Tell your story. What was the moment you knew you had to have a Spyder?

[bhfromme]

Here's my story. It was a rainy day in Portland, Maine. My girlfriend, better half, significant other Linda was at the Maine Mall and there was a Spyder on display. She texted me about the beautiful three wheeled motorcycle and said I had to see it. So she came home and we both went to the mall to take a look. Realize now that this was early 2011 and Spyders hadn't really invaded New England yet. Well my first look was like yeah whatever. But then I looked some more. I noticed the detail and engineering that went into it and I was hooked! I googled it and started doing research right there at the mall. Found a dealer and went directly from the mall to look at some more Spyders and by that point there was no turning back for me. I was head over heels in love. Well that's my story. What's yours?

[jthornton]

On Wednesday we were on the way back from a job site and I stopped in the dealer (80 miles from me)and poked around a bit and jawed with the salesman. Then I asked him if the ones on the floor were the only bikes they had or did he have more in the warehouse... he started to walk away to look and turned back and said was there anything in particular your looking for? I said "a blue one". He came back and said he had a 2012 RT-S SE5 in blue. By the next morning we had agreed on a price and on Friday I picked it up.

I had been looking off and on for about a year and told my wife I had to get ride of two of my bikes to make room for a Spyder first...

John

[boborgera]

Mine is simple, Back in may of 08, After having to park my VTX1800 most of the winter, I happened to walk into my Honda dealer and right of front he had a Yellow 3 wheel Trike setting there. So i said 3 wheels i can ride all winter, No brain er. At first he said Brp wouldn't let him sell it yet, So i said I'll write you a check in full right now, Handed him the check and 3 days latter he calls and says come pick it up, Brp relented.

[Illinois Boy]

Liked them from the moment of their conception.

Knew I had to have one when my back injury began to limit my two-wheel riding. There was no other choice in the running...

[otter28169]

I was at work, in a chemistry lab, and on my lunch break. I was pawing around the on google when I saw a picture of it. They had not been released yet, but I knew at that moment that I had to have one. I then struggled for the next five years to get one. Now that I have it I am obsessed. Took my road test last Tuesday and now I am jonesing, hardcore.

[Bootie]

I was riding a BMW K1200GT with my friend up in Nova Scotia in 2009. The Beemer is pretty high off the ground and quite heavy, especially for my 60 something year old knees.
I dropped the thing three times and after the 3rd time a guy with this neat looking 3-wheeled contraption came up to give me a hand. After he helped me get the Beemer back up I chatted with him about this Can Am Spyder thing. I decided then and there that I was gonna get me one of those. As soon as I got back to Ohio(with a 3-day stop over in Bangor, Maine to get 3 cardiac stents put in) I sold my BMW on eBay and bought my first Spyder. I have not been disappointed and have not tumbled over again.

[Blue Star]

After going down on my two wheeler (totaled bike and week in hospital) my wife said "no more bikes," I thought I was either doomed to no more riding, or divorce court. Then about six months later we were doing yard work in the front when a yellow RS (wife's favorite color) rode by, and I pointed to it and said I want that. Of course my wife reminded me "no more bikes", but I looked them up on the net anyway. I then started my secret spyder fund, and did all the research I could. After two years of pointing out to my wife each and every safety feature of the Spyder she finally said I could get one, but she would never ride on it. When I bought my Spyder I got the RS because I figured she won't wide with me, so the RS would do fine for me only. When I brought home the Spyder the first thing she said was it is not yellow, and I won't ride on it. About four months later she took her first ride with me, 19 months later I traded up to a RT, and she is always "finding" reasons for us to go on a ride somewhere.

[MMMII]

I saw one on the freeway between LA and Vegas when they first came out. Thought it was the coolest thing ever.

At 37 I got my first 2 wheeler (a Honda CBR). I always wanted a crotch rocket so I thought I would get it out of my system and pick one up before I got a cruiser. 6 or so months later my Uncle passed away (RIP Uncle Bob) and left me his Harley Sportster 1200.

I put about 2k miles on the Honda and 800 or miles on the Sportster and decided that with 2 children (2 and 5) I was more risk averse than I thought and that something safer was in order. I really didn't like worrying that ever time I took a corner that gravel in the road could cause a low side.

So, in August of '12 I decided to get a Spyder. Around then I found this board and decided to wait until the big September announcement. The day after, I went to my dealer and put a deposit on my ST-S having never even been on a Spyder.

It arrived in Feburary and the rest......

[Chupaca]

I'll just skip to the end..having little time to ride in CT. I sold all my riding gear sport wing I built with trailer and resigned from riding. Moved to San Diego and dug into remodeling the home we bought for a year and a half 24/7. Mind you I had seen the spyder on TV adds and thought about it, some day, then my wife took me to a dealer to look at one up close and personal. Needless to say we drove it home that night, it was my birthday and my wife loves to ride...Love her and the spyder in that order..!!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

...........

