Spyder as a daily driver? Pros/Cons?

[thepower]

Anyone one on the forum use their spyder as a daily rider/driver for work commutes ? I guess this would apply on non snow or heavy rain days I live in the South, so for the most part, I'd deal with rain and occassional snow and deep freeze weather. Anyways, im considering it. Pro's/Cons?

[cuznjohn]

there are a few people on here that use their bikes most of the time. i personally rode only when i was riding with other people.

[thehawk]

… And have since I bought my first one in 2011.

thehawk

[Rf4ee]

I'm a fair weather rider, but I do commute to work as often as possible.

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[remark2013]

I ride ours everyday unless there is snow/ice on the road and it's above 10 degrees.

Kent

[bcer960]

The spyder is my only mode of transportation from April till mid oct, rain or shine.

[Tree]

I use mine to commute into a medium sized city as often as possible. I used to commute with a motorcycle as well, but with the extra stability and visibility, I feel more secure on my Spyder than my previous rides.
Not sure which model you are considering, but if you need to take a bit back and forth, you might have to make some adjustments. My F3T does not hold a laptop, so I wear a backpack when I need to take it home. Fortunately for me, I don't have to carry it everyday, but if you don't like to wear a backpack, you'll have to come up with some other storage options. Not sure if any of the other models have capacity for average size laptop.
Another pro for me is parking. I can squeeze it into spaces that other vehicles may not be able to use.
Gas mileage is better on my Spyder than my car, however since we're using premium, cost probably washes out.
Lastly, I'd rather ride on a bike/Spyder any day than a car - it makes the commute somewhat 'enjoyable'.


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[PistonBlown]

Used to, only reason I stopped was because I started needing to drop my daughter and two other girls to school on the way and couldn't think of a way to carry them all on the Spyder:-)

Has benefits and drawbacks as a commuter. Drawback is that you can't lane split like you can on a motorbike so your stuck in with the cars in stop-start traffic. However you do have far more road presence than a motorbike and you don't seem to get the usual"Sorry I didn't See You" stuff. I've also frequently had drivers pull out of the way to let me past, something that never happens in/on other vehicles.

[ARtraveler]

I rode my motorcycles and then in 2008 switched to as a daily driver for the 20 plus mile commute into Anchorage. I drove rain or shine. I started March/April when the ice was off my side road, and drove until Oct/Nov when the black ice appeared on the highway.

My car got less than 1000 miles on it during that period. No regrets. Been retired from the day jobs since Nov of 2011 so, no longer do it.

A pleasant experience for me. I had parking right outside the door for both my day jobs. Never an issue with vandals.

[Bob Denman]

Contact Tobor9 & SDM: they have two RTs, and nothing else!

Charles and Sofia Tobor9 SDM.jpg

[CapeSpyder]

I ryde to work 36mile r/t everyday i can.

CapeSpyder
Sent From my Note 5

[furface90]

I rode mine to work for 2 years, rain or shine, cold or hot (and it gets hot here), until i retired. Loved it because I could ride in the car pool lanes !!

[Bob Denman]

My RT-Limited is my only vehicle...

...But the Missus has a RAV4 that she'll let me in!

[Ron2andia]

I think about it often but just not sure...

[quasi]

i ride my 2012 rts pretty much everyday to work unless its raining hard when ready to leave the house.

[cuznjohn]

My RT-Limited is my only vehicle...

...But the Missus has a RAV4 that she'll let me in!

bob, you do drive your bike to work quite often

[SpyderF3-s]

I live in southern California. I have a 2015 F3-S. Been riding it to work since I got it in October of 2015. 90 miles round trip to work and back! Over 16,000 miles so far. Pro: I get to use the car pool lanes. Con: no lane splitting

Hottest day so far has been 109. Coldest 23. In the summer I have ice packs that fit in my jacket. In the winter, sweatshirt, jacket, gloves and chaps. The modified Harley fairing works great in cold weather!

[Bob Denman]

"bob, you do drive your bike to work quite often "
Yeah, I do... and that 30 foot commute to the office is really rough!

[Pampurrs]

My Spyder is my primary transportation and I ride it just about every day, all year long. I've been doing this for the past six years on a Goldwing, Victory Vision, and now the Spyder. It's not for everyone, but I've gotten used to riding in all kinds of weather, and sometimes having to ride in adverse conditions. I have always purposefully selected a large bagger touring bike (and now Spyder RT) so I can go grocery shopping. I occasionally have use of the car, but very rarely.

The downside is if I need something large for the house, such as lumber etc, I have to pay extra to have it delivered by Home Depot.

Pam

[_..stiffler..]

I live in Canada. Snow and rain and cold etc. I ride my spyder anytime I get a chance.

No snow obviously.
No rain unless I'm on a group ride and have no choice

But I ride to work as much as I can. I ride to the gym as much as I can. And I take my wife out for lunch all the time.

I love it

Over 5000km in 4 weeks.

Stiff

Sent on Note 5 in Taptalk

[pegasus1300]

and have been for over 50 years. First on the motorcycles I owned then on the Goldwing Trike and now on the Spyder RT.My current commute is about 16 miles one way. I live in Utah so I am shut down for about 3 months out of the year and iffy another 2 but I still manage 10,000 to 12,000 miles a year. I find the weather protection on the Spyder RT to be very good and of course the 3 wheels makes it much more stable in iffy weather. My biggest concern in the winter months is the huge amount of salt they use on the roads.

[ES44AC]

I ride my RTS everyday I possibly can. I do try to avoid the rain if possible. I rode most of the winter 29 degrees and above. I think I hate 93 and above worse than the cold. I do drive my truck about 250 miles a month and about 900+ on the RTS.

[IGETAROUND]

I ride daily, rain or shine from when the snow is off the roads in March till snow that stays in November. You have to invest in the correct gear to keep you DRY and WARM as needed. Then you can commute in comfort!!

​Al in Kazoo

[asp125]

With the drivers around here, I would kill myself on the Spyder. I'd rather sit in rush hour traffic with the ac on and in comfort than the Spyder. On a bike I can sometimes filter. At least on the Spyder I can use the HOV lane which improves things somewhat. If I didn't have to work in a major metropolis I might enjoy it more. Commuting sucks the joy out of riding unless it's somewhat rural or small townish.

[Grandpa Pete]

It's my mode of transportation. I also ride in the winter if there's less than 2 inches of snow on the roads. This is'nt a "Toy" for me. It's what I got. BTW, I just hit the 43,000 mile mark. They are made to ride have a great ride......Grandpa Pete