Negative review on the Spyder

[mxz600]

The author Jack Baruth replied in one of the comments that this article was not a review of the Can-am Spyder. The headline clearly states that it is indeed a review. People that stumble across articles of this nature may well believe this guy as some sort of expert and take his words to heart and never give one a try. What a shame.

I do not care what this jerk thinks of the Spyder, but to put that title on his article is wrong.

Below is the link to his unprofessional article. Reading the comments were worth a few laughs.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...can-am-spyder/

[daveinva]

Eh. Read that six months ago when it first made the rounds. Hasn't improved with age.

Opinions are fine, the Spyder isn't for everyone, etc., etc.

I do, however, find it unfortunate that people of all stripes STILL insist on riding it like a motorcycle, and get upset when it doesn't handle like a motorcycle.

I don't drive my car like I ride a skateboard; why would I ride a Spyder like how I ride a motorcycle?

Oh well, their loss. Most pure joy I've had since I was a little kid in my first go-kart.

[Bob Denman]

He spent an inordinate amount of time discussing "getting to the ton", and then did nothing but gripe about the handling...
My feelings won't be hurt if I don't see him plunking down his hard-earned cash on a Spyder. Some folks just will never get it!

[ARtraveler]

It is unfortunate that some people will take this persons review to heart and probably be scarred off for further consideration of the .

It appears that his total time on the machine was for the test drive/review.

Less than a hundred miles or so, on a totally different kind of vehicle, with different handling charchteristics--does not make someone an expert--IMHO.

He is probably lucky he did not crash or kill himself--since it is apparant that he did not go through the learning curve (250-500) miles.

Take it with a grain of salt.

[bullant12]

Usually reading the comments (like I do on news reports) gives you an idea of the ignorant fools that exist and post total false and innacurate information. There is especially a commentator in that article that he works in a dealer that sells them and gives his 2 cents worth! I wonder if he still works for them after that -bashing!!

[BajaRon]

I have owned my Spyder since January 2008. And while I might have agreed with some of this guys opinions in the first week of ownership, those opinions have gone away with my ignorance.

In reality, that entire article (or rant) is an exibition in ignorance, and lends much creedance to the saying 'Anything is possible when you have no idea what you are talking about'.

I didn't read too far into the comments because it is truely a waste of time. But it appeared that all the negative comments were from people who had never ridden a Spyder. The positive comments came from people who had ridden one far enough to ride it correctly.

This writers approach could be compared to someone who had never ridden a motorcycle getting on a Hyabusa, riding it into a ditch and saying it was an uncontrollable, dangerous piece of junk! That person would at least be correct on 1 out of 3 statements (a Hayabusa is dangerous!).

Just one example of total misinformation; It is amazing to me that the author had cross wind issues. I ride both 2 wheels and the Spyder, and both in some pretty heavy winds. While there is a lot of inherent stability in the Suzuki M109R, the Spyder is much more stable in a cross wind.

Lamont and I rode to Spyderfest last year when all the tornadoes and wind events occured and we had our share of really heavy, gusty winds. We rode over 500 miles before we saw even 1 motorcycle on the road. Our Spyders had absolutely no issues with the wind. It did not push us around at all.

The Spyder does have some negatives and you always give something up to get something. I am not against an honest assessment of the pro's and con's. But it would be nice for someone who claims to be an expert that they might swerve, in their crosswind of ignorance, just a bit closer to reality.

[Spyderjockey]

I agree with all of the prior posts. This author and and the negative "self thought of experts" are truly ignorant to what the Spyder is and what it is capable of doing on the road in winds, heavy rains etc. Also the arguments about counter steering on a motorcycle and bicycle are absolutely hysterical especially when you get near the bottom of the posts where they are really getting nasty with each other.

I have been on 2 wheelers all of my adult life and if I put more than 5000 miles on in a year I considered that to be a big year. I have had my Spyder about 3 1/2 years and have over 55,000 miles on it and have had many more hours of sheer fun on it than I ever did on any of my 2 wheelers! The Spyder is not a perfect machine, nor is anything else that I know of.......but it sure has given my wife and I plenty of miles and hours of great pleasure and introduced us to many, many new friends from all over the country. Would never go back to a 2 wheeler!!

[DougB]

I have heard the terms Ton & Ton Up but never figured out what it means. Anyone care to clarify the meanings?

[Gordy]

the ton is over 100 mph

[ARtraveler]

I believe ton refers to the ability to exceed 100 MPH

[ld271]

the guy writing this is a small mined idiot not to mention the other people who chimed in. All had some negetave to say about the spyder from saying it was unsafe to a bad ride i have owened mine for 3 years i can say i would not trade it for the world this is the greatest motorcycle ever also meeting great people, 3 spyders later still having them all love it we need to just ingnore this assclown

[ryedoggracing]

This guys GOOFY!!!! I have zero problems going from
Brookfield Oh. To Parma Oh on the turnpike. On my RT. 2011 I set the cruise on 80 mph with zero problems with handling and is far from being scary. This is my 16th streetbike. Bikes from Harleys to full blown Hayabusa drag bike. I can say enough how happy I am with this bike!!!

