Not yet a Spyder owner

[GregQ]

Hi folks !

I am about to purchase my first 2020 Spyder RT Limited. Maybe.

However, after my first test ride on an F3, I have some concerns and was hoping you could set me straight.

I've been riding motorcycles since I was 8 years old. I'm now 64 years old. Never in my life have I ridden a 3 wheeler of any kind.

1) There is a small back and forth lateral movement that kinda terrifies me. I've read your do's and don'ts about a half dozen times and I see that one is supposed to have a relaxed grip. I used a death grip due to the lateral movement. I'm hoping a change in grip will eliminate this problem. Is this correct or is this lateral movement part and parcel of a Spyder? Will this improve on an RT as opposed to an F3?

2) Cornering. Seems like every corner is about to turn me over. I'm guessing this is due to this being a 3 wheeled machine, not a 2 wheeler, and I'll get used to it. I never exceeded 45 MPH during my test ride. And apparently I was ALWAYS shifting too early.

Those are the only things stopping me from owning a Spyder. And I R-E-A-L-L-Y want one.

Can you folks help me with this?

Thanks a million!!!

 

[ARtraveler]

:welcome: and :congrats: on your first post. :yes:

It will work out. Unlearning the two wheeled habits are important. The :spyder2: handle different because of the configuration.

The information in the do's and don'ts is right on so I will not repeat it here. If you take corners and have to hit the brakes to enter, you going to fast to begin with. You should be able to accelerate if you want to during the turns.

The :ani29: will NOT turn over and lose it during the turn. If you are going that fast...that is on you.

I took 1500 miles before being completely comfortable. Six :spyder: and 150,000 :spyder2: miles later, no issues or problems on those turns.

 

[Garydj]

Coming from 2 wheels to 3 is always an adjustment. The wheels up front will track a bit different on uneven road surfaces. A lighter grip will allow the Spyder to find it's own way. You do get used to it after a some miles. Alignment could also be an issue, but it may not need it.

As to the issue in turns, if you grip with your legs and lean into the curve you will feel more secure. Centrifugal force is acting on you since the bike does not lean.

 

[gkamer]

On a motorcycle, you lean the bike into the turn. I believe when you do, you have two physical forces in play. You have gravity, which is trying to pull you down in the direction of the lean, and centrifugal force, which is trying to push you away from the direction of the lean.

You hit the sweet spot between the 2 forces and glide effortlessly through the turn.

On a Spyder, you are only dealing with the centrifugal force. Since you can't lean the bike into the turn, you have to lean yourself into the turn. The faster your speed and the sharper the turn, the greater the centrifugal force you have to over come. At least this is how I've come to understand the situation. I have a Ryker, which doesn't have power steering, so making sharp turns can be a bit of an effort, but I've learned in really sharp turns to just slow down entering the turn and increasing speed coming out of the turn. Work great for me.

As far as the twitchy handling goes, let the bike find it's own path. As other have said, keep a light touch on the handle bars and let the bike find it's own path.

When I purchased my Ryker, I didn't have any 2 wheeled riding experience and only a few hours of three wheeled "experience" from 4 years ago when I took the three wheeled rider course, during which I never got over 20 mph.

I've owned my Ryker for about a month and a half now, have put over 2,000 miles on it already, and have no problem riding one handed at interstate speeds of 70+ mph. You'll get used to the unique handling characteristics of the Spyder quickly and then the fun will really start.

 

[JayBros]

In addition to leaning into corners and whether or not you grip the ride with your knees, if you plant your outside foot hard on the floorboard/peg that helps a lot. As ARtraveler said it takes miles to get accustomed to a Spyder and this getting accustomed is an individual thing so don't worry about how many miles it took other riders in comparison to how you're feeling on a given day.

 

[SportsterDoc]

...so don't worry about how many miles it took other riders in comparison to how you're feeling on a given day.

+1
It took me a week and 300 miles to be somewhat comfortable, after 2 wheels for 57 years.
Took about 1000 miles to get more adventuresome in the twisties.

The main point is assurance that you will become accustomed to the VERY different feel.
This comes from a 73 year old

 

[ollicat]

I totally get what you are concerned about. I rented a F3 in San Diego for the first time 3 years ago. I rented it for three days and had 1000 miles all planned out. After 10 minutes, I thought I made the worst mistake of my life. I seriously considered turning around and asking for a Harley. I thought I would flip the bike and HATED how twitchy it was. But I pushed on. After 3 hours I was like, I can do this. By day two, I felt really good. By day three, the F3, was an extension of me that I trusted more than my own bike of three years. Stick with it. You WILL fall in love.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hi folks !

