Can Am Ryker 900 Hard Fact’s - Mike Mas

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Can Am Ryker 900 Hard Fact’s - Mike Mas

Hello Spyder & Ryker Users - This review on the Can Am - Ryker is my personal findings compiled from riding Spyder’s since 2007, research of the Ryker, and my findings after riding a few Ryker’s for evaluation. The focus of this review is not to discourage anyone from buying a Ryker, or to find fault with the machine, but to help new and future owners better understand the Ryker’s shortcomings.

Internet Reviews - The term; “If you seen one - you’ve seen them all” might best describe a fair portion of the reviews on line. Most of the guys who perform these manufacturer reviews, are like parrots, when each guy get’s Ryker loaner, they all follow scripted release notes from the manufacture. This means 90% of all reviews contain the same findings and dialog. Another problem is; 90% of the guys are 2 wheel riders, and never rode a forward trike before, so they don’t have a clue how to evaluate a Ryker. If there is a problem, it’s skimmed over to appear it was planned and for the betterment of the rider.

Such an example is the deleted electro-mechanical steering system - Which interfaces with the VSS to control steerings torque at highway speeds. For cost reasons, BRP deleted this feature. Regardless, 90% of the reviewers chose the fake narrative the electric steering was deliberately left off since “It gives the rider has a better feel of the road”. This could not be further from the truth. Instead of providing better control, “mechanical only” steering makes the Ryker’s steering less safe, since its extremely over-sensitive at high speeds. It’s for this reason and other weak points of the Ryker, I decided to provide an independent review which is not influenced by any internet sites, magazines or manufacturers, to disclose apparent problems with the Ryker.

Pulling The Trigger - After letting the “Ryker Dust”” settle for a few months and even after hearing some problems with the Ryker, I still decided to pull the trigger and add a 900 to my fleet to play with. After riding pretty much the same Spyder’s since 07, I was looking for some new bolts to turn. To be honest, I was not expecting much for 10 grand, I knew the Ryker would be a stripped down version of the Spyder. Regardless, I called my dealer and told them I would be down on a Monday.

With “Cash in Hand” and a smile on my face - Linda and I jumped in our new Jeep Pickup and headed to Atlanta. As we arrived, they had both a Ryker 900, and a Rally parked side by side and ready to ride. As I exited the truck, and got my first “real glimpse” of the Ryker. Unlike the flashy “Strobing Light Videos” and cool images on the BRP site to make the Ryker look high-tech, instead the Ryker looked much stranger than I expected. As I walked up behind the machine, the Ryker reminded me more of a 3 wheeled wheelbarrow, with the rear tire and swing arm being the handle, and the Ryker’s blunt squared off nose, being the wheelbarrow body with two wheels.



The Ryker is definitely not pretty, sleek or high tech looking - It appears as if BRP was pushing the design envelope to make it high tech looking, and something went horribly wrong. In a strange way, the Ryker’s weird design, also reminded me of my past Slingshot, where Polaris quit designing the bike from the drivers seat rearward, and the back end of the Slingshot ended up looking like a “living room couch” going down the road at 65 mph.

After the some foundling and rubbing on the Ryker for 15-20 minutes - As I dropped the gate on my pick-up to grab my helmet, in the excitement, I realized I left my damn Go Pro home, so you’ll have to rely on my memory for this review.

My First Ride - After a few minutes on the Ryker’s start sequence, I was finally ready to start my anticipated check ride. Fortunately, my dealer in North Georgia is located in a great area for bike riding. After a few blocks of obstructions, there’s some great twist & turn roads some 5 miles long, which eventually turn rural and straight, where I could wind the Ryker up to 60-80 mph.

Gear Lash - Regretfully even before I got out of the parking lot, I discovered the Ryker has a drive train problem. As soon you put the bike in gear and the CVT engages, there is this horrendous noise. Not a thump like the Spyder, a mechanical metal clunk, where something is not fitted correctly. This same problem is also evident as you let off and quickly re-apply throttle. Perhaps its where the CVT clutch splines to the drive shaft? In any case, having this much free play or lash on a brand new bike, is not a good sign, since this will only worsen as it wears in.