[MarkLawson]

Sounded to me like the biggest problem with the Spyder was not the Spyder itself, but his inability to control it properly. No doubt anyone on this board could give him a few good pointers...

[Smokinspyder]

Sounds to me like someone is to stupid to understand what riding is all about . Some people need to remember what riding is all about .

[retread]

Just another self styled "expert" trying to impress with his knowledge, after a maybe 10 mile ride. Working definition of expert; ex = one time, spurt= drip under pressure. Generally, they disappear when ignored/exposed.

john

[Tonga]

Wow, what a negative article!! I to have owned and ridden a Spyder since 08 and do love it. I must admit though at first, I did not like the test drives I had. I was committed to owning one and never gave up. BRP had suspensions set to softest for test drives as they went around the country. The first thing I told my dealer was that the front end felt loose. I fixed mine only weeks after I bought my Premeir edition. The shocks set to stiffest and the Evo Swaybar did the trick. I felt the same with my 2010 RT so in came Elka and now I can drive it as fast as I want! Now let's get back to the article, going 100 mph is stupid. Kids ask how fast will it go but 10 to 20 mph over the limit is good enough for me or any rational guy. Yes I did try my GS and it was solid as a rock at speed but I love life, so reasonable speeds are in my routine!

[ThreeWheels]

Well, I've been to the Dragon twice on my RTS.
Got my IBA certificate.
OK, I have a bad knee, I'm happy.
That author is not happy
I don't expect to see him in line at the Spyder dealer.

I was more impressed with the comments.
One in particular was from a fellow who said he was riding a superlegal speed and passed a Spyder. He was delighted at the terror he caused in the Spyder's pilot face.

All I could think of was that this guy is a (expletive) feminine hygiene product, so why should I care about his opinion?

[Rayelljay]

The "comments" make interesting reading though, don't they...?

Lotta assumptions made regarding "sport bike = ride like a twit".

With respect to the Morgan, a friend of my Dad had one and, from my memory, it had a transverse Matchless v-twin with exposed valve gear and a total loss oil system, wooden frame and a whole lotta canvas. Musta been a horror to drive 'cos they lived in an industrial area and many of the roads had railroad tracks inserted and it could get dodgy if'n you got that narrow rear tyre caught in the tracks.
I must admit that the mechanical layout of the Spyder makes more sense to me as a mechanical engineer....two wheels up front means better braking and steering......machine as it stands has way enough power for me...2011 RS SM5.
I don't how many of you remember when European sidecar racing went from having the BMW boxer twin with the sidecar wheel alongside the rear wheel to the Honda flat four and the wheel configuration approached what we now have in the Spyder. I remember the big arguments about that design going against the definition of "sidecar". The sight and sound of a flat four on open pipes in a flat out power slide is something to behold.

Everyone has an opinion however uninformed they might be in the eyes of others who do know better. It took a month for me to get comfortable and now I don't want to ryde anything else.

[Rayelljay]

Anyone had a look at the wheel configuration of the Thrust SSC world land speed record holder....?..but, there again, it had rear wheel steering didn't it

[Pandy]

What I think this guy's main problem is;the Spyder is not a motorcycle. It is a roadster that echoes a go-kart with triple digit potential. Also, anyone not familiar with our quirky machines and the attendant learning curve has no business taking one much past 50 mph let alone 100. So, when he lifted the wheel, no mention of VSS? How did that escape his notice?

PatrickDragon3.jpg

[WJS]

Scanning this writer's other articles, this seems to be the type or style he tends to write in. People love negative the was misery loves company and it's good for click-through rates so the advertisers will pay.

[Mayhem]

I actually read this review just before I bought my Spyder. It did put some doubt in my mind but the good folks on this forum eased it enough for me to proceed with the purchase. I haven't looked back since.

[BajaRon]

The proof is in the pudding! He has no proof, and we have the pudding!

[Motavar]

When you put over 5k on the Spyder then you can write a honest review.
*
Unfortunately this is another example of some "blogger" trying to compare a motorcyle to a machine that handles more like a quad. You can see from the review that he/she has no idea how to counter-weight his or her body to take turns at speed on the machine. How can you write an honest review without understanding how to ride the vehicle correctly. Poor.

...as for 100mph+ that was day (1) easy.
To be honest 100+ on my Spyder felt safer than my 2004 Acura TL.

Then again..
I didn't sit straight-up like the ass-clown "blogger" person catching cross-winds when traveling at speed. I instead got down low to match the air flow over the vehicle. Once again.. Blogger doesn't equal "vehicle test driver"

Above 100MPH is comfortable when you as a rider are comfortable with the machine.

[Questions]

To quote the last line from Harley's statement on their 105th:

"fear sucks and it doesn't last long, so screw it, let's ride"