My Can Am Spyder experience....
Few months back, I wrote about various 3 wheeler options on my posts here. Some of it from personal experience, some of it from knowledge gained from various articles, some from other's opinions. Now, I can talk about the Spyder after doing a Demo ride on one finally.
One of our local Powersports dealers in McKinney was the hotspot for the demo trailer to roll into this weekend. Weather was perfect, work was slow for a Friday so I decided to roll out there to do a test ride. Jim was off, Larry is always off (!), so I extended the invite and off we went! It was coming up on noon and as we slid into McKinney, we were soon met with the aroma of BBQ. I'd seen a sign for Hutchins BBQ a few blocks back, but in over 22 years living here, I'd never been there. We were about to fix that.... but it'd have to wait until after the ride ( I'll just throw in out there quickly .... it was awesome!). Couple more miles, we roll into Freedom Powersports.
I've been here a few times. We did an Indian demo ride here last year or the year before. I remember questioning how they got away with NOT meeting Indian's requirements for a dedicated 1800 sq ft, etc. Answer I got was they were getting a hard time about it, but were going to build a new location. Well, here we are a year or two later and nothing has changed. They have a sparse variety of accessories and clothing; weak. I'm surprised they are getting away with it. To top things off, their parking sucks. We finally pulled up to the front and parked in the mix of their slingshots and side by sides. Interestingly, no one outside. The demo bikes appear to be out , so we take our time and check out the Slingshots and 4 wheelers. Eventually, we make it inside and look around for someone heading up the demo event. Nada. Hell, no one greets us. No one gives us the time of day. They have a dozen or so Indian bikes in there so we check out some of them. But, that's not what we are there for. Sales guys are BSing in their offices. Service guys are BSing behind their service desk. It's getting kind of weird. So, I finally grab one of the service guys and tell him why we are there. He walks us out to the North side of the building where a 10x10 canopy and table are setup on the side of the building. Not sure how we missed that. Well, actually I do. There was zero parking on that side. All cars in the slots, everywhere. All filled up. There were no signs anywhere pointing to it. Anyways, DL , DJ , or whatever his name was from Ft Worth was a nice guy and got us all set up. We sign our lives away on the legal paperwork and check-mark half a dozen items, acknowledging we understand the risks, etc. The first one we check off states " This is NOT a Motorcycle" .. HUH? Really? Hahaha.. okay. I point out my Slingshot is a motorcycle which he quickly responds with " its an Autocycle" . My response? Well, yes, that's what Texas Law calls it, but not in all the other states. Mine says "motorcycle" on it, and I'm guessing the ones out front do to. I offer to show it to him. ( I crack myself up) . Anyways, the demo ride was running 20 minutes late, we were early, so now we are ....waiting.
The group rolls in finally and 1/2 dozen folks get off the Spyders and all but one of them have a shit eating grin, loving it. The guy who wasn't smiling as much has an Indian Motorcycle leather jacket and it appears he's there with his girlfriend whom is smiling ear to ear after that ride. We would soon repeat that scenario. Two of us smiling ear to ear and number 3, can't wait to get back on his Indian!
Mark is our leader for the demo ride ( I think he's a sales guy that works there). Turns out to be a great guy and made the trip out there worthwhile. He gives us a quick overview, explains these don't counter steer, you don't lean into corners, etc. Both guys point out it's going to take some getting used to, so this isn't your normal quick 15 minute demo ride. We're about to head out on a 45 minute ride, to ensure we get a chance to acclimate and develop our opinions. They give us a quick overview of the bikes ; all but one of 'em are an 'automatic' , and they all have ABS, so you only use the right foot to initiate braking. We put it to memory, and we're off!
First thing we do is hit the Interstate for a few miles to find a good exit point to get us quickly to country style riding ( 2 lane!). This feels friggn' weird; like i'm on a 4 wheeler or something except lots of power and smooth as glass. These things have power steering of sorts and they are simple to ride. Nice to ride. I'm thinking, "didn't see this coming!". I like it so far. Exit up ahead, and we slide off the massive concrete throughway, and life is good. We are on two lanes.
The first thing I notice is, I want to lean into the curves. We do, and for nothing; doesn't make any difference. If you do the speed limits, whether it be straightaways, sweeping curves or tight turns, these handle perfectly; as advertised. But we find out quickly if you dive into curves ignoring the yellow signs with a speed warning for you to slow down, we find ourselves working a lil' harder. This is a blast, but completely different from leaning into corners on 2 wheels, where you are maybe scratching some boards or pipes. Hell, this is wearing me out! But in all fairness, we are playing hard. We're pushing these baby's; they are demo bikes, not ours and we're taking advantage of the situation. With 100hp it's simple to spin that single rear tire around corners or in lower gears. Jim had the trike with the clutch and he was getting more spin than we could have hoped for, and he was having a blast working that rear tire.
