Spyder In The East

[bandwagon]

Welcome Gundam

That was some funny reading of your first adventures with the Spyder. You sure got one beautiful place for riding and I know what you mean about the sky opening up and giving you both an early shower. I still have very fun memories of my trip to Singapore while in the Marines. I want pre-date myself by giving dates. Enjoy the Spyder and be safe. You may have lite a match and started a fire by giving Spyder riders the idea of reversing their fans. Looking forward to an update once your job is done. Keep the roar coming from the Lion City. :2thumbs:

 

[Purple Guy]

Looks like your well on your way to getting the most out of your :spyder2:.
:welcome:

 

[AgentK]

Welcome to the forum, enjoy your Sryder!

 

[jimclarkf1]

WELCOME to SPYDERLAND

I hope your thinking about SF-5, it's just across the pond.

 

[Gundam]

Another round of Thanks to everyone for your Welcomes...

.... the reversing fan idea is certainly not new, implementing it is rather easy, controlling it using the vehicle's speed is rather tedious, you will need more electronic circuitry, but can be done...

Over here in the Lion City, everytime I rode my :spyder2:, I get stares from everyone, and I mean EVERYONE... from few years old kids to grannies and old coots (sorry, no offence intended, just to be inclusive...:roflblack....asking even funnier questions like, does it have a roof?, what about air conditioning?, how do you lane split? (not recommended here, but not illegal also), how do you find a parking lot for it?.... but most of their jaws will drop when they ask about the price.... what?!!!... S$62K!!!... are you nuts?... I rather get a car.... that, my friends, is why there are so few :spyder2:s in the Lion City....

 

[Gundam]

I hope your thinking about SF-5, it's just across the pond.

Thanks....but sorry I lost you there... what's SF-5?....

 

[Gundam]

The cooling fan reversing circuitry is up and running...

... but I suspect that the cooling of the radiator using the fan in the reverse direction, that is, pushing the air through the radiator is not as efficient as pulling the air through it... there seems to be a lot of turbulence around the radiator when the fan is pushing the air through it... but I will put it to the test longer to see how well it copes... for the short test ride that I have taken the :spyder2:... the temperature gauge doesn't seems to change much, BUT no more hot right foot issues... YES!!!


The picture on the left shows the relays mounted on a custom made bracket, the rightmost one is a switched power relay controlled by the ignition key, the leftmost one controls the direction of the cooling fan and the middle one?.... it controls the switching between analogue or digital fuel and coolant temperature gauge.... I can chose between these two using a rocker switch mounted on the top switch panel as shown on the right picture... the other rocker switch controls the cooling fan direction and also to override the temperature controlled relay for it...

Meanwhile my :spyder2: is doing fine so far, with only a minor glitch which I have resolved it myself... the glove box cover fails to lock and upon inspection, found that the cable has detached at the key lock side.... after removing some panels and re-attaching it... back to working order again...

Most probably will be going for my 1K kilometres service next month....

 

[fastfraser]

:welcome::congrats: Wow ! I think you will get a lot of questions on how you reversed the fan ! You should post this as a new post .

 

[StanProff]

This has come up a couple of times with a lot of speculation on the outcome. It is my thoughts that the fan probably never comes on when moving at speed as the natural air flow is going to move enough air. Please post your results so we will know how it turns out. I started a thread yesterday with the question of reversing the fan.

 

[Gundam]

:welcome::congrats: Wow ! I think you will get a lot of questions on how you reversed the fan ! You should post this as a new post .

Thanks, but I think I just add on to the thread by Stanproff instead of starting a new one, makes reading for others easier rather than jumping here and there....

 

[Gundam]

This has come up a couple of times with a lot of speculation on the outcome. It is my thoughts that the fan probably never comes on when moving at speed as the natural air flow is going to move enough air. Please post your results so we will know how it turns out. I started a thread yesterday with the question of reversing the fan.

I will post some photos of my installation and a schematic wiring diagram when it is ready on your thread and also on-going ride report....

 

[Gundam]

It's been a while since I update this thread, I have been busy fine tuning my fan reversing system as per my posts in "fan reversal"....

Anyway, just went for my 1K kms service, cost me S$250, I was expecting the dealer to perform a thorough check by connecting the Spyder to the BUDS system but no, just oil and filters changed and also a casual check on the coolant level.... if it wasn't a pre-condition that the Spyder must be serviced by the dealer so as not to invalid the warranty, I would have done it myself....

On my way back home after the service, for the first time since I got my Spyder, I met a fellow Spyder ryder, a GS or RS on the opposite lane.... pity I was rushing to my next appointment, didn't have a chance to chat with him...

My Spyder is running fine so far, will update further if something crops up or after I have installed the air flow switch for my "system" above....

 

[spacetiger]

... was a harrowing experience for me and my wife... the :spyder2: stalled barely 30m from where it was parked, and I have to hurriedly remember how to start it when it is in gear.... after restarting it and managed to move onto the main road, I have to mentally remember to change up the gears at 5K rpm... then I approached the first corner on the road and went in too fast... and panic... we both nearly got thrown off the :spyder2:....thank goodness for VSS... from then on I take it real slow and easy, hardly getting out of third gear... then the sky opens up suddenly and it rain cats and dogs, and we were both thoroughly soaked before we had a chance to stop and put on our rain gears... and we just carry on since we were already wet... then we reached the first stop light and the cooling fan turns on and blast out a barrage of steam from the right vent... the cars around us thought that our :spyder2: was burning up... after that, reached home and hit the sack, and I was wondering what sort of beast have I got myself?....

