Steering problems

[Casher50]

My 2011 RT wears me out on windy days and on crooked roads. It seems that I am having to make steering corrections frequently. I got home after a 90 mile ride and my arms and shoulders were all tensed up, and they still are several hours later. I had a sway bar installed, the shocks are set on 5 (the most taught), the rear shock is set at 50psi, the front tires are set at 19psi, and I had a laser alignment last year.

Any suggestions?

 

[Peter Aawen]

Conciously RELAX your hands, wrists, arms, & shoulders; drop your shoulders down & your elbows in instead of tensing your shoulders up & sticking your elbows out & up - most of the need for continuous correction stems from you being too tense & holding on to everything too tight, so work to reduce that if you can. Some recommend imagining tha you've got egg-shells between the grips & your hands, try not to break them! Then try to look further ahead & plan your ride & the path you'll take on the road ahead a WHOLE lot further ahead of your Spyder than you are currently!

Look ahead at where the road goes AS FAR AHEAD as you can see it, then let your eyes scan back to the patch immediately in front of you, tracing the path you want to follow as you do - aim WAAAY ahead & then scan back at least once every few seconds; add that in to the start AND the end of the 'check out front, check behind, check left, check right, check the instruments, ensure all is fine, then do it all again' scan that should be happening every coupla seconds anyway, & it'll ease the 'micro-correction' & subsequent continuous over-reaction that comes from keeping your point of focus too close in front of you.

Basically, you need to plan well ahead & look ahead to where you want to go as well as working on consciously relaxing the tendency to grip too tight & then over-compensating instead of gently guiding your Spyder along a well planned path that you've already scanned a few times!

Good Luck!

Ps: if you do this ^^ properly, then you might find it helps even more to wind the shocks back down a little & drop another couple of psi out of your tires, fronts especially - your Spyder isn't a finely tuned & crisply responsive race machine, it's far more of a tourer/roadster, altho it can handle quite well & briskly IF you aren't wasting too much time on the myriad of minor corrections that a 'less than ideal surface' might seemingly call for!! Ignore the little stuff, try to gently guide it thru the big stuff & around the important bits while you let the tires & suspension soak up the little bumps & minor corrections that you are likely exhausting yourself trying to correct for atm!

 

[4 MARIE]

Peter has some good stuff for you, above. You don't tell us a lot about YOU.
How long have you had your Spyder? What do your normal trips look like, etc.
The first few hundred miles might be a little "shaky", but I bet you will get it.

 

[Easy Rider]

The first few hundred miles might be a little "shaky", but I bet you will get it.

Well he said he's had the machine since last year......so hopefully most of the "learning curve" is over.

Lowering the rear shock pressure might help some.
And I doubt that the fronts need to be set that stiff either.

I hope that 19 PSI doesn't include the rear tire too.

If possible having another experience Spyder rider take a test ride is about the best thing you can do.
Without getting another unbiased opinion, you might spend TONS of time and money with no good result.

I wonder how many new riders find that they just can't live with the unique geometry of the Spyder ??

 

[Chupaca]

All of the above

I do notice that you mention only on windy days. This would lead one to believe you may be apprehensive and may revert to the excessive grip. It can't be the set up and unless the wind is really bad it would not be that either.

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree:
Try bringing your knees in against the "tank" to help hold yourself in place.
The wind can move you around on the seat, and this often adds some unwanted steering inputs.

 

[Easy Rider]

I do notice that you mention only on windy days.

A really LOT of what you do to keep a 2 wheeler straight on the road comes automatically from your unconscious brain.

If you have ridden on 2 wheels for a long time, you aren't even aware that most of that is happening.

I am finding that the "feeling" on the Spyder in cross winds is confusing and unsettling because the unconscious corrections going on DON'T WORK on 3 wheels. I think it's gonna take me a long time to fully get over that. It probably doesn't help that I still ride my Vulcan too.

 

[Bob Denman]

...Just bring your knees in, and see if it helps...

 

[Easy Rider]

...Just bring your knees in, and see if it helps...

Certainly can't hurt.

Except maybe with decreased ventilation........in a place that doesn't get enough to start with. :shocked:

:roflblack:

 

[BajaRon]

As many have already said. You may be wearing yourself out. It may not be the Spyder at all. Relaxing is the key. And it is something that must be practiced. At least in the beginning. It is a mental exercise which translates to muscle tension.

