My first impressions of the 2023 Spyder RTL

[Metalman]

I purchased a 2023 Spyder RTL a week ago with about 600 miles on the odometer. I’ve been riding two-wheel motorcycles for the past 63 years, but my health does not allow me to ride on two wheels any longer.

Since purchasing the trike, I’ve ridden it only about 200 miles. I know that’s not much riding to make a comprehensive evaluation, but a few things come to mind. I think the trike is beautiful, and the deep blue color is fantastic. I’m 6 foot four and I’m very comfortable on the seat. However, between the fairing, windshield, and air wings, I found riding uncomfortably hot in our heat and humidity. I’m sure it will be much more tolerable when the temperature gets down to the low to mid 80s with less humidity. The trike doesn’t have the power that my most recent bikes had, but several of them had 1800 cc engines. I thought the Spyder was particularly underpowered, until I realized that I was in the economy mode. Once I switched to the standard mode, it had more get up and go.

My first impression when riding the bike was that it was very twitchy. The slightest movement of the handlebars and the slightest irregularity of the road surface tended to cause a trike to move left or right. Now, after riding a for couple hundred miles, I don’t find the twitching to be a particular problem. I live in an area where we have extremely winding roads and really enjoyed them on the two-wheel motorcycles. I guess I can say that I’m enjoying them on the Spyder, but I can’t take the corners as aggressively as I did on two wheels. My concern is that the Spyder will tip over if I take a corner too fast. Perhaps somebody can address my concern.

More later.

 

[hogmemberisold]

Howdy neighbor!

We got ours about a month ago and have just over 1700 miles on it and it is a different animal.

Maybe you're gripping the handlebars a bit tight and making small corrections causing the twitch, instead of letting the bike just float along... (best I know how to describe). When the wife is the driver with me as the passenger, she has some darting/twitching and it's like she's nervous, gripping the handlebars a bit tight... Giving it more time in the saddle should help.

Looks like you have some good roads down your way to play on and enjoy breaking it in!

 

[spyderladyf3]

I purchased a 2023 Spyder RTL a week ago with about 600 miles on the odometer. I’ve been riding two-wheel motorcycles for the past 63 years, but my health does not allow me to ride on two wheels any longer.

Since purchasing the trike, I’ve ridden it only about 200 miles. I know that’s not much riding to make a comprehensive evaluation, but a few things come to mind. I think the trike is beautiful, and the deep blue color is fantastic. I’m 6 foot four and I’m very comfortable on the seat. However, between the fairing, windshield, and air wings, I found riding uncomfortably hot in our heat and humidity. I’m sure it will be much more tolerable when the temperature gets down to the low to mid 80s with less humidity. The trike doesn’t have the power that my most recent bikes had, but several of them had 1800 cc engines. I thought the Spyder was particularly underpowered, until I realized that I was in the economy mode. Once I switched to the standard mode, it had more get up and go.

My first impression when riding the bike was that it was very twitchy. The slightest movement of the handlebars and the slightest irregularity of the road surface tended to cause a trike to move left or right. Now, after riding a for couple hundred miles, I don’t find the twitching to be a particular problem. I live in an area where we have extremely winding roads and really enjoyed them on the two-wheel motorcycles. I guess I can say that I’m enjoying them on the Spyder, but I can’t take the corners as aggressively as I did on two wheels. My concern is that the Spyder will tip over if I take a corner too fast. Perhaps somebody can address my concern.

More later,
View attachment 250415

Awesome looking Spyder, you'll love it more with every ride; enjoy.

 

[RogerC60]

If you haven't read this thread, take the time to do so: https://spyderlovers.com/threads/dos-do-nots-for-new-spyder-owners.41346/.

There is a wealth of information there that helped me a lot when I bought my first Spyder last fall. Using some of the riding tips, I was able to keep up with my 2-wheeled riding buddies. You Spyder is very hard to tip over. It's hard to even get the inside wheel to really lift off the ground, even though you might think it's happening all the time.

 

[racoon]

I'd also recommend checking the tire pressure in both front tires. They should be with in 1 psi of each other.

 

[jzeiler]

Once you learn to lean in to the corners, you will find your speed going up. Loosen your grip and the twitchiness will go away. Now it does follow the washouts on the road, so it wobbles a bit there because of three wheels; with two or four wheels you never feel it. It took me almost 1,000 miles to forget 50 years of two wheel riding and learn to really enjoy the handling of the Spyder.

 

[AstroTom]

I'll offer a different take on the issue.

Besides some type of mechanical or riding style causes, I believe that what many new Spyder riders describe as twitching is simply the fact the any fine lateral movements translate directly into the bike moving in a lateral horizontal plane which includes the seat. With two wheels, the bike absorbs similar movements by the wheels moving but the seat stays relatively stable. Even with larger lateral movements, the bike pivots side to side under the rider. With the Spyder, the seat and you follow these small side to side movements. You'll even get a similar feel if the road is uneven and the front wheels are encountering different levels of road surface. If you've been riding two wheels for any length of time, your brain has been trained that a bike feels a certain way, and it takes time on the Spyder for your brain to learn the new normal.

Although better tires did help, and I plan on a laser alignment in the Fall, a year of riding has made these little things like some slight side to side movement less noticeable to me. With 50+ years of two wheeling experience, it took me a while to really understand the Spyder is a different beast altogether, and I needed to get used to the difference. I knew it would be different when I bought it, but still, my brain needed to start from scratch in many ways learning this new bike. Now, I don't notice the twitching as much as I used to.

My wife, who rarely rides with me now, says it feels like we're being buffeted by wind. I tell her it's just how the bike feels, and everything is ok.

