Let me start with two things; Number 1 I apologize for a long post up front. Number 2 I don't ride a Spyder...my wife does.
She put 80,000+ miles on a 2014 RTL and replaced it with a 2018 RTL when the engine blew on the 14. As her designated mechanic and general honey do guy, I am generally tasked with figuring out what is wrong with her ride. I build custom bikes in my spare time and have been turning wrenches for over 35 years but the Spyder has been a steep learning curve for me. Now to my problem...
A few days ago we made an Ironbutt run (1,500 miles in 24 hours) and the wife had an issue with the new RTL. The bike has about 4,700 miles on it at this point and is still running the stock factory setup and rubber. The situation was as follows...first incident: we were pulling onto I-10 in Ozona, Tx in the wee hours of the morning. The weather was turning nasty and temperature was in the low 60's (F) and we were riding in a wet fog...you know the one where if you travel more than 20 mph you need windshield wipers. It wasn't raining per se, but the road was definitely wet. In addition, the entrance ramp was relatively steep and she broke traction on the rear and had to nurse the Spyder up onto the interstate. Once on the interstate she had to reduce her speed significantly (~ 45-50 mph) to keep from sliding around. Second incident: we were riding along on the interstate east of San Antonio, Tx, similar weather but the roads are relatively flat she is on the cruise control at highway speed and suddenly the bike kicks off the cruise control and starts fishtailing aggressively. Her words..."it was like the bike was throwing me side to side". She pulled over to the shoulder, we checked out the bike (no codes or idiot lights displayed and no apparent damage or obvious problems) and then we continued on our way. She rode cautiously and the roads started drying up. No further problems for the rest of the ride. 60 or so miles after the second incident we made our final fuel stop of the trip and I noticed a strong burnt rubber smell coming from her bike that seemed to come from the right side immediately behind the front tire.
A few more details:
1.) No warning lights were noticed during either of these instances. That doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't there, just that she has no recollection of seeing them. I have drilled into her head over the years that in any emergency situation she should focus on riding the bike to the exclusion of all else...and that's exactly what she did.
2.) As previously stated, the bike is still mostly stock. I have added a few things like Tri-Axis bars, a Rowe Electronics power distribution module to run the accessories, GPS, USB charger, accent lights,etc, but the running gear is all stock including the tires.
3.) The bike was checked out before and after the ride and all tires were at manufacturers recommended inflation of 20 psi front and 28 psi rear and there was no apparent damage to the bike.
4.) No major service had been done immediately prior to this ride...I don't trust dealers much further than I can throw the building they reside in and certainly not with my wife's life.
Based on what I've read here and her previous experience with the '14, what I suspect happened is that she was having traction issues due to the wet conditions and the VSS kicked in making things worse instead of better. The one confusing thing is the burnt rubber smell. It was like someone had just done a burnout right beside her bike. No smoke, no visible damage (that I could see), but a strong smell.
What I think we need to do, based on what I've read here, is change the rubber to car tires, install a Baja Ron sway bar and upgrade the suspension. She is an accomplished rider who holds more Ironbutt certifications than I do so correcting this problem is not an option...she puts too many miles on her ride to tell her she can only ride on dry pavement...she would stab me in my sleep.
If you have any thoughts on what happened or how to correct it I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks in advance.
She put 80,000+ miles on a 2014 RTL and replaced it with a 2018 RTL when the engine blew on the 14. As her designated mechanic and general honey do guy, I am generally tasked with figuring out what is wrong with her ride. I build custom bikes in my spare time and have been turning wrenches for over 35 years but the Spyder has been a steep learning curve for me. Now to my problem...
A few days ago we made an Ironbutt run (1,500 miles in 24 hours) and the wife had an issue with the new RTL. The bike has about 4,700 miles on it at this point and is still running the stock factory setup and rubber. The situation was as follows...first incident: we were pulling onto I-10 in Ozona, Tx in the wee hours of the morning. The weather was turning nasty and temperature was in the low 60's (F) and we were riding in a wet fog...you know the one where if you travel more than 20 mph you need windshield wipers. It wasn't raining per se, but the road was definitely wet. In addition, the entrance ramp was relatively steep and she broke traction on the rear and had to nurse the Spyder up onto the interstate. Once on the interstate she had to reduce her speed significantly (~ 45-50 mph) to keep from sliding around. Second incident: we were riding along on the interstate east of San Antonio, Tx, similar weather but the roads are relatively flat she is on the cruise control at highway speed and suddenly the bike kicks off the cruise control and starts fishtailing aggressively. Her words..."it was like the bike was throwing me side to side". She pulled over to the shoulder, we checked out the bike (no codes or idiot lights displayed and no apparent damage or obvious problems) and then we continued on our way. She rode cautiously and the roads started drying up. No further problems for the rest of the ride. 60 or so miles after the second incident we made our final fuel stop of the trip and I noticed a strong burnt rubber smell coming from her bike that seemed to come from the right side immediately behind the front tire.
A few more details:
1.) No warning lights were noticed during either of these instances. That doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't there, just that she has no recollection of seeing them. I have drilled into her head over the years that in any emergency situation she should focus on riding the bike to the exclusion of all else...and that's exactly what she did.
2.) As previously stated, the bike is still mostly stock. I have added a few things like Tri-Axis bars, a Rowe Electronics power distribution module to run the accessories, GPS, USB charger, accent lights,etc, but the running gear is all stock including the tires.
3.) The bike was checked out before and after the ride and all tires were at manufacturers recommended inflation of 20 psi front and 28 psi rear and there was no apparent damage to the bike.
4.) No major service had been done immediately prior to this ride...I don't trust dealers much further than I can throw the building they reside in and certainly not with my wife's life.
Based on what I've read here and her previous experience with the '14, what I suspect happened is that she was having traction issues due to the wet conditions and the VSS kicked in making things worse instead of better. The one confusing thing is the burnt rubber smell. It was like someone had just done a burnout right beside her bike. No smoke, no visible damage (that I could see), but a strong smell.
What I think we need to do, based on what I've read here, is change the rubber to car tires, install a Baja Ron sway bar and upgrade the suspension. She is an accomplished rider who holds more Ironbutt certifications than I do so correcting this problem is not an option...she puts too many miles on her ride to tell her she can only ride on dry pavement...she would stab me in my sleep.
If you have any thoughts on what happened or how to correct it I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks in advance.
hyea:
) the Nanny steps in PDQ & tells you in no uncertain terms that it's unsafe to ryde like that & dumps you into Limp Mode.... :lecturef_smilie:
