Potential Newbie

[vondalyn]

same here!

My dealership is an hour away and delivered the Spyder for me since I had my car and no one with me. I had buyers remorse for the first 1000 miles, though I started to feel more comfortable on it after 500-600 miles. For me it didn't start getting really FUN until after about 2000 miles. My husband kept telling me to go ride again every day so those miles happened very fast. Once I felt truly comfortable and found it fun, you couldn't get me to stop riding it and I'd never buy 2 wheels again.

 

[wiredgeorge]

Lol, I don't know whether to be reassured or dismayed when I see that you need to ride 1-2 hundred before you get comfortable riding a Spyder.

I've been reading Spyderlovers for some time now, learning and enjoying the discussions.
I had my first test ride on an ST-S recently; don't know if my problems were due to squeezing hand-grips too tight, the stiff breeze, any of the other possibles, or all of the above, but it took a day or so afterwards to think "yes, I'm still interested"

The local dealers are all 2 or more hours away, so I'll have to think positive if I'm to keep on with the plan. I'm hoping to travel to a different dealer's shop next week to see what else I might learn to smooth the jitters. If I get a Spyder, my plan is to haul it home on a trailer so that I can put some miles on riding around town where I'm used to being, and expand further outwards as my comfort level goes up. And I've seen Spyders once in a while around town, so maybe I can catch someone local to talk to also.

I haven't seen anyone else in the postings wimp out like this, but I trust you all for words of wisdom. pps: So what do you think, do I have a reasonable plan, or am I missing something?

I think I may have some perspective. I test drove a Can-Am Spyder two or three years ago at a now-defunct dealership off IH-35 south of San Antonio. I was riding a 2006 Goldwing at the time and had been riding over 40 years. Took the missus on the test ride. I was totally discombobulated as I attempted to countersteer and put my feet down at stops. Even at very mild speeds, corners were miserable as I just couldn't seem to turn the bars to steer the thing as I should have. Fast forward a few year and I traded the 2006 Goldwing for a 1997 Goldwing Roadsmith trike conversion. Since I had to drive it from Alabama to home in the Texas Hill Country, the learning curve was pretty fast as the Interstate made a good teacher. The missus was on the back and the weather was cold and rainy for most of the ride and at times the wind was up. I quickly learned I needed to ride much slower than on the two-wheeler as bumps on the ever-miserable IH20 caused the trike to get really loose and bounce around with poor control. I later found that the rear suspension was set to its weakest pre-load and once I cranked up the preload, stability and comfort were greatly enhanced. After a 1500 ride I was pretty comfortable and my forearms were starting to get used to pushing the front wheel. Well, the 97 is a bit older so I got the yen for a newer ride and the price of a 2010 Spyder RT was really attractive. After test riding a 2011 at a dealership, there was virtually no learning curve as far as operation. I insisted on a SM5 (manual transmission model) and found the 2010 RT had a bit different engine characteristics but if you stayed up in powerband, has more than adequate power although handling wasn't great. Brakes were fine. After some sage advice, I now have the front shock pre-load set right and the rear air pressure and have just installed a BajaRon anti-sway bar and handling is vastly improved. To wrap, I think LONG 2-wheel experience isn't necessarily helpful as far as vehicle control although it puts you in the right situational awareness (fearing cages) and if you trailer a Can-Am home and start slowly on back roads and follow the good advice as far as suspension if it is needed; well you will learn to greatly appreciate your ride. The only real downer with the RT is mounting with a passenger on the back... still haven't figured out how to do this gracefully and once I can afford some floorboards, maybe this will become a non-issue. I can't lift my leg up high enough to clear the seat from a ground start and the peg doesn't offer much footing. If the missus is not on board, no problem as I can swing my leg over easily. Always something!

 

[ChocEnabler]

I bought my Spyder over the internet from a dealer in the North Island without having ever seen a Spyder in the flesh. I flew up to get it and the first time I rode a Spyder was away from the dealers. I drove up and down a few back streets to familiarise myself with it and then had to ride it to the ferry terminal to cross back to the South Island - it was the scariest but exhilarating 20km I'd done in a long time, not helped by unfamiliar roads and rush hour traffic - I like to give myself a challenge After the ferry crossing I had 4 hour ride to get home and that turned out to be the best learning exercise possible as by the end of it I had really got the hang of riding it and more importantly learnt to suppress my motorbike riding habits.

