Thoughts on Spyder Safety

[ChicagoSpyder]

In most circumstances a three wheeler has much less of a chance of a rider having a get off as compared to a two wheeler.
My experience on a three point vehicles is 130,000 miles on a sled (cross country racing, hill climbs, CC touring etc.) and I have high sided more than a I care to remember yet I still feel the pain LOL, I've also brought up the inside wheel on my F3L more than once while riding agrressively and have no doubt that I could high side the machine if I pushed it to hard....yes I believe stupidity could overtake the "nanny" at anytime

Thoughts?

[UtahPete]

Very interesting you should bring that up...

[RICZ]

I'm in my mid 80s the oldest in the three motorcycle cubs I ride in. A fellow in a Spyder club beats me by 3 months. I began riding in 1952 and I do not ride slow, by any measure. Many have asked me what's the secret to surviving riding for so long. I simply reply; don't do stupid.

[Mikey]

Like any machine, treat it with respect and you'll be ok, drive like a fool and you'll pay! Do I feel safe, yes, do I trust the fools around me, No!!! And that's what you have to do, we all know that! You mention snowmobiling, you know what that machine can do, but are you good enough to do what it capable of doing? I most cases the answers no, not with out the practice and how can afford that, not to mention the physical cost on you body. I don't really know where you are going with this tread, but is the bike safe enough, I would say Yes, as safe as any other bike snowmobile, atv, ect, ect! It's the driver behind the wheel that's in question here!!

[old Timer]

The Can Am Spyder and Ryker is much safer than motorcycles that are turned into Trikes like what you see with the HD and Goldwing Trikes. Remember the early ATV's with one wheel in front. That design is inherently unstable. That i why the conventional trike ATV's were discontinued, lots of law Suits BTW.

[fatboy]

you can only get that wheel so high before nanny kicks in trust me

[blacklightning]

you can only get that wheel so high before nanny kicks in trust me

I have seen one as high as 40"+ off the ground. The only thing that kept it from flipping is the fact that the rider was able to put his foot down as it was throwing him off the spyder. So do not trust your life to the Nanny and think that it is going to save you. Believe me, it will not. I do not, but I can easily pull the front wheel off the ground 3'+ at any time. I like to think that the Nanny and common sense should kick in at about the same time. Depending on the riders skills.

[fatboy]

nanny kicks in about afoot

[ARtraveler]

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[ChicagoSpyder]

Like any machine, treat it with respect and you'll be ok, drive like a fool and you'll pay! Do I feel safe, yes, do I trust the fools around me, No!!! And that's what you have to do, we all know that! You mention snowmobiling, you know what that machine can do, but are you good enough to do what it capable of doing? I most cases the answers no, not with out the practice and how can afford that, not to mention the physical cost on you body. I don't really know where you are going with this tread, but is the bike safe enough, I would say Yes, as safe as any other bike snowmobile, atv, ect, ect! It's the driver behind the wheel that's in question here!!

My body took a pounding hammering through and over moguls, funny how they hurt me more now even though we have loads more travel in the suspension today, now I know what my Dad meant when he said what you take out of your body as a young man you pay for when an old man.

100% on the driver

The Can Am Spyder and Ryker is much safer than motorcycles that are turned into Trikes like what you see with the HD and Goldwing Trikes. Remember the early ATV's with one wheel in front. That design is inherently unstable. That i why the conventional trike ATV's were discontinued, lots of law Suits BTW.

Two wheels pushing one was was always a bad idea as Clarkson demonstrates

I have seen one as high as 40"+ off the ground. The only thing that kept it from flipping is the fact that the rider was able to put his foot down as it was throwing him off the spyder. So do not trust your life to the Nanny and think that it is going to save you. Believe me, it will not. I do not, but I can easily pull the front wheel off the ground 3'+ at any time. I like to think that the Nanny and common sense should kick in at about the same time. Depending on the riders skills.

Agreed.

[vito1943]

I'm a new Spyder rider, but with 35 years of riding experience on two wheels. The physical forces exerted on my body when making a high speed turn are sufficient to make me take it slower than I might have done on a regular motorcycle. Maybe over time I will find myself lifting a wheel, but right now I am not sure I will ever get to feel the "nanny" taking effect. I do find, however, in normal riding, that the three wheel configuration of the Spyder is awesome in giving me a feeling of stability, something I was rapidly losing with my previous ride of a Honda Goldwing. The riding of the Goldwing was fine, but coming to a stop, especially two up, often made me just a tad nervous about tipping over. In my current riding style, I have NO concern at all about tipping over and I'm happily getting used to not having to put a foot down when coming to a stop.

