Terrified in Western KY..... NooB here

[Eraser]

jScotD, where in 'Western KY' do you live? Teddy & I live in Northern KY, Covington (41016) to be exact, right across the river from downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. We love road-trips and wouldn't mind coming out for a day to ryde with you and give you some pointers first hand and in person, if you wouldn't mind us being there maybe on a Saturday or Sunday??? We have an RT-S, so its a bit of a different beast than your RS, but very similar in style of ryde and operation, just a bit more 'cushy' and with a few more gadgets. Let me know if your interested, & I'll PM you my contact info.

My name is Dave & Teddy is my ...... ummm........ BOSS on the back:roflblack:

You gotta love this place!!!!:thumbup::2thumbs:

 

[Bob Denman]

JScotD,
:welcome:
have you had any experience riding ATVs? I think Spydaman mentioned them...
These beauties do not ride or handle at all like a two-wheeled bike. They feel very much like an ATV out on the road.
Keep a light grip on the bars, RELAX, and just take it nice and easy for a little while.
As you gain experience and confidence, you'll know when it's time to start getting more adventurous! :thumbup:

 

[BajaRon]

when I bought the Spyder local.. and asked for them to deliver it.. the guy that brought it out said "wow" that's the first time I have been on the open road on one of these things.. it felt iffy in the steering.. "thank you very much. I said "

When you don't know what you're doing, and you're riding the Spyder wrong, it does feel 'Iffy' in the steering.

When you're riding 2 wheels and you start a turn, there is a significant lag in response and nothing happens right away. If you draw a line on the road and start your turn right on that line at say 65 miles per hour, you'd be surprised how far you go before anything happens. Your brain builds this lag factor into your riding style and you don't even notice it. You think things are instant, but they are not.

Try the same senario with the Spyder and you'd see that as soon as you hit that line where you started your turn, the turn starts IMMEDIATELY!

So, every twitch, movement, and unintended input you make on 2 wheels is absorbed by the delay in reaction inherent in a 2 wheel vehicle and you never notice it.

But those same unintended, normally unnoticed inputs to the Spyder steering have IMMEDIATE consequence. Your brain is telling you that the Spyder is twitching on its own and you have no control over it. But just the opposite is true. It's YOU! Once you grasp this reality things start to improve.

Your Spyder is simply responding instantly to your wishes, (Inputs to the handle bars) whether intentional or unintentional (BRP is working on a computer that can tell the difference for later models).

When you first ride the Spyder it feels twitchy for this reason. The natural reaction is to GRIP those handlebars like a vice, stiffen your forearms and try to control the twitch. This just makes everything worse and you enter the vicious cycle of confidence killing 'lack of control' feeling.

The cure is to relax the hands, relax the wrists, relax the forearms and shoulders and quit trying to counter every movement your Spyder makes. When you can acheive this, even for a short time, you will notice instant results. This will build confidence and though you will have to consciously remind yourself to relax, soon it will become as 2nd nature as building in the lag effect when riding 2 wheels.

At this point the steering goes from twitchy to responsive and you begin to fully experience the wonders that are the Can-Am Spyder.

This is the reason that so many who have never ridden any kind of motorcycle can jump on a Spyder and ride away like they stole it. They aren't carrying that built in 2 wheeled riding style baggage.

 

[Oldmanzues]

I like the parking lot thing. A lot of Gold Wings Chapters have a day of it, even if you ride all year. After you do a turn or something, stop in place and think about what you did right or wrong.
Cones markers can be anything. Wal Mart ( and others ) sells 6 or 8 " cones for sports events, even in different colors. Reasonable priceed. I was one the "original 1000 ATV instructors" (if anybody rembers that bunch) so I have about fifty or so in the different colors. Outside all cones, outside green cones, inside yellow and so on.
Other options might be, cut in half tennis balls, even paper/plastic cups of water. All of thes are less scary then hitting a big trafic cone.
Of course, I also agree with the above stuff. Welcome and I hope you ride a lot.
Oldmanzues

 

[shelbydave]

We took ours to a large empty parking lot, and just got the feel. After a couple of sessions, my wife could notice the difference, and since I only had a permit at the time, she was following me! I know I had to be flaky if she could see the difference from behind me...

Take some time, practice, and when out on the road, stay away from traffic as much as possible. I always took the long lonely roads at first just because I didn't want anything around me to help me OFF my spyder... I had enough to worry about already...

2300 miles later, It feels quite natural...

 

[jScotD]

With my first cup of coffee in hand, I wish everyone a Good Morning,,
I appreciate all the replys, just takes more riding to build my confidence and trying to forget 55 years of motorcycle riding.
I've never ridden an ATV, snowmobile , or water craft..even though I live where the Tennessee River meets the Ohio..in the little town of Paducah, Ky
Wish I could talk longer, But I have to go open my shoe store.

Once again Thank You..

