Learning to ride this bike: my progress so far

[Snoking1127]

What he said!!!

And then good tires!

 

[Monk/Bob]

I'm getting used to the casual pull to steer, rather than the instinct push to countersteer. But in a panic situation reflex comes into play and I start to do it wrong, which activates heart/mouth interface. What you haven't mentioned is the unsettling feeling of a rise in the road surface under one tyre. For the first time this morning a became aware of it in the car and I tried to analyse what I did about it. I don't think I do anything - except allow it to throw me around in the seat. But on the bike it feels like I am going to be toppled over.

To give my brain some information, I tentatively parked the Spyder sideways on the slope as our drive meets the road. Put the park brake on, and got off and had a good look around it. From the back there was hardly any lean at all - much less than my solo on its side stand. Yet when I rode it the very first time, turned left across the slop, my right leg shot out in panic to try to keep the bike tyre side down !!

Yes, my first experience with an uneven road surface happened on one of our Arkansas back roads. I went through a curve, I think it was a left hand curve, the right track was lower than left. It scared the fire out me!! Thought I was going to roll over, it felt terrible!! Several of those situations during my first 500 miles had me riding very cautious and wondering if I had made a mistake. I was not having fun!!

As others have said, the only solution to that muscle memory is riding and riding, more riding!! After about 1,000 miles I began to get accustomed to the way the bike handles uneven surfaces. To me the big difference, on two wheels we had to counter all those problems with the road surface mostly through the handlebars, on the Spyder we have to trust the bike to handle that!! I guess I'm slow to trust... but the feeling of getting there is coming along nicely.

Like you said, "its brain stuff" is very true!! But we can do this, and over come that stuff, then start having fun!!! Hopefully, that is where I am.

You can do this!! Just have to over ride some of that brain stuff!!

 

[jjc54]

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned engine braking when negotiating a curve. Using your right wrist to control your speed is safer than brakes. Sometimes you need to grab two gears! Won't hurt a thing and you will find that you have way more control at the higher revs.

 

[Monk/Bob]

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned engine braking when negotiating a curve. Using your right wrist to control your speed is safer than brakes. sometimes you need to grab two gears! Won't hurt a thing and you will find that you have way more control at the higher revs.

I’m real big on using the engine and staying off the brakes. That was my main means of controlling my speed in curves when I was riding the Goldwing. There is a big difference in what I could do with the Goldwing vs the Spyder. It is going to take a lot of practice to duplicate that on this bike.

The engine braking on the Spyder is not as dramatic, so improving my curve entry speed is first on my agenda. But that will come with practice.

I don’t believe a new beginning Spyder rider should be getting very serious about those skills until they are VERY comfortable with the ride and handling on three wheels. I’ve had this bike since July (1800 miles), today will be my first ride into the Ozarks on some of the more technical roads. I probably still won’t get into that skill set very deep.

Still got a lot of learning to do.

 

[Cobranut]

Racing taught me many years ago that brakes slow the vehicle.
You select the gear based on acceleration out of the corner.
Spyders have pretty good brakes, don't be afraid to use them.

 

[Monk/Bob]

Racing taught me many years ago that brakes slow the vehicle.
You select the gear based on acceleration out of the corner.
Spyders have pretty good brakes, don't be afraid to use them.

For me it is not just slowing down that I’m interested in. I’ve always liked riding in the curves and trying to be as smooth as possible while doing it. When the brakes get involved, smooth most often goes out the window.

And to me it is more challenging to maintain a spirited pace with little use of the brakes. They are always there if I need them, but I’m trying not to need them.

 

[JohnRtl]

I’m not one for braking in corners anyway. I get the speed and gear right and then take the bend, gently powering through it. On the solo I’d use the power out of the corner as the arrowhead moved away, to lift the bike.

I haven’t got a clue what I do with the Spyder. Something similar is what I try, but I dread to think what actually happens. Let’s just say that the cars behind were leaving me plenty of room - which is either courteous of them, self presentation or trying to get something funny to post on FB.

