New to Can Am...

My girlfriend and I have been avid riders for years. We both ride our own touring bikes. Over the last year or so her bike has gotten a bit much for her. At 5'6 and all of 130lbs an 850lb motorcycle is getting more and more difficult for her to maneuver especially at slower speeds. She doesn't want to give up riding but she makes a horrible passenger so this is where the Can Am come into play. She test rode a Spyder RT last year and really liked it but we weren't quite sure if it was the way we wanted to go, until this week... Found what I think is a really good deal on a new 2019 Spyder RT. So next week we are doing an 700 mile road trip to pick it up. I'll Post a pic or two once we close the deal. Just a heads up.... I'm going to be asking tons of questions in the near future. The only downside I see for the time being is that with the width of the Can Am I'm going to have to clean up my garage to make room.

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Originally Posted by Delna

My girlfriend and I have been avid riders for years. We both ride our own touring bikes. Over the last year or so her bike has gotten a bit much for her. At 5'6 and all of 130lbs an 850lb motorcycle is getting more and more difficult for her to maneuver especially at slower speeds. She doesn't want to give up riding but she makes a horrible passenger so this is where the Can Am come into play. She test rode a Spyder RT last year and really liked it but we weren't quite sure if it was the way we wanted to go, until this week... Found what I think is a really good deal on a new 2019 Spyder RT. So next week we are doing an 700 mile road trip to pick it up. I'll Post a pic or two once we close the deal. Just a heads up.... I'm going to be asking tons of questions in the near future. The only downside I see for the time being is that with the width of the Can Am I'm going to have to clean up my garage to make room.

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:congrats:... & ...:welcome: …. If you haven't read the " Do's & Don'ts " Thread ( on the Home page ) It is your best interest todo so …. recently someone who may not have read it .. crashed His Spyder …. The best advice I received about learning to drive the Spyder was - just drive it like a CAR, I did that and didn't have any issues. …. Also the Spyder has quite powerful brakes so respect them and it has power steering - a gentle touch is way easier on how you will be able to steer it …..good luck …. keep us posted ….. Mike :ohyea:

Tell her to just take it easy for the first few miles until her Brain adjusts from 2 wheels to three wheels. There is a learning curve. Look at the owner's manual. In mine ( a 2012) there is a section on learning to ride the Spyder. Reading and practicing some of the exercises there will help her out a lot. Good luck with the new Spyder. At 6'2 250# I was having a hard time also, it happens to all of us sooner or later.

:welcome: and :congrats: on your pending purchase. Here is a link to the do's and don'ts.

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...-Spyder-owners

I sincerely hope you intend to trailer it back home. The first 50 miles are going to be outright scary. I know, I had 67 years on 2 wheels and when I got on a Spyder, I found that my body and brain was programmed to what a 2 wheeler does. The first thing she will say is, This thing is twitchy, it wants to go all over the road. That's because the power steering is very sensitive to ANY input. Best to have open hands on the grips and loosey goosey arms. I was told it will take about 1,000 before you feel you are in control and that is correct.
If that is a new 2019, it's not broken in and a 700 mile run at highway speeds is not a good way to break in an engine. Varying speeds is what it needs. Do keep the revs at or above 3K RPMs.
When in a curve, you must press down VERY HARD on the outside peg or board, enough to lift a cheek from the seat and lean the body into the inside the curve.
Speaking of curves, the learning curve is long and steep for an experienced two wheeler. Do read all the tips about riding that are in the manual before taking off.
Switching tracks, my granddaughter is only 5'-4" and she can flatfoot on her Honda Magna 750. Just a suggestion. Whatever she does, be safe.

My wife did the Can am Spyder training course before we bought to ensure she liked the Spyder. They taught her well (1 day course). She loved it so we purchased an 2015 RTS.

Congrats on your Spyder purchase. Great advice in previous posts. Bruce

A 700 mile trip the first time on a Spyder might be nerve racking. I wish she would have taken the training course first. Take it slow with lots of breaks.