James Scott DeVillez (jScotD)

 

[DynamoBT]

Those silly little exercises at the back of the Owner's Manual can do wonders. Tennis balls cut in half make great cheap markers. I say, take it slow at first. Fear makes you grip the handlebars harder. The key is to relax. Don't ride beyond your comfortablity. No harm in practicing in a parking lot until you get the hang of things. It seems that people will less rather than more two wheeled experience catch on more quickly to the Spyder. You have a lot of muscle memory from two wheels. You have to relax and let some of that go. You'll be fine. The Spyder practically drives itself after you get the hang of it. Best of luck!!! Soon you'll be out there enjoying yourself!

 

[oldgoat]

With my first cup of coffee in hand, I wish everyone a Good Morning,,
I appreciate all the replys, just takes more riding to build my confidence and trying to forget 55 years of motorcycle riding.
I've never ridden an ATV, snowmobile , or water craft..even though I live where the Tennessee River meets the Ohio..in the little town of Paducah, Ky
Wish I could talk longer, But I have to go open my shoe store.

Once again Thank You..

James Scott DeVillez (jScotD)

I had 54 years of motorcycle riding experience when I bought my Spyder this past June. Like others have said & you have discovered, I thought I had made a VERY costly mistake.
This feeling lasted for maybe a month & 1000 miles, then I went to a shopping center parking lot at 6am on a Sunday & practised all the moves shown on the video that comes with the Spyder(I didn't have any cones).
Then I went for a ride & WOW, what a difference it had made. I really enjoyed that ride rather than having endured it & realized I had not thrown my money away

BajaRon's last post in this thread sums it up beautifully:thumbup:


Please persevere & it will probably turn out just fine. I thought about the conversion to a hand brake but had no $$ left. It is just second nature to use my foot now & my right hand doesn't even twitch when I brake

 

[rcdurango]

Come ride with us!

You need to come join your fellow Spyder riders at the 2nd Annual Kentucky Lake Ride. Look up the Thread on it here on SL. We
would be glad to help you get the feel for it. Its a ride down threw LBL into TN. and back up to Ky Dam area. :yes:Join the party with

other SpyderLovers on this great weekend ride.:thumbup:

 

[CyncySpyder]

Here's the link for the KY Lake Ryde that rcdurango was too lazy to give you- LOL

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...Lake-ride&highlight=Annual+Kentucky+Lake+Ride.

 

[kentuckyguy]

With my first cup of coffee in hand, I wish everyone a Good Morning,,
I appreciate all the replys, just takes more riding to build my confidence and trying to forget 55 years of motorcycle riding.
I've never ridden an ATV, snowmobile , or water craft..even though I live where the Tennessee River meets the Ohio..in the little town of Paducah, Ky
Wish I could talk longer, But I have to go open my shoe store.

Once again Thank You..

James Scott DeVillez (jScotD)

You must have bought your Spyder the same place I bought mine. I am only 30 mins away from you.. Come up to Eddyville sometime n look me up.

 

[bikeguy]

When you don't know what you're doing, and you're riding the Spyder wrong, it does feel 'Iffy' in the steering.

When you're riding 2 wheels and you start a turn, there is a significant lag in response and nothing happens right away. If you draw a line on the road and start your turn right on that line at say 65 miles per hour, you'd be surprised how far you go before anything happens. Your brain builds this lag factor into your riding style and you don't even notice it. You think things are instant, but they are not.

Try the same senario with the Spyder and you'd see that as soon as you hit that line where you started your turn, the turn starts IMMEDIATELY!

So, every twitch, movement, and unintended input you make on 2 wheels is absorbed by the delay in reaction inherent in a 2 wheel vehicle and you never notice it.

But those same unintended, normally unnoticed inputs to the Spyder steering have IMMEDIATE consequence. Your brain is telling you that the Spyder is twitching on its own and you have no control over it. But just the opposite is true. It's YOU! Once you grasp this reality things start to improve.

Your Spyder is simply responding instantly to your wishes, (Inputs to the handle bars) whether intentional or unintentional (BRP is working on a computer that can tell the difference for later models).

When you first ride the Spyder it feels twitchy for this reason. The natural reaction is to GRIP those handlebars like a vice, stiffen your forearms and try to control the twitch. This just makes everything worse and you enter the vicious cycle of confidence killing 'lack of control' feeling.

The cure is to relax the hands, relax the wrists, relax the forearms and shoulders and quit trying to counter every movement your Spyder makes. When you can acheive this, even for a short time, you will notice instant results. This will build confidence and though you will have to consciously remind yourself to relax, soon it will become as 2nd nature as building in the lag effect when riding 2 wheels.

At this point the steering goes from twitchy to responsive and you begin to fully experience the wonders that are the Can-Am Spyder.

This is the reason that so many who have never ridden any kind of motorcycle can jump on a Spyder and ride away like they stole it. They aren't carrying that built in 2 wheeled riding style baggage.

Very, VERY good advice and articulated about as well as it can be. Riding a Spyder is like driving a car where the front wheels turn lock to lock with a quarter turn of the steering wheel. Very quick steering.

Cotton

 

[rcdurango]

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...Lake-ride&highlight=Annual+Kentucky+Lake+Ride.[/QUOTE


Man you hit the nail on the head Dave. I need some time off!