Prospective new Spyder rider-couple of questions, please?

[trobbins27]

*Plenty of grunt from the motor, even at 1k pounds. I will say the Rotax engine does not sing like a Ducati or Harley-Davidson does....it's just, well, an engine sound. Wish the motor had a more unique, pleasing sound signature.

Carolyn

There are several aftermarket muffler/straight pipe (cat delete) options out there to remedy that :doorag: Happy hunting!

 

[ARtraveler]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and the great information! Actually, we took off last night to test ride a white 2017 F3-T with the floorboard option and SE6. Some thoughts:

*The dealer has a huge lot that loops around the building. on one side there are 3 speed bumps. We practiced dodging around the bumps at low speed and looped around the building several times before hitting the street. I was quite surprised how quickly we got the initial (and I do stress "initial") hang of riding it. the most natural approach for us: when turning right, use the left leg to push our body weight toward the front right of the Spyder-opposite approach with left turns. I think some of our ATV riding in the past kicked it with some long lost muscle memory (!) as that's kind of the same sensation when making turns. We each test drove about 20 miles of city and back streets.

*we agree the training is worthwhile. Since it is two full days, I imagine there is a lot of beginner information for folks who have probably never been on two or three wheels, but if it's anything like the intensive Harley-Davidson training, they will show us how to handle emergency or unexpected situations and how to maneuver the Spyder to accommodate.

*when hurtling down the road, if feels like you are on a two wheel motorcycle. All the sensations are the same. only when turning do you know that something is definitely different.

*The SE6 trans is very convenient, I must say, although it's a VERY hard shifting transmission when you upshift in the higher rev band (anything above 4k). We are finding F3-T 2017 SM6's are almost impossible to find, but I think I have talked myself into the SE6 anyway. For this platform a manual might not be called for: no need for a friction zone that a manual clutch provides, since there's no need to work to keep the bike upright in low speed maneuvers like on a two wheeler. Another downside to the SE6 is that it does NOT perform throttle blips for rev-matching on downshifts. That was a little disheartening for us. If you are not in the correct rev zone chosen by the computer when downshifting, it won't allow you to make the shift. I don't like a computer having that much control over my open-air experience



*Plenty of grunt from the motor, even at 1k pounds. I will say the Rotax engine does not sing like a Ducati or Harley-Davidson does....it's just, well, an engine sound. Wish the motor had a more unique, pleasing sound signature.

*I am a red person, but I was really surprised how fantastic it looks in white, in person. The body colored side bags really integrate into the body shape, creating a really nice looking machine.

*We agree with what others have said regarding the 2018 dashboard. We don't talk on the phone or listen to music when we are on two wheels and certainly won't do it on three, so a lot of the whiz-bang of that new dash and it's "infotainment" aspects would be lost on us anyway, and it seems they have some real growing pains. Plus, we can get a $3,000 rebate on a 2017 minus whatever we can get from a lower dealer selling price.

I was very happy with the Spyder, and I think it provides exactly what I am looking for to get me back out on the road. A couple of barriers remain for us:

-on the next test ride, we are going to ride it to our house and figure out how we are going to get it into our garages. We do have two and one is pretty large, but we also have two cars(thank goodness they are both small Minis, and my husband has two motorcycles).

-We currently have a 6' x 12' Pace American enclosed trailer that was perfect for transporting two bikes for the past 8 or 9 years. Well, I don't have to tell anyone here, THAT's not going to work any longer. From what I have seen we are going to need a 16' trailer in order to get a motorcycle and the Spyder inside, so that's another expense we have to include. He trailers much more than I would need to(he makes two trips down to the Dragon each year for instance), so we could likely put off that expense for awhile....high quality enclosed trailers are really expensive.....

-trying to find a red 2017 F3-T might be tough, but assuming we decide to move forward, we will cast a wide net geography-wise to try and find one. That deep red, almost crimson color is just too irresistible for me.

