How do you mange riding a Spyder and a motorcycle?

[broderp]

Does anyone still ride a two wheel motorcycle and their Spyder regularly or semi-regularly? I haven't ridden my Z900 in several months since riding the Spyder. I took the Z out this past weekend, and it was like I was a beginner all over again.

The Z felt so small, my riding position made me feel like I was practically over the front tire. I was a little uncertain a few times going into some turns, and I had to tell myself how to lean as I felt very 'top heavy'.

Shifting and clutch was still second nature, and the Z was SO much more nimble and smooth when compared to the F3. Acceleration was scarier than I remember, but most of all I was uncomfortable riding, my neck position gave me a headache.

Does anyone deal with this on a regular basis, and will it go away? Not ready to leave two wheels behind yet, I have a few more years left in me. The practicality of the F3 for my work commute has me spoiled.

:cheers:

 

[Bfromla]

Getting back to it as just found replacement carb on bike was down for 2y:gaah: semi beginner feeling, more just caution reacquainting with machine sounds & feel. First tank gas -all city under 60mph. Still got other items inspecting & evaluating.** before carb issue would try alternating 1 tank (Roadstar)for every 2 Spyder. Spyder having more storage&comfort was choice for extended trips. **

 

[Mikey]

As time goes on it's all about choices. You want to be the rock star, or lay back and enjoy the world around you? Ride your ride!!!:cheers:

 

[old Timer]

I still ride both, frequently and happily.

 

[troop]

Biggest thing with me is back/forth to handlebar switches

 

[Woodaddict]

I ride my Honda NT700V all the time for work commute. A rough split between Spyder and 700 is Spyder = 5,000 miles and 700 is 20,000 miles per year. I don't have a problem remembering which one I'm riding with correct inputs from my brain or muscle memory to do correct things. A little psychological before hand brain refresher of what your riding and what inputs you have to do might help

 

[canamjhb]

I rode my Spyder and Goldwing both alternately for a couple of years. While they both demand rider attention, the road will jump up and bite you quicker on a 2 wheeler. Riding skills are different and I always needed to remind myself how to deal with the differences. Muscle memory (skills) would take a bit of time after each new adventure on the different bikes.....

 

[Peter Aawen]

I reckon you'll find it's more of a 'familiarity' thing than you might think - after all, do you find that you have similar issues when you jump in a car and drive it?? :dontknow:

I'd guess not, but I reckon that's most likely simply because you've done it hundreds if not thousands of times, so your brain is used to that particular difference & the changes in skills and techniques that doing it requires; by now, the different skills and techniques are pretty much 'hard-wired' into your brain cos you've got brain and muscle memory for both; AND the changes are so firmly ingrained that you just slip from one to the other seamlessly. :thumbup:

So you just need to give yourself more time, do the swap more often, let your brain and body get used to the changes, and over time, it WILL become a whole lot easier. hyea:

Don't sweat the small stuff - riding your Z felt different because it IS different, and you haven't been doing too much of it lately, so it'll take your brain a minute or 6 to 'change gears' so to speak! But the more you do it, the better your brain will become at doing it, and the quicker you'll make the necessary adaptations, until that particular change becomes virtually seamless too!! It's just like exercising your body - the more you do it, the easier it gets; only in this case you need to exercise your brain! And just like exercising your body is good for you in the long run, I reckon that your brain will handle this, and it will thank you for the exercise in the long run too! :yes:

Ride More, Worry Less! :cheers:

 

[Ex-Rocket]

Since I bought my 2014 Triumph Thunderbird, my 2017 F3 Limited hasn't been out much. I really like the bird.

 

[ARtraveler]

When I had both two wheels and Spyders, I never had a problem with differentiating between one or the other. Been riding both for so many years that I did not have to think twice for which reflexes to use. I never experience an oops by grabbing the wrong lever or foot switch. :bowdown:

 

[Br549rick]

ride both weekly. biggest thing is the turn signal switch placement.

 

[dpetrick]

I have, and ride both regularly and have no problem switching.

 

[blacklightning]

I ride them both with no issues. But when I am going to be riding either one somewhat aggressively, I will put in about a week of only riding whichever one i will be taking to the event. In June we do a weeks trip with the guys on mostly 2 wheelers, so I will take about a weeks vacation from the spyder and only ride the 2 wheeler. In October we do a 5 day mountain trip, and I like to do that with the wife at more of a relaxed pace. But i do practice riding solo at a better pace for the day that she decides to stay in the cabin. My 2 choices now are a 2021 RTL or the Suzuki Bouevard M109.

 

[RayBJ]

I ride both. Most summer rides are on 2 wheels. Winter is Spyder season. Spring/Fall is a toss-up depending on temps and distance.
I find my right hand reaching for the front brake lever on the Spyder after a 2-wheel session but it fades soon enough.

 

[EdMat]

You just have to remember that the Spyder does not like to jump.

 

[Lew L]

.

I still ride the poor, old, slow V-Max. V-boost is a wonderful thing...
No problem switching between the two of them.

Lew L

 

[broderp]

Thanks for the words of Wisdom and a few laughs!

Yeah, it will just take time. It doesn't help that my Z900 one step from being a "crotch-rocket" and seating and riding position are worlds apart. I don't think I would have had such an issue had I rode a more standard cruiser type motorcycle.



In my case the change to go from an "on top" seating position, leaning forward, knees bent greater than 90 degrees, foot pegs behind the knees, leaning partially forward, weight on hands on this:

to a full upright seating position with a windshield and backrest on something very stable is just what you all said... going to take some time.

(Not going to lie... the Z is more fun, but the F3 is more practical. )

:cheers:

 

[Gwolf]

It is kinda like the same way I have always managed to drive a pickup truck and a motorcycle.

Not even gonna think about racing karts for 15 years, operating payloaders, backhoes, and forklifts at work, and driving anything the company had a need to send rolling, from a 10 ton dump, to tractor trailer.

My military license was something like 3 pages long, with the last 2 pages just a list of what I had been checked out on to load and unload on cargo planes.

If you ever drove it or rode it once, you can drive it or ride it again. You might forget what you read in some book, but you don't forget the things you learned by doing them.

 

[Peter Aawen]

....

(Not going to lie... the Z is more fun, but the F3 is more practical. )

:cheers:

For you, for now, then maybe this might be the case!

But give it some F3 saddle time, maybe a little bit of effort on your behalf in order to learn how to ride the F3 'properly', such that you really start to take advantage of all of its exceptional and far greater riding features & capabilities, then even if it may not ever be quite so 'straight line fast', maybe, juuust maybe, like so many of the rest of us, you'll get good enough at it to start to learn to appreciate all the rest it offers and you might even start to change your mind?! :dontknow:

The term 'Miles of Smiles' isn't used around or referring to Spyders by as many people as much/often as it is for nothing! :lecturef_smilie:

Just Sayin'!

 

[Lee0123]

When I switch from riding my Honda to the Can Am I have to remember to upshift. The Honda is fully automatic.

When switching from the Can Am to the Honda I have to consciously remind myself to cancel the turn signals and to not use the thumb shifter because on the Honda the thumb shift is a downshift.

That's it except for in panic stops the Can Am's missing brake lever can be be startling.