Review: New (in November) '23 Sea2Sky, First 3100 Mile Ride

[BoatFixx]

Well…
I just put 3,100 miles (now a total of 3700 miles on the bike) on my 23’ Sea2Sky.
We went diagonally southwest across Washington State from the Port Townsend area, coming out at the Astoria Bridge into Oregon. Down the coasts we went popping out at Petaluma, Calif. We did more riding while in NorCal (very crowded), enjoyed friends and family, and then back up the way we came.
I’d guess we had a total of 375 lbs on the bike. I must state I appreciate the PedalBox dialed in @ city+3. In stock mode the bike is a bit lethargic when swift acceleration is necessary.
The BajaRon Ultra SwayBar made a marked difference in the twisties, though I’m still not used to the pressurized Gforce lean characteristic of the Spyder. I’m sure it is from coming off of 55 years of active two-wheeled riding, and how carving the twisties on two-wheels seems far less labor intensive.
I wonder if a set of adjustable shocks would help, or am I to simply accept the G-forces at work here? ( I know, I know, slow down)
As far as the bike is concerned, I had no issues at all. Very impressed!

 

[Peter Aawen]

.....
The BajaRon Ultra SwayBar made a marked difference in the twisties, though I’m still not used to the pressurized Gforce lean characteristic of the Spyder. I’m sure it is from coming off of 55 years of active two-wheeled riding, and how carving the twisties on two-wheels seems far less labor intensive.
I wonder if a set of adjustable shocks would help, or am I to simply accept the G-forces at work here? ( I know, I know, slow down)
As far as the bike is concerned, I had no issues at all. Very impressed!

Two-wheel bikes have a heap of gyroscopic forces making the 'lean to turn' thing pretty intuitive - most 5 year olds can get that sorted pretty well with a little practice, but it does take years of practice to really explore the limitations. However, just because we 'graduated' from them to 2-wheelers when we were only just getting used to them, few of us riding THREE-wheel machines like our Spyders have yet developed that 'thumb-in-bum, mind-in-neutral' capability on our Spyders, especially if you want to go anything much faster than a brisk walk!! So if you do want to go faster than that brisk walk, YOU need to start to learn and practice how to take advantage of the Laws of Physics just like you do in your 2-wheeled riding thru those years of learning/practicing, only you now need to do that in way that suits the different set-up & riding dynamics of yourr Reverse Trike; and YOU need to lean cos the Spyder can't; so YOU hafta learn how to compensate for the lack of assistance from the gyroscopic forces that those 2-wheel machines you've spent years riding give you and you take advantage of so easily because of all those years on 2-wheels!! :lecturef_smilie:

Look back thru the early posts on this, when everyone was learning about how to get the best from their Spyders; those who'd spent time on other machines where they had to do the leaning took to it a lot quicker; those with years of 2-wheel riding behind them were often at a disadvantage; and there's discussion/mentions of things like: 'it'll take you AT LEAST 1000 miles to even start to get a handle on riding your Spyder'; 'you need to walk (or ride slowly) before you can run (or start learning how to ride fast!)'; 'Lean in & kiss your inside wrist on the tight turns'; 'brace your outside foot and push your weight across onto the inside of the seat'; and 'always Pull on the inside handlebar, DON'T push on the outside bar, it unbalances everything'; and a whole lot more... hyea:

So don't give up just when you start getting the hang of it; work at it - your Spyder will need far more 'upper-body english' than any 2-wheeler ever did, simply because YOU need to compensate for the lack of all that gyroscopic force that makes 2-wheel riding intuitive for most; AND you need to learn to overcome all those years of ingrained acceptance of the help that your 2-wheeled bike was giving you & now your Spyder isn't! Once you learn how to take advantage of the Spyder's unique tracking ability instead of relying on any 2-wheeler's gyroscopic tendencies, you'll find that your Spyder can actually out corner pretty much ANY 2-wheeler or 4-wheeler on the road, simply because YOU CAN STEER and turn a whole lot tighter than they can turn, and do it at a higher speed too!