At the 1/2 point we pulled into a small town and through a gravel parking lot. When was the last time you went through gravel with zero concerns? We did , that day. Pulled under a tree for some shade and turned them off. No kickstands. No worries. Just set them in 'park' mode and all is good; one more beni' of these things. All three of us were on various F3 models which either zero or minimal windshields. Larry prefers a larger windshield so he swapped bikes with Mark, our demo ride leader and we were headed back to the dealer the way we came. Most of us slid the rear tires out of the gravel area onto the blacktop making a lil show of it; these things did it with ease and were still stable sliding along!
On the way back I payed more attention to my speeds in the corner to get a feel for stability. Bottom line was I'm sure you could keep up with Big Cruiser bikes in the corners but you'd be working it pretty hard. I never 100% got the feel for shifting either. The shift controls for the automatic tranny is on the left side, and its sort of like an auto's paddle shifter. You use your thumb to shift up and your fingers on the back side to shift down. If you don't shift down, it'll do it for you as you slow down via throttle or brake; but you've got to do the up-shifting.
Seems like in no time we were pulling back into the dealership. That 45 minutes provided to us by Can Am was a blast! Actually, it was one of the best and longest demo rides I've ever been on, and Mark proved to be an awesome leader that day and I told him so. Lets just say , we had a great time! I think I may have enjoyed it all more than the other two; I'd do it again anytime.
Now, the important question. Would I buy one today? No. I don't feel that they replace a 2 wheeled bike. And I wasn't impressed enough to add one to the stable as an extra toy. But, I'd like to see my wife get one. She's got RA and hasn't ridden in a few years. However, for her own personal reasons she refuses to ride one of these. Now, if I ever find myself unable to ride a 2 wheeled motorcycle, yes I'd consider one of these. They were simple to ride and effortless to maneuver ( which surprised me ). If someone was scared shitless of 2 wheels and wanted to ride, these make sense. If someone can't handle a 2 wheeled bike, these make sense. And for a newbie, they make sense ( though I'd recommend they buy a small bike instead to learn on).
Now having said all that, I've never ridden a traditional trike ( HD, Honda , etc ). I almost rode a V8 Chopper Trike this summer at a demo ride event. I still want to make that happen. That , truly excites me! Point being, at this time I'm not qualified yet to compare then against say an HD/Indian/Goldwing Trike, that you see out and about.
Would I recommend you buy one? Hmmmm.. No. Two Wheels damned it! Unless, two wheels aren't an option for you. That's an entirely different discussion. And my answer than would be ... Maybe. Once you compare these to traditional trikes.
One of our local Powersports dealers in McKinney was the hotspot for the demo trailer to roll into this weekend. Weather was perfect, work was slow for a Friday so I decided to roll out there to do a test ride. Jim was off, Larry is always off (!), so I extended the invite and off we went! It was coming up on noon and as we slid into McKinney, we were soon met with the aroma of BBQ. I'd seen a sign for Hutchins BBQ a few blocks back, but in over 22 years living here, I'd never been there. We were about to fix that.... but it'd have to wait until after the ride ( I'll just throw in out there quickly .... it was awesome!). Couple more miles, we roll into Freedom Powersports.
I've been here a few times. We did an Indian demo ride here last year or the year before. I remember questioning how they got away with NOT meeting Indian's requirements for a dedicated 1800 sq ft, etc. Answer I got was they were getting a hard time about it, but were going to build a new location. Well, here we are a year or two later and nothing has changed. They have a sparse variety of accessories and clothing; weak. I'm surprised they are getting away with it. To top things off, their parking sucks. We finally pulled up to the front and parked in the mix of their slingshots and side by sides. Interestingly, no one outside. The demo bikes appear to be out , so we take our time and check out the Slingshots and 4 wheelers. Eventually, we make it inside and look around for someone heading up the demo event. Nada. Hell, no one greets us. No one gives us the time of day. They have a dozen or so Indian bikes in there so we check out some of them. But, that's not what we are there for. Sales guys are BSing in their offices. Service guys are BSing behind their service desk. It's getting kind of weird. So, I finally grab one of the service guys and tell him why we are there. He walks us out to the North side of the building where a 10x10 canopy and table are setup on the side of the building. Not sure how we missed that. Well, actually I do. There was zero parking on that side. All cars in the slots, everywhere. All filled up. There were no signs anywhere pointing to it. Anyways, DL , DJ , or whatever his name was from Ft Worth was a nice guy and got us all set up. We sign our lives away on the legal paperwork and check-mark half a dozen items, acknowledging we understand the risks, etc. The first one we check off states " This is NOT a Motorcycle" .. HUH? Really? Hahaha.. okay. I point out my Slingshot is a motorcycle which he quickly responds with " its an Autocycle" . My response? Well, yes, that's what Texas Law calls it, but not in all the other states. Mine says "motorcycle" on it, and I'm guessing the ones out front do to. I offer to show it to him. ( I crack myself up) . Anyways, the demo ride was running 20 minutes late, we were early, so now we are ....waiting.