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Originally Posted by Delna

My girlfriend and I have been avid riders for years. We both ride our own touring bikes. Over the last year or so her bike has gotten a bit much for her. At 5'6 and all of 130lbs an 850lb motorcycle is getting more and more difficult for her to maneuver especially at slower speeds. She doesn't want to give up riding but she makes a horrible passenger so this is where the Can Am come into play. She test rode a Spyder RT last year and really liked it but we weren't quite sure if it was the way we wanted to go, until this week... Found what I think is a really good deal on a new 2019 Spyder RT. So next week we are doing an 700 mile road trip to pick it up. I'll Post a pic or two once we close the deal. Just a heads up.... I'm going to be asking tons of questions in the near future. The only downside I see for the time being is that with the width of the Can Am I'm going to have to clean up my garage to make room.

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Others have offered excellent advice regarding adapting to and becoming comfortable on a Spyder, all of it reasonable. Your wife may adapt quickly but I would be hesitant to bet the farm on it, even though she may be a highly skilled rider. It can be very uncomfortable for several hundred miles until you adjust to dynamic power steering and learn to steer rather than counter steer. It seems that one of the most difficult things to overcome is the sensation that you're going to be flung off the machine to the outside of every turn. If the Spyder is going to be ridden home (some 350 miles I assume) it would be much less intimidating and stressful if the ride took place on less traveled two lane roads, or at least not on an interstate or major high speed highway. Most of all, relax and take breaks.

Oh, and regarding the garage. Cleaning up is a good thing and it really can be done. We managed to fit two Spyder RTs and an Audi Q5 in our standard two car garage along with shelves, tool chests, a Thule rooftop travel pod and other assorted things that always seem to end up in the garage. Good luck and safe travels.

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Originally Posted by Delna

Found what I think is a really good deal on a new 2019 Spyder RT. So next week we are doing an 700 mile road trip to pick it up. I'll Post a pic or two once we close the deal.

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Are you planning to ride it home? If so, and if you haven't done so yet, read this thread to see why your wife MUST practice, practice, practice before heading out on a serious ride. https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...teering-whaaat. The admonitions in that thread apply to adjusting to any trike, not just a Spyder. My GWRRA chapter director related an incident where two guys bought new GW trikes. The dealer told them to go into the parking lot and get used the trikes before they headed out. They scoffed at the idea saying they knew how to ride motorcycles. One rode into the dealer's building and other into a ditch on the way out.

Take a couple of days and stay in the dealer's city. Find a large parking lot and learn how to ride the Spyder. Are you familiar with riding ATVs? If so, you have a really good start. The Spyder steers and handles a LOT MORE LIKE AN ATV than a two wheeler.

:coffee: My question is, 'How are you getting the Spyder Home'?

All Excellent tips by the way......posted above.
Maybe a better option would be to use a Trailer.
.:shemademe_smilie:

Whatever you do please be.......Safe.......:thumbup:

To all that have asked... Yes we are going to trailer the Spyder home. We'll be going through Atlanta both ways and I am not fond of that area in a car let alone an unfamiliar style bike. She does plan on a lot of short country road outings around home before we tackle any long distance or high speed trips. We do a yearly trip to Maggie Valley NC every June so hopefully she'll be comfortable enough on the Spyder by then. Thanks for all your concerns.

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Originally Posted by RICZ

my granddaughter is only 5'-4" and she can flatfoot on her Honda Magna 750. Just a suggestion. Whatever she does, be safe.

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When we first started dating she rode a little Honda 400 then moved to a Shadow 750, a Harley Road King and currently has a Kawasaki Vaquero. The smaller bikes would beat her to death at highway speeds and as I said before the larger ones have been rough on her lately at slower speeds. Even lowering the bigger bikes didn't help much and seemed to be to top heavy for her. As the years go by she tends to pack more and more stuff for our trips so the extra storage on the Spyder should be a treat...

:shemademe_smilie: My wife is very happy that you are Trailering the Spyder back home. Her Tip, Take the Spyder Cam Am Training Course. Well worth the money ($99 ). Ryde to Live and Live to Ryde......:thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Delna

To all that have asked... Yes we are going to trailer the Spyder home. We'll be going through Atlanta both ways and I am not fond of that area in a car let alone an unfamiliar style bike. She does plan on a lot of short country road outings around home before we tackle any long distance or high speed trips. We do a yearly trip to Maggie Valley NC every June so hopefully she'll be comfortable enough on the Spyder by then. Thanks for all your concerns.