Suspension - As I exited the lot, I ended up on a rural road which was fairly smooth. At first, the Ryker felt a bit like like my older 07 Can Am Roadster, except it was defiantly louder. As soon as I began moving over 15-20 mph, the once hard steering, became easy to turn. As I went around a few moderate curves, the bike didn’t feel bad. As I followed some traffic ahead of me, I started to relax a bit and enjoy the ride. For a while, everything seemed fine for a $10k bike, however as the traffic lightened up, and I got up 35 mph, as I reached some open road and started going over some road patches, the 900’s Sachs coil over spring suspension, was struggling to isolate the road from the bike. Unlike a Spyder F3 where you watch the front tires react to the bumps, and little to none reaches the bike and bars, nearly all the road imperfections were immediately transmitted to the Ryker’s frame, handle bars and rider.

Before I go Further - If you’re thinking the cure for this bad suspension is to get the Rally model with its KYB HPG shocks, think again, I found the Rally actually had a harsher and stiffer ride than the standard Ryker. The end result, there is virtually no improvement in ride between the two models. While the Rally offers some fancy wheels and a missing fender, they both exhibit the same handling qualities. Either on or off road, both models beat the rider up on rough surfaces.

Keeping the tires on the Ground - In North Georgia, most all the roads at one time were slab concrete and paved over in asphalt, so as the slabs settle, the asphalt above it cracks, and it can make for a rough ride. As I reached some open road, at 40-45 mph, the steering suddenly became very light. Regardless, the Ryker still seemed to steer OK. As I drove another mile or so, the road surface changed for the worse, and every 10 feet or so, there was a slab-gap or imperfection on the road. As I went around a shallow turn, as the Ryker hit these bad spots at around 40, the front tires started dancing sideways a bit losing traction after each road gap on the curve.

As I increased the speed to 55 - The Ryker’s steering reached a point of being over-sensitive, where even just a slight movement on the bar would cause the tires to over-bite. Even in moderate curves, if there was any road imperfection, it would immediately upset the bike’s track. As I continued on, I increased the speed to 60 mph. As I approached an another curve, this time I let off the throttle a bit, to move the Ryker’s weight forward to the front end. Regardless, the moment I hit the slab imperfections, both front tires immediately lost track and the front-end shifted horizontally. As I reached almost the end of the curve and added throttle, the back end of the Ryker got so loose, requiring me to release the throttle to regain track.

Ok, Let’s get to the problem . . . .

Steering - The steering is one of the Ryker’s worst traits. While you can live with poor suspension, excessive rpm, heat and noise, the steering on a forward trike has to be correct. No matter how you twist it - the Ryker’s steering is poorly designed and can be un-safe at highway speeds.

Let me explain why - Unlike the Spyder which uses electro-mechanical steering system, the Ryker for cost reasons, is solely mechanical in operation. This means, when the Ryker’s stationary or moving slow, the steering takes considerable force to move.
As you reach a speed of 30-40 mph, the steering becomes manageable and “effort-wise” feels somewhat like a F3. However, as you increase the Ryker’s speed to 55 or so, the steering becomes over-sensitive, and becomes difficult to keep the bike in check, especially on rough road surfaces. While cruising down a “smooth” interstate at 65 feels OK, any roads with imperfections or slab concrete gaps, or curves can truly test your abilities.

Let’s compare the Ryker’s steering to the Spyder!

Both the Ryker and Spyder are equipped with a vehicle stability system - Called; VSS. The VSS processor’s main goal is to prevent the bike from tipping in a turn, serve as a brake anti-lock system, and provide traction control. VSS monitors the speed of all three tires, engine speed, yaw movement, throttle position and steering position, to monitor the bikes movements. While both the Ryker and Spyder have a VSS stability systems, the Ryker lacks the important electric steering motor to make the steering operate properly.

Here’s a brief description how it works.

Slow Speed - Unlike a 2 wheel bike, due to the design of a forward trike and its steering linkages, it can take a lot of strength to move the steering when navigating out of parking lot. During slow speeds or when a Spyder is stationary, the electric servo motor mechanically provides the movement or torque needed, so the rider can effortlessly to move the steering.

Highway Speed - This is where a major difference occurs. As you increase speed with the “Spyder”, the VSS processor talks to the steering's processor to begin decreasing assist or torque to the steering “proportionally” as the bike increases its speed. This itself, is the key factor that prevents the steering from being over-sensitive, to avoid over-steer or loss of control. Through the use of accelerometers for yaw and speed and wheel sensors, the Spyder’s VSS processor may actually reduce the riders steering inputs in a turn, if his speeds to high.

