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Too tall for the Spyder?

M

Mattman

Member
I just completed a 3000 mile trip on my Spyder. The Spyder performed flawlessly but my body did not! My knees, thighs and rear were screaming towards the end of the trip and I got to the point that I was stopping every 40-60 miles to stretch my legs.

I'm 6'2" so I'm taller than average but not circus tall. While trying to shift my body around during the ride, I found that I'm actually more comfortable sitting up towards the front fn the rear seat than I am in the driver's spot. Once I realized this, I started to really notice that a lot of riders on other vehicles were able to stretch out quite a bit more between seating position, highway pegs and handlebar placement.

I know that some have put highway pegs on the Spyder but I don't see any other options for seating or handlebars. I hate to say it (because I love my Spyder) but I'm going out today to look at some two wheel options that might fit my body better.
 
Spyder Seat

I had a problem with the seating position on my 2012 RT. While running the twistys in North Carolina and Georgia this past June I developed a sharp pain in my upper back. I own 2 other motorcycles whose seating positions are further back. I just replaced the stock seat with another sold by Can-Am that sits 2 inches further back. So Far So Good.
 
Mattman said:
I just completed a 3000 mile trip on my Spyder. The Spyder performed flawlessly but my body did not! My knees, thighs and rear were screaming towards the end of the trip and I got to the point that I was stopping every 40-60 miles to stretch my legs.

I'm 6'2" so I'm taller than average but not circus tall. While trying to shift my body around during the ride, I found that I'm actually more comfortable sitting up towards the front fn the rear seat than I am in the driver's spot. Once I realized this, I started to really notice that a lot of riders on other vehicles were able to stretch out quite a bit more between seating position, highway pegs and handlebar placement.

I know that some have put highway pegs on the Spyder but I don't see any other options for seating or handlebars. I hate to say it (because I love my Spyder) but I'm going out today to look at some two wheel options that might fit my body better.
Click to expand...

I am 6'3" and had the same issue until I installed seal floorboards. This has made riding much more enjoyable because I can move my feet and give my hips and knees different positions. Besides the new found comfort they look really cool and really look like they belong on the spyder. :thumbup:
 
Mattman said:
I just completed a 3000 mile trip on my Spyder. The Spyder performed flawlessly but my body did not! My knees, thighs and rear were screaming towards the end of the trip and I got to the point that I was stopping every 40-60 miles to stretch my legs.

I'm 6'2" so I'm taller than average but not circus tall. While trying to shift my body around during the ride, I found that I'm actually more comfortable sitting up towards the front fn the rear seat than I am in the driver's spot. Once I realized this, I started to really notice that a lot of riders on other vehicles were able to stretch out quite a bit more between seating position, highway pegs and handlebar placement.

I know that some have put highway pegs on the Spyder but I don't see any other options for seating or handlebars. I hate to say it (because I love my Spyder) but I'm going out today to look at some two wheel options that might fit my body better.
Click to expand...

I'm 6' 4" with a 36" inseam and understand what you are saying. In fact, my first ride was miserable too. 1600 miles worth - bringing the Spyder home for the first time. Went with a custom saddle, built to fit me and couldn't be happier with seating position, and, I use the stock pegs only. Personally don't feel the need for highway pegs or boards like I did on my wings.

Think about a saddle before you squash the Spyder.
 
I'm only 6' 0" tall and just got a RTS-SE5 spyder. Right off I noticed the front seat has a lump protruding 1" - 2" forward into my lower back. For my comfort I'll have to get the lump protrusion removed and reshap this area of the seat rearward at a 45 degree angle. This seems the more economical choice instead of a new seat.
However I believe riders taller than 6" 0" would benefit with a aftermarket seat. Which would move you further back 1" - 2" inches.


Richard
 
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Tru-Blue said:
I am 6'3" and had the same issue until I installed seal floorboards. This has made riding much more enjoyable because I can move my feet and give my hips and knees different positions. Besides the new found comfort they look really cool and really look like they belong on the spyder. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

I know of at least two Seal owners that are in the 6'6" range and had their seats cut back 2". Any of you other super-size guys done the same?

Ride in comfort,

John
SealFloorBoards
 
Please remember; BRP has to build what they know will fit the largest segment of the populaiton comfortably. There are alwyas adjustments that can be made for anybody who doesn't fall within whatever those parameters happen to be.
Please let us know what you do to make the bike fit you better; there will always be more folks coming along who can benefit from the information...
 
I'm 6' 5" with back problems resulting from several previous injuries. My '09 SM5 is not as comfortable as some 2-wheelers I've had but I find a set of highway pegs....to use for the occasional leg stretch....help make the ride much more pleasant.

Might be worth a little experimenting before you write off the :ani29: completely. :dontknow:
 
I'm 6'9" and around 300 lb. I can't sit further back than what the stock RT seat allows as my wife claims all of the space behind me. I just finished a 7000 mile tour south and west. Yes I fell a bit crowded and coiled up but I stop every hour to stretch, every second hour for gas, use MadStad hi way floor boards and call it good enough. As far as I know there is nothing bigger around for more comfort two up. It's not ideal but we plan more trips...
 
I may be the weird one here, but I"m 6'6", 210 LB and don't seem to have a problem with my RT at all. I always ride with the wife so we are always 2 up. But then again, I ride sport bikes (Hayabusa, RC51, Interceptor) so maybe the RT just feels super comfy to me.
 