I am about to purchase my first 2020 Spyder RT Limited. Maybe.

However, after my first test ride on an F3, I have some concerns and was hoping you could set me straight.

I've been riding motorcycles since I was 8 years old. I'm now 64 years old. Never in my life have I ridden a 3 wheeler of any kind.

1) There is a small back and forth lateral movement that kinda terrifies me. I've read your do's and don'ts about a half dozen times and I see that one is supposed to have a relaxed grip. I used a death grip due to the lateral movement. I'm hoping a change in grip will eliminate this problem. Is this correct or is this lateral movement part and parcel of a Spyder? Will this improve on an RT as opposed to an F3?

2) Cornering. Seems like every corner is about to turn me over. I'm guessing this is due to this being a 3 wheeled machine, not a 2 wheeler, and I'll get used to it. I never exceeded 45 MPH during my test ride. And apparently I was ALWAYS shifting too early.

Those are the only things stopping me from owning a Spyder. And I R-E-A-L-L-Y want one.

Can you folks help me with this?

Thanks a million!!!

After 60 yrs on TWO wheels, I bought my first Spyder ( 09 ) ..... the dealership owner gave me the best advice, DRIVE IT LIKE A CAR ....Although it didn't feel natural I did what He said .... I had no problems at all .... and traded my 03 Wing on the spot ..... I won't ever go back to two wheels......and :welcome:..... Mike hyea:

 

[Mikey]

Start out slow, and don't be in a rush, relax and don.t fight the bike, light grip on the bars, because your going to over steer in it if you do, coming into a curve in the road try to look as far as you can around the turn and just steer into it, if you look in front of the bike you probly end up drifting out of line and feeling like you have to brake at every corner! The bike will go where you point it, and is very touchy, hens the light grip and don't over steer! The more your on it and get the feel of it the easier it will get, trust us , we all went threw it and we all have our war story's!!!! Good luck and have fun!!

 

[Poasttown]

Gregg
I can relate to your concerns. This “back and forth” motion was an issue for me plus I was concerned about how it would affect my passenger, which it did. I added a few accessories which helped in this area including Baha Ron sway bar and OEM arm rests for my passenger. In addition, all the comments from list members were of help.
It seems the natural thing to do is to keep comparing the spyder to a two wheeled motorcycle but in fact I have found they are two different things as far as driving. My experience so far is that the sway is a part of the configuration of the three wheels and I have become pretty well adjusted to it. Mikey said “don’t fight it” rings true to me. I have to admit there was the occasional frustration with this issue but now I am riding a lot and my wife seems to ride more often.

I thought and studied the move for months and there are times when I miss riding two wheels but there are things I don’t miss. The spyder also has many advantages as well and I’m happy I made the switch.

Good luck with your decision making.
Poasttown

 

[gg194]

I'm in the same boat. Have been riding 50+ and old habits are hard to break.The problem I'm having is not getting out enough, bought our Spyder in April I think and haven't put a thousand miles on it yet. I really like it but there is a learning curve. Would buy it again today.

 

[Patt]

You get used to the body roll after 3000 KYS, now mixing it with my old mates on their motor bikes. I ride the twisters a lot, getting in the right gear for the corners much like a motorbike, button off going in & power out, I was able to follow an experienced Spider rider in our club which also helped. I've had motorcycles for 55 years, Not sorry I went to 3 Wheels.
John

 

[Fjrwillie]

Hi folks !

I am about to purchase my first 2020 Spyder RT Limited. Maybe.

However, after my first test ride on an F3, I have some concerns and was hoping you could set me straight.

I've been riding motorcycles since I was 8 years old. I'm now 64 years old. Never in my life have I ridden a 3 wheeler of any kind.

1) There is a small back and forth lateral movement that kinda terrifies me. I've read your do's and don'ts about a half dozen times and I see that one is supposed to have a relaxed grip. I used a death grip due to the lateral movement. I'm hoping a change in grip will eliminate this problem. Is this correct or is this lateral movement part and parcel of a Spyder? Will this improve on an RT as opposed to an F3?

2) Cornering. Seems like every corner is about to turn me over. I'm guessing this is due to this being a 3 wheeled machine, not a 2 wheeler, and I'll get used to it. I never exceeded 45 MPH during my test ride. And apparently I was ALWAYS shifting too early.

