Indeed, I have been riding for 40 years - motorcycles, ATVs (since BEFORE the ATC 90), SxS, etc… This weekend the local dealer held an open house for the new facility - "pretty" and right on the river - They have always been the local dealer for Polaris, CanAm, and Victory - now all are under one roof. The warehouse was large - and seemed to be generally full of Polaris', we weren't invited into the shop… Being on the left coast, and in the heart of the "left" part, the parking was quite adequate for Spyders or "S" cars - a chore for any one else (including my one ton Dodge 4x4).

The event was fairly well attended - I understand they delivered two RTs, and I watched the pretty red one roll out (with an additional $1K open house discount - I would have waited too) - mostly by the local Victory riders group, but a fair number of Spyder tire kickers. They had at least one of each model Spyder, on the floor, but it was the RT that garnered the attention - and not just by the boomers, although the tattooed set gave anything with more than two wheels a wide birth.

They still have their old Spyder demo units, and still want over $14K for them, and the Victory Tour was just under $22K - a bargain compared to the Harleys… but, the Spyder RT LTE was a tad over $30K - Have you ever seen a $22K SxS?? I have - its the optioned out CanAm 1000 LTD. How abut a $16K 4x4 ATV? Another CanAm - how about a 2010 400cc 4x4 for $6800? Yep… This was sticker shock, down home and dirty. I just bought two late model ATVs (one was a 400cc 4x4, and the other a 700cc 4x4) for my daughter's ranch operations, and they weren't $6800 together. I'm not a pauper, but the CanAms are way out of affordability - I was unable to see a $4000 to $12000 advantage over brand "Y"…. Now I am concerned that Spyder pricing will continue to rise to Harley levels, removing me from the potential customer lists…

I rank CanAm with KIA and Hyundai - improving quality and dealer network, but not quite mainstream yet - unlike the automakers, CanAm has an unusual and compelling product, so some risk is warranted - but that limit is approaching for me...

So, shaking my head in bemused wonderment, I climbed in my trusty Ram, and pointed it back to the fringe, wondering, "Am I just getting old??"