 

[TOY-TK]

I experienced all the quirks of transitioning from 2 wheels (last ridden 15 years prior to purchasing my 2023 RTL) to 3 wheels as all of you have mentioned. I found that if I could relax a bit and allow the machine to do what it’s designed for with its inherent stability the learning curve improved drastically. It was a matter of getting in the proper flow. Riding the twistiest roads became a dance, as I would shift my body to the inside of the curve using the technique explained by previous riders. Once those skills were acquired and the tunes got cranking, I was transported to another dimension! I’m sure in no time you will wonder what all the apprehension was about, like a kid ditching the training wheels and never looking back! Ride safely,

 

[Snoking1127]

After 5 years riding my 2018 Spyder's RTL's I hardly have to think about shifting gears, shifting down going into corners, and powering out of the corners. It is all more or less automagic now.

 

[JohnRtl]

Update to keep the thread alive and to report progress. I found @Monk/Bob ’s report very reassuring that my own experiences were not just me, so hopefully an update every now and then - in real time - will be useful to later Newbies to the Spyder.

I have not done much riding yet… I won’t go out on it unless it is dry and not looking like rain. I will in the future, but not yet.

I have had 3 ‘long’ rides of about 80-90 miles on more or less the same route just getting used to the road camber and the bends. Each time was better than the last, each return journey was better than the outward journey. One day I varied it and took a longer route home on a twisty, undulating road that I liked to ride on the ST1300. One part of it in particular was playing in my mind. I’m in the UK, we ride on the left, and I have memories of riding with a sidecar. Left handers with an empty sidecar were nerve racking - too fast or too tight and the chair would lift, and the only way to correct was to steer into the oncoming traffic. Apparently I still have that memory, because the Spyder does not deal with left handers as well as it does with right handers!

So this was a left hand bend which starts to go steeply uphill part way round. The inside of the bend, left, is raised. Followed by a very steep short climb with a left hand curve to it, and a brow with an invisible right hander at the top. Invisible because you cannot see it until you get to the brow. On the solo bike, I’d start turning before I could see it.

So this was playing in my head, but I needed to see how it would behave and how I would cope. There are plenty of steep climbs through the Yorkshire Dales, some with tight, narrow hairpins. I have no intention of doing them yet, but I will want to be able to use those roads in the future.

A week earlier I had been talking to a friend who had just been skiing. I haven’t skied for 50 years, but I had done a fair bit in my youth. The conversation recovered long lost memories reminded me of parallel turns - keeping the skis parallel rather than the learner style snow plough turns. You press down on the outside ski - ie the right ski - in order to turn left. So I already know how to do this.

This was fresh in my head when I was riding this twisty windy road and I started doing it without thinking. Pressing down on my right ski/footboard when turning left. This was a revelation. It did a few things - kept me from being thrown to the right on left handers; it gave my foot a point of reference of where ‘level’ was, so the sensation of tipping over to the right was gone - my right foot was firmly planted on solid footboard and that was what my brain needed; it helped me to get the steering input right; I was already supporting my body on the outside leg for the turning forces.

So these twisty turns and this steep left hander that had been playing on my mind - I got to the top with absolutely no issues, and was wondering what all of the fuss had been about. In fact I was enjoying skiing through the twisties.

I did have a ‘moment’ at a sharp railway bridge later on. Two right angles left, then right. I slowed down a lot for the left, driving on the left, this is the tightest, but I failed to turn the bars enough for what the corner required and was drifting across to the other side, feeling unable to turn tighter for fear of ‘lifting the sidecar’ that is still in my head. The choice of hitting the bridge side and toppling onto the railway line, and risking turning tighter was a forced decision, which should not have needed thinking about. But I was on the wrong side of the road before I sorted myself out. And by now I needed to turn tighter still, which I did and the Spyder did it with absolutely no issue.

