myths and prejudices...

[No 2817]

I am on my 2nd Spyder. (2008 GS, now '16 F3-T SE-6) Had five 2 wheeled motor cycles. Out of all the years of riding I did NOT once get a "thumbs up" or a "big approving grin" from any one. Little kids running to the curb to watch me go by. I did not buy a Spyder to be part of the crowd. At bike night I don't have to look at my license plate to tell my bike from all the rest. Row after row of all the same bikes. The Spyder has been one the most unique machines that I have ever owned.


Chris

[BoilerAnimal]

Out of all the years of riding I did NOT once get a "thumbs up" or a "big approving grin" from any one. Little kids running to the curb to watch me go by. I did not buy a Spyder to be part of the crowd. At bike night I don't have to look at my license plate to tell my bike from all the rest. Row after row of all the same bikes. The Spyder has been one the most unique machines that I have ever owned.


Chris

My thoughts exactly. Our Spyder is the first motorcycle I've owned but rode quite a few of my friends bikes when I was a lot younger.

My wife and I have even riding ours for about six weeks and have put about 3000 miles on it. We have gotten a lot of positive attention while on it and it has been the cause of quite a few conversations with total strangers, all of them positive.

In fact the only negative comments came from family, a nephew who started out not liking it based on its looks but quickly changed his mind when he got an up close look. The other was from my sister's husband who gave the story about a co-worker who said he had ridden one and it wandered all over the road and wasn't really a motorcycle. He sounded more jealous than anything else to me.

My wife wasn't too enthralled with the looks of a Spyder but the comfort more than made up for that and it must have grown on her because she thinks it looks sharp now.

She kind of got used to riding something a little different after years of riding recumbent bicycles with me. We had two recumbent tandems, a BikeE E2 and a Rans Screamer, along with a regular BikeE and a Rans Stratus XP. Definitely not your mainstream bicycles. And just like a Spyder , they got lots of looks and comments!

[pegasus1300]

Not true! I think you're cool!

Personally, I let people think what they want while I have a great time! Why be miserable riding what you don't want just to be cool?
Don't ride what they want. Ride what YOU want!

Life is just too short and your riding time even shorter to ride something you are not madly in love with. All my 50 years of 2 wheelers I loved them all (well except for the '56 AJS but that's another story),but they are gone and now I have a Spyder and it is love all over again. I don't care what anybody says,I get the giggles every time I ride,it's just like when I was a kid just starting to ride.

[schoebeg]

For the three years, I did a lot of seriously thinking about buying a motorcycle or a trike. What cause me to think about riding a motorcycle was when I was smoking cigars with my best friend Eric and talking about his last ride. Eric made the suggestion that I look at getting my motorcycle license and a motorcycle so I can join in the fun. I gave it some thought while puffing on a cigar then agree with his suggestion then we talked about my options. Keeping in mind that I have bad legs caused by a medical condition. In the following weeks, we came up with the following options:

- Harley Davidson Motorcycle like Eric's (Street Glide)
- Motorcycle from another manufacturer
- Harley Davidson Trike
- Polaris Slingshot (when released)
- Can-Am Spyder
- and a used Jeep Wrangler or Rubicon

For months, Eric and I kept talking about what I should get for a motorcycle. Even went to some motorcycle shops. I went 2015 Minneapolis Motorcycle Show threw my leg over a countless number of motorcycles, checked out the Slingshot and Ular, and kind of looked at the Can-Am Spyder. However, Eric discouraged me from looking any closer at the Spyder, because he test rode a Spyder RS and really didn't like it.

Months past and I kept on thinking about motorcycles. Taking one option off the table then putting it back on. I talked to a friend of ours named Bruce. He was big into motorcycles, especially Harleys, and he was excited to hear about my choices. He then suggested I do not go with a trike from Harley or Honda, but strongly suggested the Can-Am Spyder.

In the beginning of March, I got it down to a Motorcycle, a Poloris Slingshot, and a Can-Am Spyder. My legs gave a real tough time and Motorcycles were taken off the table. Tried looking for a Slingshot to test drive a nice day. Eric couldn't find one to test drive. I haven't thrown my leg over a Can-Am Spyder.

One day Eric and I went to Moon Motorsports over in Monticello, MN to check out what they had. In the back corner of showroom of the dealership they had a number of Can-Am Spyders (Base Model RT, RT limited, base model RS, and a base model F3). So I decided to really look at them much more closely and while Eric got me a salesperson. I really liked the Spyder RT Limited, but not the Base Model F3 then the salesperson informs me that there is a F3-T SM6 in the shop waiting to be rolled out to the showroom floor. We went into the shop and I threw my leg over. I really like sitting on the F3-T and had a decision to make. However, I couldn't test drive because I didn't have a Motorcycle endorsement.