It is also possible that your DPS (Dynamic Power Steering) unit is not functioning properly. Though by your description, this would not be my first guess. You might want to get that checked out to be sure. If your DPS is not working that can really wear you out.

 

[Casher50]

Conciously RELAX your hands, wrists, arms, & shoulders; drop your shoulders down & your elbows in instead of tensing your shoulders up & sticking your elbows out & up - most of the need for continuous correction stems from you being too tense & holding on to everything too tight, so work to reduce that if you can. Some recommend imagining tha you've got egg-shells between the grips & your hands, try not to break them! Then try to look further ahead & plan your ride & the path you'll take on the road ahead a WHOLE lot further ahead of your Spyder than you are currently!

Look ahead at where the road goes AS FAR AHEAD as you can see it, then let your eyes scan back to the patch immediately in front of you, tracing the path you want to follow as you do - aim WAAAY ahead & then scan back at least once every few seconds; add that in to the start AND the end of the 'check out front, check behind, check left, check right, check the instruments, ensure all is fine, then do it all again' scan that should be happening every coupla seconds anyway, & it'll ease the 'micro-correction' & subsequent continuous over-reaction that comes from keeping your point of focus too close in front of you.

Basically, you need to plan well ahead & look ahead to where you want to go as well as working on consciously relaxing the tendency to grip too tight & then over-compensating instead of gently guiding your Spyder along a well planned path that you've already scanned a few times!

Good Luck!

Ps: if you do this ^^ properly, then you might find it helps even more to wind the shocks back down a little & drop another couple of psi out of your tires, fronts especially - your Spyder isn't a finely tuned & crisply responsive race machine, it's far more of a tourer/roadster, altho it can handle quite well & briskly IF you aren't wasting too much time on the myriad of minor corrections that a 'less than ideal surface' might seemingly call for!! Ignore the little stuff, try to gently guide it thru the big stuff & around the important bits while you let the tires & suspension soak up the little bumps & minor corrections that you are likely exhausting yourself trying to correct for atm!

This advice helped a lot. I have put several thousand miles on my Rt and did not have this problem until recently. Most of my problem is probably me. I was riding a couple of months ago with my wife behind me, and all of a sudden, it seemed like the RT abruptly headed for oncoming traffic. I jerked the handlebar to the right and got back on track, but this scared me. Also, my wife said she felt that I ride too close to the center line. Since these two events happened, I have tried to stay more in the center of my lane. This is not too much of a problem on roads with wide paved shoulders. However, on roads with no shoulders it seems like I am too close to the ditch, and this makes me nervous. How do I overcome fear and trust in my Spyder to get me home?

 

[Spyder_Cowgirl]

Roads

This advice helped a lot. I have put several thousand miles on my Rt and did not have this problem until recently. Most of my problem is probably me. I was riding a couple of months ago with my wife behind me, and all of a sudden, it seemed like the RT abruptly headed for oncoming traffic. I jerked the handlebar to the right and got back on track, but this scared me. Also, my wife said she felt that I ride too close to the center line. Since these two events happened, I have tried to stay more in the center of my lane. This is not too much of a problem on roads with wide paved shoulders. However, on roads with no shoulders it seems like I am too close to the ditch, and this makes me nervous. How do I overcome fear and trust in my Spyder to get me home?

Sounds to me like you are letting your peripheral vision get the best of you (easy to do since the :spyder2: is so much wider than an two wheeler). I suspect you are, subconsciously, paying too much attention to the edges of your lane and thus almost "looking" in that direction. Remember, you must ride with your eyes up and looking where you want to go. This is one of the first things taught in the MC safety classes -- look where you want to go and your subconscious actions will make it happen. Thus, if you look down on a two-wheeler, that is where you will go -- DOWN! Similarly, if you look to the side with the Spyder, that is where you will head -- to the side. As Peter said, keep your head up and looking where you want to go.

I am lucky to have had a twenty year gap in my coming from 2 to 3 wheels .... so I didn't have too many two wheel habits to get rid of (though it did take some time for me to stop grabbing for the clutch and front brake).

Relax ... good luck .... all the best ..... Ann