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Problems with tight corners

Laurie62

New member
I bought my 2010 RS a couple months ago and have been having a blast riding that is until now when I am on a two wk bike trip to Colorado and can not seem to figure out how to do the real tight corners. Have had to take the twisties at very slow speeds and not sure if it is me just doing something wrong or does the bike just not corner well. Any advice would be helpful.
 
It takes a while to feel out how aggressive you can be in the twisties. I have only been ryding since November and tend to be a little cautious. The switch from 2-3 wheels may also complicate it. Old habits die hard. I did not have to go through that adjustment.
Good luck and stay safe! Safe is more important than speed.
 
VERY WELL

I HAVE AN '09 RS, NOW WITH OVER 40,000 MILES.... AND I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THESE THINGS WILL TAKE THE 'TWISTIES' FAR BETTER THAN A HARLEY CRUISER, BUT NOT AS WELL AS A 'RICE ROCKET'...
YOU NEED TO GET ACCUSTOMED TO YOUR NEW TOY... A LITTLE AT A TIME IS YOUR BEST BET... IN TIME YOU WILL FIND THAT IF YOU 'LEAN' YOUR BODY WITH YOUR SPYD3R, IT WILL GIVE YOU A FEELING OF COMFORT... JUST TAKE YOUR TIME AND DON'T DO ANYTHING YOU DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH... SOME OF US ARE EVEN PULLING ONE WHEEL OFF THE ROAD GOING INTO TITE TURNS, WITHOUT HAVE THE NANNY TAKE OVER....

EXPERIENCE IS YOUR BEST TEACHER...

DAN P
EASLEY, SC
SPYD3R
 
:welcome:
Good on you for going on the road trip! First time I rode a mountain, semis were passing me, going uphill. :opps:

There's a learning curve on riding a Spyder. With time, you'll be able to do the twisties just fine.

In a corner, lean your body towards the inside of the corner, like you are going to kiss your hand. Or you can hang butt on the corner to keep the your weight on the inside wheel. Or a mix of both.

If you get that unnerving body roll, tighten up your shocks. Better yet, a BajaRon anti-swaybar. Your Spyder will feel like a whole new ride.

Hope to meet you sometime...
 
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Remember to switch your weight to the inside of the turn (fanny to the inside half of the seat). Head toward the inside of the turn also. you are basically riding a snowmobile on wheels! The beast will lean away from the turn about five degrees and that is hard to get used to as a M/C will lean into the turn. Lazer Alignment and Ronbar helps to keep the lean at a minimum and and makes the turning easier.

Don't push it and give yourself time. These will never turn and take curves as fast as a M/C regardless what anyone hear try to tell you. You do get better with time and a week or two in and around Durango will certainly improve your turns.

Enjoy the ride and I will see you in Durango. Squared Away Alignment will (laser) will be there if your interested.
 
I have an RS and had the same issue in tight curves. What I found is as others have said shift your weight to the inside, roll into the corner softly and slowly roll into the throttle about half way through the corner. I have been able to take some curves pretty fast. I think BRP got a little over aggressive on the stability system, but it is what it is.
 
Thanks for the input

Thanks all for the input and support I have always rode on the back of my husbands bikes so this is the first time I have ridden my own and with my husband only having rode 2 wheelers he is hesitate to give me to many suggestions since the spyder is so different then his VTX. He was ready to buy me a traditional trike after a day in the mountains and I was having all the issues. I am going to just practice practice practice and do the anti-sway bar on the bike.
 
Thanks all for the input and support I have always rode on the back of my husbands bikes so this is the first time I have ridden my own and with my husband only having rode 2 wheelers he is hesitate to give me to many suggestions since the spyder is so different then his VTX. He was ready to buy me a traditional trike after a day in the mountains and I was having all the issues. I am going to just practice practice practice and do the anti-sway bar on the bike.

Be sure your tire pressures are correct. If you have not had a Laser Alignment, you might want to consider that as well.

Be sure you are looking THROUGH the turn and not AT the turn. This will help a lot with entering, exiting and keeping a correct line in the turn.

Give it time. Practice will make you better. Once you get proficient your husband may have trouble staying ahead of you on his VTX! :ohyea:
 
Longtime sportbike rider here (20+ years). I currently have a Honda CBR600RR/A. Trick I find is to pull the bars into the turn while supporting your outside hand pushing against the outside handlebar, then, as everyone notes, hand-kiss. I find a little "english" off the seat helps tons, just like a sportbike people here (apparently born in the 1940s) lovingly call a "rice rocket".

The RSS allows for some slippage, a hint of drift, and a lightening of the inside wheel in a turn, which is fine. Let it. The rear will come out a 'scosh. Let it, just a smidge, similar to goosing a TransAm or Corvette with passion into a turn. Dig your body into the turn with intent and do NOT let off the throttle. Keep it committed, just like a sport-bike. The chasis will unsettle initially, then settle into an odd, near-2-wheel mode (or so it seems): it feels like it, but it's not.

Watching people race them at Willow Springs and other racetracks show the inside wheel coming off just a tiny bit at turn-in,the outside wheel flexing vicisously but enduring the load. I suspect these will handle a lot more of a beating that we realize for safety reasons at the very least.

I watched the safety vid DVD it comes with all the way through for kicks. There's that standard MSF Course straight-swerve-straight manuver to avoid a stopped object in-path and swerve out of the way. They also showed the manuver without the "nannies" on a special version RS-S for testing.