I went to work on Monday and found a Spyder RT-S at St. Boni Motorsports in St. Bonifacius, MN. I got my best friend to meet me there and he agreed to test ride it for me. He wasn't thrilled about riding the Spyder RT-S, but he put on his helmet and did it anyways. When he gets back from the test drive he tells me, "The ride was awesome. I drove it down to roundabout and took it about 3 times then rode up to the neighborhood north of us. It is crazy fun." So I negociated with the salesperson for a good price. The next day I got the loan from the credit union and became a proud owner of a Intense Red Pearl 2016 Can-Am Spyder RT-S.

Getting it home envolved Eric riding it and Hannah his fiance came with to follow him in his truck. She looked down nose at it and thought it was not as cool as a sportbike or cruiser. Didn't matter to me, I liked it a lot and was excited. Got Motorcycle permit then my Motorcycle Endorement (license).

A few weeks later, Eric and Hannah came over for dinner and cigars. He hasn't rode his Harley for the past couple of weeks, because would not start because the battery needed to be replaced. Handed him the key to the Spyder and told them to go out for a ride on the Spyder. Eric was thrilled, but Hannah wasn't. They hopped on the Spyder and took it for a one hour ride.

They get back about an hour later. Eric told me, "We would have been backsooner. I took Hannah to an empty parking lot to have her try it out. She was amazed by how much fun the Spyder is to ride. The bad thing is she wants one now." I was fine with Hannah riding the Spyder and she had her motorcycle permit.

I still get people asking me about my Spyder RT-S, but there are some that ask why I didn't go with two wheels or a Harley. Not to mention going to a Harley Davidson Dealership while on a Can-Am Spyder is not a good idea.

I love riding my Can-Am Spyder and will never go two wheel. The only problem is finding other Spyder Owners to go a ride with me.

[HayRog]

My wife would agree with you Paula, althow she had no previous riding experiance , after learning to ride our first spyder incase I got sick or hurt, she fell in love with ryding and went out and bought her very own spyder, after 14 months and 25 K miles later she traded that one in on a 2015 .
not bad for a 65 year old newbie!

Thanks for this post .. Pretty timely as I'm about to get my wife (Debbie) into the riders seat for the same reasons.
Just hope it doesn't cost me another Spyder

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

is it true that guy with that limp or huge scar on his leg is much cooler then us people?

[gkamer]

now no one is going to think you're cool".

Heres how I look at it. I'm not cool. I know that. Never have been, never will be. Don't care. There's not a single person on this entire planet I'm trying to impress. What I am is happy. Happy with my place in the Big Picture and Grand Scheme of things. Nowadays it seems that people like you and I are a fading breed. But we're gonna have a blast while it lasts......

[mpsicon]

That we are having a blast is something a lot people will not experience. On my second spyder and not looking back.

[Bob Denman]

That we are having a blast is something a lot people will not experience. On my second spyder and not looking back.

Me either!

[Jason Bryant]

I can say with no doubt i was a potential Spyder hater until i rode one. Being a die hard motorcycle lover and working at a dealership that sold both Yamaha, Kawasaki and Can-am when i saw the first spy photo of the GS i honestly wouldn't type the words that came out of my mouth. My motorcycling back round at the time consisted of about 35,000 miles of street riding and a few thousand miles of racing.

Sadly the racing had for the most part ended my motorcycling career as i purchased a brand new Suzuki sport bike after i had realized i could no longer afford to race them and found while riding said sport bike i was traveling on my favorite twisty road going half the speed i could on the race track yet risking twice as much should i fall. With that said, i sold the bike, couldn't even bring myself to break it in and had to have a friend put the miles on it. Keep in mind i rode between 16,000 and 10,000 miles per year on a sport bike prior to racing them! Being 20 some years old i had no desire for a cruiser so i went with out a motorcycle of any kind for a long long time. When the Spyder GS came out i though "stupid" and that's being nice. One evening as we had our first Spyder demo on site the owner forced me to take it home. I had absolutely zero interest in riding it, i was grumbling as i put my helmet on to head home on the Spyder.

What happened next will stay with me for the rest of my life! I 100% no doubt fell in love with street riding again because it was NOT a motorcycle! I felt like the same 16 year old that will never forget pulling out on to the highway on my first motorcycle. By the time i got home i had learned a very important life lesson. Do not judge until you try it. I was amazed, this thing that i had made fun of now had me a believer. When i arrived home, my wife says what the h^&@ is that? I said grab your helmet and jump on. She did and we proceeded to go to the local Harley bar and park proudly among the Harley's. We put our helmets in the storage compartment and made it inside the bar without anybody noticing us. Remember now, nobody had ever seen a Spyder before.