[ARtraveler]

I'm a new Spyder rider, but with 35 years of riding experience on two wheels. The physical forces exerted on my body when making a high speed turn are sufficient to make me take it slower than I might have done on a regular motorcycle. Maybe over time I will find myself lifting a wheel, but right now I am not sure I will ever get to feel the "nanny" taking effect. I do find, however, in normal riding, that the three wheel configuration of the Spyder is awesome in giving me a feeling of stability, something I was rapidly losing with my previous ride of a Honda Goldwing. The riding of the Goldwing was fine, but coming to a stop, especially two up, often made me just a tad nervous about tipping over. In my current riding style, I have NO concern at all about tipping over and I'm happily getting used to not having to put a foot down when coming to a stop.

The body is usually good at telling you when you have reached the "g" force limits. I have had "nanny" come on twice when driving some of the twisties on our many rides. I have never raised a wheel, and will leave that to the more adventurous.

[RICZ]

Vito1943....I characterize riding a Spyder as having all the fun and joy of a 2 wheeler without any of the worries. A friend and fellow Spyder rider told me, when I started, that it will be 1,000 miles before I feel comfortable with it and another 1,000 before I feel I am in complete control. He was spot on.

[ChicagoSpyder]

The body is usually good at telling you when you have reached the "g" force limits. I have had "nanny" come on twice when driving some of the twisties on our many rides. I have never raised a wheel, and will leave that to the more adventurous.

Hello ARtraveler, what happens the "nanny" kicks-in? Is there a sound and pulsing like ABS on a car? I ask because there have probably been a few times where I thought maybe the "nanny should kick-in and as far I could discern nothing electronically controlling was felt in the bars or the seat of the pants.

[RayBJ]

You'll know when Nanny speaks up! My experiences have been she will cut the power and possibly apply the brakes when you least want to have that happen (in the middle of a fast curve/corner). It will upset the dynamics of the spyder and cause you to get a bit 'squirrely' as you recover.

[ARtraveler]

Hello ARtraveler, what happens the "nanny" kicks-in? Is there a sound and pulsing like ABS on a car? I ask because there have probably been a few times where I thought maybe the "nanny should kick-in and as far I could discern nothing electronically controlling was felt in the bars or the seat of the pants.

You will get a quick flash of the orange light showing the "nanny" picture. It is like the AWD kicking in on my Subaru. Usually so quick that you can miss seeing it. And you get a quick computer taking over sensation. Usually just for a second or two.

I have also had it take control and bring me out of a hydroplaning situation (twice in Alaska) which did indeed save my bacon. My potential 180 - 360 skid was quickly brought under control. The lesson from that (which took me two times to learn), don't drive through an inch of water at more than 50 mph.

[bigbadbrucie]

You will get a quick flash of the orange light showing the "nanny" picture. It is like the AWD kicking in on my Subaru. Usually so quick that you can miss seeing it. And you get a quick computer taking over sensation. Usually just for a second or two.

I have also had it take control and bring me out of a hydroplaning situation (twice in Alaska) which did indeed save my bacon. My potential 180 - 360 skid was quickly brought under control. The lesson from that (which took me two times to learn), don't drive through an inch of water at more than 50 mph.

You too huh? Same thing here, and also twice before I learned. Mine was on a highway that was used by many heavy trucks, so the pavement had tire depressions going down the hill. With the two front wheels, I was pretty well committed to travelling in the “depressions”. This was during a heavy downpour. Thank the good lord for nanny!

[ARtraveler]

You too huh? Same thing here, and also twice before I learned. Mine was on a highway that was used by many heavy trucks, so the pavement had tire depressions going down the hill. With the two front wheels, I was pretty well committed to travelling in the “depressions”. This was during a heavy downpour. Thank the good lord for nanny!

RE: hydroplaning: Alaska roads are ripe for HP. They allow the use of studded tires on vehicles during the winter season. All the well travelled roads have those tire depressions in both lanes. When it would rain...you know what's next.

[JayBros]

All one needs to do to feel nanny kick in is find a big parking lot, get the Spyder up to 30 or so and make a sharp left or right turn and one will feel the old girl kill the throttle. In a recent trip to The Dragon, my first, I felt her trim the throttle several times on the runs I made but never saw the warning light because I was concentrating on the road. I have tripped her though on other rides and have seen the light wink.