I really don’t know what happened there. I wasn’t going much more than fast walking pace - but I’ve noticed before, the start of taking a slow corner is much worse than speeding up and powering round it. My head is still the problem, but it is getting better.

The weather is improving. Plenty of time for more practice. It’ll be more fun soon.

 

[weeneil]

Update to keep the thread alive and to report progress. I found @Monk/Bob ’s report very reassuring that my own experiences were not just me, so hopefully an update every now and then - in real time - will be useful to later Newbies to the Spyder.

I have not done much riding yet… I won’t go out on it unless it is dry and not looking like rain. I will in the future, but not yet.

I have had 3 ‘long’ rides of about 80-90 miles on more or less the same route just getting used to the road camber and the bends. Each time was better than the last, each return journey was better than the outward journey. One day I varied it and took a longer route home on a twisty, undulating road that I liked to ride on the ST1300. One part of it in particular was playing in my mind. I’m in the UK, we ride on the left, and I have memories of riding with a sidecar. Left handers with an empty sidecar were nerve racking - too fast or too tight and the chair would lift, and the only way to correct was to steer into the oncoming traffic. Apparently I still have that memory, because the Spyder does not deal with left handers as well as it does with right handers!

So this was a left hand bend which starts to go steeply uphill part way round. The inside of the bend, left, is raised. Followed by a very steep short climb with a left hand curve to it, and a brow with an invisible right hander at the top. Invisible because you cannot see it until you get to the brow. On the solo bike, I’d start turning before I could see it.

So this was playing in my head, but I needed to see how it would behave and how I would cope. There are plenty of steep climbs through the Yorkshire Dales, some with tight, narrow hairpins. I have no intention of doing them yet, but I will want to be able to use those roads in the future.

A week earlier I had been talking to a friend who had just been skiing. I haven’t skied for 50 years, but I had done a fair bit in my youth. The conversation recovered long lost memories reminded me of parallel turns - keeping the skis parallel rather than the learner style snow plough turns. You press down on the outside ski - ie the right ski - in order to turn left. So I already know how to do this.

This was fresh in my head when I was riding this twisty windy road and I started doing it without thinking. Pressing down on my right ski/footboard when turning left. This was a revelation. It did a few things - kept me from being thrown to the right on left handers; it gave my foot a point of reference of where ‘level’ was, so the sensation of tipping over to the right was gone - my right foot was firmly planted on solid footboard and that was what my brain needed; it helped me to get the steering input right; I was already supporting my body on the outside leg for the turning forces.

So these twisty turns and this steep left hander that had been playing on my mind - I got to the top with absolutely no issues, and was wondering what all of the fuss had been about. In fact I was enjoying skiing through the twisties.

I did have a ‘moment’ at a sharp railway bridge later on. Two right angles left, then right. I slowed down a lot for the left, driving on the left, this is the tightest, but I failed to turn the bars enough for what the corner required and was drifting across to the other side, feeling unable to turn tighter for fear of ‘lifting the sidecar’ that is still in my head. The choice of hitting the bridge side and toppling onto the railway line, and risking turning tighter was a forced decision, which should not have needed thinking about. But I was on the wrong side of the road before I sorted myself out. And by now I needed to turn tighter still, which I did and the Spyder did it with absolutely no issue.

I really don’t know what happened there. I wasn’t going much more than fast walking pace - but I’ve noticed before, the start of taking a slow corner is much worse than speeding up and powering round it. My head is still the problem, but it is getting better.

The weather is improving. Plenty of time for more practice. It’ll be more fun soon.

Was in Masham last year and went to the pub at Tan hill,enjoyed the run the trike was in its element ,so we are down to Masham on Monday 20th for a few days

 

[Lew L]

Racing taught me many years ago that brakes slow the vehicle.
You select the gear based on acceleration out of the corner.
Spyders have pretty good brakes, don't be afraid to use them.

Yes, Spyders have REAL good brakes. If you haven't practiced a HARD panic stop, please consider it. In a safe place. Be Prepared..........