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Spyder trying to kill me??

  • Thread starter Thread starter Way2Fast
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Way2Fast

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I took my SM5 out for a run last weekend with my wife as the usual passenger. Had no problem going to our destination except for the usual clicking brakes and "normal" moans and groans at slow speed. On the way back home strange and freightening things started to happen. The Spyder seemed to develope a mind of it's own and wanted to drift left into the opposing traffic lanes. It felt like the right front wheel was trying to lift up...a feeling similiar to what might be felt with a very strong cross wind, however the only wind was from the opposite side (left) and was less than 5mph. The bars didn't pull to the left and stayed straight, yet the only way to prevent the Spyder from "floating" into the on coming traffic was to let off the gas and twitch the bars to the right. This happened numerous times and was scaring the crap out of me ! I was traveling on State Rd A1A which runs along the coast in a straight line with no turns at 45-50mph. The road is a bit "worn" with depressions from the tires on heavy trucks. The road has a high spot in the center where the vehicle tires have not worn the surface down. However I ride this road regularly and never had a similiar problem. Once home, I checked the air in the tires and the front end for looseness...all was fine.

I may be wrong but it has occured to me that maybe the computer has gone mad and the stability control is coming on when it shouldn't be. I always thought that computers should be confined to the home or office and shouldn't be in a vehicle controlling it's actions. Driving should be left to the operator and not a dam computer !

Did anyone else experience anything similiar with their Spyders? Right now, I'm afraid to ride the dam thing.
 
:agree:Probably a good reason to take it in, I believe a recent story circulated on here involving Spyder accident that killed a woman, may have just been her though...but rut surfing and rain groove surfing is a little irritating on the Spyder. I had this problem a little on the way back from a rally, didn't realize my arms were a little tingly until I was home. I think the drifting was a little fatigue and euphoria, found myself correcting problems that didn't exist. Only bike I have had a problem with taking control when tired was a CX650, the orientaion of the engine would induce weaving.
 
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I agree...the dealer needs to address this one ASAP. One question, did it also pull to one side on a flat road afterward? If so, there is certainly something very wrong. There still could be something goofy otherwise, ranging from an alignment issue to a failed wheel sensor. This one will probably have the dealer scratching his head a while. Be prepared for a difficult time.
-Scotty
 
I have had this problem before BUT it only happened on well traveled roads that have not been resurfaced. The grooves from heavy vehicles made the road uneven. Try it on a good surfaced road doubt you will have same problem. If it happens there, then most definitely DEALER.
 
I HAD THIS EXACT SAME PROBLEM on the way to the times square meet this weekend.

I was going 75 mph in traffic on the NJ Turnpike and all of a sudden on a slight left curve in the road it seemed like I had to fight it to go straight, going right was no problem but as soon as I started to go left it would tighten up and would refuse to turn right again unless I fought it, problem is as soon as I would yank it back to the right the DPS would kick in and it would cause me to over-correct..... my buddy Joe who was on his spyder in front of me saw this happening and asked me about it when we stopped.

Funny thing though.... after we stopped and I turned if off for 30 seconds, it didn't happen again.... then I drove almost 200 miles home and it didn't happen on the way back either....

Scary thing was I was on a major highway, it was unpredictable and I had a long way to go to get home...

It also didn't help that I had a passenger on the Spyder with me, which made things worse because I could predict when I was going to have to jerk it back on the road but she couldn't.....

Definitely taking it to the dealer though!!
 
I agree...the dealer needs to address this one ASAP. One question, did it also pull to one side on a flat road afterward? If so, there is certainly something very wrong. There still could be something goofy otherwise, ranging from an alignment issue to a failed wheel sensor. This one will probably have the dealer scratching his head a while. Be prepared for a difficult time.
-Scotty

The only problem would be getting it to a "flat" road. The only way to get off the "beach" road that runs north and south in front of my home is to take that road over 10 miles in either direction. When I get my nerve up I'll try it again, this time without the wife on board. The dealer is a good 80 miles away and I'm not ready to stretch my luck for that long a distance. Probably will have to rent a trailer and tow it. Not looking forward to the hassle I know I'll get at the dealer. Right now I just feel like letting it sit in the garage and use my Raider instead.
 
The only problem would be getting it to a "flat" road. The only way to get off the "beach" road that runs north and south in front of my home is to take that road over 10 miles in either direction. When I get my nerve up I'll try it again, this time without the wife on board. The dealer is a good 80 miles away and I'm not ready to stretch my luck for that long a distance. Probably will have to rent a trailer and tow it. Not looking forward to the hassle I know I'll get at the dealer. Right now I just feel like letting it sit in the garage and use my Raider instead.

Maybe try it out with the DPS fuse pulled....should be like manual steering that way.
 
Jim... cut it out, please. There is no evidence (none, nada, zero) that the bike caused the wreck. In fact, I posted earlier that the lady was the wife of a Dallas firefighter, was brand new to riding, and had only had the Spyder for two weeks. There are no conclusions to be drawn.
I stated that in the very first sentence???
 
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