I Found The Thrill

[mark4Jesus]

A confession: When I traded my Victory on my Spyder, I was not overly excited. But, my wife would not ride on two wheels any longer, now she is behind me once again. I believed that I would miss maneuvering on two wheels, I did. As I rode the Spyder in curves, I could not get excited, I missed two wheels.

From the beginning I have enjoyed riding my Spyder. The comfort and features I love. But the thrill was not there.

I have now put two thousand miles on my Spyder. In the last two weeks I have discovered the thrill. There are some nice curves on the way to work and I look forward to them just like I did on two wheels. Accelerating and maneuvering are a thrill and I look forward to it. Riding the Spyder is different, but not without thrills. It was, for me, learning that the thrill was there, I simply needed to explore my Spyder and find it.

[Lurker]

A confession: When I traded my Victory on my Spyder, I was not overly excited. But, my wife would not ride on two wheels any longer, now she is behind me once again. I believed that I would miss maneuvering on two wheels, I did. As I rode the Spyder in curves, I could not get excited, I missed two wheels.

From the beginning I have enjoyed riding my Spyder. The comfort and features I love. But the thrill was not there.

I have now put two thousand miles on my Spyder. In the last two weeks I have discovered the thrill. There are some nice curves on the way to work and I look forward to them just like I did on two wheels. Accelerating and maneuvering are a thrill and I look forward to it. Riding the Spyder is different, but not without thrills. It was, for me, learning that the thrill was there, I simply needed to explore my Spyder and find it.

Historically trikes have always been marketed as a compromise to motorcycling. You have heard it I am sure, "when I get to old to hold up the bike I will go with a trike - if I have to I guess" of course this because the old fashion and backwards way of triking out a motorcycle is a compromise. It is certainly not sporty and they steer poorly so anything involving corners is just a lot of work and frustration. Putting the focus on steering and the physics of handling was a novel CanAm idea which ended up with a vehicle that is sporty and is as much fun as any sport related vehicle. And the side benefit is you can ride in areas most "riders" will not ride in due to road surface, or I should say lack of road surface.
It is one of those things that is hard to explain to a person who has never taken advantage of the rush related to ATV type sport riding. Snowmobilers understand but the bikers do seem to have a problem understanding the difference between a mini van (conventional trike) and a corvette (spyder)
As with all things it just takes time.

[Kiry]

My honey couldn't quite get it (he's a 2wheel guy), but wanted to be supportive and take the Learn to Ride course with me. <3
Once he got on the F3M6 and took it around a corner, there was this **** eating grin on his face, I knew something changed.

Later we talked, he said, oh it's like driving a snowmobile, and a LOT of fun. Needless to say he was pushing that bike as much as the instructors would let him after that.....with grins on everyone's faces.

For me, I have about 600 miles on my Spyder now, and I still need to relax a bit getting on it in the mornings. It generally takes until that 1st or 2nd corner and then I'm golden with a smile on my face.

[Dmetcalf]

A confession: When I traded my Victory on my Spyder, I was not overly excited. But, my wife would not ride on two wheels any longer, now she is behind me once again. I believed that I would miss maneuvering on two wheels, I did. As I rode the Spyder in curves, I could not get excited, I missed two wheels.

From the beginning I have enjoyed riding my Spyder. The comfort and features I love. But the thrill was not there.

I have now put two thousand miles on my Spyder. In the last two weeks I have discovered the thrill. There are some nice curves on the way to work and I look forward to them just like I did on two wheels. Accelerating and maneuvering are a thrill and I look forward to it. Riding the Spyder is different, but not without thrills. It was, for me, learning that the thrill was there, I simply needed to explore my Spyder and find it.

excellent ... so glad you are riding again and enjoy it with your wife ..!!

[asp125]

We still like to ride on two, and I love seeing my sweetie lean her bike into a good corner. But I also like the Spyder, it's not like our sport bikes, but it's faster than many other two wheelers. I like the surprise on people's faces when a "trike" passes them in the twisties. Plus it gives me an upper body workout to boot!

[mark4Jesus]

You have heard it I am sure, "when I get to old to hold up the bike I will go with a trike - if I have to I guess" of course this because the old fashion and backwards way of triking out a motorcycle is a compromise.

That was me! I'm still in good health and have no problem holding up two wheels. When I was looking at the Victory my wife mentioned three wheels, but that was my statement. I should have realized she was dropping a hint, but it didn't catch. She didn't push it because she knew I really liked the Victory. Within a year and a half she stopped riding.

[Chupaca]

Sometimes it just takes a little time to let go of the past and embrace the future.. Now if you are still running stock...there are a few things that will spice up the newfound thrill and broaden that smile. So if you have not looked into..BajaRon's swaybar and hiem joints, a good laser alignment and a well adjusted tire pressure...that will make a very nice difference on those corners your finding fun again... and then there is still more...

[ARtraveler]

Wind therapy is always good--regardless of the ride. I am lucky enough to have two wheels in the stable, as well as two
's. One of each cylinder configuration. Guess you could say I always have three choices when it comes to riding.

For me, they are all good and each one has a slightly different nuance to the wind therapy.

It is ingrained in my blood, and a part of my daily therapy during the riding season. I come here more in the "off" season.

[stmike 1800]

When i can take a corner ( with the wife on the back ) at 20 km or even 30 km over the posted speed ,that is a thrill .

[mark4Jesus]

Sometimes it just takes a little time to let go of the past and embrace the future.. Now if you are still running stock...there are a few things that will spice up the newfound thrill and broaden that smile. So if you have not looked into..BajaRon's swaybar and hiem joints, a good laser alignment and a well adjusted tire pressure...that will make a very nice difference on those corners your finding fun again... and then there is still more...

I bought my '13 RTL last September, it had 7400 miles on it. The previous owner, who I did not meet since I bought at a dealer, installed Ron's sway bar with links. My local dealer just started laser alignments, he said the alignment was perfect! PO also installed LED's on the mirrors for turn signals and rear LED's at the bottom of the trunk lid that brighten when brakes applied. Pretty sweet!

[UtahPete]

A confession: When I traded my Victory on my Spyder, I was not overly excited. But, my wife would not ride on two wheels any longer, now she is behind me once again. I believed that I would miss maneuvering on two wheels, I did. As I rode the Spyder in curves, I could not get excited, I missed two wheels.

From the beginning I have enjoyed riding my Spyder. The comfort and features I love. But the thrill was not there.

I have now put two thousand miles on my Spyder. In the last two weeks I have discovered the thrill. There are some nice curves on the way to work and I look forward to them just like I did on two wheels. Accelerating and maneuvering are a thrill and I look forward to it. Riding the Spyder is different, but not without thrills. It was, for me, learning that the thrill was there, I simply needed to explore my Spyder and find it.

Well said. Thank you.

[BoxyLady]

Our Spyder is my wife's ride primarily. I am fortunate enough at my advanced age (56) to still be able to ride 2-wheelers at 7/10th's. BUT I will say that I really dig getting out on the Spyder. I was like the OP at first.....no defying gravity? where's the fun in that?

I have found that the Spyder keeps me coming back to try to improve my technique in the twisties, and push it just that much more each time, trying to get it perfect. It's a great machine.

What I have noticed most is that there is a very direct relationship between higher speeds requiring a higher level of rider participation! Wow, what a workout after a couple of hours working the corners. riding a two-wheeler is a spectator sport compared to hustling a Spyder around. It's really a blast.

Jeff

[UtahPete]

....on blueberry hill ...?

[mark4Jesus]

....on blueberry hill ...?

[foxtail1]

I too just passed 2,000 miles on my Spyder. I went through the adjustment period of the first 500-600 miles, got used to the feel in the turns, and felt I had adapted from 2 to 3 wheels quite well. I started having fun (well, more fun, since even at the beginning it was fun).

Then, somehow this week, I crossed another milestone. Suddenly I realized that my grip on the handlebars was relaxed and that I wasn't thinking about every move. Then I realized that I was powering through curves and turns that had me braking/downshifting before.

So, anyway, for me there was a second adjustment phase I didn't even realize was happening till it was over. And, damn, this thing is fun to ride!

[PistonBlown]

I think we forget that when probably we first started riding motorbikes we didn't 'get' them immediately either.

I was well steeped in motorbike lore having been pillion on my dads since I was old enough to hold on, and before that in a side car. But I can't say I understood why my dad rode bikes.

When I started riding myself there was the excitement of being able to get to other places easily - mainly my girlfriend who lived 40 miles away;-). But the trill of a perfect corner etc came later.

[PistonBlown]

I too just passed 2,000 miles on my Spyder. I went through the adjustment period of the first 500-600 miles, got used to the feel in the turns, and felt I had adapted from 2 to 3 wheels quite well. I started having fun (well, more fun, since even at the beginning it was fun).

Then, somehow this week, I crossed another milestone. Suddenly I realized that my grip on the handlebars was relaxed and that I wasn't thinking about every move. Then I realized that I was powering through curves and turns that had me breaking/downshifting before.

So, anyway, for me there was a second adjustment phase I didn't even realize was happening till it was over. And, damn, this thing is fun to ride!

What's kind of terrible about this is when you occasionally see those low mileage secondhand Spyders for sale and realise that the owners probably didn't quite get there before giving up.

[mark4Jesus]

What's kind of terrible about this is when you occasionally see those low mileage secondhand Spyders for sale and realise that the owners probably didn't quite get there before giving up.

Very good observation! Had not thought of that.