The group rolls in finally and 1/2 dozen folks get off the Spyders and all but one of them have a shit eating grin, loving it. The guy who wasn't smiling as much has an Indian Motorcycle leather jacket and it appears he's there with his girlfriend whom is smiling ear to ear after that ride. We would soon repeat that scenario. Two of us smiling ear to ear and number 3, can't wait to get back on his Indian!
Mark is our leader for the demo ride ( I think he's a sales guy that works there). Turns out to be a great guy and made the trip out there worthwhile. He gives us a quick overview, explains these don't counter steer, you don't lean into corners, etc. Both guys point out it's going to take some getting used to, so this isn't your normal quick 15 minute demo ride. We're about to head out on a 45 minute ride, to ensure we get a chance to acclimate and develop our opinions. They give us a quick overview of the bikes ; all but one of 'em are an 'automatic' , and they all have ABS, so you only use the right foot to initiate braking. We put it to memory, and we're off!
First thing we do is hit the Interstate for a few miles to find a good exit point to get us quickly to country style riding ( 2 lane!). This feels friggn' weird; like i'm on a 4 wheeler or something except lots of power and smooth as glass. These things have power steering of sorts and they are simple to ride. Nice to ride. I'm thinking, "didn't see this coming!". I like it so far. Exit up ahead, and we slide off the massive concrete throughway, and life is good. We are on two lanes.
The first thing I notice is, I want to lean into the curves. We do, and for nothing; doesn't make any difference. If you do the speed limits, whether it be straightaways, sweeping curves or tight turns, these handle perfectly; as advertised. But we find out quickly if you dive into curves ignoring the yellow signs with a speed warning for you to slow down, we find ourselves working a lil' harder. This is a blast, but completely different from leaning into corners on 2 wheels, where you are maybe scratching some boards or pipes. Hell, this is wearing me out! But in all fairness, we are playing hard. We're pushing these baby's; they are demo bikes, not ours and we're taking advantage of the situation. With 100hp it's simple to spin that single rear tire around corners or in lower gears. Jim had the trike with the clutch and he was getting more spin than we could have hoped for, and he was having a blast working that rear tire.
At the 1/2 point we pulled into a small town and through a gravel parking lot. When was the last time you went through gravel with zero concerns? We did , that day. Pulled under a tree for some shade and turned them off. No kickstands. No worries. Just set them in 'park' mode and all is good; one more beni' of these things. All three of us were on various F3 models which either zero or minimal windshields. Larry prefers a larger windshield so he swapped bikes with Mark, our demo ride leader and we were headed back to the dealer the way we came. Most of us slid the rear tires out of the gravel area onto the blacktop making a lil show of it; these things did it with ease and were still stable sliding along!
On the way back I payed more attention to my speeds in the corner to get a feel for stability. Bottom line was I'm sure you could keep up with Big Cruiser bikes in the corners but you'd be working it pretty hard. I never 100% got the feel for shifting either. The shift controls for the automatic tranny is on the left side, and its sort of like an auto's paddle shifter. You use your thumb to shift up and your fingers on the back side to shift down. If you don't shift down, it'll do it for you as you slow down via throttle or brake; but you've got to do the up-shifting.
Seems like in no time we were pulling back into the dealership. That 45 minutes provided to us by Can Am was a blast! Actually, it was one of the best and longest demo rides I've ever been on, and Mark proved to be an awesome leader that day and I told him so. Lets just say , we had a great time! I think I may have enjoyed it all more than the other two; I'd do it again anytime.
Now, the important question. Would I buy one today? No. I don't feel that they replace a 2 wheeled bike. And I wasn't impressed enough to add one to the stable as an extra toy. But, I'd like to see my wife get one. She's got RA and hasn't ridden in a few years. However, for her own personal reasons she refuses to ride one of these. Now, if I ever find myself unable to ride a 2 wheeled motorcycle, yes I'd consider one of these. They were simple to ride and effortless to maneuver ( which surprised me ). If someone was scared shitless of 2 wheels and wanted to ride, these make sense. If someone can't handle a 2 wheeled bike, these make sense. And for a newbie, they make sense ( though I'd recommend they buy a small bike instead to learn on).
Now having said all that, I've never ridden a traditional trike ( HD, Honda , etc ). I almost rode a V8 Chopper Trike this summer at a demo ride event. I still want to make that happen. That , truly excites me! Point being, at this time I'm not qualified yet to compare then against say an HD/Indian/Goldwing Trike, that you see out and about.
Would I recommend you buy one? Hmmmm.. No. Two Wheels damned it! Unless, two wheels aren't an option for you. That's an entirely different discussion. And my answer than would be ... Maybe. Once you compare these to traditional trikes.
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| This is just sooooo wrong! LMAO |
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