During highway Speeds - Aside VSS reducing steering's sensitivity, the servo motor also has the ability to provide “Opposing Torque” to the rider, to actually make it harder for him to turn the steering to make the bike more stable.

The Spyder’s “electronic” VSS - Works in conjunction with a “mechanical” feature called “Positive Camber Angle”. By rotating the Spyder or Ryker’s front axle’s axis off center, this offset camber causes the wheels to “self-steer” back to their center position. In a remote way, this force is sort of like a buggies caster wheels at the grocery store, forward motion, keeps the wheels pointed forward. Regardless, of the servo motor input, or the riders input on the bars, both the Spyder and Ryker’s positive camber angle is continuously trying to self-steer the bike to its true center, to keep the steering centered. Since the Ryker has no electric steering system, and lacks this ability to reduce steering effort at high speeds. The result is the over-sensitive steering “over-powers” the cambers offset abilities to keep the tires centered to the bike.

To show just how stable and desensitized the F3 steering is at highway speeds - In the video below, I forcefully turn the steering hard in both directions. Thanks to the F3’s desensitized electric steering and its camber offset, the camber self-steers the F3 back to center position after each input and maintains good lane position.

Video Link:

http://www.rotory.com/bike/f3steer.mov

A possible Scenario - Is a deer jumps out in front of your Ryker and your reflex quickly turns the bar. Should this happen, you just created another problem, as the Ryker over-steers, it causes both tires to lose their track.
Making matters worse, the VSS will react with a braking action on only one wheel, to get the tire back down, this additionally forces the bike from its original track even further. This same over-steer event, also upsets the rear tires track at the same moment. This problem is compounded many times over on wet surfaces. This same deer incident while riding a Spyder, would be totally different, since the electric steering is so desensitized at highway speeds, when the rider “Over-Reacts” to the deer, instead of a quick motion upsetting the track, the steering reacts in a manner to retain traction. In a way, this is sort of like anti-lock brakes, instead of sliding the tire, it applies braking (steering) smoothly to retain control.

As shown on the F3 video - You can actually move the steering back and forth 2-3 inches right to left, and the Spyder steering resists over-steer and applies the turn smoothly to retain traction. Between the Spyder’s electric steering holding center position and the Spyder’s positive camber angle keeping the wheels straight, the F3 & RT offer near perfect high-speed handling in an emergency situation.

Let’s look at some other things that effect the Ryker’s handling.

Ryker’s Low CG Position - To help deal with the Ryker’s over-sensitive steering problem and to help reduce wheel-lift, BRP designed the Ryker with a lower CG position than the Spyder. While far from perfect, having the rider some 2-3 inches lower than the Spyder, provides a degree of stability. Both the weights location and height, means everything on a forward trike since everything above the tires, creates a roll motion during a turn, affecting the bikes handling.

Rider’s Weight - The Ryker’s handling is greatly effected by the riders weight. By this, I mean a if you’re carving through some mountains and there’s a 80 lb. kid on a Ryker in front of you, let him go, because he is going to vanish in front of you, if your weight is 200+ lbs like me. Not so much because the bikes lighter, but because his lighter weight above the bikes belt-line contributes to a lower CG, and therefore less roll moment and better handling.

2-Up Riding - The Ryker is at a major disadvantage during 2-Up riding. While adding a passenger to a Spyder F3 or RT reduces the bike’s handling somewhat, it does not make the bike unsafe, because the bikes additional weight, negates the passengers weight. However, adding a passenger to the Ryker, affects the CG and the bikes geometry, since most all the passenger weight is elevated higher then the driver and over tires, contributing to worsen the already marginal Ryker’s steering.

Ryker’s Weight - Another reason the Ryker has poor handling, is it’s “Lack of Weight”. The F3 Spyder weighs 900-950 lbs, this applies more weight or pressure to each tire on the ground. Since the Ryker is considerably lighter, at only around 600 lbs., the result is there is “less weight” on each tire. This in itself, makes it easier to raise a tire and lose traction in a turn. Lack of sufficient weight on a forward trike, reduces the tires patch or contact to the road in a turn. This is also evident when driving over road imperfections, since it causes the front tires to lose track, slide in turns, or even wheel hop, as they negotiate each bump.

