Sooooo I did a demo ryde last Saturday

[NCSpyderGurl]

So last weekend I did the CanAm demo day ride and here it is a Friday morning and I'm still thinking about how much fun I had. I rode an F3-T. We did the parking lot cones course and I'm a past SCCA autocrosser and that started the ride off on a perfect note. We then headed out on back country roads for a 35 minute ride. I know I'm singing to the choir here but dang the ride is comfy, the speed is exhilarating, it's smooth, it's got a cool look to it, it has the tunes I need to ride. So now my issue........ I have an 07 Street Glide that I bought new, 37k miles and we have been thru a lot together in the past 10 years. I have a lot of blood sweat and tears in that bike. I know you don't rule things with emotions but How do I justify keeping both? We have just moved out into the country and our roads are less than perfect and it sorta scares me with all of the ridges and crests on my 2 wheels. My Dad used to tell me after I looked at something to take a cold shower and then decide. Well I did and I still want an F3-T. We just put our house in town up for sale to move to the country permanently and I'm thinking when it sells maybe..........

 

[loisk]

Sounds like you're hooked...

When I switched to spyders, I kept my two wheels as I wasn't sure.
After a year, I felt so awful looking at the poor unridden two wheel bike that it went to its next owner...

 

[Saluda]

If you can swing it financially, keep it for a while and see what happens.
Sounds like the 2 wheeler is on its way out. Good luck with your decisions.

 

[Beachbum]

One question

What color F3-T are you going to get?

 

[Bob Denman]

:congrats:, and your Dad is right:
"Act in haste, and repent at your leisure."
There is no rule saying that it has to be an "either-or" decision. :thumbup:

 

[rudym]

Riding Both

So last weekend I did the CanAm demo day ride and here it is a Friday morning and I'm still thinking about how much fun I had. I rode an F3-T. We did the parking lot cones course and I'm a past SCCA autocrosser and that started the ride off on a perfect note. We then headed out on back country roads for a 35 minute ride. I know I'm singing to the choir here but dang the ride is comfy, the speed is exhilarating, it's smooth, it's got a cool look to it, it has the tunes I need to ride. So now my issue........ I have an 07 Street Glide that I bought new, 37k miles and we have been thru a lot together in the past 10 years. I have a lot of blood sweat and tears in that bike. I know you don't rule things with emotions but How do I justify keeping both? We have just moved out into the country and our roads are less than perfect and it sorta scares me with all of the ridges and crests on my 2 wheels. My Dad used to tell me after I looked at something to take a cold shower and then decide. Well I did and I still want an F3-T. We just put our house in town up for sale to move to the country permanently and I'm thinking when it sells maybe..........

I really like my F3T but compared to my two wheeled ride it is a little boring. That said - it's just different - Everyday I ride the Spyder I enjoy it a little bit more esp... if the road conditions are bad. I also seem to have less people pulling out in front of me. Keep both for now.

 

[blacklightning]

So last weekend I did the CanAm demo day ride and here it is a Friday morning and I'm still thinking about how much fun I had. I rode an F3-T. We did the parking lot cones course and I'm a past SCCA autocrosser and that started the ride off on a perfect note. We then headed out on back country roads for a 35 minute ride. I know I'm singing to the choir here but dang the ride is comfy, the speed is exhilarating, it's smooth, it's got a cool look to it, it has the tunes I need to ride. So now my issue........ I have an 07 Street Glide that I bought new, 37k miles and we have been thru a lot together in the past 10 years. I have a lot of blood sweat and tears in that bike. I know you don't rule things with emotions but How do I justify keeping both? We have just moved out into the country and our roads are less than perfect and it sorta scares me with all of the ridges and crests on my 2 wheels. My Dad used to tell me after I looked at something to take a cold shower and then decide. Well I did and I still want an F3-T. We just put our house in town up for sale to move to the country permanently and I'm thinking when it sells maybe..........

