I wrote a bit in Lamonster's "Post here if you took the RT test ride" thread.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=159435&postcount=60
I didn't do a long involved review. IMO, it was very similar to the GS I have with a number of upgrades. Here are some more detailed thoughts...
My Russell seat gives me a similar comfort level as the RT seat has. If anything, I'd like the rider back support on the RT to be back a little farther but it was definitely more than adequate based on the short test ride I did (10 - 15 minutes). Judging by the looks and initial feel, I'd guess it'd be great for hundreds of miles of continuous riding. Certainly capable of an Ironbutt ride as is. :thumbup: If I got an RT, I would eventually look into getting the rider seatback reshaped to get me back just a few more inches from the handlebars. I rode passenger when dltang took her turn at riding the RT and the passenger seating is about 10,000% better than the GS Spyder. :2thumbs: The adjustable footboards are great and the leg position was awesome. The backrest really cradles you in and supports your upper body terrific. I believe I could ride passenger on this for hours (only if necessary
).
I've ridden with two different adjustable windshields on my Spyder and this one works okay, not as good as the Madstad I'm currently running with but it's so much easier to adjust and you can adjust it on the fly. That is only possible with the F1 slider windshields right now and they aren't as easy or safe as the RT adjustment. I'd say the RT adjustable windshield's protection is the same as an F1 slider but worse than a CHAD or Madstad system because it's adjustment is only moving up or down a few inches. The other two windshields can change the rake of the windshield to really tweak in the protection for each individual rider.
The power felt great to me. I'm not a hot rodder or a speed junkie and I thought this compared very well with my GS. Certainly capable of getting up to the 90 MPH range which is about the top end of my comfort level. I'm more of a "posted limit +5" type of rider (and I'm slowing down as I get older). Debbie might say that I'm starting to drive more and more like my father who is a "posted limit -5" driver.
I absolutely loved the rear bags and the new, deeper, front trunk. I've had soft saddle bags, Industries 7 Givi bags, rear seat bags and sissy bar bags for my Spyder at various times (I currently use Cortech soft saddlebags and a Nelson-Rigg sissy bar bag). I really like the extra carrying capacity for any Spyder on a road trip or even putzing around town and shopping. With my GS, I really liked the option to remove all those bags for a sporty look but the RT looks great with all it's permanent bags. For the type of riding I really like to do (long, touring rides) the RT would be perfect.
I love listening to music while riding so I was really glad to see and test out the audio system. As a rider, I thought it was great. Like Lamonster said, it almost seems like the music was right in your helmet. As a passenger, it wasn't as good as the windshield couldn't adjust up high enough to get my helmet out of all of the high speed windstream. I am 6'4" though so for a shorter passenger, maybe 5'10" max, I'm sure it would be fine. IMO, the solution for audio while riding two up would be to use helmet headsets so you could talk back and forth easily and definitely get the music right in your helmet. Tapping on the shoulder, pointing and yelling isn't the perfect comm. system for me.
The cruise was great and seemed to operate smoothly for the short test that I was able to give it. IMO, cruise a huge plus when doing long distance rides.
The one overall thing that I thought wasn't great was the way the controls for the audio, parking brake or the air suspension worked (maybe more things but those were the only things I messed with). It seemed like there wasn't real positive feedback when the buttons were pushed. Maybe it would just take getting used to how the systems worked but Debbie and I each pushed the parking brake button on and off a number of times when trying to set / reset the parking brake. Maybe we were too impatient or didn't know exactly what to look for to see if it was working. :dontknow: Same with the air suspension. Sometimes 1 button push would move the indicator up or down. Other times, it took multiple pushes for the indicator to change and I don't know if holding the button down made the setting index up or down multiple levels but it didn't seem like it. :dontknow: The radio controls seemed similar. A few times, pushing the volume up or down buttons didn't seem to make a change and seeking a new radio station (going from 102.5 to 88.9) was time consuming as it stopped at every station between where it was and what I wanted. Maybe there is a way to directly move to other stations but I didn't learn about that. Hopefully, station presets are an option and are easily navigated. I didn't get to test out the iPod option as I didn't want to be the first to open the "parts baggie" in the tailbag.
Hopefully iPod music navigation is easy with the audio system. Like I said, hopefully it just takes getting used to how the systems operate.
All in all, I loved it. If the RT was an option when we were first buying Spyders, I would have bought it instead of the GS / RS. Debbie said she preferred the fun, sporty ride of her GS. To each his own. :thumbup:
opcorn:
hyea::yes::clap:
Scotty is back party)
