Trike comparisons

[Cruisin Dave]

While I'm still anxiously awaiting a test ride and reading everything I can about Spyders and staring at RT-S pictures (yes, I have the RT flu....), I was musing about some of my trike experiences and how I would corrolate them to the RT.

So, here is my completely personal, unbiased, humble opinion in comparing various trikes...

Goldwing Trike - The "Cadillac" of trikes. Cushy ride (especially with independent suspension), all the luxury widgets. Not particularly sporting but can gobble up thousands of miles without a hiccup. :clap:

Harley Trike - The "status symbol" trike. OK, I've got nothing against Harleys and the new trike looks pretty nice. I haven't ridden one, but I've yet to ride any Lehman conversion that I've liked (yes, the Harley trike is a Lehman). :dontknow:

Volkswagon Trike - The "VW" of trikes. Not much else to say...it's a VW...:sour:

Boss Hoss V8 Trike - The "hot rod" of trikes. Yes, I own one of these. A little rough around the edges quality-wise, but it's the "baddest of the bad" with 355+ HP available. :D Ride and handling is OK, but could be a lot better.

Spyder RT - The "BMW" of trikes. Sport-touring performance and handling, quality fit and finish...all mixed with a healthy dose of luxury. What's not to like? Of course, I haven't ridden one yet but the reports from the testers lead me to believe my synopsis is correct. :2thumbs:

Once upon a time (recently, in fact) I thought and even said that the Boss trike would be the last bike I own (along with our old faithful Valkyrie) but when I saw an ad for the new RT, I was smitten. I have to admit, I was never that impressed with the original Spyder but mostly because of it's sport bike styling and I'm not a sport bike kinda guy...

The RT on the other hand has drawn me in with it's more sport-touring style (the Honda ST and BMW's come to mind). We love to tour and I can see us racking up a lot of miles in comfort on the RT, yet still have fun in the twisties (the Boss is not much fun in the twisties...too much work muscling it around).

So, the plan is to sell the Boss (I thought I'd never say that...) to fund a new RT-S. Of course, I have to convince the other "boss" (aka wife), but I don't think that will be too difficult once she has ridden the RT. Besides, with the SE5 trans and power steering, she can drive it too! ;)

From a future (hopefully) RT-S owner.... :pray:

[NancysToy]

Got a kick out of your analysis. Thanks for your thoughts. It shows that in many way folks are similar, yet in many ways their views of the same things differ. I can't comment on some of these, I have never ridden a Boss Hoss Trike, for instance, but I also was immediately smitten with the RT-S.

Here are my views:

Goldwing Trike Conversion: Cushy, but gives me a sinking feeling in my stomach in some cornering situations. Tough to steer, even with Easy Steer option, compared to a Spyder. Cockpit seems crowded to me.

Harley Trike: Sat on the first Lehman. It was comfortable. Haven't ridden to comment. The new Street Glide version reminds me of my old Servicar, the way it looks. Reviews say it is a handful to steer. Both are certainly status symbols and look meaner than the Goldwing or BMW LT conversions.

Harley Servicar: Riding these things at any thing over 40 mph or cornering at anything over 5 mph will scare the bejeebers out of even the hardiest veteran. :yikes: The bounce from the sprung seat will turn your kidneys into mush in a very short day. You will get one of the best workouts of your life by leaning into the turns and muscling this baby around the corners. The nostalgic favorite. I'd still take another one if it was offered to me. :D

VW Trike: "Run what ya brung"...or built in this case. There is a certain pride in saying "I built it myself," even if it is impractical. Same goes for homebuilt V-8s and six-bangers.

Motorized Tricycle: OK, selfish nostalgic favorite here. Maybe this is what hooked me on three-wheels in the first place. :joke: Still turn heads wherever I go, perhaps even more than our Spyder.

Spyder RT-S: Having a BMW R1100RT sport-tourer makes me think of this as more of a full touring machine, like the BMW LT, Goldwing, or Electra-Glide. Funny how people see different bikes like the Honda ST in different lights. Coming off a Boss Hoss it is easy to see how you could think of the RT-S as more sporting. Same conclusions, different viewpoints. I agree that it will probably still be fun in the twisties. :thumbup:

Still keeping our Spyder RS, not selling anything to fund the RT-S. Finding room with the rest of the menagerie will be the big challenge. The RT-S will be #24 in the garage (for the moment.)

Congratulations on a good analysis and review, and a very wise decision in the end, IMO!

[Cruisin Dave]

Scotty,
Thanks. Enjoyed your analysis as well! I've been intrigued by 3-wheelers for a long time and test-rode just about all of the modern conversions before we bought the Boss. Some fellow (2-wheel) riders don't seem to understand why I bought a trike when I have no physical impairment that would require three wheels. But I guess they just don't get it...trikes are fun!! :thumbup:

No matter how you look at it, the RT has got to be a blast to ride and comfortable too. We've racked up 45K on the Boss since 2002 as well as 40K on the '97 Valk. It's nice to have 2-wheel and 3-wheel options to chose from.

Obviously, your collection is much larger than mine (5 at the moment), but I'm actually trying to downsize. Way too busy to keep too many projects going. BTW - I looked at your pics...nice bikes and cars! :2thumbs:

Unfortunately, I'll need to sell the Boss to get an RT. The market practically killed my 401K, so I have to watch the spending if I want to even remotely think about retirement.

I am 99.5% sure I'm ready to take the plunge into an RT, but I need to convince the Mrs. and that will take a test-ride. So, the "for sale" sign's not going up on the Boss until then. Once she's convinced though...look out...new RT-S will be on order! :yes:

[Roaddog2]

Scotty,
Thanks. Enjoyed your analysis as well! I've been intrigued by 3-wheelers for a long time and test-rode just about all of the modern conversions before we bought the Boss. Some fellow (2-wheel) riders don't seem to understand why I bought a trike when I have no physical impairment that would require three wheels. But I guess they just don't get it...trikes are fun!! :thumbup:

No matter how you look at it, the RT has got to be a blast to ride and comfortable too. We've racked up 45K on the Boss since 2002 as well as 40K on the '97 Valk. It's nice to have 2-wheel and 3-wheel options to chose from.

Obviously, your collection is much larger than mine (5 at the moment), but I'm actually trying to downsize. Way too busy to keep too many projects going. BTW - I looked at your pics...nice bikes and cars! :2thumbs:

Unfortunately, I'll need to sell the Boss to get an RT. The market practically killed my 401K, so I have to watch the spending if I want to even remotely think about retirement.

I am 99.5% sure I'm ready to take the plunge into an RT, but I need to convince the Mrs. and that will take a test-ride. So, the "for sale" sign's not going up on the Boss until then. Once she's convinced though...look out...new RT-S will be on order! :yes:welcome

[jima1153]

Great analysis Dave. I'll get in touch with you when my RT-S comes in. If you haven't been on a live one yet we can get together and you can take mine for a spin. Take care - Jim

[Cruisin Dave]

Jim,
Thanks for the offer. I think we'll probably get a chance to ride one soon. I've got my name on the list at two dealers and the Decatur dealer said they thought their demo would be here very soon. But if for some reason that doesn't work out I might just give you a call!

[Longlegs]

Great analysis Dave. I'll get in touch with you when my RT-S comes in. If you haven't been on a live one yet we can get together and you can take mine for a spin. Take care - Jim

What about me I wanna ride it too.:joke: I cant believe you are already gettin a new one, I am jealous. I would probably get one one too if I could take the bags off the back.
Are you keepin the phantom?

[DannyS]

Scotty a friend of mine in San Diego was delivering some goods once and in the dumpster in back was a servicar. He asked if they were really throwing it away and was told yes it does not run and has taken up room for years. Can I have it he asked and they said sure, He would not even leave he called a friend with a pick-up and stayed there until his friend got there then they called a tow truck with a hook and paid him to pick it up and put it in the bed of the truck when I left in 2005 he had been working on it for about a year. Guess I'll have to start watching :spyder:Dumpsters

[NancysToy]

Scotty a friend of mine in San Diego was delivering some goods once and in the dumpster in back was a servicar. He asked if they were really throwing it away and was told yes it does not run and has taken up room for years. Can I have it he asked and they said sure, He would not even leave he called a friend with a pick-up and stayed there until his friend got there then they called a tow truck with a hook and paid him to pick it up and put it in the bed of the truck when I left in 2005 he had been working on it for about a year. Guess I'll have to start watching :spyder:Dumpsters
Good story! I know two people with basket case Servicars. Neither will part with them, yet, but I keep trying. Useless machines, but lots of fun.

[retread]

I rode a heavily modified servicar once, scary fast, wouldn't (couldn't) turn. The guy had lowered it enough my heels scraped if I didn't keep my feet level, still squirelly in corners.

john