Looks to me like you will be making the move to 3 wheels. I sometimes missed my 2 wheels, so I picked up another last summer. After about 4-5 short months, I realized that I liked 3 wheels better. That was when I had my RT. Now that I have moved on to a F3T, which is more like my M109, I don't even look back at 2 wheelers. I see you live in Ash??. Not sure if that is Asheboro, or Asheville, but either way, you have some beautiful areas to ride. Go ahead and make the leap, then look us up (Triangle spyders) on facebook, and join in with us. We ride often. Good luck with your choice.

 

[Slowpoke387]

Be prepared with the F3 to not feel the same as it did on what are probably perfectly flat roads on your demo ride. If your roads at home are crested and have lots of irregularities, the F3 finds and tracks with them all. Mine drifts tremendously with any road banking at all. On flat roads its a dream. Any banking at all however ruins the ride. I too came from years of riding two wheels and everyone is telling me this is how they are and that im trying to make it ride like a motorcycle, which im not. Ive had sleds, quads, etc.
My advice is to take one out onto less than perfect roads and find some roads that are crowned so that you can decide for yourself on real world roads.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

SPYDERS VS. TWO WHEELERS

Be prepared with the F3 to not feel the same as it did on what are probably perfectly flat roads on your demo ride. If your roads at home are crested and have lots of irregularities, the F3 finds and tracks with them all. Mine drifts tremendously with any road banking at all. On flat roads its a dream. Any banking at all however ruins the ride. I too came from years of riding two wheels and everyone is telling me this is how they are and that im trying to make it ride like a motorcycle, which im not. Ive had sleds, quads, etc.
My advice is to take one out onto less than perfect roads and find some roads that are crowned so that you can decide for yourself on real world roads.

To the OP .... be advised the above opinion is from someone who has very, very, very little experience riding Spyders. Once you learn how to handle the Spyder it's one of the most thrilling and stable bikes there is. ............... Mike :thumbup:

 

[KJWEB]

I also seem to have less people pulling out in front of me. Keep both for now.

That is the added safety benefit to the Spyder. When cagers say they didn't see you, it's because the 2 wheel bike isn't registering with them as a vehicle because it's two dimensional object. With the spyder and the two wheels up front, that object registers in the mind as 3 dimensional, like a car, truck. I noticed that immediately while riding my new spyder home from the dealer. Don't get me wrong, some will still pull out in front of you.

 

[WilderThomas]

To Keep or Not to Keep

So last weekend I did the CanAm demo day ride and here it is a Friday morning and I'm still thinking about how much fun I had. I rode an F3-T. We did the parking lot cones course and I'm a past SCCA autocrosser and that started the ride off on a perfect note. We then headed out on back country roads for a 35 minute ride. I know I'm singing to the choir here but dang the ride is comfy, the speed is exhilarating, it's smooth, it's got a cool look to it, it has the tunes I need to ride. So now my issue........ I have an 07 Street Glide that I bought new, 37k miles and we have been thru a lot together in the past 10 years. I have a lot of blood sweat and tears in that bike. I know you don't rule things with emotions but How do I justify keeping both? We have just moved out into the country and our roads are less than perfect and it sorta scares me with all of the ridges and crests on my 2 wheels. My Dad used to tell me after I looked at something to take a cold shower and then decide. Well I did and I still want an F3-T. We just put our house in town up for sale to move to the country permanently and I'm thinking when it sells maybe..........

My wife and I had a 2006 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic Peace Officer Edition. I liked it for the short time I rode it, but eventually it became too much to handle with two up riding. Too heavy and cumbersome for negotiating parking lots, gravel roads, construction, and rush hour traffic. Granted, that's not the the only type of riding any motorcycle will do, but it's part of owning a motorcycle. So it was traded for a 2012 Can Am Spyder RT-S in Magnesium Silver. If I wanted a two wheeler to ride around solo, now, it would be the new Triumph Bonneville T120R.

 

[PrairieSpyder]

If you can swing it financially, keep it for a while and see what happens.
Sounds like the 2 wheeler is on its way out. Good luck with your decisions.

:agree: You can always sell your 2-wheeler later.

