Thoughts on my test ride

[C. Lee]

I finally had the opportunity to test ride a RTS special edition yesterday. I currently ride a goldwing and need to change to 3 wheels due to health reasons. I have been looking into the spyder as well as conventional trikes. I have riden a 2015 triglide and wasn't terribly impressed. I feel like I know what I would be getting with a goldwing trike so the spyder kept creeping into my thoughts in this regard. I just couldn't shake it from my head so I found a local dealer who would allow a test ride and went yesterday.

These are my thoughts, The bike was comfortable for the short ride of about 10 miles. It's power was what I expected, more than the HD and seemed equal to the wing. I liked the transmission and it seemed to shift well. The braking was adequate. The things that surprised me was how smooth the air coming over the wind screen was at highway speeds. The wing has a fair amount of turbulence at highway speed, this did not. The machine was quieter than I anticipated. The steering was very sensitive and it seemed tricky to to keep it going straight. That was the thing that concerned me the most was the steering. I noticed that although the bike didn't lean, I felt the need to lean into the turns or I felt as though I was falling off. All in all it was what I expected and didn't disappoint me at all. I will take my wife up for a ride to see if she likes it soon. Chris

 

[Tango]

Chris go easy on the handle bars. No death grip needed. Go for a longer test ride. I went from a wing trike to the Spyder. First ride I went on, it was awful. Second ride sold me. :thumbup: Tom :spyder:

 

[spyderCodes]

It seems people who go from 2 wheels to a Spyder have slightly more difficulty with the steering and leaning thing than those who haven't.

It took me 1000 miles to convince myself that I hadn't made a huge mistake and another 1000 miles to congratulate myself on making a terrific decision.

 

[Bob Denman]

Glad to hear that the first test ride was successful! :congrats:
The "sensitive" steering is probably due to a tight grip on the bars; try relaxing your grip a bit, and see if that helps. :thumbup:

 

[BajaRon]

The Spyder will feel twitchy coming off of 2 wheels. As others have said, it's the typical response (and was mine as well). I have to say that if I had test ridden my Spyder before I purchased it, I NEVER would have put my money down. It was that bad.

Try (which is easier said than done) to relax your fingers, then your hands, then your wrists, then your forearms. This helps to isolate the handlebars from the rest of your body. After a time this will become 2nd nature. As you gain more confidence in the Spyder, all of this will come naturally.

Those who have no riding experience at all seem to be able to jump on a Spyder and ride away. Those of us with experience take a little longer to catch up to them.

 

[Chupaca]

Glad you tried....

We have many that have come from wings me included. Well sort of, but the touchyness of the steering is something that will be refer to as the death grip that motorcyle riders tend to have when first on a spyder. The DPS (Dynamic power steering) is sensative and tries to correct but after you get more time on one this will not be a problem and your ryde will be so much better. As to the lean , it's the centrifical force you feel and you will always tend to lean. Now the all important step, the passenger, and you will be ryding along with us...:riding: Welcome to the spyder world.....:2thumbs:

 

[4 MARIE]

Centrifugal force tries to pitch you off to the outside of turns. A little weight shift (I do head and shoulders) works wonders.
The triple Brembos are actually above adequate, they will haul this thing down from speed, if called on. Test ride is probably
not best place to test that, and of course after pads and rotors get "mated" it will be even better. Spyder will be a little twitchy
until you learn how momentum holds it on course. And of course the light grip needed. Think that's because of power steering maybe?
I came off a GL also (like a lot of us) and think this is the best alternative, especially compared performance wise to a traditional
three wheeler.

 

[trikermutha]

Yep takes a bit to get use to the inverter trike versus the TRIGLIDE..I also went from a triglide to the Spyder and could not be happier. It took time to get use to steering the Spyder. It does have power steering. :thumbup:
The Semi automatic Transmission is perfect for me. No hand clutch or foot shifting. Just a paddle shift.

 

[Pirate looks at --]

In fact

After a laser alignment you can easily drive down the road with no hands, and that helps you realize how relaxed your grip needs to be. Your hands are just there to push and pull the handle bars in the direction you want to go!