Those are the only things stopping me from owning a Spyder. And I R-E-A-L-L-Y want one.

Can you folks help me with this?

Thanks a million!!!

When riding aggressively do what we were suppose to do on two wheels. Shift yourself on the seat into the corners with the opposite firmly planted (in my case) the floor board. Makes cornering a whole lot easier. Being a bit more lazy you can lean into the corners so that your hear is outside the edge of the shield. Riding normal uses you feet on the boards and knees against the body.

When I first acquired my Spyder I said to myself counter steering needs to be forgotten, it's not 2 wheels.

Braking when you are in the corners will unsettle the suspension, no trail braking on these puppies. Do your braking before you enter the corner.

Do use the engine for braking just like them 2 wheel things.

I went from a Yamaha FJR (sport touring bike) to my RT-S and never rode the FJR again. Sold it and no regrets.

On the shifting thing, just like a 2 wheeler. I generally keep the RPM's up above 3,000 until I reach cruising speed which seems to be around 4000. Sound of the engine will tell you what you need to know.

Give yourself 1,000 miles to be comfortable, especially since there is no hand break (I still kind of miss that thing)

At 63,000 miles, I am still loving my Spyder. Oh I am on the closer side to 70 and still cranking out the miles. (well with this COVID stuff a little less this season)

YMMV

Willie

 

[gg194]

Was riding yesterday and thought of something that I haven't seen brought up. For those that have rode two wheels many years is the width of the front wheels, easy to forget they're out there.A friend with a Goldwing conversion has almost run over his leg a couple of times. For me it's easy to get closer to the center or edge of the lane than I would like. Another sign that I'm getting used to the Spyder is that I didn't reach for the front brake, getting there.

 

[Jenerator]

I've been on 2 wheels since 1995 and a BMW F800ST is my most recent/current (for sale) bike. Before I bought my 2013 ST, I test-rode a 2012 RS-S, with this being my first time on 3. I did notice the "squirrely" feel in the front, though I couldn't tell whether it was tire pressures that were off (he didn't even know what they were at or what was ideal!), the front wheels were out of alignment, or just my inexperience riding on 3. I didn't end up buying the RS-S due to an unfavorable mechanical inspection report, but that shop also said they felt it pull to the left, so who knows.

My 2013 ST is in the shop getting inspected/certified right now, so I look forward to giving her a go and heeding all the advice given here. :2thumbs::2excited:

 

[Slick51]

I am new to three wheels also. Just acquired a 2016 RTL with 1370 miles, guess the original owner never got used to it. I'm 69 yo and primarily went to the Spyder to continue two up touring. The wife lost some confidence when I dumped my GS Adventure on a gravel road in Alaska and she tried to break the fall by putting her hand out...wrest lost to the GS. Got a Harley RK and we toured on that for a year but she hated the ride. Well anyway, a word of encouragement, I just passed 300 miles and experienced many of the same sensations that have been described, but my last couple of rides have been a revelation. I followed the advice on this forum, especially loosening up on my grip and concentrate on turn entry and exit points, looking through the turns, which I always did on two wheels but seemed to forget on the Spyder. Corners I was taking at 45 I'm taking at 55 now. Hopefully you'll have the same experience. And thank you all for your tips and advice.

 

[VStarRider]

To the original poster, Greg ... yes, it will be difficult, but let the Spyder hunt and wander in the lane as it wants. It will not wander far as it adjusts to the road surface. Keep your upper body, shoulders and arms loose. You may have to do some minor corrections through the bars from time to time.

I am quite fortunate in that I have been snowmobiling for 20 years/50,000 miles, and a snowmobile and Spyder handle very similarly. A freshly groomed trail, and a sled will wander on that surface as well. Therefore, I am quite accustomed to allowing the front end of a machine find its way. I was able to adjust to a Spyder, coming off a motorcycle, within a mile and the feeling you are describing is not foreign to me at all. Being from Georgia, I doubt you have spent much time on snow.

I also read about the wander of the Spyder front end before I rode one. When I did finally ride one, I was surprised at how much of a non-issue it was. I do not even notice it now. Again, my advantage of decades of snowmobiling just meant that I had no break-in period; you will get used to it as well, it will just take longer. Enjoy!

 

[GregQ]

"Being from Georgia, I doubt you have spent much time on snow."

Absolutely correct!

 

[I-Day]

Very surprised nobody mentioned the very light sway bar on stock machines! In my opinion a Bajaron or Lamonster sway bar is a must!

 

[GregQ]

Does this improve the left/right wandering?