Newbie & Questions for MO riders

[RonSTL]

Hi all! I've been lurking the boards for several weeks getting info on the Spyder. My wife and I are looking into buying an RTS either this fall or the beginning of next year!

When I was in my mid-teens, I had a spinal cord tumor. I ended up with 2 years of chemo, 6 months of paralysis from the biopsy and then a fusion of C 1-3. Flash forward 20 years to the present day and I'm mobile. I'm not running any races but I'm walking unassisted and can move my head near normal. The misses and I went and sat on a RTS at Ted's in Alton, IL. It took some figuring on how to best get on it but it seems quite doable. All the controls seem completely accessible. Our next step is to get our permits and go test drive one once we get the money together to buy one.

I was wondering if any members who have impairments received a hard time getting their endorsement from the DMV--assuming you didn't already have one. As in, did the instruction give you a hard time?

Is there anyone near St. Louis that might recommend a private instructor or heck even want to earn some money giving my wife and I some tutoring if we end up buying one. Most of the training facilities in St. Louis are only for two-wheeled. I called Iron Horse Taming and they wanted $900 to train my wife and I (a total of 4 hours) and that didn't even get us a waiver for the on-bike DMV evaluation. I don't mind paying for great training and still having to take the DMV on-bike test, but 2 hours each for $900 seems terrible. I feel like I'd be better off training myself in a parking lots with cones. Plus, Iron Horse really seem to be discouraging and not wanting to train a non "real motorcycle" rider.

Any suggestions? Many thanks!
-Ron

[ThreeFeet]

First off the best place to buy a Spyder is at Cowtown in Cuba!!! Best service available anywhere!!! 2nd if you get an RT try to get the manual zeroxed off so you can use it to help with the "training" The book has invaluable info. I didn't have anything but a car lic. and then got the 09 RS and took the written test and the"road" test ON THE SPYDER. That was funny!!! Anyway since I now have just the RT don't know if there's anything special you need for your lic. Think you can get a learners permit for 30 days with option to extend. But it wasn't all that hard to get the "M" indorsement on my lic. A good person to check with might be Len at Cowtown. He's a mine of missalanious info.:2thumbs:

[RonSTL]

First off the best place to buy a Spyder is at Cowtown in Cuba!!! Best service available anywhere!!! 2nd if you get an RT try to get the manual zeroxed off so you can use it to help with the "training" The book has invaluable info. I didn't have anything but a car lic. and then got the 09 RS and took the written test and the"road" test ON THE SPYDER. That was funny!!! Anyway since I now have just the RT don't know if there's anything special you need for your lic. Think you can get a learners permit for 30 days with option to extend. But it wasn't all that hard to get the "M" indorsement on my lic. A good person to check with might be Len at Cowtown. He's a mine of missalanious info.:2thumbs:

Fantastic. Thanks for the help. My wife and I were thinking of running down to Cuba some weekend to speak with them. From what I've seen on here, they seem to be one of the best dealers in the country :-) Well here's to hoping it all works out.

What did your on-bike test consist of? I've been reading the state motorcycle operators manual and saw the swerving, turning and braking stuff. It didn't really clearly say they would have you go out into traffic.

I guess another questions is about the written test, I assume you get questions about 2-wheel and 3-wheel bikes?

Did they restrict you to M with W (3-wheel only) because you took it on the trike?

Sorry for the barrage of question :D I just want to have all my ducks in a row!

[KCPete]

We got our RT last October, and I went and got my permit right away...just a written test.
I used to have a motorcycle endorsement, but let it lapse after several years of not having a bike at all.
I took the drivers test on the Spyder, and the State Trooper said it was the first one he'd seen...and had to move the little cones out a bit after I kept knocking them over. :yikes: He was pretty decent about it, but did tell me in advance that I would get the 'W' restriction to a trike since I took the test on one. Wife has started practicing in a mall parking lot to get used to it, and plans on getting her permit this summer sometime.
Hope some of this helps...and as for Cowtown....that's MY dealer, and I drive/Ryde 240-odd miles to go there! :ohyea:

[RonSTL]

Thanks! We drove up to Cowtown on Saturday (1.5hrs) from here. Now, had I just looked to make sure they were open on the holiday weekend. :banghead: