Safety Questions???

[spyderwing]

Morning, At what speed is it safe to swerve a Spyder to avoid a road hazard? What speed would be too fast to swerve? Are there any sources of information specific to Spyder safety available? Thanks. Later. John

 

[Bob Denman]

It's an impossible question to answer... :shocked:
But I would say that when it comes down to crashing head-on into something that will kill you... SWERVE!!

Different types of turning, requires different techniques. Figure out how much you have to lean in and brace yourself for the REALLY interesting ones... and hope like the dickens that you never have to test it out for real. nojoke

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

SWERVING

Morning, At what speed is it safe to swerve a Spyder to avoid a road hazard? What speed would be too fast to swerve? Are there any sources of information specific to Spyder safety available? Thanks. Later. John

:lecturef_smilie:...........Hazard/accident avoidance occurs in a milli-second.......NO thinking about it is even possible, because if you do .....you will HIT IT........This has to be an instinctive thing, so IMHO test your Spyder in a SAFE environment. So you what to expect both from you and the Spyder.........Mike :thumbup:

 

[Grandpot]

I agree with Bob; too many variables. Best advise I can give is to go to an open parking lot and practice. Get a FEEL for the machine.

 

[cyclekid58]

Swerving

I agree with Bob; too many variables. Best advise I can give is to go to an open parking lot and practice. Get a FEEL for the machine.

Most of the trike courses will teach you this at speed in a controlled environment, the class I did consisted on mostly spyders and the instructor did too. It taught a lot more than swerving and what I learned has come in real handy. Those that have never ridden and those coming from a 2 wheeler can learn a lot, and I urge you to take a class, in many states it's required. In Idaho it is not required, in Washington just a few miles away it is.

 

[PMK]

Be very careful if you attempt this riding 2 up. After the swerve you may be riding solo.

I agree, much is instinctive and reaction type decision making.

We ride 2 up almost always. Depending upon the object or reason to swerve, I may just find it better to split it and roll the rear tire over it.

Really it just depends.

PK

 

[Bob Denman]

Putting the rear tire over the obstacle works fine... :thumbup:


...as long as you've got the ground clearance to make it work! :shocked:

 

[SpyderAnn01]

Like Bob said take the hit with the rear wheel if at all possible. What is the saying in the 2 wheeled world? If you can eat it in one sitting - hit it, if not avoid it. Squirrel = hit, deer = swerve.

 

[spyderwing]

Swerve

Thank you for your answers. I spend a lot of time on 2 lanes - not a lot of traffic. A small animal jumps out - raccoon or whatever - at 55-60 mph do I hit it or swerve - not sure- appreciate any more thoughts. thanks. Later. John

 

[Bob Denman]

What is the saying in the 2 wheeled world? If you can eat it in one sitting - hit it, if not avoid it.

:shocked: I'm going on a diet... :yikes:

 

[PMK]

Big fear for me... Real Aligators or semi tire thrown retreads.

No doubt these had intentions of why I recently made the brakes better.

I have floated the front wheel over snakes and gators on MTB and dirt bikes, unfortunatley the Spyder is underpowered and can not wheelie.

BajaRon bar, Fox Shox, good weight placement, or it goes under the tires.

PK

 

[Rocketman 2012]

If its a Skunk, go for the ditch:yikes:

I have a Farm in the Rural area of SW Missouri and although my commute into work is only 12 miles, sometimes there are suicidal birds, mostly small but lots of large ones like Turkeys and Hawks, Squirrels, Cats and Dogs, horses and lots of Hamburgers on the hoof!! Deer are everywhere. The worst is Skunks---OMG!!!!

In a 4 wheel cage or on one of my bikes, my John Deere Gator, Polaris Ranger side by side, a rider/ driver can steer around an obstacle but what happens if a dead or even living animal is right smack dab in the middle of the road??? Do you just stand on the pegs like on a dirt bike and hope for the best?

The ground clearance on these Spyders is terrible---right??

Sam:yes:

 

[ChrisDeck]

It's a great question really. Having grown up in Michigan, lived almost 18 years in FL and now Dallas, I've experienced most of what those areas have to give you.

