ifiddles
Well-known member
curious if anyone here rides a Spyder and if so, what can you tell me about them good and bad...
Can Am Spyder
- Thread starter ifiddles
- Start date
I originally got into riding because I wanted a Spyder. I got my three wheel license and then I realized what my insurance was going to be ($4k+/year). So I decided to get my two wheel license in order to buy a Piaggio MP3 instead (Three wheel scooter). However, I enjoyed riding two wheels so much I decided to get a legit two wheel motorcycle (CBR300R). I'm still a brand new rider only having my bike for a few weeks now.
To get my three wheel license I took a course on the Spyder at Georgian College. It's fun but the main disadvantage I see is the lack of a lean into turns. When making a very quick turns you feel like your going to be thrown off the bike. They are very powerful, have a lot of built in storage, comfortable and to me they look very cool. The semi-automatic transmission is a plus in my books as well. I can still see myself buying one someday but for now I'm enjoying learning on two wheels.
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Yes, that is very true. My arms felt like I did a full workout after riding for a day.
Friend's wife has one; she tried riding a proper motorcycle and was never comfortable on a motorcycle.
If you like riding a proper motorcycle, there are things about the Spyder that are just plain wrong. The steering is backwards (no countersteering). The brake is on the foot pedal only. It's supposed to be more like a snowmobile than a bike.
I refuse to touch it. If it has handlebars, it has to function by countersteering for me to operate it.
If you like riding a proper motorcycle, there are things about the Spyder that are just plain wrong. The steering is backwards (no countersteering). The brake is on the foot pedal only. It's supposed to be more like a snowmobile than a bike.
I refuse to touch it. If it has handlebars, it has to function by countersteering for me to operate it.
GateKeeper
Well-known member
you can get a handbrake mounted on the handlebars....
I like the thought of them and would def get one if I could no longer support myself on 2 wheels. However, one thing that I read as a negative (here I believe) is that the way it's set up you now have 3 travel paths for the wheel (unlike 1 for a bike, and 2 for a car) where it's way harder to avoid anything that's lying in your lane without a very drastic evasive maneuvers. Outside of that I think they're great but extremely expensive. Too much for my wallet anyway.
Until I see a national Can Am Spyder race series. Or a Can Am Spyder product placed Hollywood block buster with overt, and I mean over the top, sexual content not just skin. Or an indie film with endearing characters riding Can Am Spyders that hits pay dirt I will not invest in this 3 wheel atrocity. If I can't ride this overly nannied toy on the popular culture coat tails of something much larger than myself to reap the validation of friend, foe, autonomous sidewalk commandoes and older people who used to ride tricycles in their formative years I don't think it's money well spent at half the msrp. I need meat with my potatoes. Granted, getting off without it falling over lends a certain charm.
EaZ8
Well-known member
i had no idea that there is a different license for 3 wheel.
so if you have a regular M class you can ride a spyder but if you have a 3 wheel you cant ride a regular bike...and then there is limited speed class too.
And a sidecar license too (although I am not sure how that overlaps with the 3 wheel license). If you take the M2 exit test on a 3 wheeled vehicle (eg a spyder, trike or sidecar, not an MP3), you get a limited license (I am not sure if it looks any different on the card or if it just shows up in the computer). If you get the full 2 wheel license, you are allowed to ride all of the 3 wheel vehicles.
Last summer, along a single lane highway, I came up to a group of them. Watching them, one by one, put more than half of their machine into oncoming traffic just to see if its clear to make a pass on a slow moving tractor with a trailer was the scariest thing I've watched in a while. Center seated with such a wide stance looks dangerous!
I do understand the market place and target buyer, but not for me.
I do understand the market place and target buyer, but not for me.
kiwi
Well-known member
definitely a minus in my books.
I get that. My opinion may change eventually. However, since I'm a new rider I am still in my 'constantly stalling' phase.
My neighbour got one (whatever the smaller one is), and I rode it home from the dealer for her. I hated it due to:
odd ergo and riding position - left my wrists sore after a 15 min ride
felt jittery - even with the amount of power it has, i would not want this thing on the highway
always felt like it was going to tip (even though they say it's really hard to do)
hated the semi auto - either make it auto or give me a clutch
it's really big with a big turning radius
single foot break is strange
it's not a motorcycle
Positives:
Power was good
fit and finish is good
that is all
odd ergo and riding position - left my wrists sore after a 15 min ride
felt jittery - even with the amount of power it has, i would not want this thing on the highway
always felt like it was going to tip (even though they say it's really hard to do)
hated the semi auto - either make it auto or give me a clutch
it's really big with a big turning radius
single foot break is strange
it's not a motorcycle
Positives:
Power was good
fit and finish is good
that is all
Give more throttle and that will stop.
TK4
Well-known member
Haha, you said it better than I ever could. They ARE NOT motorcycles, sorry....
You can get a Spyder with a standard/manual on many models.
What does semi-automatic mean on a Spyder again? Auto clutch + button shifting?
I am trying to remember what the guy did with the Spyder I saw at Two Wheel. He was able to push a button to make it go in reverse and then another button to make it go in drive. I don't think it is a clutch plus auto (I had one of those in an International truck many years ago). From what I saw on the Spyder at Two Wheel it was sort of like the DCT that Honda uses on the NC bikes.
......and it takes up as much room as a car in your garage.