[Jharpo]

I had never been on a bike until I was 65. My son-in-law talked me into riding on the back of his big Honda. I was hooked! He asked me if I would consider a trike. I was adamantly against it. Then he said hop on, I want to show you something. Five minutes later, I was drooling on a 2008 Can Am Roadster. The $15,000 price tag shocked me back to reality. I decided I had better learn to ride a bike before I spent that kind of dough. My son-in-law also has what he calls a "learner bike", a 1972 Kawasaki 100, complete with kick start. I rode the heck out of that little bike on the back roads around his neighborhood and within a month I purchased a 1998 Suzuki DR 200. Rode that one around my neighborhood. I bought a couple more bikes including my favorite, a 2009 Kawasaki 500 Vulcan. I loved that little bike, but then my thyroid went wacky and besides losing 45 pounds in 2 months, I lost a lot of strength. Even after curing the thyroid problem, I could ride my bike fine, I just struggled with holding it up at long stop lights. I knew it was Spyder time. I found a 2009 in cherry condition and bought it without ever riding on a Spyder. Even though I hated to let my little Kawasaki go, I've never regretted my decision. I love my Spyder and can't wait for April and Spyderfest (1092 miles each way).
THAT'S MY STORY AND I'M STICKING TO IT!

[ARtraveler]

Fall of 2007 for me. Saw an article in a motorcycle magazine. Either Rider or Cycle World--can't remember for sure. It was yellow and beautiful. I had to have one from that day. The firsts were to be rationed out to only a few states--but, apparantly they got that worked out.

I put down a $1,000.00 deposit with my dealer in either November or December of 2007, and the wait was on. I got the second one to hit Alaska--my dealer snarfed the first one. My full moon color arrived in June of 2008.

I have now owned four ,s.

[JkRbbt]

Saw a Syder in a magazine when they first came out and thought they had a high "cool factor", but I am a touring rider, so the RS/GS riding style really wasn't me. A couple of years later, I was at a bike show and the "new" RT was on display. I put a leg over and thought, "One of these days, maybe..." Never got it out of my head. When a friend went to a trike (HD) and loved it, I got to thinking it over. Wonder what the RT's are like these days. That was a test drive and a trade-in ago!

[Netminder]

Ever since they came out my wife and I thought they were pretty cool machines, but we were saving for renos and didn't think we could afford it. Every year we went to the bike show and drooled over them. Then in 2011 I was told I had throat cancer, so the dream was put on hold will I went through treatments. As I recuperated, we would be somewhere and see one , and we wanted one more then ever. In 2012 I was feeling better with each month and had a whole new appreciation for life! We decided, why wait for retirement, when we could be enjoying riding now! So we took our Reno savings and put it down on a 2012 lava bronze RT. have not regretted it for a moment, as we have met many great people both on here and at Spyder events/club! Life is too short and we work too long , that we have to enjoy the moment and do things will we can! Happy riding!

[vrodrjs]

I had seen the RS at the local HD / CanAm dealer and thought they were cool but I already had 2 bikes. Took my VROD to a show at the dealer and won a couple big trophies. I had to come back the next day to pick them up and it happened to be test ride Sunday. Took an RT for a ride and then I started trying to figure out how I was going to make it happen. As soon as they started doing test rides again in the spring, I took my wife and we went for a test ride. She thought it was more comfortable than my Street Glide so I got rid of it and got the RT.

[Bob Denman]

It was the closest dealership to the Nuthouse that I broke out of...

Actually I kind of noticed them in 2008; an ATVing buddy of mine had an Outlander 650XT and it was pretty nice... but I didn't bite!
Cut to June of 2010... I took the Missus to her favorite quilting store up in Walton, NY. My job; such as it was: to driver her there, sit in the truck, don't bother her, and come carry packages when she came out to get me.
So I'm sitting in the truck; doing my best imitation of a short, fat, balding , Golden Retriever for what seems like weeks... it actually wasn't more than 10 or 27 hours...
She comes out; I go in, and haul out enough material to make enough parachutes for the Normandy landings...
AS A REWARD for behaving... she says that we can go up to the kawasaki and Ski doo dealer in Town so that I could "shop a little."
We get there, and they've got four or five Spyders lined up just inside the main door... RTs and RSs!
She looks at me and says, "That could be just like our GoldWing was when we were first married!"
And that; was that! They didn't have the color that she wanted, so we found one a couple of weeks later and have been tickled pink with it ever since!

[rc51ny]

When did I know?

[bruiser]

I had been out of riding bikes for many years. I wanted to get back in to it. After I gave her the hound dog eyes, BB said that was fine with her. BUT, if I got a two wheeler she would not ride with me. She's afraid of them. I thought it wouldn't be right to leave her out so I started looking. I looked at a used 2000 Wing with the trike kit, 80,000 miles, and the dealer wanted $18,000.00 . While I traveled around for work I'd stop here and there looking. Test drove a new Tri Glide and did not like it at all. Too squirrely in the curves and not very comfortable. Price wasn't bad I guess, $33,500.00. Then a while later i stopped at a Honda dealer and looked at a new Wing GL1800 Trike. HOLY CRAP, that thing was nice but the price was . They wanted half down, my first born and two pints of blood, and the salesman looked strangely familiar. I think he played fiddle down in Georgia. I had cash for a bike but not that much. And the dealer wouldn't even think about a test drive. Then one night on TV I happened across a show and it was Fred Rau and a group of riders riding the length of California. I was impressed with the RT. It was their first year out. I happened to see one at a local dealer and stopped to look. Took Kris a few days latter. We looked a couple of times. Went in one Saturday and I rode home our first RTS. Then in June 2012, I drove home my 2012 RTS. And that's my story.