So as we ate dinner and we were laughing at the crowd building at the door once somebody had noticed what was parked outside. Every biker was panning around the bar trying to figure out who rode it in. Finally, a nice younger gal approached us. Yes a gal, not a big bad leather wearing biker but a young lady. She said, i'm sorry for interrupting your dinner but nobody here has the b*lls to ask if that "thing" outside is yours? If it is, what the h^&@ is it and can i sit on it? I said, why yes it is and yes you may. The brochures are in the large storage space up front. She looked like a school girl that just made the cheer leading team for the first time! I swear she would have hugged me had my wife not been there.

We walked outside to see a crowd of about 20 bikers taking turns sitting on it and rationalizing the reasons they should and would own one. I heard it all. From the gentleman that was to short to ever ride a motorcycle, to the guy with a broken leg that wanted to ride something while his leg was healing to all the girl friends and wives that looked at their boy friends and husbands like why would i ever ride on the back with you again when i can ride one of these! I knew right then, the Spyder was a home run.

Since that day i have had the chance to take a Spyder back to the race track, defend it's honor just long enough to go do 2 flying laps on it and watch the paddock full of haters go, "Dang, that thing looks like it can hang pretty well". In a matter of 4 minutes, two 2 minute laps, i had the whole place coming over with a totally different outlook on what they had seen me ride in on earlier.

Thanks to the Spyder, i have not said a single bad word about the slingshot. Why? Because i have never driven one!

[DJFaninTN]

we have some neighbors and this guy continually tries to bust my balls because we ride a Spyder. his Harley stays in the garage and I'll bet he doesn't ride more than 200 miles a year. we ride 200 miles in a weekend.


but I just laugh at him. he doesn't really ride but has just about every piece of Harley memorabilia possible including the Harley tats on his arm. you never see him without a Harley shirt on. I call him poser.

[Bob Denman]

These are the Poseurs that we all love to laugh about!

vehicle_001.jpg

[Jason Bryant]

we have some neighbors and this guy continually tries to bust my balls because we ride a Spyder. his Harley stays in the garage and I'll bet he doesn't ride more than 200 miles a year. we ride 200 miles in a weekend.


but I just laugh at him. he doesn't really ride but has just about every piece of Harley memorabilia possible including the Harley tats on his arm. you never see him without a Harley shirt on. I call him poser.

In an instance like yours i love to throw out the old. Did you know Jesus rode a Harley? (Typically the Harley fan looks at you and says of course he did) Then you hit'em with a That's why he walked everywhere! I have actually been chased on foot by a Harley guy for that one!

[Sam Mac]

Ride what you like, thats why there are so many different brands and models to pick from. Who cares what others think.

[Old Crow]

When it arrived I was ecstatic. It drew people like flies to you know what. Got one of those comments--"it looks like a snowmobile"--well--it did.

When I bought it, my other bike was a Kawasaki Vulcan 2000cc V Twin. I always liked big iron--but got the because it was new and exciting to me.

Now, I own two and no big iron. Health does not permit me to heft 900# around any more. I miss the "lean" a little bit--but am glad I can still ride. Over 125,000 miles just on 's and its working for me.

I'm with you. My ride was a 1700 Vulcan Nomad at 850 lbs, and I'm 66. With my knees it came down to the Spyder or say goodbye to riding. I miss the lean, especially on the high speed sweepers, but in gravel, heavy traffic, rain or making a U turn on a narrow 2 lane road I'm now like the proverbial kid in the candy store! As has been said, it's not a motorcycle. It's a Spyder and I couldn't be more happy with my decision.

[Buckeye Bleau]

I have been surprised by several people.

A relative of mine, by marriage, whom I have done business with in the past and always considered a good friend. He would gather with us at family events, usually riding his HD. Even when I did not have a bike he many times encouraged me to ride his, I always declined. When he has an event at his house there are usually several cars, many trucks and a dozen HD or more. The first day that I had the Spyder, I took it to his shop, where I rented warehouse space and paid for his employee's services, I went to the office and told him I wanted to show him something. I led him to the Byke and he said what the H___ did you get that thing for and he walked away. Since then, we talk, we visit, but I have never been invited to any events at his home, unlike before.