Oh, and yes, I too find the protection the Spyder gives from the wind can make hot weather riding uncomfortable. Because of this, and the fact I'm less tolerant of the heat, it means that in the hot Arizona summer, the Spyder gets parked. But that's ok, the rest of the year it's beautiful riding weather. Can't complain.

 

[ned64]

I'll offer a different take on the issue.

Besides some type of mechanical or riding style causes, I believe that what many new Spyder riders describe as twitching is simply the fact the any fine lateral movements translate directly into the bike moving in a lateral horizontal plane which includes the seat. With two wheels, the bike absorbs similar movements by the wheels moving but the seat stays relatively stable. Even with larger lateral movements, the bike pivots side to side under the rider. With the Spyder, the seat and you follow these small side to side movements. You'll even get a similar feel if the road is uneven and the front wheels are encountering different levels of road surface. If you've been riding two wheels for any length of time, your brain has been trained that a bike feels a certain way, and it takes time on the Spyder for your brain to learn the new normal.

Although better tires did help, and I plan on a laser alignment in the Fall, a year of riding has made these little things like some slight side to side movement less noticeable to me. With 50+ years of two wheeling experience, it took me a while to really understand the Spyder is a different beast altogether, and I needed to get used to the difference. I knew it would be different when I bought it, but still, my brain needed to start from scratch in many ways learning this new bike. Now, I don't notice the twitching as much as I used to.

My wife, who rarely rides with me now, says it feels like we're being buffeted by wind. I tell her it's just how the bike feels, and everything is ok.

Oh, and yes, I too find the protection the Spyder gives from the wind can make hot weather riding uncomfortable. Because of this, and the fact I'm less tolerant of the heat, it means that in the hot Arizona summer, the Spyder gets parked. But that's ok, the rest of the year it's beautiful riding weather. Can't complain.

If your wife is feeling buffeting, raise the windshield up just a bit more 'til the air goes up over her head. That's what I did, and it got rid of the wind buffeting my wife felt on her head. I didn't have to move it much. It helped with the wind noise in my helmet too. I always had it pretty low. Glad I finally did raise it up some. And yes, just barely keep a grip on the handle bars. Any movement from wind or a bump in the road will transfer to the steering if you hold on too tight to the handle bars. I barely grip, more so just rest my hands on the grips, my fingers kinda go around so that if I need to start quick or hang on, then I can. Movement and tight grip makes for the twitching. Just a thought.

 

[Metalman]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. I gleaned much useful information from your comments.

 

[AndysF3S]

Welcome to the forum. Enjoy the new ride.

If you haven't done so read the DIY section when you have time, there is a bunch of good info about mods etc. If you haven't used cruise yet go ahead and try it. Cruise should help you relax your grip and relax more when are learning to pilot the new ride.

If you want more get up and go I recommend the Monster FI tune Stage 2 with Premium fuel. You can find US distributers like Wick it etc. so you don't have to send your ECU to Canada for flashing or spending money on the flashing unit.

 

[blacklightning]

Welcome! I think your thoughts on the lack of power is probably due to the delay in acceleration. That can be fixed with either a pedal commander or pedal box (I prefer the commander). They will not add any additional power, but it will give it to you more on demand. As for cornering, it can be helped with an upgraded sway bar, but I don't think it is 100% necessary. It will help, but the best help will be simply riding experience and practice.

 

[Quickdraw]

Welcome to the forum. If you want more pep, I highly recommend the pedal commander. It has multiple setting options for making the throttle more responsive.

 

[AstroTom]

If your wife is feeling buffeting, raise the windshield up just a bit more 'til the air goes up over her head. That's what I did, and it got rid of the wind buffeting my wife felt on her head. I didn't have to move it much. It helped with the wind noise in my helmet too. I always had it pretty low. Glad I finally did raise it up some. And yes, just barely keep a grip on the handle bars. Any movement from wind or a bump in the road will transfer to the steering if you hold on too tight to the handle bars. I barely grip, more so just rest my hands on the grips, my fingers kinda go around so that if I need to start quick or hang on, then I can. Movement and tight grip makes for the twitching. Just a thought.

I usually raise the windshield when she's on the back. She doesn't describe it as buffeting, that was my term. Rather, she'll ask me if it's windy, because she feels the bike moving slightly from side to side. She's especially likely to ask if the road pavement isn't very good, and the front wheels are encountering different dips and bumps so there's a little roll action going on too. Since I have a lot more miles on the Spyder, I simply see it as normal for this bike. 99% of her riding experience is on the back of a Harley Ultra, so to her, the Spyder just feels different which she interprets as "wrong." She doesn't ride with me much anymore, so she hasn't had the time to learn the new normal. Her mind is still programmed to think of riding in a big heavy two wheeled bike. When it was pushed side to side, it was because of strong side winds, so that's where her reaction goes if she feels any side to side movement on the Spyder.

When I first got the bike, it seemed very jumpy, wanting to dart back and forth from side to side in the lane. Saw the original tires were worn on the inside edges, grabbed a couple straight edges and a measuring tape, and did a rough alignment check, and sure enough, it had quite a bit of toe out. A carport alignment reduced it significantly, and new better tires helped even more. Even so, I'll be following advice I've read here, and doing a laser alignment later this fall when I start riding again.

When people stop me and ask about the Spyder, I tell them it's NOT like a motorcycle despite the rider straddling the bike and holding handlebars. I describe it more like a three wheeled go-cart with handlebars. I think, even knowing this, it takes a while riding one before you REALLY understand the difference. I'm sure that's why new riders who've never ridden a motorcycle before, tend to take to a Spyder quicker.