Some Spyder Observations

[Pennyrick]

Spyders have been in our family for a little over five years now and I have almost fifty thousand miles riding them so I thought I would post just a few observations on the brand.

- Can Am has found buyers for the product that began as a niche market and the Spyder has grown into something a bit larger than it started but is still along way from a mainstream player. Just as Ducati, Triumph, and Moto Guzzi play on the edge of the market, so does Can Am although with watercraft, snow vehicles and off road stuff it does play in a larger overall market,

- Lack of dealer penetration and expertise is one of the company's major weaknesses but the strong ones are getting better and it appears that the weaker ones are either falling out or at least being identified.

- Being labelled as a product suited to handicapped, novice or less youthful (I steered away from elderly) riders is probably not all that great for image building but the demographics of those groups are pretty strong. As a result Spyders send a mixed signal out to the marketplace. The 2015 offerings look to broaden that market but the initial impression is hard to overcome.

- With a Harley Tri Glide nicely equipped coming in at $36,000 and a Gold Wing off the floor with any of five different trike kits added coming in at $46,000, the Spyder is affordably priced given its features.

- The average motorcycle rider puts about 5-6,000 miles per year on his or her machine. The Spyder is far from average in this regard. Spyders tend to get ridden.... a lot more than the average.

- Cost of maintenance is high but this is a complex machine requiring intensive and expensive training. Would you rather have a tech schooled in Wisconsin or Quebec working on your Spyder or someone from the local trade school who is following a YouTube video?

- Just like it takes a while to get to know a horse before you take off riding, it pays to know your Spyder. I'm continually amazed at questions that come up on this board that are covered in detail in the owner's manual.

- Adding a brake lever on the handlebars does not add a brake for the front wheels on a Spyder. The ISCI hand brake is an excellent product (my wife has one on her Spyder) but it doesn't do what a brake lever does on a regular motorcycle. The factory system is designed to do the braking and it does it extremely well.

- Tire life on a Spyder is excellent when compared to regular motorcycles or sports cars with sticky, soft compound tires. In fact tire life on the front wheels is exceptional.

- Heat is present in every vehicle where the driver is situated on or near the engine that is a heat-generating device. My MGB-GT was one of the most uncomfortable cars I ever drove once the winter ended. They called it the 'Hotbox'. My Harley was always hot to drive and my six cylinder Valkyrie wasn't a real joy to drive on a hot day.
Heat goes with the territory although some 2013 owners were served a bit too much.

I know that is much more than a couple of cents worth... but Lamont lets you read this stuff for free.