Now there's some excellent info on this site about riding a Spyder, in particular the "Do's and Don'ts" article at the top of General Discussion. However the mistakes I made at first were:

• Why is it so twitchy? Because I'm gripping the bars too hard - everyone mentions this but it's really hard not to do it when your first starting out.
• I have to steer? Again if you've come from a bike the amount of input you have to put in, particularly at low speeds is surprising. At first it's hard not to clip corners etc.
• I have to steer in the right direction? I've always ridden a bike and hadn't even realised what I was doing was called counter-steering until I got a Spyder and found I kept initially turning slightly in the wrong direction each time I got to a corner
• Feet not down when you stop at lights etc.
• Who's stolen the front brake? Again a bike habit that was hard to shake off - resulting in some over-braking on the foot brake at times.
• The faster I go the better this is. To me the Spyder felt much more comfortable and less twitchy when I got up to highway speed, once I'd plucked up the courage to get there
• Why can I only turn in one direction? I did find at first I could do corners in one direction about 10-20km faster than the other. Part of this was to with the camber of the road but I also had more trouble getting that 'this feels natural' in one direction.

Thanks for the advice and the great video! :yes:

 

[NSPYTE]

My wife and i have ridden quads for 30 years. I think that really helps. We bought our ST limited about 90 miles from home and did trailer it home just for the fact that we didnt want to try to commute on the freeway in commuter traffic thru Seattle. What is so true is that the more you ride...and get familiar with the bike it becomes easier. the big key truly is RELAXING your grip. This friday will be one month of having ours. We are approaching 400 miles. I have already gotten to the point of jumping on and riding without a second thought...same with my wife when shes "piloting". If you want exceptional handling, I highly suggest getting the Baja ron swaybar.

 

[ChocEnabler]

My wife and i have ridden quads for 30 years. I think that really helps. We bought our ST limited about 90 miles from home and did trailer it home just for the fact that we didnt want to try to commute on the freeway in commuter traffic thru Seattle. What is so true is that the more you ride...and get familiar with the bike it becomes easier. the big key truly is RELAXING your grip. This friday will be one month of having ours. We are approaching 400 miles. I have already gotten to the point of jumping on and riding without a second thought...same with my wife when shes "piloting". If you want exceptional handling, I highly suggest getting the Baja ron swaybar.

Thanks!! I think that the Baja ron swaybar seems to be a common recommendation, and with all the supportive comments I've received, I just realized that everyone's good words did the trick! It's not IF I get a (ST-S) Spyder, it's WHEN, Lol! :clap: I'm definitely planning on the sway bars & links, Spyderpops bumper skid, and belt guard. Hoping to get hard bags sooner or later, but need to get a good helmet and riding gear first.

Thanks everyone for the good vibes and great support comments!
Chocolate Enabler

 

[Professor]

The only real downer with the RT is mounting with a passenger on the back... still haven't figured out how to do this gracefully and once I can afford some floorboards, maybe this will become a non-issue. I can't lift my leg up high enough to clear the seat from a ground start and the peg doesn't offer much footing. If the missus is not on board, no problem as I can swing my leg over easily. Always something!

What works best for us is for me to mount first, then I stand and lean forward while offering her my bent arm to grab as she mounts. After she sits, then I do. I can't see exactly how she mounts because she is behind me, but however she does it, it works.

 

[Deanna777]

:welcome:

3 years ago I bought my first spyder ( 2012RTS-SE5) I had someone drive the spyder home for me, because the dealership would not let me take a test drive I had to have proof of motorcycle license and insurance( at the time I did not have the paperwork taken care of, and the spyder was not put together) and yes it was Land Air.

When I got the spyder home I took it for a short drive so I could use to driving the spyder. And in no time I was driving the spyder all over the place. I was a passenger for 16 years( on 2-wheeled motorcycles) so I knew what the traffic was like on the road, and what to watch for. So last year I traded my 2012RTS-SE5 for a 2014RTS-SE6 and know I really enjoy riding the spyder, and meeting people on the road they give me high 5's or a thumbs up. Also finding this :firstplace: website and learning more each day about the spyder, and going to spyder events like Spyderfest Springfield, MO, Spyderquest Lake George, NY and other spyder events.

When I can I ride my spyder, when I go do errands people ask questions about my spyder and I also tell them about this website ect. Deanna

 

[pitzerwm]

Make a "cramp buster $9.95" your first purchase.

Same as everyone else, if you don't need to unlearn the 2 wheel, its a snap. Just like anything new, takes a few laps to get it.