Maybe like the Ogre-Faced Spider in Singapore?
http://www.weather.com/news/science...s-singapore-are-creepy-and-beautiful-20130813

 

[NancysToy]

It's been a while since I update this thread, I have been busy fine tuning my fan reversing system as per my posts in "fan reversal"....

Anyway, just went for my 1K kms service, cost me S$250, I was expecting the dealer to perform a thorough check by connecting the Spyder to the BUDS system but no, just oil and filters changed and also a casual check on the coolant level.... if it wasn't a pre-condition that the Spyder must be serviced by the dealer so as not to invalid the warranty, I would have done it myself....

On my way back home after the service, for the first time since I got my Spyder, I met a fellow Spyder ryder, a GS or RS on the opposite lane.... pity I was rushing to my next appointment, didn't have a chance to chat with him...

My Spyder is running fine so far, will update further if something crops up or after I have installed the air flow switch for my "system" above....

Your dealer is shortchanging you. The maintenance schedule has specific tasks that are to be performed, including hooking to BUDS. If he did not perform them, you might want to search for another dealer who will do the job right. The tasks are in your owners manual.

 

[Gundam]

Maybe like the Ogre-Faced Spider in Singapore?
http://www.weather.com/news/science...s-singapore-are-creepy-and-beautiful-20130813

No thanks, those spiders gave me the creeps.... luckily the black widow and the brown recluse spiders are rare over here....

 

[Gundam]

Your dealer is shortchanging you. The maintenance schedule has specific tasks that are to be performed, including hooking to BUDS. If he did not perform them, you might want to search for another dealer who will do the job right. The tasks are in your owners manual.

I do not have a choice.... they are the ONLY authorised dealer in my country.... and if I did the servicing elsewhere, they will not be liable for any future warranty claims.... furthermore, other workshops will not have the proper equipment (BUDS) to service the Spyder... come to think of it, they may not have BUDS themselves.....

 

[Gundam]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that the cable that locks the glove lid came off at the handlebar side again.... but this time after putting it back on, I use a cable tie to secure it so that it will not pop off again....

One other modification that I did is to make a spring latch to secure the glove lid when it is opened so that it will not come crashing down at any slight movement of the Spyder.... the original catch is too weak to hold the lid up, and any minor jerking will cause the lid to crash down, sometimes onto the back of my hand.... and when you need to close the lid, just push the latch inward against the left radius arm as shown in the pictures above....

 

[Gundam]

Lowest mileage for a tank of gas.... 220...

.... kilometres, not miles..... took 23 litres to full tank, that means 2 litres un-usable.... luckily the Spyder was at home when it happen... the story goes like this.... low fuel light came on, and as usual, carry on riding until the last bar on the digital display disappear, was on my way home where there is a gas station nearby.... then half a kilometre from home, it starts to rain and I thought, what the heck I can always fill her up on the way to work tomorrow morning, not worth getting wet going to the gas station now.... and I went straight home and shuts down the Spyder.... and yes, you guess right, the Spyder wouldn't start the next morning!...

Well, that's the experience I had with my Spyder so far, nothing serious.... the only thing that seems to be failing is the frunk opening switch, it sometimes take a few tries before it releases the latch.... have to take a look when I have the time....

 

[Gundam]

Really busy this few weeks and more to come....

.... but I thought I better put in some insight in riding the :spyder2: for the past few weeks before I forgets.... so far nothing seriously wrong with mine, thank goodness.... but opening the frunk using the switch is not possible now, could be the solenoid or the switch itself, and I do not have the time to take a look myself nor bring to the shop.... also, broke the radio antennae the other day... arghhhh.... was exiting the carpark and the gantry came back down too soon.... luckily it broke at the base and I managed to trim it off, added a quick release coupling to it and the base, and I now have a quick release antennae which I can removed when using the canvas to cover the :spyder2:..... I have thought of a lot of modifications to be done, but do not have the time to do it ..... yet.... until next time.... cheers...

 

[Gundam]

Getting the hang of it now....

You really need to cover more miles on the :spyder2: to get comfortable on it.... mine just clear 2K kms a couple of days ago and now I really feel good on it... I think one of the reasons I'm taking a longer time and mileage to really get used to the :spyder2: is because I'm also riding a conventional 2 wheel motorcycle on a regular basis.... I have also managed to trace the problem of the frunk opening to the switch, and rigged up another switch to bypass it for the time being until I have enough time to take it apart.... I have also moved the wind deflectors under the mirrors outward by about 40mm, the gap in between will allow cooling air to flow pass the top vents behind the wind deflectors.... helps to make the :spyder2: runs cooler as observed by some riders here after reading their posts..... my own observations also concurs but instead of buying the adjustable ones from accessories, I make my own.... I will post pictures when I have taken them..... the next thing to do is to install ventilation fans to suck hot air from the brake master cylinder area.... stay tuned....