Any Spyder riders?

[WildWilly]

I was 64 when I purchsed my first F800, a new ST. The light weight and petrol under the seat appealed to me. I'm now 73 and riding my 3rd F800, a used GT. While I still very much appreciated the light weight, I'm a plan ahead guy and see a 3 wheeler in my future. Hopefully. I Test rode 2 trikes, a Harley and a Gold Wing. It's not that I disliked them, it's that I hated them both. My next test ride will be a Spyder. Anyone with 1st hand experience on one?

[Mokkybear]

Test rode one a few years and hated it. Other than exposure to the elements, it felt nothing like riding a motorcycle, pricipally due to the fact it isn’t a ‘leaner’ but also felt very heavy in the controls. Chalk and cheese to an F800.

[Daboo]

I've known a couple riders with Spyders. The first one had one shortly after they came out. He could go very fast in a straight line...but slowed down a lot in corners. It took a lot of effort for him.

But at a recent ride with the Concours Owners Group, one wife had her own Can-Am Spyder. A more recent version. And she kept up with us just fine. And this group rides fast.

Chris

[FirstBMW]

I dated a woman who had one, I rode it a few times. Kept hoping that the appeal would come out if i kept trying it. Never did happen for me, probably put 6 or 7 hours on it, only hated it more and more every ride.

[kobb59]

I owned a Spyder for a few years. I thought that this would be my bike since I was getting older, no need for balance and so on. It's closer to riding an ATV than a motorcycle. There is no lean when you're turning corners. The Spyder is well made and fun to ride, but it will never be the same as a 2 wheeler. I finally sold it and recently got myself an F800. I'm much more happy with this, but it's a personal preference.

[WildWilly]

Thanks to everyone for responding. I love my GT and have no intention of trading it for a 3 wheeler . . . . . . now. But as I continue to remain on the right side of the sod, I find the GT has taken on human properties . . . . it gains a little weight every year. Unlike many of my riding companions, I will move to a 3 wheeler when the time comes. God willing and the creek don't rise.

[Daboo]

I've already been thinking ahead to that point. Like you, I'm a plan ahead guy.

I usually look ahead towards what would be my next motorcycle, even if I'm satisfied with what I currently have. For two wheels, I'll stick with the GT. It fills all the check boxes for me, and fits my frame probably better than anything else. But at 66, I'm realizing that my abilities to ride on two wheels may come to an end without warning. What next?

The Can-Am would be my choice for a three wheeler. The HD and GW trikes are taking a two-wheeled vehicle and finding a way to make it a three-wheeler. The Can-Am is designed from the ground up to be a three-wheeler. It has its pros and cons, but I think in the end, it is probably the best option if you have to go to three wheels.

I may skip the trike options though and go straight to four wheels. For the longest time, I thought of getting a Mazda Miata. Living in the Pacific Northwest, it rains a lot. And if it isn't raining, it will be raining. Or it has been raining. So if I can't lean into a turn...I may just get something I can sit on and not have to be out in the weather.

[MGD109]

Well this may seem very random but as well as riding bikes I also ride trikes but maybe not the type forum members are imagining but the self-propelled variety. I’ve had a very long love affair with cycling that began well before I was ever allowed to ride a motorbike and despite getting old and doing all the things that growing up entails (job, motorbikes, cars, wife, kids) has never left me and I still find time to pedal plenty of miles (9,000 last year) don’t expect forum members to understand this madness. I pedal for two reason first I simply enjoy it and secondly to keep in shape so hopefully the day that I can no longer ride a motorbike and various other physical activities I enjoy will be delayed for as long as feasibly possible. The reason I ride a trike (I ride bicycles as well) is to enable me to keep active when the roads are full of ice and snow simple as that. You can slide a front wheel on a trike and it stays upright. Anyway the point I’m getting to is it took me a very long time to be able to successfully ride a trike. For many, many miles it felt awful, I bought my first trike without ever riding one, if I'd have test riden it I would not have bought it and put the whole silly idea out my head. But now I would not be without one sounds crazy I know but true. Riding on three wheels is very different to riding on two but at some point it all came together, then I started to actually enjoy the very different dynamic, of having to get your weight over to the inside to get it to go round bends, of the near side wheels lifting when you overcooked it, sliding around corners. It’s actually quite exhilarating, not like two wheels and certainly not like four, just very different. I strongly suspect motorised trikes are the same, just my two penneth. In the US the kind I trikes I ride are referred to as an “English Racing Trikes” which is a phrase I like. For anybody remotely interested in what such a machine looks like one of mine below.

[WildWilly]

I have a t shirt that reads "Real Bikers Pedal" I did 5,000 miles on my hybrids last year, but on schedule to reach 6 this year. While I don't have a trike (yet) I put more miles on my pedal bikes than I do on my GT. When I was a youngster (65) I managed 11,000 miles in one year. I call it my M & M meditation. Mindless Movement. Nirvana.

[crna59]

I have a Spyder RT-S and love it (along with my f700gs). I am also a 3-wheel instructor, so I constantly ride 2 and 3 wheels back to back. Try that one now!
I've seen a lot of the ageing population switch to 3-wheel rigs, whether it be Spyders, trikes or side-cars. A cool bike I rode a few weeks ago is the Tilting Motor Works design. They take Harleys and Goldwings and put a new front end on them. The bike still leans, but you're more stable. It also has a setting where when you go under 7mph, the bike will lock in the upright position so you don't have to hold the damn thing up at stop lights. It's just another option folks. As long as you're riding, 2 or 3 wheels, I don't care.....

[WildWilly]

In total agreement Bruce. I had a t shirt specially made the reads:
Any Bike or Trike
You're My Family

[WildWilly]

Had the opportunity to ride a new Spyder today and it's not my cup of tea. Back to the drawing board.