I am a member of the American Legion Riders and Patriot Guard, the local head of the ALR, a former Hell's Angel, grits his teeth when I show up for a ride. The road commander has said "nice whatever it is" but admits that it may not be right to ride with them as it is not a motorcycle, however they do allow HD Trikes to participate.

You know what, I don't care, it is my Ryde of choice, and to be honest with you I truly think that there is some jealousy tainting their vision, not disdain or anything else. One more note, the road captain did mention that he simply cannot give up the lean yet, but he can only ride for about 30 minutes or so do to COPD, hmmmm, wonder if his stupid pride is getting in the way of his pleasure?

Joe

[Deer Slayer]

The Spyder is a snowmobile on wheels.
It isn't a motorcycle, it isn't a SlingShot.
It is another class of vehicle that returns an open road feeling to the people on the vehicle.
It corners like a Spyder.
It does not lean but requiures concentration from the Ryder to complete the turn.
It's fun.
But, it ain't a motorcycle.
It looks kind of like a bike but it isn't.
Those who have never ridden one can be excused for their ignorance.

Amen!

[Deer Slayer]

is it true that guy with that limp or huge scar on his leg is much cooler then us people?

I have a limp and scar and love me Sypdee.

[Deer Slayer]

Until you ryde in the boots of the broken and scarred, keep your yap shut! Can I get an Amen, Church?

[clinard]

2013 Spyder ST SM5 vs Triglide

How many wheels does it have....3 HMM

Does it have a V Twin....Yes HMM

Do you sit on it or in it....On it HMM

How do you steer it....With the handle bars HMM

Does it have a clutch....Yes HMM

How do you operate the clutch....with my left hand HMM

How do you shift it....With my left foot HMM (don't think HD has a semi-automatic yet)

How do you increase your speed....With my right hand I twist the throttle HMM

How do you stop it....Depress the brake pedal....O Geez's I just blew it

[Lurker]

Thanks to the Spyder, i have not said a single bad word about the slingshot. Why? Because i have never driven one!

Very nice posting Jason. I hear this a lot "The slingshot is not a motorcycle it's a car" they then go on to say " I would not buy one I will just buy a car" I guess somehow that makes sense but I don't know how. I also get the "if it doesn't lean what fun is it?"
I guess that comment explains the poor sales for ATV's, snowmobiles, corvettes, dune buggies, trikes and why nobody ever watches NASCAR

[Fat Baxter]

One thing I point out to the curious is that the oddities of controlling a Spyder -- easy touch on the controls; actually steering the handlebars; leaning your body in the corners -- are not unique to Spyders. They also apply to sidecar rigs, which have been around since forever. The difference in handling between a sidecar rig and a Spyder is that the Spyder's thrust and breaking dynamics are symmetrical, whereas a sidecar imposes an asymmetrical handling challenge to the the tug due to the laws of inertia: when accelerating, an object at rest (the sidecar) tends to stay at rest; when braking, an object in motion wants to stay in motion.

Before I bought my RT-S, I was seriously considering moving from my BMW to a Ural rig.

[missouriboy]

I've heard "why don't you get a REAL bike?"

So have I, and here's the response I'm going to try to remember to use next time:

"I guess so we can play 20 QUESTIONS!"

(I'd guess most Spyder ryders are old enough to remember that show...)

[Rogue Hawk]

The Spyder is a snowmobile on wheels.
It isn't a motorcycle, it isn't a SlingShot.
It is another class of vehicle that returns an open road feeling to the people on the vehicle.
It corners like a Spyder.
It does not lean but requiures concentration from the Ryder to complete the turn.
It's fun.
But, it ain't a motorcycle.
It looks kind of like a bike but it isn't.
Those who have never ridden one can be excused for their ignorance.

It's a unicorn!

[jegarh]

I started riding a Safety Cycle powered by a briggs & Stratton 1.5 hp engine. Went to Cushman then a Vespa and then some Triumphs, a Suzuki DS185, a Suzuki TS250, a Honda Trail 90, a Suzuki TU250X, a Suzuki DL650, a Yamaha XT250, a Yamaha WR250R, a Yamaha TW200, a HD Sprint 350, a Ural GU and now a 2014 RTS SE6. I have arrived.

After 12000+ kilometers on the Ural, the transition to the Spyder was a dream. The GU is especially good when the road from my house to the front gate is 6" deep slippery clay mud and everything else is grounded. I think that she thinks she is back in old Mother Russia in that weather

Of those listed I still have most of them and most of them still work.

I won't be getting rid of the RT anytime soon. Being almost 79 helps me to feel this way about the RT.

I hope to meet some of you fellow "geezers" in Boerne in October.

Jerry