 

[robmorg]

As others have said, the sensitive steering is not a concern. That will disappear as you get a little time on the bike. As for the leaning into curves, that seems odd at first to folks with motorcycle experience, but again it eventually becomes second nature. BajaRon makes a heavier anti-sway bar that really tames the centrifugal force. Most of us have installed that. I find now, that I only have to lean into the more aggressive turns. Most of the time, I just apply some knee pressure against the side of the bike on the inside of the turn and that is all that is needed to counteract the forces in the turns. It will all feel natural sooner than you think. :thumbup:

 

[fulltimer]

To add my 2 cents.............

I came off 31 years of wings. Everything that you have heard so far is completely true. Especially the part about learning to relax on the handlebars. I just came from a winter in Phoenix and I had no trouble running down the freeway at 75+ with the big boys, steady as a rock.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned. From a comfort point, due to the increased wind you experience at all windshield settings, you will feel 10 deg cooler. That is not a negative, just something that coming from a wing, you will need to adjust for.

We have had our Spyder for almost 3 years now and at 73 yrs., we couldn't be happier. We ride the wheels off that thing.

 

[ARtraveler]

All the above have you covered. A 500 to 1000 mile learning curve for most ex two wheelers--mine took 1500 miles.

No death grip on the handle bars. This will make the :ani29: feel twitchy.

Enter curves or turns at a speed that allows you to accelerate half way into the turn. If you need to brake, you are going to fast.

You can kill the "g" forces by planting the outside foot on the peg or footboards, grabbing the tank with the knees, and leaning slightly into the curve. A gentle push/pull on the handle bars will bring you safely through the turn.

 

[latony007]

just echo everyone else in that it takes some time and a light hand to get used to it. Going through a tight turn just apply a little push on the opposite peg, something you never do on a 2 wheeler and it will keep you upright. I jumped onto it my brothers and took off and when i realized how the really handled better than a cruiser and were faster than most, plus much safer for taking my wife or kid on rides and i was sold. A lot of people say the baja ron bar will help eliminate some of that side to side feeling. Get your dealer to install it as part of the purchase if you can.

 

[Jenfz09]

My first ride was 225 miles and I didn't feel like I was being thrown at all (I ride 2 wheels mostly). I'm also like 100 lbs riding 1000 lbs, if that makes a difference. People do report that they feel what you experienced. Maybe see if you can rent one and take a long ride?

 

[SteveLaoyster]

My First Ride!

I just took a 2015 RT SE6 for a ride today!! Liked it a lot. Leaning into the corners did make the ride so much more comfortable. Soon to be a new :spyder2: owner! :2thumbs:

Pro's: Very little wind buffeting for both driver & passenger, don't have to put feet down, don't have to hold the bike for passenger getting on & off, plenty of power (didn't get it on the interstate thou), no clutch and shifting was a breeze, don't have to down shift, one brake to worry about, etc.

Con's: Bike had a driver backrest that kept pushing me forward because of having a passenger so I didn't care for it too much, Steering very touchy but I'm sure it will be easy to get used to it. Being pushed forward by backrest didn't help this at all. Road was crowned and it was windy so that didn't help any.

I think the bike was a leftover demo from else where. Only 2100 and some miles on it. May have needed a laser alignment but I'm sure it was all stock. New sway bar would have helped on the corners.

 

[bmccaffrey]

Same experience all newbies have

Light grip you'll adjust

 

[kep-up]

After 50 years on two wheels, I, too decided to move on up to a Spyder. The steering presented a problem on the test ride, but not after that. After I thought it through, all became good. Here's the deal....... while you are riding a single track vehicle, even though you don't think about it, you are constantly countersteering. No biggie, this is due to the constant change in the road surface, etc. When yo sit on a Spyder and grasp the handlebars. you tend to do the sanme thing because that is what your muscles have learned. (muscle memory) Ease off the bar pressure and allow the machine to have it's head. I guarantee you'll like it.