joe schmoe
Visionary Member
OK, first I need to clarify that the Spyder is my wife's and that we bought it from Cowtown in Cuba, MO, some 563 miles from the house...I am 6' 3" tall and weigh about 220 lbs...This will make sense here shortly.
I own and ride a 2009 Victory Vision with over 26,000 miles on her, would have been more but the wife has been sick for the past year (lung cancer). So I have a little bit of riding experience...
We bought her Spyder from Len at Cowtown and all I can say is they/he know CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!
Between my wife and I, we rode the Spyder 35 miles getting use to on Hwy F around the dealership...I was disappointed by how it jumped around on the road from every little bump and walked like a Zara Spook fishing lure...We got back to the dealership and another customer was there talking to Len, and I made the comment about the ryde of the RT-S and they said it was due to the stock shocks...I spoke to the customer and Len in depth about them as the Elka's ARE NOT CHEAP! I was planning on getting a new GPS on my Vision as it had died, but instead took that money and told Cowtown to put a set of Elka's on the wife's Spyder...Elkas should be a MANDATORY STOCK part of the Spyder...It was a night and day difference in handling...We no longer were walking the dog like a Zara Spook nor was it jumping all over the place when hitting bumps in the road...It was a GREAT investment in the Elkas...
We left out of Cuba, Sunday morning around 9:45 EDT (not CDT) late start in my book but the wife was still sore and tired from the ride up in her Toytoa Highlander...So we crusied back on Hwy 19 and I ride the first bit to get us out of town and away from traffic (wifes saying not mine). We get about an hour out from Cuba and she takes over...She rides this thing like a Pro, holds a solid steady line through all the twisties we encounter and rides it like she had owned it for years...:thumbup:Then about an hour later she says she's getting tired and needs a break so I take over and ride it for a while (3 or 4 hours and thru a good rain storm) then she gets back on for a while until we see rain ahead in Paducah and she says she doesn't want to ride in the rain. So I take over and ride it the rest of the way home another 5 or 6 hours...
Here are my observations from riding it for so long Sunday;
The seating position is very upright and you can't do the LaZy boy recliner thing riding this machine. There is plenty of computer gadgetry to keep you occupied while riding...The fuel economy was FANTASTIC while crusing the back roads, got about 220 miles to the tank, got her out on the interstate (betwen 70 and 80 MPH) and the fuel mileage SUCKED...Got 122 miles to a tank.
The CB and Intercom work exceptionally well and are intergrated nicely, however, when downshifting there is a very high frequency that comes across the headsets, but only while downshifting (manually or automatic doesn't matter) Clarity was very much above what I was expecting and made my J&M headsets sound like quality audio headphones!! Kind of disappointed with the iPod as the "MAIN" display only shows "iPod" it doesn't show name of song or artist, I know it does on the other screen, but THAT'S the OTHER screen. Wish there was a "SIMPLE" way of disabling the intercom while riding...It is terrible to hear myself sing!:yikes: The controls are nice and easy to operate but I found that sometimes I would get into BRAIN overload due to ALL of the buttons being in the left hand side...
Riding the Spyder on rural roads is fun and a relaxing ride, but when on the Interstate it was noticeable how quick and responsive the handling is, just the slightlest driver input would result in the Spyder reacting...A cross wind is not the friend of the Spyder, as I was riding into and through a good Missouri thunderstorm it whipped me all over the place...Although semi trucks didn't have that much effect on the Spyder while at interstate speeds. It does take a while to get out of the motorcycle riding mode and get into the Spyder riding mode...Once that is done it is a fun ride...However, I must say the seat is extremely HARSH after about 5 or 6 hours of riding...I think it is due to not being able to change butt positions much due to the limited foot positions...On my Victory Vision I can either ride straight up or ride like I'm in a recliner or anything in between...With the Spyder I couldn't do that. Also, there is a strange, weird vibration while riding at interstate speeds (posted this in the Shop talk forums) Found it to be a speed related vibration just all of a sudden the entire chassis would vibrate at speed. I could fluctuate the speed and it would go right back to smooth as glass...very weird...
