YES! Real reverse. Every time I back up I think: "WOW, I love this thing!"
It didn't take long before taking curves seemed natural. The one thing that I'm still getting used to is the need to steer through mild curves, ones I ued to take by shifting my weight a little. I am starting to I find myself just placing a little pressure on the bars in these curves almost without thinking. so I'm getting there.
One thing that's helped me transition easily, is when I encounter new different forces, I tell myself to trust the bike. I did this when I changed bikes before. Each bike has it's own personality and quirks, so I do my best to let the bike do what it needs to do to deal with irregularities in the road, and I just relax and enjoy the ride.
Obviously there's the leaning thing, or rather the not leaning thing, but one other new sensation is feeling bumps in the handlebars as each front tire hits it's own road irregularity. The ride overall is quite smooth.
Speed - the last three bikes I've owned, I've always felt they are working hard at higher freeway speeds. It's just a sensation, because those bikes could go all day on the freeway, but the Spyder seems to love higher speeds. On it, 60 feels like 40, and 80 feels like 60, it just eats up the miles, which is what a touring machine should do.
Shifting - I like the paddle shifting. No need to take my feet off the highway pegs to shift up or down, only when I need to brake.
The bike is mostly stock, with an aftermarket light down low in the front center, and a flashing brakelight in the back and it has SS radiator guard screens. I've installed a GPS from my previous bike. Looks to have the original front tires, and the PO replaced the back one with a General Altimax which seems to ride and grip very nicely. Bike has 16k on the clock, and looks brand new. It was obviously well taken care of. Came with a frunk full of binders - service manuals, and records. The PO recently aged out of riding. If all goes well, this bike will keep me riding until I too age out, which I'm hoping won't be for atleast a decade or more.
Accessories - Oh, boy... is that one huge cash black hole, ready to swallow up every last penny. I've been there before as a Harley owner for over a decade. As the saying goes, HD really stands for Hundred Dollars, because everything you buy for a Harley costs atleast a hundred dollars. Fortunately, I'm quite happy with the bike as-is, and will give it some time before making changes, although there sure is a lot of accessories that light up, and I love stuff that lights up.
Anyway... That's if for now.
hyea:
