Boy sorry to hear this. There could be several questions to ask. What were road conditions? Wet? Dry? What did the surface look like? I have several places on my way to work that close to stop lights when on brakes bike wants to swerve, I guess lanes have big dips from normal wheel placement and our machines just dont match up. ABS failure, only if you were in a lock up state I think.

 

Mr Sullivan -- you did not say when this event occurred and whether it has been fully settled with all parties. Until it has been settled I recommend you do not discuss this or related topics with anyone besides your legal representation.

Best wishes to you and your wife.

 

AND I suggest that the bike needs to be "preserved" as much as possible so
that it can be investigated to see if some kind of failure occurred with it
that caused the problem.
It certainly should NOT be fixed or otherwise messed with before
all of your legal proceedings are done.
Are you positive that you were not thrown into the guardrail because of
being hit by a vehicle from the rear ???

 

I wanted to think on your post before I did a response, because my 2022 S2S has done a couple of what I thought were "drifts" to the right when I had to break hard.. since I was new to riding a Spyder, I thought it was just me..
But it maybe something to do with the bike... I am going to have to keep an eye on this the next time I have to break hard.

 

But it maybe something to do with the bike... I am going to have to keep an eye on this the next time I have to break hard.

Don't wait. Find an empty paved space and do some test "panic" stops so you can become
familiar with what happens.

All 2 wheel bikes tend to slide the back end to the right under heavy braking.
I think it has to do with the gyroscopic effect of the bit wheels.

I think my Spyder does that too, to a lesser extent.
I need to practice some too.

 

So it sounds as though it operates. SO maybe go find an abandoned parking area like a grocery store or K Mart and do some investigation there in a somewhat more controlled environment. I would ensure the tire pressures are correct as a start. Maybe go 3 or 4 mph in this empty area release the handle bars and apply brakes and see if it pulls. Have your hands close so if it does go wild you can grab them.

 

First, sorry to read about your situation OP. I hope things work out right for you. My post won't help you at this point, maybe it will help another rider tho.

My '21 F3 pulls left in a hard/panic stop. I checked for mechanical defects many times. Found nothing. The bike passes state safety inspections with flying colors. However, I found an online discussion about the subject, somewhere. The solution that was discussed, and works for me, is to brake hard once at the start of every ride. After that stop, the bike brakes straight under duress. I don't have the reasoning behind the solution, but it works for me. (The hard part is remembering to do the initial panic stop.)

Best of luck OP.

 

I’m sorry to hear of your accident, I hope you both heal up quickly. When I first got my RT LTD, although I didn’t need to as I already had a M/C license, I took the $99 BRP course at my local community college. Part of that course was emergency braking. Although my Spyder squirmed under maximum braking the ABS and stability control did its job and brought the whole plot to a stable halt. I was quite impressed how quickly the thing stopped for a 1,000 pound machine. I tried this for myself later in a wet and empty parking lot to see how well it worked in very wet conditions. Of course, it took a longer distance to stop but it did so without drama. It didn’t swerve left or right and it didn’t try to swap ends. So I’m positive my personal machine was capable of functioning correctly. Several times since then, driving up and down the canyons two up I’ve had to hit the brakes really hard as people u-turned or pulled out in front of me. Much squirming and pulsing of the brakes in turn, it retained control as expected, even though it was quite exciting (not in a good way) to feel the stability control system figuring things out but it left me confident that the system worked as it should even on poor road surfaces It could possibly be a tire failure, they do run at a low pressure and are under significant load in a high braking force situation. The Kendas are not the toughest of tires even though I personally don’t dislike them. I’ve had flat tires on them before, but like all tubeless tires, they feel funny long before they go really flat. Like others have said I’d preserve the evidence as I’m sure your insurance company and your legal representation will want to have things professionally examined. I’m sorry for your accident and I hope you are back on your feet soon, especially your wife.

 

Thank you all for your kind words. In time everything will heal.

 

I’m so sorry this happened to you and your wife. I hope you both heal quickly and fully.
I’m no help with the knowledge of why it could have happened just very sorry it did.

 

My goodness I'm sorry to read this and hope you and your wife are healing well.
Best wishes,
Scott