[zeebill]

Friday I got home from the SITS Rally after a week at Nashville for a blue Grass Music experience and sightseeing the area there. I had a ball and met a bunch of crazy and nice people from my local area and Mainah who I had a great time rooling around the Tennessee hills and roads with for a couple of great days and evenings. We ran the Dragon down and back up and to be truthfull we have some very close to it in WV. Hit the Bush Bean Factory had some great night life abd saw some great scenery!

I spent 40 Hours on the trike averaging 40 MPH and covered a total of 1610 miles. The gas mileage both towing the trailer and not came out just about 25.5 MPG with a high of 28.7 and a low of 24.6 in the wind coming home on I-40. The trike was all over the place with the trailer following like a lost satellite in the wind and was often a handfull. I lost two rubber gromets from the trike during the trip. One from the oil access door and the one (of the two clips) and gromets that hold the wire from the tow hitch wire in place on the bar. None of the dealers that we visited had anything I needed to replace them and or a repair to solve the problem. I used tape and will order them if some dealer can find them listed which they were unable to do on the trip. The trike had some intermitant shifting problems all during the trip and I just tryed to deal with them as they happend along the way. of course never during anytime I was any where near a dealer!

I had the DPS recall done and an oil change at Alcoa Good Times dealership and it took about 5 and one half hours all told. It cost me $191.62 and the DPS change resulted in a really heavier trend toward more understeer in things like a multiple turn esses type of a turn. I am extremely glad I had it done after running the Dragon as I would have been very upset to have to fall back or maybe even turn around and not complete the trip down to Deal's Gap and back up
with the group I went with.

The main part of the people on the rally seemed to be older about my age and happy to be on a trike and still enjoying the motorcycle type of experience. I have bad pegs and am 66 and very happy to be on the road in any kind of open vehicle. I experienced a wide variety of weather from rain to heat to colder anwindy on the way home. I used the heated hand grips and found them to work just great and really keep my old arthritic paws comfortable.

The RT if it got better MPG and handled worth a dam would be the ideal touring trike with plenty of safety built in and gadgets galore. I cornered the BuRP Representative at the feed and banquet and gave him an earfull and he took it well and even led me on to other things they were not happy with about the RT's. He also said the 2011 shock and spring upgrade should fit on the 2010 RT so maybe that will help a bit. It would be really nice if they at least gave us on the 2010 RT's s great price or replaced them free even to change the manners of the current 2010 RT's! Hint Hint!

I had a great time on the rally and the people from all over the place seem to soldier on in enjoying the trikes open air pleasures in great company of others. I saw many a wheel being raised in triumph over the roadway of the Dragon, two wheeling while three wheeling was sometimes the only way to cope with the Dragon! I would love to see some of the pictures the outfits along the route got on our trikes hanging two along the way on the Dragon!

I got home from a week of Blue Grass and Nashville sights like the Lane Car Museum, the Hermitage, the Ryman, and the new Opry opened while I was there too! What a great ime I had and now I bunches of CD's to review and many more great memories to cherish too. The trike now has over 5,000 miles on it and seems to sort of surviving every problem that comes along. I will soon hit the dealer for a clutch recall and check to see what the heck is going on there and I also have a new left rear tailight waiting at the dealer (foul ball at a baseball game got it) when I can afford to spend the $281 something to pick it up. Nothing seems cheap for this animal that is for sure! The trike and I survived to tour another day I guess but not without tribulations! Tired but happy and glad to be home again! Bill

[Marc]

Great post Bill. Sounds like you had a great week after the Rally. Glad you enjoyed SITS

[1SpyderDee]

Glad to see you made it back to WV Bill Welcome home!

[InspectorGadget]

Great write up bill---It sounds like you really enjoyed yourself. I only have 1 small problem with it and that is IT IS NOT A TRIKE!!!---as trikes are for old farts who do not care to carve the curves like us spyYder folks.
It was so nice to meet you at the rally.
I wish you continued riding success on your SPYDER.
C-YA RL

[FireFox]

You mentioned shifting problems with the SE 5.
My Spyder SE 5 has shifting issues. (2010 RTS)
On the up-shift have been getting what I refer to as hesitation during up-shifting, sometimes as much as a 1 second delay between shift completions with total engine kill.
Hope you can get the problem to occur on next visit to dealer. Had My unit in a couple times and of course it run great when dealer tried it out.

Firefox.

[FIRECAT]

InspectorGadget, on 04 October 2010 - 11:53 AM, said:

Great write up bill---It sounds like you really enjoyed yourself. I only have 1 small problem with it and that is IT IS NOT A TRIKE!!!---as trikes are for old farts who do not care to carve the curves like us spyYder folks.
It was so nice to meet you at the rally.
I wish you continued riding success on your SPYDER.
C-YA RL

No its not a trike,,,Its a snowmobile on pavement!!!!!

[zeebill]

FIRECAT, on 04 October 2010 - 10:24 PM, said:

No its not a trike,,,Its a snowmobile on pavement!!!!!

He he! I love it! Three as in trike still fits to me and as I remember looking around at SITS most of us seem to be old farts! Myself included! Gadget you are even more entertaining in person then online! The man of many ideas for sure! The pleasure of meeting you was looked forward to, but with all that was going on I didn't get to talk to you too much unfortunately! Next Year My Friend! Bill