6'5" here and I had my seat modded by Kontour seat a year ago and have been very happy. Along with the material they use which makes thing cooler, etc... I had the seat height raised to about as high as the passenger height and driver area moved back about two inches. Now my knees don't seem so up in my face and things are much better.

Here is my post where I go into more detail and review it with pictures. http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?29894-KonTour-seat-review
 
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Floorboards allow you to move around a little with the feet to change your position a bit. You may also try raising you seating position by using sheepskin gel pads, an airhawk cusion, or both sometimes.
 
BRP's new comfort seat?

The new comfort seat apparently adds 2 inches of space for the driver. Anyone tried it and noticed any difference? I'm wondering if a combo of that and the Seal floorboards might solve my issues.
 
I looked into the comfort seat as soon as my dealer had one. I'm 6'4" with a 36" inseam, and the comfort seat would have helped enormously. But, that two inches comes out of the wife's space. BRP lists a new part number for the passenger backrest that everyone thought would give the two inches back to the passenger. Turns out it's exactly the same size as the stock passenger backrest. Apparently it's meant for color matching... If you don't ride two up, it may not be an issue. Or if the S.O. is really skinny! Another problem is the $600.00 price. I wound up having a custom seat made for about $700.00. Lots of folks on this board seem to like the Corbin's, Russel Day Long's and Kontour's. All of them are available for about the same price range.
A cheaper way to get some relief would be highway pegs. Check out Lamonster's NBV's. As an experiment you can ride with your feet on top of the lower deflectors to see if it helps. Also, Inspector Gadget sells a set of pegs that mount there. In my case the highway pegs were a no-go due to bad knees. Too much spread at the feet causing too much twisting at the knees.
Good Luck!
 
I'm 6'4" and 225lbs. We took a demo on both the comfort and the regular seat. Even with our very short demo ride, the comfort seat mad a huge difference for me. My wife who is in the 5'6" range is also able to operate the spyder just fine. We bought tan and got the matching tan backrest. Now that we've had the spyder for two days, we've driven it a lot trying to learn it. I've had 0 pain in my back and feel totally in control and comfortable even with some highway miles.

I plan on buying http://www.utpr.com/spyderrt.html for my backrest eventually. Oh, this is all with the stock pegs. On the regular seat and stock pegs I was always worried I'd not be able to operate the brake correctly due to my freakishly long legs. It always felt like I was either going to be riding the brake or having to make this big leg movement just to hit it. I don't have any of that with the comfort seat.

We considered the ultimate tall boy seat but it's only 1.5". Without knowing someone with one, I wasn't going to plunk down virtually the same about of money. Our dealer gave us a deal and free install on the comfort since we bought it at the same time as the bike. I had ridden on the comfort and knew it fit me well so we opted to just buy that and eventually get the Utopia backrest (and eventually seal floorboards before our first long trip).
 
HedonismBot said:
I'm 6'4" and 225lbs. We took a demo on both the comfort and the regular seat. Even with our very short demo ride, the comfort seat mad a huge difference for me. My wife who is in the 5'6" range is also able to operate the spyder just fine. We bought tan and got the matching tan backrest. Now that we've had the spyder for two days, we've driven it a lot trying to learn it. I've had 0 pain in my back and feel totally in control and comfortable even with some highway miles.

I plan on buying http://www.utpr.com/spyderrt.html for my backrest eventually. Oh, this is all with the stock pegs. On the regular seat and stock pegs I was always worried I'd not be able to operate the brake correctly due to my freakishly long legs. It always felt like I was either going to be riding the brake or having to make this big leg movement just to hit it. I don't have any of that with the comfort seat.

We considered the ultimate tall boy seat but it's only 1.5". Without knowing someone with one, I wasn't going to plunk down virtually the same about of money. Our dealer gave us a deal and free install on the comfort since we bought it at the same time as the bike. I had ridden on the comfort and knew it fit me well so we opted to just buy that and eventually get the Utopia backrest (and eventually seal floorboards before our first long trip).
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be without my Utopia back rest. My GF is 5'8 and still plenty of room.

Ride in comfort,

John
Seal FloorBoards
 
sealfloorboards said:
I wouldn't be without my Utopia back rest. My GF is 5'8 and still plenty of room.

Ride in comfort,

John
Seal FloorBoards
Click to expand...

Yah, I really was going to pull the trigger but since I hadn't ridden on one I didn't want to take the chance. That combined with the fact that I really wanted to ride her before that seat could be built and delivered, we went with the choice that we knew worked for us. I think our next seat will be an ultimate or at least if we buy a spyder for my wife in a year or two.

Btw, are the Seal floorboards for the RT as easy to install like the instructions seem to indicate? We're not the most mechanically inclined, but I feel like we could those ourselves.
 
HedonismBot said:
Yah, I really was going to pull the trigger but since I hadn't ridden on one I didn't want to take the chance. That combined with the fact that I really wanted to ride her before that seat could be built and delivered, we went with the choice that we knew worked for us. I think our next seat will be an ultimate or at least if we buy a spyder for my wife in a year or two.

Btw, are the Seal floorboards for the RT as easy to install like the instructions seem to indicate? We're not the most mechanically inclined, but I feel like we could those ourselves.
Click to expand...

Yes they are, but how about some of you guys who have done it letting you know? That's what SpyderLovers is all about.:thumbup::chat:

Ride in comfort,

John
Seal FloorBoards
 
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