My personal rules are that I have 3 seconds of distance between any vehicle in front of me if I'm going at any decent speed. Additionally, I will change lanes if I'm behind a semi which I hate being behind even in my SUV. I need to see what's coming and a blown tire is going to happen to you at some point driving. You really don't have that option obviously on a 2 lane road so I might keep my distance to 4 however you likely aren't running into semi's on 2 lane roads very often. I feel comfortable that I can veer out of the way of something in most cases as long as I have enough time to react. If I'm riding around areas with animals I'm riding just at or below the speed limit at dusk or the evening if feasible. We added the extra lighting on ours to be able to see as much as possible on the sides but we all know it's very difficult to get out of the way of any animal so your best option is likely just to break only because you can't see a ditch or tree's in most cases.

Other than that, I would practice sharp avoidance turns at lower speeds to see how you and the bike reacts. The more you can practice, the better off you'll be should you need to do it later on.

 

[Bob Denman]

I also like to leave LOTS of room between me, and the vehicle that I'm following...
It gives you more time to:
Identify a potential hazard
Predict how it's all going to affect you
Decide upon a course of action
Execute that action

 

[Gunkandpudge]

I live in a forest, no neighbors, only deer, bear, coyotes, fox, wolves, raccoons etc. I have numerous four legged neighbors jumping in front of me all the time. My sister visited once and when she departed she ended up in a ditch upside down because she want to miss a 6" long turtle. I don't swerve, I break but i won't swerve and kill myself by flipping over or going off road. I've had deer slide off the frunk and then throw a hoof at me. I had one deer running along side of my RT at 40 mph. He kept looking up at me and I kept yelling bad idea. He stopped and ran behind me. Maybe I've been lucky but the weekly paper, said I lived in a forest, is full of cars running off the road to avoid whatever ran in front of them.
:yikes:

 

[jaherbst]

Like Bob said take the hit with the rear wheel if at all possible. What is the saying in the 2 wheeled world? If you can eat it in one sitting - hit it, if not avoid it. Squirrel = hit, deer = swerve.

I would have to contest that Ann. This time of year I get mighty hungry. :joke:

I like it though. Thought I'd heard it all--guess not.

Jack

 

[IGETAROUND]

You are far safer to stand hard on the brakes then to swerve to avoid anything animal!

JMO, there is no sense in endangering yourself by trying avoidance
maneuvers where an animal is concerned.

Now if your talking cars, trucks and other things that weigh a lot more than you and your spyder then trying to avoid a straight on collision makes much more sense. :yikes::thumbup:

 

[PistonBlown]

Thank you for your answers. I spend a lot of time on 2 lanes - not a lot of traffic. A small animal jumps out - raccoon or whatever - at 55-60 mph do I hit it or swerve - not sure- appreciate any more thoughts. thanks. Later. John

The rule is the same as for a motorbike - keep to your line rather than trying to swerve. Normal motorcycle reasoning apply:

• It's a living animal so will also react so you may swerve only for it to move into your new path.
• As soon as you start a change in direction to avoid something you loose a level of control and reduce your options. People also panic and overdo things.
• If you do impact when not traveling straight then your more likely to 'upset' the line the vehicle is taking e.g. if your turning left to avoid then your steering could be forced further left by the impact.

If you can hit it with the middle of the Spyder rather than just one front wheel so much the better but keeping to your line is more important.

I've hit a couple of possums (animal about the size of a large cat) since I've had the Spyder and it's handled it well even when in a corner.

 

[spyderwing]

Safety Questions

Thank you for your answers. I appreciate them. Later. John

 

[flaggerphil]

Thank you for your answers. I spend a lot of time on 2 lanes - not a lot of traffic. A small animal jumps out - raccoon or whatever - at 55-60 mph do I hit it or swerve - not sure- appreciate any more thoughts. thanks. Later. John

If it's safe for you to swerve, do so. If swerving means you're going to crash...well, it sucks to be the small animal. After awhile you should learn when to do which.