vondalyn
New member
I was supposed to get the 2013 ST loaner on October 24-25, but mother nature decided to drop snow in our area. It snowed both Wednesday and Thursday nights. They said I could get it Saturday morning. Luckily the snow melted off Friday during the day so I went and got it from the dealership (about an hour away) Friday night. It was a COLD drive home and this ST did not have heated grips. I got used to the clutch pretty quickly, but having to use a clutch for a few days really made me appreciate my SE.
I had it for 4 days and put 500 miles on it in that time. Here are my thoughts on it:
The ride on this ST was really stiff. On the way home I drove over a manhole cover that was about an inch lower than the pavement around it and my feet actually bounced off the pegs. With more time in the saddle, I learned to compensate and push down on the pegs any time I had rough roads. It became a non-issue for the most part, but sometimes bumps would jar my spine a bit. On the other hand, this made it handle really well in the twisties. The tires were inflated to 15.5 and 25. I could feel tire roll in the twists at high speeds.
The spyder felt really lightweight and nimble compared to the RT, but that also made it feel more vulnerable to the wind. I got blown around a bit in some of the canyons (I don't think the spyder moved much, but I had to compensate more than usual). It was easy to adjust the windshield while stopped, but while driving, you can only move it down -- impossible to move it up with one hand with a clutch. If I'd been on an SE, I might have tried harder. Even at the uppermost position, you're looking over the windshield. I had it up all the way whenever it was cold/windy to protect myself a little more. My hands were much less protected than with the RT. I missed my heated handgrips. I tried 4 different pairs of gloves and even a mitten on my accelerator hand, and nothing kept my hands warm in the temps I was driving in. I'd have to have heated gloves if I didn't have heated handgrips.
I loved the electronic parking brake. I missed the glovebox and extra storage that I'm used to. Luckily most days Don rode with me so I had the extra storage along.
The brakes are better than my RT. No noise, and very responsive.
Acceleration and deceleration are about the same as the RT.
The clutch was the only thing I didn't like. I don't have small hands, but even at the closest setting, I was having to stretch for the lever and my hand ached by the end of the 4th day. Would I get used to this? Yes probably (actually I'd probably find someone to change the adjustment so I wouldn't have to stretch for it), but it actually made me hesitate to ride and that's not me at all.
Bottom line, I'd seriously consider getting an ST as our 2nd bike (we're not in a position to afford that right now), but I'd probably get the LTD so I have the heated grips and the glove box and the extra storage. And definitely an SE
There's probably more to share, but I'll let you ask about what you might be interested in.
Dianne
I had it for 4 days and put 500 miles on it in that time. Here are my thoughts on it:
The ride on this ST was really stiff. On the way home I drove over a manhole cover that was about an inch lower than the pavement around it and my feet actually bounced off the pegs. With more time in the saddle, I learned to compensate and push down on the pegs any time I had rough roads. It became a non-issue for the most part, but sometimes bumps would jar my spine a bit. On the other hand, this made it handle really well in the twisties. The tires were inflated to 15.5 and 25. I could feel tire roll in the twists at high speeds.
The spyder felt really lightweight and nimble compared to the RT, but that also made it feel more vulnerable to the wind. I got blown around a bit in some of the canyons (I don't think the spyder moved much, but I had to compensate more than usual). It was easy to adjust the windshield while stopped, but while driving, you can only move it down -- impossible to move it up with one hand with a clutch. If I'd been on an SE, I might have tried harder. Even at the uppermost position, you're looking over the windshield. I had it up all the way whenever it was cold/windy to protect myself a little more. My hands were much less protected than with the RT. I missed my heated handgrips. I tried 4 different pairs of gloves and even a mitten on my accelerator hand, and nothing kept my hands warm in the temps I was driving in. I'd have to have heated gloves if I didn't have heated handgrips.
I loved the electronic parking brake. I missed the glovebox and extra storage that I'm used to. Luckily most days Don rode with me so I had the extra storage along.
The brakes are better than my RT. No noise, and very responsive.
Acceleration and deceleration are about the same as the RT.
The clutch was the only thing I didn't like. I don't have small hands, but even at the closest setting, I was having to stretch for the lever and my hand ached by the end of the 4th day. Would I get used to this? Yes probably (actually I'd probably find someone to change the adjustment so I wouldn't have to stretch for it), but it actually made me hesitate to ride and that's not me at all.
Bottom line, I'd seriously consider getting an ST as our 2nd bike (we're not in a position to afford that right now), but I'd probably get the LTD so I have the heated grips and the glove box and the extra storage. And definitely an SE
There's probably more to share, but I'll let you ask about what you might be interested in.
Dianne