On a Spydrr, you can hold your speed longer, driving deeper into the corner without anywhere near the concerns on cornering traction; then brake later, carrying more speed into the corner; turning faster & harder at the appropriate point to apex/late apex; getting on the gas sooner on the way out; and basically carrying more speed into, thru, and then digging your way out of the corner a helluva lot sooner/quicker/faster than any 2-wheeler that's far more constrained by the gyroscopic effect, its need to lean to turn, its wheel-base, it's concerns re the traction reducing contact patch changes the further it leans; and the basic laws of physics that give your Spyder such an advantage! But YOU DO hafta unlearn (or at least over-come the tendency to apply/rely on ) all that learned experience & skill from 2-wheelers that no longer applies here and learn a whole 'nuther lot of things that will make your Spyder such a fun machine, even more so than it might be now, once you truly get the hang of it and start chasing 'that ideal ride'!! hyea: :2thumbs:

So you don't really need adjustable shocks ( shocks, possibly adjustable, might not hurt tho... ); nor do you need to accept the G-forces as a restriction; or even slow down! You just need to start working WITH the Laws of Physics & working out how YOU need to move & control your ride in order to take advantage of the significantly better traction, braking, and steering capabilities your Spyder has over any 2-wheeler! Go On, DO IT!! :yes:

 

[troop]

Well…
I just put 3,100 miles (now a total of 3700 miles on the bike) on my 23’ Sea2Sky.
We went diagonally southwest across Washington State from the Port Townsend area, coming out at the Astoria Bridge into Oregon. Down the coasts we went popping out at Petaluma, Calif. We did more riding while in NorCal (very crowded), enjoyed friends and family, and then back up the way we came.
I’d guess we had a total of 375 lbs on the bike. I must state I appreciate the PedalBox dialed in @ city+3. In stock mode the bike is a bit lethargic when swift acceleration is necessary.
The BajaRon Ultra SwayBar made a marked difference in the twisties, though I’m still not used to the pressurized Gforce lean characteristic of the Spyder. I’m sure it is from coming off of 55 years of active two-wheeled riding, and how carving the twisties on two-wheels seems far less labor intensive.
I wonder if a set of adjustable shocks would help, or am I to simply accept the G-forces at work here? ( I know, I know, slow down)
As far as the bike is concerned, I had no issues at all. Very impressed!

I have both the BR Ultra sway bar and MTV H&R shock springs installed on my 2022 RT STS. Vast and wonderful improvement
https://www.martinthevlogger.com/product-page/h-r-premium-performance-springs-for-spyder-rt

 

[old Timer]

If you have ever ridden a Go Kart, ATV or even a Motorcycle Side Car rig, the Spyder or Ryker is a very similar piece of cake.

 

[ARtraveler]

Thanks for the review. :firstplace:

 

[BoatFixx]

Howdy, OldTimer!
As a youngster, I raced carts in the mid 60's, (two stroke Mac 80) Indian Valley, Vacaville, Calif. Yes, similar except I was tucked into a little cozy seat. Much easier handling the g-force.
I'm very pleased with my Spyder, but after some excellent reading in here this morning, I will be changing out all shocks for either Elka's or M2's.

 

[Peter Aawen]

Howdy, OldTimer!
As a youngster, I raced carts in the mid 60's, (two stroke Mac 80) Indian Valley, Vacaville, Calif. Yes, similar except I was tucked into a little cozy seat. Much easier handling the g-force.
I'm very pleased with my Spyder, but after some excellent reading in here this morning, I will be changing out all shocks for either Elka's or M2's.

You might also want to consider the offerings from IKON, they certainly do some good gear for us Aussies, and there's a US site too:

https://ikonsuspensionusa.com/

 

[Mikey]

Whatever you get will be better than what you have!!

 

[BoatFixx]

You might also want to consider the offerings from IKON, they certainly do some good gear for us Aussies, and there's a US site too:

https://ikonsuspensionusa.com/

Thank you, Peter. I will check them out too.

Addenda: I have one more critique of the bike...
The placement of the cruise control is (for me) a bit of a pain to set whilst holding speed.
I think they should have placed the starter button where the cruise control is, and the cruise control where the starter button is.
But, that's just me. :riding:

 

[AstroTom]

The West Coast is stunning in/on any vehicle. You ended up in an area I spent many a summer riding around. If you encountered any grooves in the pavement, they're probably from me. One of my favorite roads started on hwy 1 just north of Bodega Bay, went over the hills and ended up near Petaluma. You could go from cold foggy weather, to summer heat on a single day's ride.

I grew up in Marin, and rode just about every road in Marin, and Sonoma counties. I'm now in Arizona with my new Spyder, and would love some day to ride it around my old stomping grounds.

Glad you are enjoying your new ride. I'm a newbie to the three wheel world and after a couple weeks of riding my 2020 RTL, have adapted to the differences sooner than I expected. These things ride so nice and are a heck of a lot of fun.

As for control placement. I find I tend to occasionally hit the horn button by accident. My thumb doesn't naturally find the turn signal switch and the headlight hi-low switch. I know eventually, I'll get it.