Why you should never let a non-rider ride your Spyder

[SpyderAnn01]

A friend thought she would be nice by teaching a friend how to ride a Spyder. She got on the back and put the newbie at the controls and had her stop and start going up the street. Everything was going great until she asked her to make a U-turn, the newbie hit the throttle hard, got scared and jumped off. My friend was stuck with a driver's backrest between her and the handlebars, it doesn't help that she isn't very tall, the Spyder went over a curb then hit a big utility box before coming to a rest. No one was badly injured and the Spyder, at first glance, didn't appear to be mortally wounded. The pictures show the frame and the giant bend in it.

About a week after this happened another Spyder friend sent pictures of their wrecked Spyder. They let a friend try it out and they ran into the side of their house. I know of 2 other owners who had a spouse and a friend crash their Spyders last year.The moral of the story is don't let an unlicensed rider ride your Spyder.

[Cruzr Joe]

Good Advice.

Cruzr Joe

[trobbins27]

Spyders are still motorcycles... all be it not the traditional on two wheels... but bikes all the same If they haven't taken a motorcycle course or some other kind of training class... sorry charlie , you can ride caboose in the passenger seat but leave the driving to someone who knows what the heck they are doing, lol. If anyone had a problem with that when it came to mine I would just simply say to them. "This is a 14k+ bike... you going to pay the repair bill " and watch the obvious "no" form on their lips Sorry to see the photos... hope repairs went ok and am glad nobody got hurt too bad.

[Chupaca]

Words to live by. You are not only protecting your property but their lives as well. May seem mean, stingy, selfish etc but better dealing with an upset friend then paying a visit to the hospital or worse...

[SpyderAnn01]

Spyders are still motorcycles... all be it not the traditional on two wheels... but bikes all the same If they haven't taken a motorcycle course or some other kind of training class... sorry charlie , you can ride caboose in the passenger seat but leave the driving to someone who knows what the heck they are doing, lol. If anyone had a problem with that when it came to mine I would just simply say to them. "This is a 14k+ bike... you going to pay the repair bill " and watch the obvious "no" form on their lips Sorry to see the photos... hope repairs went ok.

Last May, Nevada changed the law and made a Spyder a "tri-mobile" and they no longer require an M endorsement to ride one. While none of these crashes happened in NV it still makes me crazy that they (NV) think that anyone can simply jump on and know how to ride one.

In the case of the pictured bike the offending party was going to pay out of pocket as they thought the damage was minimal. They wound up buying a new Spyder for my friend. While the Spyder may not have been an insurance total it would have been a major repair.

Moral of the story #2 is don't run over a curb on your Spyder. They can't take it.

[trikermutha]

Man that frame don't look good..Is the bike trashed now?

[SpyderAnn01]

Man that frame don't look good..Is the bike trashed now?

Yes, it was trashed

[trobbins27]

Last May, Nevada changed the law and made a Spyder a "tri-mobile" and they no longer require an M endorsement to ride one. While none of these crashes happened in NV it still makes me crazy that they (NV) think that anyone can simply jump on and know how to ride one.

In the case of the pictured bike the offending party was going to pay out of pocket as they thought the damage was minimal. They wound up buying a new Spyder for my friend. While the Spyder may not have been an insurance total it would have been a major repair.

Moral of the story #2 is don't run over a curb on your Spyder. They can't take it.

Luckily here in Georgia the "M" endorsement is still required But I once again agree with you completely. Clearly the folks making the rules in NV have never gotten on a Spyder as a newbie and experienced what the people you shared stories about have. Hopefully it doesn't take fatalities to get them to wake up and smell the coffee

[PrairieSpyder]

Two cautionary tales about lending your machines to inexperienced folks.

Requiring a motorcycle (or trike) endorsement to ride a Spyder would at least require a rider to know how to maneuver, which the riders in your examples clearly didn't know. Not to mention the safety tips, too.

[OJ UK]

.....it's an offence to permit an uninsured person to ride/drive any motor vehicle on a public highway whether they have a relevant license or not.
If caught you can both end up in front of a magistrate and you could both be disqualified from driving for a time and you will be fined!
Then when you want to re-insure after your disqualification you'll find that, as if by magic, that your premium increased by probably double!

[kngfsh27]

Lesson learned years ago. No one cares that someone asked (begged, whined, shamed), they only care that you gave permission.

[daveinva]

I took a 3-wheel MSF class before I bought my Spyder-- was a great investment.

That said, if I had to do it over again, I would have just taken the 2-wheel course. Only a few years ago, Virginia had a single M-license, so if you took either a 2-wheel or a 3-wheel, you got to ride ANY wheel motorcycle. They have since split that apart, so there are separate M2 and M3 licenses, which is I think is kinda dumb (while the 3-wheel class is helpful, 3 wheels aren't unique/challenging enough to warrant a license different from the M2, i.e. there should be a universal M license you can get from a 2-wheel class that allows you to ride 2 or 3 wheels, and an M3 that you earn from a 3-wheel class that lets you ride only 3 wheels).

[Bob Denman]

If you were a pilot; would it seem smart to let a "Newibe" fly the Learjet for you?

