pondboss,
When I first got my Spyder (I have two now), I struggled to keep it in my lane. I was certain there was a problem with the steering that was causing it. I'd been riding Goldwings for over 20 years. I actually pulled over to the side of the road and began thinking about what the possible causes could be. It then hit me...
When my brain says "turn right", my arms take the necessary actions to turn right. I don't have to think about how to do it, it just happens due to muscle memory. The arms already know how to do it. That turned out to be where I failed. My motorcycle experiences were on two wheels. Because a two wheeler leans to make the right turn, the driver has to actually nudge the handlebars slightly left to initiate that right hand lean, thereby making a right hand turn. The technique is called counter-steering.
The Spyder, on the other hand, does not lean. So when my brain said "right turn" & my arms did what they normally always do by nudging the handlebars to the left, the Spyder went in the opposite direct than was expected. That combined with the unexpected inertia tossing me to the outside of the turn, really got my attention and raised all kinds of red flags. I then figured it out: I have to actually turn in the same direction I am wanting to go, which is opposite of what I've always done on a two wheeler. I also have to force myself to lean my body into the turn, when necessary.
Not only that, I had to adjust the timing of my turns. Going back to a two wheeler, when you want to turn right, you initiate the turn slightly before you actually want to start the right turn. There is a slight delay because you're using counter-steering. The first nudge initiates the lean, then the turn begins. It's subtle, but the timing is different. I found that on the Spyder, I was entering my turns a touch too soon. The reason being that as soon as I initiated the turn, the Spyder started to turn.
This same problem is evident while going on straight roads, as you are constantly making small corrections to go straight.
Once I thought through the steering and timing differences, I was able to re-train my arms. Now there's not much thought given to it anymore. I still have the Goldwing & have found I can switch back & forth without any difficulty.
I think, if you think about how to steer again, something you've probably not given much thought to in a long time, you'll understand what I'm telling you.