Rear Traction - This same lack of bike weight on the Ryker also creates a traction problem for the rear tire. While most guys acquaint the Ryker’s burn out to power, tire spin is mostly caused by a lack of weight on the rear tire. As we discussed, by adding the weight of a heavy rider, it works in against the Ryker, since the riders weight is located above the tires, it results in a roll moment, rather than a down force in a turn as the weight of the bike does.

Transmissions - Both the Spyder and Ryker offer totally different transmissions. The Ryker uses a CVT design and the Spyder uses a standard gear box design which is shifted either manually or semi-automatically.

CVT - While BRP has been very successful with CVT transmissions in their off-road equipment. When it comes to motorcycles, CVT transmissions are basically old news. CVT drives are presently reserved more for scooter platforms with smaller engines, considerable less weight, and less torque. While I’m sure BRP’s decision to use a CVT is for cost reasons, The CVT might be the Ryker’s weak link in the drive train. Nearly every scooter with a CVT transmission suffers with numerous clutches and belt failures and require constant maintenance. Aside from belt and clutch wear with CVT systems, most CVT drives experience a 15% power loss compared to a geared transmission.

Gearing - The by product of a CVT clutch is higher than normal rpm when compared to a gear-box bike. While I’m fully aware the 900 produces max torque at 7,000 rpm, few riders (or bystanders) will want to hear the Ryker’s engine running near wide open, as you cruise though a quiet rural town at 35 mph.

On my Ride - The Ryker’s screaming engine noise was a major negative. Level-wise, it louder than my Kubota Zero turn diesel mower. Unlike a geared transmission of the Spyder with its wet clutch operation, the down side of a CVT clutch system is the engine has to rev all the time, so regardless if you’re doing 30 mph through school zone, the engine is going nuts at 5-6,000 rpm. More advanced CVT clutches such as the one in my BMW 650 Sport, offers a stepped up higher ratio for highway use, to conserve fuel and reduce engine wear.

The Ryker’s CVT / shaft drive system has excessively high rpm - Since the Ryker is 300 lbs lighter than the Spyder, it would seem logical it would be geared higher not lower. It’s my guess due to limited space, the Ryker’s compact CVT clutch (small diameter) limits the clutches ability for higher gearing. For this reason, touring won’t be one of the Ryker’s best assets. Running at interstate speeds, means the engine is turning around 6,000+ rpm. This same low gearing also contributes to reduced top speeds. During my high speed test, the only thing on my mind, was shifting to a higher gear.
The best way to describe the Ryker’s excessive engine speed, would be for Spyder owners to drive their F3 or RT at 60 mph in 3rd gear for a few hours, this itself will cure any thoughts of owning a Ryker. Due to the Ryker’s overly high rpm, when compared to a Spyder, you can expect around 40% accelerated engine wear. In addition, you’ll have frequent fuel stops, thanks to a smaller tank and less fuel economy than a Spyder.

Dual Clutch Transmission - While on the subject of transmissions, it’s been my hope for years, when a new Spyder would be released, it would offer a “Dual Clutch” transmission. Regretfully, BRP went in the wrong cheaper direction. While the Spyder’s transmission works OK, is getting a bit dated. Hopefully, BRP’s next Spyder’s will have a “Dual-Clutch” transmission such as Honda uses. What makes the Dual Clutch transmission so great, is it uses two separate clutches. The way it works, there is one clutch and spline for gears 1-3-5th gears, and another clutch 2-4-6th gears. This way, as you shift from 1st to 2nd, there is no gear movement or engagement, it just instantly releases the clutch on 1st gear and engages the clutch for 2nd. Unlike the Spyder, Dual Clutch transmissions can shift itself both up and down. In addition, they offer Drive and three “Sport” modes, where each mode spreads the shifts further apart and downshifts more aggressively. There’s also a full “Manual” mode which allows the rider to shift up and down him-self, but unlike the Spyder, the shifts are quicker, near silent and very, very smooth.
I included a few image below of my 2014 Honda NM4, it’s equipped with Honda’s Dual Clutch transmissions. The NM4 is so aerodymcally correct, its 700cc engine gets up to 85 mpg.





Noise - Another negative is the Ryker is extremely noisy. It’s a know fact, Rotax engines have always generated a lot of internal engine / timing chain noise. On the Ryker this noise is worse than a Spyder thanks to higher RPM and a lack of shrouding around the engine to isolate noise from the driver.

