New to me 12 RS SE5 . 1st post.

[kes]

Good Day All;
I believe this is my first post. I lurked for a long time. Joined some time back.
I tried riding a spider years ago.scared the bejesus out of myself and managed to keep riding on two wheels but could get it n out of my head either.
Well....I finally got rid of the last of my bikes maybe 2 yrs back.

Came close to getting a Ural last season. Talked.myself out of it. Dont NEED a bike. It's just in my blood and a disease some 45 yrs or so.
Sooooo, in a moment of passion and weakness, I bought a 2012 RS SE5 a couple days back. I work 7 day's a week. Have a couple days off and here I am. Calling myself stupid knowing riding of any type is going to fire up sone.med issues.

Road her home. We're registered and got a sticker. First Highway r
ide today. Tons of questions. I'LL try and get them in the correct forums.

@60 mi under my belt on this odd mode of transportation.

I'll create a significant when I get to a PC and appologize for the probable phone induced punctuation and spelling errors.
Hello all. Thank you for letting me in.
Kevin

 

[Bob Denman]

:welcome:, and :congrats: on the next Chapter of your motorcycling life! :clap:
Tell us a bit about how you like to ride: is it for commuting? Weekend getaways? Canyon Carving?
Pounding the Interstates? :dontknow:
Do you have any experience riding ATVs or snowmobiles? They feel the most similar to the Spyders.

 

[youngers]

2012

hahaha we also pulled the buy trigger 1 year ago , have a blast riding with others in the area , but I also enjoy riding into work in the weee moring hours , look out for wild things in the road , and feel the cool spots along the way , might be 60 degrees and the next low spot in the road will be 50`s , but do not over drive the head lights ... { meaning do not go faster than what comes up in the head lamp glow ! } hope you have the same fun , and I do not think they do well in the sand of the cape ?

 

[PrairieSpyder]

:welcome: and :congrats:

I'm glad you finally pulled the trigger and are joining the fun!

I wouldn't call you stupid, or else we all are!

 

[kes]

Tell us a bit about how you like to ride: :dontknow:
Do you have any experience riding ATVs or snowmobiles?

Thank you both. Well....till fairly recently I'd have answered I like to ride any time any way I can....That said, a job loss and some health issues with now 7 day/wk work sched.....my answer would be the same but it will boil down to commuting. That said, my commute is 45 mi each way, so near 100 miles per day. most is highway some of my questions I hope to get out in the correct area will inole how to make the ergonomics and carrying ability work for me.
I was riding an 02 orange wing that I absolutely adored before I started my chicken little impersonation. i.e. my sky fell. That commute was @ 26 mi each way.

my questions may not be RS specific but I will write a few shortly. I am hopeful some folks with experience and knowledge can send me off in a good direction.

Oh - no absolutely no experience with a quad or snowmobile. I'm not doing terribly this time out, but i still remember that first ride looking for a used one. I'd est @ 2010. I went a few feet and realized i wasnt in Kansas anymore. my body thought it was on a bike and wanted to ride a bike. But dang, this thing wasn't a bike. I was petrified. I took off normal. had to turn and thought the thing was throwing me off into the street. I literally crawled back. and yet I still tried to purchase the thing a week later. so for some reason I apparently really wanted to ride this bronk till the buzzer went off.

my frst trip on the highway was today. to the dealer to check for recalls. it would have been awesome if the wind wasnt hitting me just right trying to rip off my helmet and glasses. but i did it. looked down I was moving along over 70 so it is capable, just need to tweak me and maybe a couple other things.

BTW - knowing this group was here made me take the plunge. If this goes positively someone will have a good deal on this so I can get an RT. I need my wings luggage back. If this doesn't go well, well maybe someone still gets a like new ride I think it just rolled over 7K.

 

[kes]

hahaha we also pulled the buy trigger 1 year ago , but I also enjoy riding into work in the weee moring hours , look out for wild things in the road , and feel the cool spots along the way , , and I do not think they do well in the sand of the cape ?

yes = part of the bike charm all these years, the smells, the temperature changes, oh yes. And yes, this commute includes up a 0430 and of to the AFB down the cape, then head home @1700 hrs. if i find a way to carry three big bags with me.

Your awesome - thank you for the kind welcome. Oh - and you don't think if i air down and put on a knobby I can hit the dunes on the way home? :joke:

 

[kes]

I wouldn't call you stupid, or else we all are!

(as I clear my throat and put on my best Forest Gump) Stupid is as stupid does.

Sorry, I know I haven't been here long enough to be a joker, just couldn't resist.

Sorry! and Thank you for the reinforcement.

 

[Bob Denman]

kes,
After reading your first experience on one: it reminds me a lot of what I felt...
I bought a 2010 RT without the benefit of a test-ride... I had barely even SAT on one! pps:
So of course: I buy from a dealer that is almost 60 miles from home! :yikes:
Within the first two miles: I was POSITIVE that I had just made a $25,000 mistake...
The thing was all over the road; it was twitchy, darty, and where was my front brake lever! :gaah:
But I'm stubborn.
I decided that if Ski Doo could build a sled that tracked straight down a trail: Can Am could build a.... whatever the heck these were, and make it go straight down the highway!
So I relaxed my white-knickle grip on the bars...

...And the clouds parted, the sky was filled with sunshine, and the birds sang!

There's a thread in here about "Do's & Don'ts", and it's REALLY helpful!

 

[kes]

where was my front brake lever! :gaah:

So I relaxed my white-knickle grip on the bars...And the clouds parted, the sky was filled with sunshine, and the birds sang!

Too Funny;Too True.

I'm trying but ya - no brake, no clutch, and lightening up is helping. I'm finding two things today. One is she feels like she rolls too much. the body rolls when I turn and it messes me up and makes me twitch. I'm assuming its me but I had thought she'd be fairly flat in the corners. Time will hopefully cure.

the one that isn't a me thing. the combo of the max tour windshield (don't know proper name - its a brp and is large and comes out toward mirrors too) and the helli bars puts the wind right in my face. its soooo loud and its trying to rip off my helmet and my glasses keep trying to come off. I need to search out a solution.

Give you credit. I finally am trying it, but its the RT with capacity I wanted. I'm taking the chickens way out and trying with the sports car and if it works out I'll look for the RT. In fairness to me, part of it is also seeing if my spine will let me ride at all. I did promise I wouldn't ride anymore, but three wheels "ain't" ridin is it?

 

[ARtraveler]

:welcome: and :congrats: They even have you covered on the Do's and Don'ts thread. :yes:

 

[Chupaca]

Welcome. ..

Welcome to the spyder world and this strange yet awesome site. You have been here so you have some information. As AKspyderman suggested read through the do's and don't's and read your owners manual...cover to cover and you will be on your way...Does take time and till you get a good 300 to 500 miles you will have questions . Relax, really, relax and you will love the ryde as much as we all do...:thumbup: congrats on your new ryde...:2thumbs:

 

[Deanna777]

:welcome: & :congrats: glad you could joined us. Let the smiles, miles, farkling (accessorize) begin!


:nopic:


Ride safe!
Deanna

 

[Haze]

The ride home

I bought my Spyder STS site unseen without a test ride or chance to sit on the seat. :2thumbs:
It was a fly and ride home 600 miles. Learned a lot on that ride. First was check and balance the
tire pressure. Loosen up the white knuckle grip. Read the Do's and Do Not's. Weight on
the inside peg and push the outside handle bar. I added saddle bags and a rear sport rack to
carry all my camping gear. Relax you will do fine... Also consider a laser align.
Cheers, David C.

 

[PistonBlown]

One is she feels like she rolls too much. the body rolls when I turn and it messes me up and makes me twitch. I'm assuming its me but I had thought she'd be fairly flat in the corners. Time will hopefully cure.

First thing I thought of when I read this was sway bar. The stock swaybar on the older Spyders does allow quite a bit of roll on the corners. Certainly when I replaced mine with stiffer swaybar it made the world of difference, huge improvement the handling. A Bajaron Swaybar (site sponsor) is the one everyone goes for. The only thing I would say is I'm slightly surprised that one hasn't already been fitted as it's such a common upgrade.