All in all it is a very well crafted and running machine, but I will stay with my Vision and let the wife ride her RT-S...Just my thoughts after ryding it for 12 hours Sunday...
I own and ride a 2009 Victory Vision with over 26,000 miles on her, would have been more but the wife has been sick for the past year (lung cancer). So I have a little bit of riding experience...
We bought her Spyder from Len at Cowtown and all I can say is they/he know CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!
Between my wife and I, we rode the Spyder 35 miles getting use to on Hwy F around the dealership...I was disappointed by how it jumped around on the road from every little bump and walked like a Zara Spook fishing lure...We got back to the dealership and another customer was there talking to Len, and I made the comment about the ryde of the RT-S and they said it was due to the stock shocks...I spoke to the customer and Len in depth about them as the Elka's ARE NOT CHEAP! I was planning on getting a new GPS on my Vision as it had died, but instead took that money and told Cowtown to put a set of Elka's on the wife's Spyder...Elkas should be a MANDATORY STOCK part of the Spyder...It was a night and day difference in handling...We no longer were walking the dog like a Zara Spook nor was it jumping all over the place when hitting bumps in the road...It was a GREAT investment in the Elkas...
We left out of Cuba, Sunday morning around 9:45 EDT (not CDT) late start in my book but the wife was still sore and tired from the ride up in her Toytoa Highlander...So we crusied back on Hwy 19 and I ride the first bit to get us out of town and away from traffic (wifes saying not mine). We get about an hour out from Cuba and she takes over...She rides this thing like a Pro, holds a solid steady line through all the twisties we encounter and rides it like she had owned it for years...:thumbup:Then about an hour later she says she's getting tired and needs a break so I take over and ride it for a while (3 or 4 hours and thru a good rain storm) then she gets back on for a while until we see rain ahead in Paducah and she says she doesn't want to ride in the rain. So I take over and ride it the rest of the way home another 5 or 6 hours...
Here are my observations from riding it for so long Sunday;
The seating position is very upright and you can't do the LaZy boy recliner thing riding this machine. There is plenty of computer gadgetry to keep you occupied while riding...The fuel economy was FANTASTIC while crusing the back roads, got about 220 miles to the tank, got her out on the interstate (betwen 70 and 80 MPH) and the fuel mileage SUCKED...Got 122 miles to a tank.
The CB and Intercom work exceptionally well and are intergrated nicely, however, when downshifting there is a very high frequency that comes across the headsets, but only while downshifting (manually or automatic doesn't matter) Clarity was very much above what I was expecting and made my J&M headsets sound like quality audio headphones!! Kind of disappointed with the iPod as the "MAIN" display only shows "iPod" it doesn't show name of song or artist, I know it does on the other screen, but THAT'S the OTHER screen. Wish there was a "SIMPLE" way of disabling the intercom while riding...It is terrible to hear myself sing!:yikes: The controls are nice and easy to operate but I found that sometimes I would get into BRAIN overload due to ALL of the buttons being in the left hand side...
Riding the Spyder on rural roads is fun and a relaxing ride, but when on the Interstate it was noticeable how quick and responsive the handling is, just the slightlest driver input would result in the Spyder reacting...A cross wind is not the friend of the Spyder, as I was riding into and through a good Missouri thunderstorm it whipped me all over the place...Although semi trucks didn't have that much effect on the Spyder while at interstate speeds. It does take a while to get out of the motorcycle riding mode and get into the Spyder riding mode...Once that is done it is a fun ride...However, I must say the seat is extremely HARSH after about 5 or 6 hours of riding...I think it is due to not being able to change butt positions much due to the limited foot positions...On my Victory Vision I can either ride straight up or ride like I'm in a recliner or anything in between...With the Spyder I couldn't do that. Also, there is a strange, weird vibration while riding at interstate speeds (posted this in the Shop talk forums) Found it to be a speed related vibration just all of a sudden the entire chassis would vibrate at speed. I could fluctuate the speed and it would go right back to smooth as glass...very weird...
All in all it is a very well crafted and running machine, but I will stay with my Vision and let the wife ride her RT-S...Just my thoughts after ryding it for 12 hours Sunday...