Vibration - Along with high rpm’s comes increased high frequency vibration. The Ryker has considerably more vibration than a Spyder. On both the Ryker’s I drove, all the panels and side covers were constantly rattling. On one machine, vibration broke off the hoods hinge, allowing it to flop around.

Heat - Due to the fact the rider is sitting almost behind the engine, means most of the engine and radiator heat flows straight back on the rider. I can easily say, there was 2-3 times more hot air than a F3. While the Ryker will be great for winter, on my ride with 95 degree heat, It felt like the bike was on fire!

Here's a few more minor problems:

Wheel Removal - Ryker has a terrible wheel removal process. Don’t take your Ryker to just any bike shop for tire change because they won’t know what to do with it.
Instead of the usual lug nuts to remove the wheel, for reasons unknown, BRP decided to change it for the worse. Therefore, you’ll need to carry a long breaker bar, a torque wench, and a 65mm 12 point socket, to get the tire off and back on. Along with the new attaching method, comes a new way to mount the wheel and brake assembly. There are now three small pins which secure the brakes to the wheel. Making matters worse, those “Pretty Red” locking clips, to retain the wheel nut from spinning off, are coming loose. While t he clips are there to prevent the nut from turning, should this happen, the nut easily pulls the clip loose. BRP’s fix is a use of a plastic tie-wrap to help hold the clip to the axle. In any case, I recommend finding a stainless pin to lock the nut. There has been a few mishaps, where incompetent dealers installed the wheels incorrect, shearing the pins off. It also appears as if BRP did not provide the special sockets needed to the dealers to install the wheels in assembly, so they were just tightening the nut hand tight to get the clip in. keep your eye on your wheels guys!

To Sum it Up - I feel after the new craze wears down and word gets out on the Ryker’s problems, these bikes will clutter Can Am showrooms. As of now, the potential buyer for a Ryker is a new guy who lacks forward trike knowledge, and has nothing to compare the Ryker to anything he's driven.

If you’re considering a Ryker - It’s important to note, there is only $3-4,000 separating a striped down Ryker Rally, from a Spyder F3, and the Spyder is light years advanced over the Ryker. In fact, if you were to add better shocks and a few goodies to a Ryker, you would be close to the same price as a F3. Right now there is some super deals on 2018 F3 Spyders.



Unlike the Ryker - With a Spyder F3, there is nothing else to buy. You get all the needed components to make the bike work, such as a real 6 speed manual or auto transmission, instead of a troublesome CVT belt drive. The F3 has a larger more advanced engine, which is faster, quieter, and more economical than the Ryker. The F3 has great suspension and shocks, plus an electric power steering unit, so the F3 is safer and easier to drive. When it comes to the looks department, unlike the boxy squared off design of the Ryker, an F3 with its painted open bars and sleek styling, appears to be moving before you even start the engine.

In Conclusion - I was really looking forward to driving a Ryker home. Regretfully, for myself, there were far to many short comings. The real deal breaker for me was Ryker’s weak suspension and poor handling, there is no way I’m putting Linda on the back of a Ryker. While the Ryker’s price seems attractive at first, when you really look at what you’re getting for the money, the Ryker is far from a good deal, especially when you consider you can own a real forward trike, like the Spyder F3 for a few thousand more.

Ride Safe - Mike




About the Author - Mike has worked in the aviation industry for over four decades. To his credit, he solely designed, built and developed a project called “Heli-Cam” the world’s first successful FPV controlled “Aerial Drone” with a payload up to 245 lbs. and a rotor span of 19 feet, designed for Military Front-Line warfare use. This project led to contracts and flight services for firms such as; Martin Marietta Aerospace, Night Vision Labs, ADAT’s, Hughes Helicopter, Bell Helicopter, US Border Patrol, FBI, US Army, Drug Enforcement as well as consulting and flight services for numerous companies world wide. In private sector, Mike pioneered the first electric powered helicopter, a concept utilized in every drone today. Mike also designed the first professional Motion Picture filming and aerial surveillance drone platform, which led to contracts with the motion picture industry, and flew platforms for National Inquire Magazine and others. Mike was also Publisher & Editor for 19 years of a leading helicopter publication titled - Rotory Modeler Magazine.