[Dan McNally]

When I insured my Spyder, I told the insurance company that I would be the only operator of it - it effected what I pay. Since that day, if someone who has never ridden a Spyder asks to try mine out, I can, honestly, say that my insurance doesn't cover them. If someone wants a test ryde, I refer them to Motosports in Hanover PA. I even offer to drive them there in my car (I also dramatically reduced my insurance rate by lowering the insurance on a passenger - I don't carry passengers!)

[Fatcycledaddy]

When they ask I tell them "that is what dealer test rides are for, or go rent one like I did, but I am not taking a chance with mine".

Some people get upset, but most understand.

[Bob Denman]

Ann,
How old was the Spyder?
When I had the "encounter" with a Subaru; my 2010 ended-up getting a new frame out of the deal...

[PrairieSpyder]

I took a 3-wheel MSF class before I bought my Spyder-- was a great investment.

That said, if I had to do it over again, I would have just taken the 2-wheel course. Only a few years ago, Virginia had a single M-license, so if you took either a 2-wheel or a 3-wheel, you got to ride ANY wheel motorcycle. They have since split that apart, so there are separate M2 and M3 licenses, which is I think is kinda dumb (while the 3-wheel class is helpful, 3 wheels aren't unique/challenging enough to warrant a license different from the M2, i.e. there should be a universal M license you can get from a 2-wheel class that allows you to ride 2 or 3 wheels, and an M3 that you earn from a 3-wheel class that lets you ride only 3 wheels).

I tend to agree. I got my 'M' in a 2-wheel class, but I they didn't have trike classes at the time. It really helped build my confidence. But I could see where folks with physical issues preventing them from operating on two wheels would want to have a 3-wheel class.

If you were a pilot; would it seem smart to let a "Newibe" fly the Learjet for you?

My dad always said the jet airliners and his general aviation planes all "few the same." That came up every time there'd be a scene in a movie where some new pilot had to take over landing the airliner after the crew was incapacitated. (Hollywood . . go figure!)

But after I got my license, he took me out to learn how to fly a "real airplane" - a small tail dragger that was flying at it's purest. But he never let me near the controls of his Bonanza!

[blacklightning]

I don't let unexperienced riders use my riding mower, so you know I am not going to let them drive my spyder, bike, or car.

[ralph12345678910]

White knuckles can not control a spyder sorry for the wreck lesson learned

[SpyderAnn01]

Ann,
How old was the Spyder?
When I had the "encounter" with a Subaru; my 2010 ended-up getting a new frame out of the deal...

Bob, it was a 2014 and it would likely have been repaired if they had a dealer with a certified tech. As I said the folks that wrecked it thought it had minimal damage and they did not want to file an insurance claim, after it was found to have a bent frame he agreed to buy a new one. My dealer in Henderson replaced a frame on a 2 or 3 year old RT also so, as you know, it won't "total" a Spyder to bend the frame.

[siny10309]

I took a 3-wheel MSF class before I bought my Spyder-- was a great investment.

That said, if I had to do it over again, I would have just taken the 2-wheel course. Only a few years ago, Virginia had a single M-license, so if you took either a 2-wheel or a 3-wheel, you got to ride ANY wheel motorcycle. They have since split that apart, so there are separate M2 and M3 licenses, which is I think is kinda dumb (while the 3-wheel class is helpful, 3 wheels aren't unique/challenging enough to warrant a license different from the M2, i.e. there should be a universal M license you can get from a 2-wheel class that allows you to ride 2 or 3 wheels, and an M3 that you earn from a 3-wheel class that lets you ride only 3 wheels).

in NY if you take the road test on any 2 wheeler (including a scooter) you can ride any type of motorcycle (2 or 3 wheels) when you pass but if you take it on a trike you can only ride a trike.

[gkamer]

Lesson learned years ago. No one cares that someone asked (begged, whined, shamed), they only care that you gave permission.

Now that's the whole argument in a nutshell. You gave permission. Everything else is irrelevant.

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

Last May, Nevada changed the law and made a Spyder a "tri-mobile" and they no longer require an M endorsement to ride one. While none of these crashes happened in NV it still makes me crazy that they (NV) think that anyone can simply jump on and know how to ride one.

In the case of the pictured bike the offending party was going to pay out of pocket as they thought the damage was minimal. They wound up buying a new Spyder for my friend. While the Spyder may not have been an insurance total it would have been a major repair.

Moral of the story #2 is don't run over a curb on your Spyder. They can't take it.

moral of the story, women drivers.....

[Pirate looks at --]

First of all if you let anyone Ryde your Spyder, and there is a problem, you have no one to blame but yourself. I am going to guess that the person or persons in these cases were just plain bad drivers. Folks the Spyder is not that challenging to drive. I had some motorcycle experience 30 years ago and then jumped on the Spyder in a test drive and was able to do just about anything I needed to do, U-turns slalom stop at a stop sign. If it had been that hard, I wouldn't have shelled out $30,000.00 for the darned thing. So again I am guessing that these people that wrecked the spyders have a problem driving anything. As for a motorcycle endorsement, or a safety course, always great to have, but just like my college degree, I haven't used it since I graduated and got my first job! It's common sense and good safe driving that is needed to drive a Spyder around town. If you want to push it to the limit, that's where experience comes in!

[Bob Denman]

moral of the story, women drivers.....

What exactly do you mean by this?
There are plenty of female riders in here; that I'd follow to the ends of the Earth and back...