 

[Machinegunner]

I had a Triumph Rocket III that I really liked. I bought a GS in 2008 and kept the two wheeler to slowly transition to the Spyder. It ended up that I never drove the Triumph. The Spyder was so much easier to ride. I will never go back to two wheels.

 

[Chupaca]

Budget....

I agree with those that recommend keeping both for now if possible. Many here have done this and keep both or eventually sell the one they use the least. You seem to able to handle yourself well on open road vehicles and you are the one that will be ryding those roads and the only way to find out is to actually get out there...If in doubt get a dealer test ryde or rental and travel those roads...hyea:

 

[CA Railwhale]

disagree

To the OP .... be advised the above opinion is from someone who has very, very, very little experience riding Spyders. Once you learn how to handle the Spyder it's one of the most thrilling and stable bikes there is. ............... Mike :thumbup:

I certainly don't find my F3 acting that way and I'm running the base shocks with no suspension mods. There must be something wrong with that guy's Spyder.

 

[Bob Denman]

There's a real nice F3 for sale listed in here... and it's in your State.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?105154-2016-SPYDER-F3-LIMITED-21-999-00

 

[monkeyboymorton]

See this thread too if you're interested in used:

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?105306-Friend-just-purchased-a-used-2016-F3T

Clearly some good deals out there by the sound of that.

 

[vondalyn]

Be prepared with the F3 to not feel the same as it did on what are probably perfectly flat roads on your demo ride. If your roads at home are crested and have lots of irregularities, the F3 finds and tracks with them all. Mine drifts tremendously with any road banking at all. On flat roads its a dream. Any banking at all however ruins the ride. I too came from years of riding two wheels and everyone is telling me this is how they are and that im trying to make it ride like a motorcycle, which im not. Ive had sleds, quads, etc.
My advice is to take one out onto less than perfect roads and find some roads that are crowned so that you can decide for yourself on real world roads.

I've been following comments by this poster (nothing wrong with them! we all start somewhere, but part of the issue that the poster is having with tracking is the newness of the spyder and too much overcorrection/death grip). Once you have a certain amount of experience, there is no issue. Everyone has their own miles to reach before it happens. I came off 2 wheels and was one of the slower folks to get used to the spyder. For me it happened around 2000 miles. Of course I put those on in about 2 weeks, but it did take that many miles....

Everyone has their own journey.

 

[3 wheeler]

When I bought my first Spyder in 2013, I also had a HD Heritage Softail Classic. I thought I might keep it as well, but after a couple of rides on the Spyder I knew I wouldn't ride it anymore. Sold it right away....

 

[Slowpoke387]

To the OP .... be advised the above opinion is from someone who has very, very, very little experience riding Spyders. Once you learn how to handle the Spyder it's one of the most thrilling and stable bikes there is. ............... Mike :thumbup:

Kindly disagreeing. These are NOT and never will be one of the most stable bikes there are. The F3L (ours anyway) is by far not the most stable bike. It is def fun, but stable? Yes on nice flat roads. But Def not over road irregularities. No amount of "learning" how to ride one will change the geometry of the machine, or the tires that come on it. Ive been logging lots of miles daily and guess what? Geometry is still the same. It still will slowly just ride off the road if you relax or let go of the bars. Yes theres a learning curve and lots of two wheel riding knowledge that is useless with them, but in no way am i white knuckling it or fighting it. A relaxed grip is all thats normally needed to let a machine do its thing, but when you relax and then encounter a banked road and it wants to ride off into the bushes, you have to make corrections, theres no choice. Thats not the Spyder inexperience or stiff rider input. Your machine may be the most stable bike ever, but ours is not - yet. Would love for you to ride ours the way you ride yours and see what you think lol. Still going try the sway bar and different tires. Those may hold the key to helping it hold a straight line with a relaxed grip. We will def get it tweaked correctly in time. Plenty of other people here echoing this as well.
All that being said, its a super fun ride. No doubt. My comment was to help the op not be as surprised as some of us if they end up with one that grabs and tracks with every rut or crack in the road, wasnt a complaint or discouragement.