I welcome any comments folks might have on our initial impressions, and I will post how we progress, and I'm sure we will have more questions, if you don't mind......

thanks again everyone!

Carolyn

RE: Throttle blips/shifting the SE. Not sure if I read right. When shifting up with the SE no throttle blips are necessary. Just leave the throttle where it is and the :ani29: will do it. Downshifting is automatic also. No blipping required. If you want to shift down at a higher range, just manually hit the "-" on the shifter. Most SE shifts are seamless without throttle blips. :thumbup:

 

[bushrat]

Re OP comment that: "Another downside to the SE6 is that it does NOT perform throttle blips for rev-matching on downshifts. That was a little disheartening for us. If you are not in the correct rev zone chosen by the computer when downshifting, it won't allow you to make the shift. I don't like a computer having that much control over my open-air experience."

My response: That has never been my experience on my 2017 F3L. My sweet spot for up-shifting smoothly and seamlessly is around 3500-4000 rpm. I can do at higher revs if I really need to make a quick get-away; at lower revs, it isn't as smooth.

More to your point: I have never had any issues when downshifting/engine braking. I typically do this well before the computer wants to. I control the shift pattern and have never been refused or denied by the computer, and I have 'pushed' the engine to 'up' the rev count pretty dramatically while doing so. I find myself agreeing with sentiments expressed above by pegasus1300, UtahPete and akspyderman: the Se6 is smooth and you're in control whenever you want to be, unless and until you get Nanny upset. And then, she's just trying to save you from harm. I'm sure you will find that you can downshift the 1330 F3T to your heart's content.

Welcome and safe, happy ryding.

 

[Bob Denman]

Since it's "throttle by wire": throttle-blips are unnecessary... nojoke
The computer does all of that for you now! :clap:

 

[grieppc]

manual

I thought dealers were having trouble selling a manual ..... why? do you enjoy shifting? The wife says it's a no brainer.

 

[BoxyLady]

thanks again folks for great responses.....regarding throttle blipping, I was referring to the rev matching anyone who rides a motorcycle has to do when downshifting from a high speed, high gear, down to a lower speed, lower gear, when entering a turn, for example, to avoid upsetting the bike balance before turn-in. Using cars as an example, most all dual-clutch cars today do the throttle blipping for you as you paddle shift. You can actually hear the rev-matching taking place just as if you were performing the process yourself via the heel-toe process with a manual transmission, and the engagement of the lower gear is virtually undetectable from a balance standpoint . An out-of-town dealer I spoke to told me that the spyder does not do this with the semi-auto transmission. they explained that unless you slow down to a speed before engaging the lower gear to turn in, where the computer wants you to be from a rev standpoint, it will prevent the lower gear engagement. Sounds like from what folks here have said, that is hooey; they are able to downshift into the higher rev range of lower gears, when required, without an issue, so that's good enough for me....

Going to take a longer test ride this afternoon on the pearl white F3 and see what happens!

Thanks

Carolyn

 

[Bob Denman]

The Spyders DO match the rpm levels for the next gear chosen... :thumbup:
My 2010 RT was pretty good at doing a HORRIBLE job of it...
By the time I got my 2014 RT: they had it nicely sorted out...
And the 2018 is even better!!

 

[BoxyLady]

indeed. took another ride today, and pushed it a little bit. The system most definitely rev matches on downshifts. I tried all kinds of combinations to drop down into a lower gear at different ranges of the engine revs and the system shifted down every time with a nice blip.......

 

[jnt]

After V-Rods, you would probly prefer the F3-? I suggest trying the RT also. It might surprise you. After all, if you are test-riding, test more than one.

As to the course, you may find it helpful. I set up the course in the manual when we got W's Spyder. I had quite a few miles on her Spyder prior to the course, but it still helped me get to know the machine better.

HAPPY SHOPPING!!

 

[BoxyLady]

started a separate thread regarding acquisition-it's a done deal !