Other thing to check is the front suspension. When I had the stock swaybar I had this on it's hardest setting to combat the roll, after fitting the stiffer swaybar I did take this down a notch. Its not uncommon for people to try and adjust the front suspension without jacking up the frontend and damaging the 'lugs' in the process. I know two local riders who bought secondhand RS's and found this problem which meant the suspension could only be on a soft setting with mucked up the handling. Try setting the suspension on it's hardest setting to see if that helps (though make sure you lift the wheels off the ground first)

One other thing to check is the tire pressures on the front. This doesn't affect roll as such but you will notice even a slight difference in tire pressures between the two front wheels so it's worth making sure they match. It's also worth playing with the pressures a bit. I think the manual recommends 15psi but I run at 18psi

 

[kes]

Thank you again everyone. Yes I re read the do's and dont's now that I have something to do and don't with. read the owners manual yet again. tires was one of the first things I checked as well as fluids. I have reached out to baharon though I baraged the poor fellow with questions. I wanted to e sure I got the right PM "stuff". It see,s to have been converted to a longer filter. I only know because of some Lit and pieces parts the owner handed me. Sway bar I haven't tried to lift it yet to look. need to do a search. if its solid enough under there I have car jacks and bike lifts. Just need to read up on what makes her happy. I'm not smart enough yet to differentiate stock from aftermarket sway bar. I felt under and the attachment bar ends feel plastic.
i think.
I'm afraid a pic may be boring at this point but if my phone will talk with my PC I'll see what I can do. If you can turn your PC sideways, you can see the lip I put on this evening it will stop trying to rip off my glasses and helmet.

 

[Bob Denman]

:clap: That's a real nice-looking bike! :congrats: again!

 

[Buckeye Bleau]

I'm afraid a pic may be boring at this point but if my phone will talk with my PC I'll see what I can do. If you can turn your PC sideways, you can see the lip I put on this evening it will stop trying to rip off my glasses and helmet.
View attachment 146616View attachment 146615[/QUOTE]

Aw, finally, just so you know the sticklers around here profess that it did not happen unless there is a picture, now we have it.

:congrats: Welcome to the world of the odd and strange, because we are definitely not conformists here!

just a few hints, don't instigate Bob's bahaviour and ALWAYS compliment Mike (blueknight) or they will send stale marshmallow chicks from two Easters ago to you.

Joe

 

[Highwayman2013]

Welcome!

When turning corners lean your upper body to the inside of the turn then you won't feel like you are being flung off. Put on some miles and enjoy!

 

[Bob Denman]

just a few hints, don't instigate Bob's bahaviour and ALWAYS compliment Mike (blueknight) or they will send stale marshmallow chicks from two Easters ago to you.

Joe

:roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:

In MY World: a two year old Marshmallow chick can't possibly exist... They never live long enough to see Good Friday!

 

[JerryB]

Hi kes,

As with any forum, we are some group of characters. However, I know of no one on this forum who is not willing to help out a fellow Spyder rider. Some help a lot ( technical, etc ) and others somewhat; it is what it is.

Re: I lurked for a long time.

I lurked for a couple of months. My thinking was as stated above; so I pulled the trigger. And d*** glad that I did.

Re: and thought the thing was throwing me offinto the street.

This was my very first thoughts when I 'took' my very first corner. I have added floorboards and now I plant the outside foot, lean into the corner, and sometimes get my inside knee locked into the Spyder. This makes a world of difference. Now, I simply take the corners without giving it any thought.

Re: I have reached out to baharon though Ibaraged the poor fellow with questions.

I cannot speak for BajaRon, but my personal experience is that he will give you a very extensive answer(s). It may take a day or two; he actually does have a life.

I have an '08 & have added quite a number of 'farkles' ( I still don't know where that term came from ) and have sort of 'made her mine.' If you want to know what all I've done, drop me an email at: jerrybaumchen(at)gmail(dot)com

and I'll send you back info & photos.

Have fun with her,

Jerry Baumchen

As she is now:



Luggage rack that I built: