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I've been a sportbike owner/lover for the last 30 years or so. I'm not ready to give up my Concours14 to get a Spyder just yet. I would like to hear from sportbike people that have a Spyder, mainly considering cornering and performance compared to their sportbike experience. If you could mention past and present sportbikes you've owned that would be great. Thanks!
Soon to be but not a Spyder owner. That said I’ve been piloting a Ryker Rally around (2020) for the past 16 months (4500 miles). Riding a three wheeled Can Am is totally unlike riding any two wheeler be it sport bike or sport touring such as what you now ride (Connie). My sport bike experience is really confined to only an few sporters, last was the 95’ Ducati 900SS CR I bought new that year. Wait!, I take that back, I bought a NEW Y2K MOTO GUZZI V11 SPORT which was very much a sport bike with their new at the time 6 speed tranny, big tube headfers, 4 valve heads mono rear shock, upside down Marzocchi forks, floating twin Brembo front discs. The Ducati I rode on the street for almost a year then went roadracing w/it earning a CCS (Championship CuP Series) racing license and campaigned that bike fromlate 95' through my swan song in 99'
I also bought and rode a sport touring ST1100 Honda, a 93' model in 1999 with 23K on the odometer than sold in 2005 with 90 K miles on the clock. Again, riding a 3 wheeled CAn /am is so verfy unlike a sport bike, sport tourer yet its not akin to hanging up your hat. There's plenty of youngn's riding these and although I dont own a Spyder (that will change as of this coming Tuesday=:-) I've done at least 5 different test rides on F3's, RT’s, starting in 2010, enough riding them to say the experience between riding a Ryker vs. a Spyder, they are very similar in that 3 wheel vein. Last me put it to you0 this way, they are a lot of fun. No, they don;t ride nor corner like a two wheeler. It’s a diffferent experience yet a very fun one at that. I have no regrets buying the Ryker and I look forward to a lot of smiles on the RT Spyder we’re picking up the front of next week. Others may have better and different ideas
Best,
Jake
Reddick Fla.
It’s never too late to have a happy childhood
Honda CBR 600, Yamaha FJ1100, BMW 1150RT, Triumph Trophy SE. Sport touring bikes are my passion. I really like our 2015 Spyder RT for two up touring. Nope, not a motorcycle, but tons of fun to ride and much better when the road conditions go to crap. Just to balance out the giggles I have a two wheeled Moto Guzzi parked beside the Spyder. One up trip and the Guzzi gets the job. Two up trip and we take the RT for the comfort and security it provides.
I went from a '14 Concurs to a '15 RT after I rode my wifes new at the time '13 RTS. Its definitely different but I feel its better. I like not putting my feet on the ground and balancing the bike at red lights or stop signs. Once less thing to worry about. I was only 50 so I had no problems riding 2 wheelers. I also feel people see the RT better than the Concurs. I didn't have to trade the Concurs on the RT but I had a feeling I wouldn't ride the Concurs very often due to loving the ride of the RT. Its a pain having to maintain a vehicle thats not driven enough. Also the amount of storage on the RT can't be beat. I did a deep dive on the new Suzuki Hayabusa when it came out. Watched multiple Youtube videos and looked at it in the local dealership. So I still love sport and sport touring bikes but just prefer Spyders. Lastly I went and rode both Rykers. Very similar to a sport bike if someone prefers a 3 wheeler.
I never fit on the little super sports but had an FJ1100, Concours and put around 400,000 miles on 6 different FJR1300 Yamaha's. Unfortunately I never made friends with my 2015 RTL. I spent money on lots of farkled and rode it 15,000 miles but in the end we went back to a wing because we were both more satisfied with the handling and comfort. My wife recently passed so for solo riding I bought a Guzzi Stelvio. Still have the wing for long distance stuff.
Thanks for the input guys! I just have so much pain from riding anymore that it would be impossible for me to tour on the Concours. I guess that's what got me thinking about the Spyder. The wife gave me the OK , now just have to sell some stuff but I hate to give up 2 wheels.
I sold my 2014 Concours C14 this spring and bought a 2019 RTL SE6. It was difficult for me to give up the Concours as I really enjoyed that bike and all it's power and nimble handling, but I was just tired of dealing with it's top heavy characteristics. I thought about buying a new GoldWing but having been there before, I knew that So I bit the bullet and sold the bike and bought the Spyder. I knew if I kept the C14, I would end up riding one or the other all the time and have to keep up maintenance on both bikes. It took a while to adjust the three wheels and I don't know that I am fully adjusted yet. There are fun sides to both rides, but it is sure nice not to have to deal with the poor parking lot manners of the C14 and not to have to hold the bike up while waiting on a stop light to change. Also, it seems a lot more comfortable to ride the Spyder in rain and wind than the bike. All in all, I'm happy I made the change and intend to keep telling myself that message.
Thanks for the note, sounds like you were in the same spot as me. I just love the Concours but I'm starting to get wobbly at stops now. I think it might be due to the meds I'm taking. Not having to balance sure would be nice.
First sport bike was a ZX7R that I raced at Mid Ohio, I have owned a 900RR, R1, and Bussa in sport bikes over the past 28 years. I currently have a Spyder RTL. Been on an Adv bike before this the past few years. If your asking are their comparisons I honestly have to say not many. They are two completely different things to me. That being said I am not sure what model you are looking at. I have not been on a Ryker only the RTL and F3 S so its all I can talk about. My rider position is much different, the way I ride it and corner the Spyder is much different. There are even a few small things about my RTL that I feel are more closely related to a car then a bike. Its a very quite ride. I don't get the rush I got when pushing a sport bike. The RTL is over 1000 pounds and has 115HP. I think yours is about 160 HP and your maybe about 650 pounds.
That all being said I will say I really really enjoy the ride of my RTL. Its completely different then any sport bike I owned but that's OK. Just saying if your looking for the same sport bike fun and excitement on three wheels to me the Spyders do not compare. Of course a lot of that is in the way your ride. If you are a muted sport bike rider you might find more contrast.
I did recently put on a pedal commander on my RTL. It does bring back some sport bike memories a little when its on sport or sport+ and I hit the throttle out of a corner!!!!!!!!
To me, it's not a matter of "sport bike vs Spyder". (By the way, your Connie is not exactly a "sport bike".) It doesn't really matter if you have a sport bike, cruiser, tourer, adventure, ... whatever, it's more about 2 wheels vs 3 wheels.
I am more into the touring scene, so the sportiest bike I have had is my (current) '80 Suzuki GS850G, which is fully-outfitted with fairing, saddlebags and trunk, along with a bunch of other farkles.
My wife is the one that recently got the Spyder in our family. I have had a fair bit of time on it, so am reasonably comfortable with it, but I'm not quite ready to get one of my own. For the last 15 years or so, we have very seldom ridden two-up. I have had my bike, she has had hers, when we go on a vacation ride, two vehicles are headed out, not one.
Where are you in oHIo? If you are in the southwest part, stop on by, take a test ride, we can chat for a while about it.
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Well let me say rode 2 wheels 50years or so my club has all kinds of bikes sport and cruz when riding the twestys I stay with the sport bikes but when the road gets straite they will walk away, my bike is a 2019 f3s lamonds sway bar and alka front and rear shocks#2 ps I walk away from 117 hd all day
Sport Tourer as noted in signature.
From a seating perspective, the F3 line is Cruiser - feet forward on pegs (floorboards optional) and seat is lower in the 'box'. The new RT sits higher (like most S.Ts.) and you can move your feet forward or tucked under (heels against pillion boards). I went with the RT because it was a closer fit to my Trophy SE (and the added comforts similar to the TTSE).
As for the fun stuff, If you're a hard-charger in the twisties, you'll need to re-do the suspension and probably want a cat-delete and/or ECU tune. If you're a casual rider, the newer models' will be fine out the door.
If you're into farkles, hide your CC! Plenty of bling out there.
Just my 2¢ worth; I am currently sitting just a little shy of 480K miles on bikes since starting in 1968. The more recent ones sort of fit your question. Since April of 2000 when I came back from a 20 year hiatus from bikes I started on a '99 BMW R1200C followed by a '98 R1100RT (sport-touring) 20 months later. Fast forward to the present I have now owned 3 R1200Cs, 2 R1100RTs and one R1100S. The S is a sport bike but not nearly as fast as a lot of others. However, according to a friend of mine who owned an R1100S, a Honda RC51, a Hyabusa(sp?) and a Ducati; the S was the best handling of the four even though it could not keep up on the straight shots. In comparing our 2014 RT limited to any of those bikes beginning with the first R1200C, it will not come close in handling twisty roads like the bikes. On the flip side though, it is immensely more comfortable than any of them; especially now that arthritis is catching up to me and parts hurt that didn't used to. :sour:
Again, thanks for all the input. Looks like I'm not alone in this boat.
I absolutely hated to go away from two wheels. I still miss two wheels :-(
We've owned Honda's, Suzuki's and Yamaha's - loved them all, the last two being a Suzuki Bandit 1200S and a Yamaha FJR1300. bought the FJR in 2002 and sold it, many many miles later (sadly) in 2015 to buy the Spyder. It just made sense at that time in my life. Took me and Deb a whole 2 hours to get used to the Spyder and we're happy we made the switch.
The change from bike like the Concours to Spyder is a strange one. The easiest way to describe it is that its like being 16/17 again and learning to ride (or whatever age you started). I actually enjoyed that experience and learning how to control this strange machine. Well I say enjoy, the first 50km were perhaps the most nerve wrecking since I was 16, but after that it was fun. I'd say it take a couple of hundred kms to really get a feel for it. The dealer I got the bike from was 350km (and a ferry ride) from home so that gave me lots of time to learn on the way home, must admit at first I thought I'd made a bad mistake at first:-)
It's as much about unlearning bike stuff. I didn't realise I counter-steered on bikes as I just did it naturally, but of course on a Spyder that will send you off in the wrong direction:-)
I'd also say its more technically rewarding than a bike, for example its harder to get a corner perfect but because of that its more rewarding when you do.
At the same time it's safer when the unexpected happens e.g. hitting a washout half way around a corner isn't going to be the 'game over' experience it could be on a bike. If you've had a few offs in your time like I have it certainly makes you less worried when riding.
The RS was the closest model to a sport bike with its riding position (higher seat, pegs further back, bars more forward). It has the V-twin motor fitted to the Aprilla RSV 1000 (softer tune unfortunately:-)). The pre-2013 ones are particularly rev happy, and the fact they were available with a manual gearbox also made them more bike like. Being tall and used to sports/sports tourer/road bikes the sitting position on the RS was a good match. Since they dropped that model they've not really had a similar replacement. That's why I've still got my 2011 RS as there's nothing in the current range that is 'bike' enough for me.