a good leaning trike will out run everything else in the curves
I wonder about that. Keep in mind a major factor in two wheel riding in curves is the gyroscopic effect of the front wheel. Turn the wheel and it wants to tilt, or tilt the wheel and it wants to turn. I don't think that will be near as much a factor in a three wheel leaner, but I could be wrong. The only real advantage I can see with the leaning of a three wheeler is gravity pulling down on your body's center of gravity helping to offset the centrifugal force wanting to pull it outward. But maybe that does have a significant affect. As I see it the lean would have to be fairly dramatic for the two forces to balance. But maybe it'll work. I'm just wondering what the interrelationship is on a two wheeler between the gyroscopic effect, gravity, and centrifugal force. The centripetal force that keeps any vehicle going in a circle is the sum of the friction of the tires against the pavement plus the inward component of gravity pulling downward on the center of gravity of the bike and rider combo. It's a lot more complicated than what I want to make any effort to understand!
2014 Copper RTS
Tri-Axis bars, CB, BajaRon sway bar & shock adjusters, SpyderPop's Bumpskid, NBV peg brackets, LED headlights and modulator, Wolo trumpet air horns, trailer hitch, custom trailer harness, high mount turn signals, Custom Dynamics brake light, LED turn signal lights on mirrors, LED strip light for a dash light, garage door opener, LED lights in frunk, trunk, and saddlebags, RAM mounts and cradles for tablet (for GPS) and phone (for music), and Smooth Spyder belt tensioner.
If you follow the link in the OP, you'll see that it does not mention the boxer engine displacement but does say that it would be an hybrid with an electric motor in addition to the obvious gas engine.
The hybrid angle might not mean it is like a Prius hybrid (can drive on electric motors some of the time) but more like the Hybrid Accord a few years ago. I had one of those and it was not designed to be like the Prius or Camry. The electric motor gave the engine /drivetrain extra boost when max power was called upon. This suggests the use of a DTC transmission. When you come to a stop, the engine cuts off and restarted when you came off the brake. This helped the mpg.
The electric motor could give instantaneous and noticeable torque gains anywhere in the rpm range. With no engine ops at stop, The changes could add up to some impressive performance; "0-60" and "mpg". Just have to get the body right and they will sell; a leaning/stable quick ride that gets 42 mpg.
I'd ride one. That looks like Honda's venerated V4 motor. I'd love to see can-am put the Aprilia V4 into the spyder but that's wishful thinking.
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When life throws you curves, aim for the apex
Current stable: 09 Thruxton / 09 FZ6
Sold List: 97 Ninja500R, 03 SV650K3, 01 Ducati 750Sport Dark, 73 CB350/4, 03 F650GSA, 08 Gixxer600, 03 Gixxer600, 91 VFR750F, 09 KLX250, 06 Thruxton 900, 08 Spyder RS , 12 Street TripleR, 15 RC390, 02 VFR800, 09 KLX250S, 10 F650GS JLohPhotos
... Motorcycles are kind of like Baskin Robbins... You're looking at 31 flavors of ice cream, don't you kind of want to know what they all taste like?...
Here in Thailand these Yamaha Tri-City are very popular, they are a lot of fun to ride especially in the mountains but are very under powered with only a 125cc engine. I am hoping they will up the engine cc's to at least 250. Oh by the way a Spyder F3 cost about US$60,000 and a RT will set you back about US$75,000.
My wife bought an MP3 500 for a her first bike then proceeded to put 18000 miles on it in 3 years, including trips to the mountains in New Mexico, down to the Three Sisters in the Texas Hill Country, and up through Missouri and Arkansas. She decided to get an RTL because the seating wasn't ideal for extended trips, the Piaggio only had a 3 gallon tank (which in West Texas meant a lot of stops to go anywhere), and the fact my 12 year old son is 5'7" and 165 pounds and was having problems fitting on by K1200RS. I addressed the seating position with a set of highway brackets and pegs and the Madstad windshield for the MP3 is perfect. Can't stop the boy from growing though.
The problems I see with the Neowing:
Looks like one seat. No one is going to pay the price for one seat.
No storage
It is not a tourer
When we ride and see Spyders, 90% of the time it's RT's and most of that time they are 2up. That being said, if this makes production it will have two seats, bags, and an optional touring windshield. The touring market, at least where I'm at, made the Spyder successful and acceptable to the riding community and general public, and I'm sure Honda has done their research and knows all of this.
As an aside, my wife rode the Three Sisters two months after getting her license. We stopped at the Lone Star Motorcycle Museum in Vanderpool after some 120+ miles of Hill Country riding and she was terrified, tired, and wanted me to find a way back to the hotel for her that didn't involve getting on "That damned scooter!". After she calmed down, we rode back to the hotel. Since then, she has never asked to stop riding. Hellacious rain, cold, heat, bad road conditions, doesn't matter. Anytime I ask her if she wants to stop, she says "I'm fine", and then drives off while I try to catch her. Keeper.
2014 Copper RTS
Tri-Axis bars, CB, BajaRon sway bar & shock adjusters, SpyderPop's Bumpskid, NBV peg brackets, LED headlights and modulator, Wolo trumpet air horns, trailer hitch, custom trailer harness, high mount turn signals, Custom Dynamics brake light, LED turn signal lights on mirrors, LED strip light for a dash light, garage door opener, LED lights in frunk, trunk, and saddlebags, RAM mounts and cradles for tablet (for GPS) and phone (for music), and Smooth Spyder belt tensioner.
If this goes to market, I think it will be a game changer. For those who want to lean, it offers that, and many of the other issues (riders, storage, etc) were also true of the first Spyders. Honda is good company, and I think that Can-Am is fortunate that there haven't been any major issues since the 2013's. This could either enlarge the market so much that it benefits BRP as well, or it could simply take away their market share. If I were starting from zero, the Honda name would mean a lot more than a company that makes skidoos.
2020 RT Limited in the ultra cool Deep Marsala Dark edition.
Baja Ron Anti-Sway Bar, LED reflectors, Lamonster USB Charger (and phone mount), Can-Am Low Windshield, X-Creen Tour Variable Windscreen Spoiler Blade, Power Commander, Dilithium powered Flux Capacitor (not yet fully functional). Maintained by Lou at Pirate Powersports.
As long as it's got an engine with plenty of power where it counts then I'd be interested.
Sitting position looks good to me, pegs are about right though bars look a bit high. Look like standard bars so would be easy to change - ace bars perhaps:-)
My worry would be the cost as it's probably going to be a premium product.
Don't look of the front end, it needs to be smoother - can you imagine trying to clean the bug splatters out of all those slots:-)
Not worried about storage - it's nice having the frunk on the Spyder but I never needed anything more than a backpack or panniers on any bike before I got the Spyder.
I wonder about that. Keep in mind a major factor in two wheel riding in curves is the gyroscopic effect of the front wheel. Turn the wheel and it wants to tilt, or tilt the wheel and it wants to turn. I don't think that will be near as much a factor in a three wheel leaner, but I could be wrong. The only real advantage I can see with the leaning of a three wheeler is gravity pulling down on your body's center of gravity helping to offset the centrifugal force wanting to pull it outward. But maybe that does have a significant affect. As I see it the lean would have to be fairly dramatic for the two forces to balance. But maybe it'll work. I'm just wondering what the interrelationship is on a two wheeler between the gyroscopic effect, gravity, and centrifugal force. The centripetal force that keeps any vehicle going in a circle is the sum of the friction of the tires against the pavement plus the inward component of gravity pulling downward on the center of gravity of the bike and rider combo. It's a lot more complicated than what I want to make any effort to understand!
Don't underestimate the reduction in cornering ability for a leaner due to reduced tire contact patch. There is a reason a Ford Focus can out corner a Harley....
I am glad to see competition come to the marketplace! If they build it. Lots of forward trikes have been shown since the Spyder was introduced and none have come to market. (Conversions without proper electronic controls don't count). Its a big hill to climb and none of the majors have yet been willing to invest to do so.
Don't underestimate the reduction in cornering ability for a leaner due to reduced tire contact patch. There is a reason a Ford Focus can out corner a Harley....
I am glad to see competition come to the marketplace! If they build it. Lots of forward trikes have been shown since the Spyder was introduced and none have come to market. (Conversions without proper electronic controls don't count). Its a big hill to climb and none of the majors have yet been willing to invest to do so.
ithe Harley can't keep up because the pegs scrape to soon a gsxr with a good rider good luck keeping up with him in a car and he is on 2 quarter size contact patches
Last edited by r1100rider; 10-03-2015 at 10:21 AM.