[Deanna777]

My story on how I bought my first . I had been on the back of motorcycles as a passenger for 16 years.
I had a HD( 2012 Switchback) i was in the early stages of learning how to use the clutch/brake + throttle all @ once. I decided that this would not work for me. A friend of mine suggested to me that i should buy a 3-wheeler motorcycle. So, i went to a Honda/Can-Am dealer in Vermont, This happen in july of 2012. I sat on 2012 RT Limited. So i talked to a salesman he had a 2012 RT- SE- 5 Quantum Blue in Stock.
I made arrangements with the salesman to buy the 2012 RT-SE-5 Quantum Blue. The sales man said" that alot of women buye these because they don't want to deal with the tipping over the bike and clutch/brake+ throttle thing". I really love my . I put on 2,700 miles from mid july 2012 to Oct. 1, 2012 ( Oct. 1 spyder went into Winter Storage) When i am out and about doing errands i get people asking me questions my . Deanna777

[GloryRyders]

I'll keep this short............we got our first one ('09 GS/RS) when my wife, Linda, said that I "deserved" it for my retirement present after working for 40 years at the same company! We traded it in on the '11 RT Ltd. when she told me that I/we deserved it so we could go touring (ie. taking longer trips) together! I think that I'm going to keep her!

[bruisersbaby]

I had been out of riding bikes for many years. I wanted to get back in to it. After I gave her the hound dog eyes, BB said that was fine with her. BUT, if I got a two wheeler she would not ride with me. She's afraid of them. I thought it wouldn't be right to leave her out so I started looking. I looked at a used 2000 Wing with the trike kit, 80,000 miles, and the dealer wanted $18,000.00 . While I traveled around for work I'd stop here and there looking. Test drove a new Tri Glide and did not like it at all. Too squirrely in the curves and not very comfortable. Price wasn't bad I guess, $33,500.00. Then a while later i stopped at a Honda dealer and looked at a new Wing GL1800 Trike. HOLY CRAP, that thing was nice but the price was . They wanted half down, my first born and two pints of blood, and the salesman looked strangely familiar. I think he played fiddle down in Georgia. I had cash for a bike but not that much. And the dealer wouldn't even think about a test drive. Then one night on TV I happened across a show and it was Fred Rau and a group of riders riding the length of California. I was impressed with the RT. It was their first year out. I happened to see one at a local dealer and stopped to look. Took Kris a few days latter. We looked a couple of times. Went in one Saturday and I rode home our first RTS. Then in June 2012, I drove home my 2012 RTS. And that's my story.

And to put my little 'addition' in - we bought the 2012 RTS because I had now claimed the 2010 RTS! That's about it!!

[Hovdestar]

.........for a while, and then had the chance to sit on one last Spring at our Blue Knights Spud Run in Boise. Much easier for the wife to get up and onto the pillion seat of the Spyder than it was for her to get on our Wing, and I like the stability, too. So, that was it. Sold the Wing, and got the Spyder last July. And I smile every time I ride. <M>

[Motorcycledave]

The first time I saw a Spyder was at the SEMA SHOW in Las Vegas 2005
I was checking out the T-Rex display and near by was the Spyder proto types
I thought they were neat because they were different, I did not give it much more
thought until about 1 year ago my wife had quit riding with me because she was
afraid after I had my knees replaced and also got run over while on my ST1100 Honda
by an unlicensed, uninsured, in a stolen truck drunk driver....
So after I got me fixed up and restored the motorcycle she still would not ride that's
when I introduced her to the Spyders, she said go for it so I did and now she rides
with me often, She even went and got a new helmet, I installed a SENA unit in it like
mine. We have logged over 280,000 miles on 2 wheels together and looking forward to 280,000
on three.
By the way the SENA intercom units are still on sale.... Call me for yours
Thanks
Dave

[Bob Denman]

and also got run over while on my ST1100 Honda
by an unlicensed, uninsured, in a stolen truck drunk driver....

Wow! Could this guy have been doing anything else more wrong??
Late on returning his Library books?
Not recycling properly
Letting his lawn reass grow too high?

[Can-Am Poogs]

Saw an RS in the parking lot at work, owned by one of my coworkers. I thought it was interesting. When he showed me it was a semi auto, I was surprised. About a month later I was at a junior hockey camp with my kid and there was an RT parked outside the rink. I looked it over. The owner came out and told me all about it. I was hooked. Did some research, and wouldn't you know the dealership was a 15 minute drive away. Had a demo RT for a 1 week test drive. Owned a brand new one SM5 RTS 2 days later. Happy ever since.