I'm in Colorado and it's unsettling at first, but dig-in, hang-on, and lean deep and keep the throttle pulled and steady and she'll yield. Try to ignore the vertigo if your body being flung-off by pulling on the inside and pushing on the outside handlebars at the same time and putting your face in-the-direction, leaning down and inward and hanging off the seat a bit (to the INSIDE). Good luck.

PS. Interested in that BajaBar. Anyone selling theirs?
 
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No problem..!!

just need more practice and the knowledge that the nanny will help you out or in our case keep you from having too much fun...:roflblack: As I made changes and got better it got to be more fun and wilder. Know your limits and enjoy getting there...!! :ohyea::ohyea:
 
One thing that really helps is brace yourself using your knees and floorboard/footpegs. In addition to scooting my butt to the inside, I push down with my outer leg while pressing my knees into the side of the tank. The reason is that keeps you on the bike without using the handlebars to hang on. When you're not fighting the bars you can use em for steering (duh). It makes fast cornering that much smoother. A Spyder will never outhandle a sport bike in the twisties, but it'll keep up with some BMW touring bikes and Goldwings easily.

Rather than thinking of speed through the tight corners, think "slow in, fast out" - the Spyder likes a little throttle rolling on through the curve. Get your braking done early, and smoothly accelerate out of the corner.
 
I bought my 2010 RS a couple months ago and have been having a blast riding that is until now when I am on a two wk bike trip to Colorado and can not seem to figure out how to do the real tight corners. Have had to take the twisties at very slow speeds and not sure if it is me just doing something wrong or does the bike just not corner well. Any advice would be helpful.

You may want BajaRon anti-sway bar. That will help with the leaning of RS and adjust your front shocks to the highest level of adjustment. When adjusting the front shocks, jack the front of the Spyder to get the front wheels off the ground. The anti-sway bar and the shock adjustment will make the RS handle !00% better. That's made my 2011 RS-S much faster in the turn and over all easier to ride. That's IMHO.

Mike
 
All good above. I am one for parking lot pratice with small cones (or half a tennis ball). Set up curves and try different speeds/styles as above. It will give you confidence and in a worst case, just go wide of the cones.
I think all the owners books have a course in the back. My 2010 RT does
Good Luck and have fun
Oldmanzues
 
Laurie,
:welcome: Have you had any experience with riding ATVs?
They most closely approximate the feel of the Spyders...:2thumbs:
 
Sometimes I get the feel of wanting to be aggressive. I tend to lean half way off the bike. Main thing: Be comfortable with your machine, tire pressure, check your shock setting as it may be soft (There is a key inside of your frunk within the tool bag).
 
I brake before curves and then accelerate all the way through (if you back off on throttle at all the bike floats to the right quickly). My front tires are set for 25 pound to avoid roll up on the side wall, it has the sway bar and laser alignment. I feel there isn't a curve out there that I can't go through at least at twice the posted speed sign. I love the thrill of the personal roller coaster feeling that I get front the spyder. by braking at the right point and controlling acceleration I seldom irritate the nanny even at my speeds.. Of course occasionally I throw FINE BRANDY into an intentional skid just
to reassure myself that nanny is still on the jobl


f
 
Almost every bike that was check for wheel alignment at the Heart of Washington Ride was off. Mine was 1 3/8 toed in on the right wheel and a smidge towed on the left. when I went around a right hand corner it would over steer but a small amount of correction would cause it to over correct and pull me into the turn. Left hand turns were less obvious. I also noticed that it would dance left to right if I was not firm on the grips or shifted my weight, especially while standing to get butt relief.

After the alignment she track straight and corners perfectly now, with or with out the trailer. I tested it to 100 mph by GPS and she would track straight without hands.

I would consider a laser alignment before anything else but have the bearings and tie rod ends inspected while they are at it. If it is as bad as you say I doubt shocks setting or tire pressures are to blame.

Good luck with it and ride safe :-)
 
Fix

Thanks all for the input and support I have always rode on the back of my husbands bikes so this is the first time I have ridden my own and with my husband only having rode 2 wheelers he is hesitate to give me to many suggestions since the spyder is so different then his VTX. He was ready to buy me a traditional trike after a day in the mountains and I was having all the issues. I am going to just practice practice practice and do the anti-sway bar on the bike.
Laurie,
a Bajaron sway bar and an alignment will make a new machine out of it. Ride up to Las Vegas, we will square you away! Give Ann a call. We can probably do it Sunday. Just let us know! Joe
 
Every bike

Every bike we checked was out of spec! 100%! We are so confident the factory alignment is off; we check them, if in spec, it is free!
Almost every bike that was check for wheel alignment at the Heart of Washington Ride was off. Mine was 1 3/8 toed in on the right wheel and a smidge towed on the left. when I went around a right hand corner it would over steer but a small amount of correction would cause it to over correct and pull me into the turn. Left hand turns were less obvious. I also noticed that it would dance left to right if I was not firm on the grips or shifted my weight, especially while standing to get butt relief.

After the alignment she track straight and corners perfectly now, with or with out the trailer. I tested it to 100 mph by GPS and she would track straight without hands.

I would consider a laser alignment before anything else but have the bearings and tie rod ends inspected while they are at it. If it is as bad as you say I doubt shocks setting or tire pressures are to blame.

Good luck with it and ride safe :-)
 
Laser Alignment

Hi there, new here in the forum. I purchased two weeks ago a 2011 Spyder RT Limited and would like to know if we have anyone in the Northern VA area that can do a laser alignment on my Spyder. I contacted Coleman Sports in Woodbridge, VA, and they told me that no alignment is required for the Spyder, Right? Give me a break please, lol. Any help to a newbie will be appreciated.
 
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