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" Maggie Valley " …. there is a very popular SPYDER gathering there at the beginning of Oct. for the past 4 years …… Mike :ohyea:

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Originally Posted by Delna

She does plan on a lot of short country road outings around home before we tackle any long distance or high speed trips. We do a yearly trip to Maggie Valley NC every June so hopefully she'll be comfortable enough on the Spyder by then. Thanks for all your concerns.

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Ride a few dozen miles every week and by June she'll be a pro, and will wish she would have bought one two years ago!!! :yes:

All good advice above. I will add that to me it rides very much like a quad or a jet ski, and many say a snowmobile (I live in a desert, so I've never ridden one of those) more so than a motorcycle.

Like was said several times, a light touch on the steering goes a long way, especially at speed. Also, riding down the middle of the lane and not at an edge takes some getting use to as well.

I've been riding motorcycles for about 30+ years.

When we did the Las Vegas Spyder Tour, I received about 10 minutes of "training" in a bank parking lot. Then we rode out to the Red Rock Canyons, with roads ranging from in-town to highways. We didn't know if we wanted to buy a Spyder, so this 2.5-hour, 60-mile excursion was really a test ride. It was the very first time I ever rode a Spyder, and by the time the tour ended, we knew we just needed to buy one.

I found that the adjustment period wasn't as bad as others have noted. It could be the fact that I have ridden snowmobiles, wave runners and quads all my life, and am used to/comfortable with the handling.

In any case, I wish you good luck and hope that you enjoy your new Spyder as much as we enjoy ours.

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Originally Posted by Delna

When we first started dating she rode a little Honda 400 then moved to a Shadow 750, a Harley Road King and currently has a Kawasaki Vaquero. The smaller bikes would beat her to death at highway speeds and as I said before the larger ones have been rough on her lately at slower speeds. Even lowering the bigger bikes didn't help much and seemed to be to top heavy for her. As the years go by she tends to pack more and more stuff for our trips so the extra storage on the Spyder should be a treat...

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My last bike was a 2014 Kawasaki Nomad (Vaquero minus some tupperware). I've ridden on 2 wheels for 40 years. I just bought my 1st Can Am about a week ago. There's definitely a learning curve unless you've been big into quads or sleds like Peacekeeper6. Not quite learning from scratch but you (or she) won't just jump on and be a pro.

Congrats!

When I first purchased my F3, I was advised to find a big empty parking lot and practice as much as possible. The was the wisest advice I got on this forum.

johnv

Update: Picked up the Spyder Friday morning, loaded it on the trailer and made it back home late that night. Got up at sunrise and planned on joining some friends for Dee's first outing on her new ride. Our intent was to hang with them as long as she felt comfortable. It took us about an hour to get to the meet up point for our ride, mostly 35-45mph speed zones. I followed her and clinched my teeth as she made her first few curves but she handled them all without issue. By the time we met up with our friends she was well into the swing of things. The ride was scheduled to take us from the west coast of Florida (Clearwater) to the north east coast (St Augustine). We were all set up with Cardo systems so most of the morning consisted of the group, myself included razzing Dee about being a "third wheel". I told her to let me know when she was ready for us to break off from the group and head back home. To my surprise she just kept tooling along with everyone. We had a late lunch in St Augustine then the group headed back west. We arrived home after dark, so in total we were on the bikes over 11 hours and over 400 miles. Not bad for her first outing.

I have several questions but I'll address them in a separate post. Thanks in advance...

+2 to IdahoMtn and Johnv50 on taking some time in the parking lot doing the figure 8s and cone drills and panic braking drills. I remember riding our first 11RT home from the dealer and the 25 miles of open road still was an adventure.. but a good one.

My wife spent several hours with little orange disks (Walmart) in a large parking lot a few miles from home -- she now has 180,000 Spyder Myles of Smyles!!

Good for her, (and you). It sounds like she has adapted very quickly. It is only going to get better from here. ENJOY!!!!!

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Originally Posted by AeroPilot

she now has 180,000 Spyder Myles of Smyles!!

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Wow! Has she ever been home in all those years and miles? :roflblack: :roflblack:

Sounds like a successful ride. Wife Millie will be taking the course in Eustis in late March for her endorsement, we then share the driving duties on our new 2020 RTL, I think that's the way it's gonna work.