rocinante54
01-29-2021, 04:52 PM
I’ve been riding motorcycles as a re-entry rider since 2007. My last conventional motorcycle was a Suzuki C50, which I loved, but had some difficulty riding due to problems in my legs and hips. I switched over to a Honda Silverwing maxi-scoot. I didn’t have to shift it, as everything on the bike is done with the hands. The handling was OK, but I actually preferred the handling of the C50.
Last September, we moved halfway across the country. I sold the SWing before we left, because I had decided that when we got to our new place, I was going to switch over to a trike. I’m 66 and want to prolong my riding years, which I was not sure I’d be able to do much longer on two wheels. After we got here, I started doing some shopping. I looked at the CanAm Spyder RT, F3 and Ryker and the Harley Freewheeler. I wanted to stay with factory trikes to avoid any problems with dealership servicing.
I ended up with a 2020 Spyder RT base, which I got a pretty good deal on. I had it delivered to the house, plugged it into the charger and promptly forgot about it, as the weather was miserable. I knew there would be a steep learning curve. I had done my homework and I knew that it would be a bit of weirdness converting to a trike after riding two-wheel machines which leaned and counter-steered. I also knew that there were no trike classes near me, so I’d have to sort of figure it out on my own.
Today, conditions looked pretty good. I got suited up, unplugged the charger and hopped on the RT. Went to start it…nothing. Yes, I had studied the book, but forgot to press the mode switch when starting…reviewed the book again, put on the foot on the brake, run switch on, in neutral, press mode switch and then starter switch and Presto Bango…started right up. I know it’s not good to run the machine for short periods of time, so I resolved to go on for a bit and get the motor warmed up. Put it in 1st, gave it a bit of throttle and turned the bars to get onto the driveway….immediately, my motorcycle elf instructed me to turn the bars further and put my feet down, so I could paddle the bike outta there, but then my new trike brain took over. I hit the brakes, stopped and successfully engaged reverse, carefully backed up and wobbled down the driveway and left onto our little country lane.
Speaking of country lanes, every Spyder newbie should have one. Ours is not in the greatest of shape, pavement-wise, but it’s not busy and it has little stretches of straights, right angle turns following property lines and curves. It provided me with the opportunity to practice my up and down shifts, braking and turning. I took it out to where it ends on a bigger county road (still not busy, though), turned around, came back, turned into our little area and rode it down around the corner and to the end of the cul de sac, then back out onto the lane.
By now, I was starting to feel a little better with the handling and power and shifting, so this time, I took it back down to the county road and then ran up to the county airport through some nice curves and turns. At the airport, I stopped and turned it off, then started it up and practiced backing up. That went well, so I went back the way I came, but instead of going back on the little lane, I decided to give it a shot on the highway. Our highway is two lane out of town, but fairly busy and traffic moves along pretty well, meaning 65-70 mph. I waited for a break in the traffic so I wouldn’t have anyone breathing down my neck, then turned onto the highway, straightened up and goosed it. That 1330 triple started making all kinds of fun noises and before I knew it, I was zipping along at traffic speed no problem.
Went down a bit and then picked up another country road leading to the state highway, which is another two lane, well-travelled road with traffic running 65-75. The back road was a blast, 55+ and then braking and downshifting into corners and curves. At the state highway, I again waited for a break in traffic, pulled out and headed towards our country lane. Maintained speed and negotiated the curves by the river without incident and without holding up traffic, as by now, I had developed more confidence in the machine’s handling characteristics.
Back home I went and backed the machine up into its garage stall with no problem.
Some general observations for other newbies like me who might have to teach themselves to ride a Spyder RT or F3:
• The Spyder RT is very comfortable to me. The controls are easy to use. I’m very glad I got the semi-auto transmission instead of the manual gearbox, which I understand you can still get on an F3. Having now ridden the bike with the semi-auto trans, I personally would not opt for the manual box.
• Visibility is good, as is weather protection.
If you’re converting to a Spyder from two wheels:
• Go slow at first and feel how the Spyder reacts to your input. Remember that it doesn’t lean because it direct-steers and it only has one brake at the floorboard.
• Practice starting and stopping the engine and putting the transmission in gear and in reverse.
• Relax your grip on the bars. We all have a tendency to apply a death grip to the bars on new powersports machines, because our brain tells us that that is how we control the unknown. Just like your old two-wheel motorcycle instructors and mentors told you back in the day….RELAX THAT GRIP. The bike will sort itself out and you’ll only need to make small adjustments as you go down the road.
• You will sense that the Spyder does not track as well as your previous two-wheel machine. I’d say from my limited perspective that that is probably correct, but it actually does track quite well…it’s just different, not worse. You will grow accustomed to it.
Lastly, remember…this is supposed to be fun. The Spyder is not and never will be a two-wheeled machine…it is its own entity. Many people from all walks of life have mastered the Spyder and you and I can, too.
Last September, we moved halfway across the country. I sold the SWing before we left, because I had decided that when we got to our new place, I was going to switch over to a trike. I’m 66 and want to prolong my riding years, which I was not sure I’d be able to do much longer on two wheels. After we got here, I started doing some shopping. I looked at the CanAm Spyder RT, F3 and Ryker and the Harley Freewheeler. I wanted to stay with factory trikes to avoid any problems with dealership servicing.
I ended up with a 2020 Spyder RT base, which I got a pretty good deal on. I had it delivered to the house, plugged it into the charger and promptly forgot about it, as the weather was miserable. I knew there would be a steep learning curve. I had done my homework and I knew that it would be a bit of weirdness converting to a trike after riding two-wheel machines which leaned and counter-steered. I also knew that there were no trike classes near me, so I’d have to sort of figure it out on my own.
Today, conditions looked pretty good. I got suited up, unplugged the charger and hopped on the RT. Went to start it…nothing. Yes, I had studied the book, but forgot to press the mode switch when starting…reviewed the book again, put on the foot on the brake, run switch on, in neutral, press mode switch and then starter switch and Presto Bango…started right up. I know it’s not good to run the machine for short periods of time, so I resolved to go on for a bit and get the motor warmed up. Put it in 1st, gave it a bit of throttle and turned the bars to get onto the driveway….immediately, my motorcycle elf instructed me to turn the bars further and put my feet down, so I could paddle the bike outta there, but then my new trike brain took over. I hit the brakes, stopped and successfully engaged reverse, carefully backed up and wobbled down the driveway and left onto our little country lane.
Speaking of country lanes, every Spyder newbie should have one. Ours is not in the greatest of shape, pavement-wise, but it’s not busy and it has little stretches of straights, right angle turns following property lines and curves. It provided me with the opportunity to practice my up and down shifts, braking and turning. I took it out to where it ends on a bigger county road (still not busy, though), turned around, came back, turned into our little area and rode it down around the corner and to the end of the cul de sac, then back out onto the lane.
By now, I was starting to feel a little better with the handling and power and shifting, so this time, I took it back down to the county road and then ran up to the county airport through some nice curves and turns. At the airport, I stopped and turned it off, then started it up and practiced backing up. That went well, so I went back the way I came, but instead of going back on the little lane, I decided to give it a shot on the highway. Our highway is two lane out of town, but fairly busy and traffic moves along pretty well, meaning 65-70 mph. I waited for a break in the traffic so I wouldn’t have anyone breathing down my neck, then turned onto the highway, straightened up and goosed it. That 1330 triple started making all kinds of fun noises and before I knew it, I was zipping along at traffic speed no problem.
Went down a bit and then picked up another country road leading to the state highway, which is another two lane, well-travelled road with traffic running 65-75. The back road was a blast, 55+ and then braking and downshifting into corners and curves. At the state highway, I again waited for a break in traffic, pulled out and headed towards our country lane. Maintained speed and negotiated the curves by the river without incident and without holding up traffic, as by now, I had developed more confidence in the machine’s handling characteristics.
Back home I went and backed the machine up into its garage stall with no problem.
Some general observations for other newbies like me who might have to teach themselves to ride a Spyder RT or F3:
• The Spyder RT is very comfortable to me. The controls are easy to use. I’m very glad I got the semi-auto transmission instead of the manual gearbox, which I understand you can still get on an F3. Having now ridden the bike with the semi-auto trans, I personally would not opt for the manual box.
• Visibility is good, as is weather protection.
If you’re converting to a Spyder from two wheels:
• Go slow at first and feel how the Spyder reacts to your input. Remember that it doesn’t lean because it direct-steers and it only has one brake at the floorboard.
• Practice starting and stopping the engine and putting the transmission in gear and in reverse.
• Relax your grip on the bars. We all have a tendency to apply a death grip to the bars on new powersports machines, because our brain tells us that that is how we control the unknown. Just like your old two-wheel motorcycle instructors and mentors told you back in the day….RELAX THAT GRIP. The bike will sort itself out and you’ll only need to make small adjustments as you go down the road.
• You will sense that the Spyder does not track as well as your previous two-wheel machine. I’d say from my limited perspective that that is probably correct, but it actually does track quite well…it’s just different, not worse. You will grow accustomed to it.
Lastly, remember…this is supposed to be fun. The Spyder is not and never will be a two-wheeled machine…it is its own entity. Many people from all walks of life have mastered the Spyder and you and I can, too.