FRED RAU SPYDER CONTRADICTION?

[fordguyupnorth]

ok, this is sure to elevate some peoples blood pressure. not the intended purpose but none the less here is my beef......on the advice of another member here posting that we all need to buy fred rau's new book ,"motorcycle touring bible" i purchased it. as i began reading through it last night for the first time i ended up with a feeling of betrayal! let me explain, in chapter 3 "avoiding common pitfalls in buying a bike" he goes on to explain, i qoute. "make sure it has enough range" , " to my mind, any bike intended for use as a touring machine should be able to travel a minimum of 175 miles on a tank of gas, with a reserve capacity to carry you at least another 40 miles beyond that if necessary.":dontknow: this is the same fred rau that talks on youtube about not having ANYTHING he would change about the spyder? hmmmm. another page..."RESIST BUYING THE LATEST AND GREATEST" i qoute, "when a new model, or totally new version of an existing model is about to come out,millions of dollars are spent to generate media hype that will hopefully trigger a feeding frenzy in local dealerships showrooms..." then he talks about the buyers of these new products having "a bad case of buyers remorse" he later flat out says to not buy these new models for at least two years! another point i dont remember him stating about the spyder. the chapters go on and on with spyder related contradictions. ok, so like you are probably thinking i checked the release date of the book. maybe it was before 08, wrong! copyright 2010 and first published date of 2010. so now we must assume he wrote this long ago and just now got around to publishing it.....but isn't that like me wrtiting an article about "the ins and outs of watching home movies" and in the pages of the book i talk about every vhs player on the planet with all the pros and cons but i release the book 3 years after the dvd player came out? what the heck! listen i enjoy fred rau and what he has done for the spyder..but come on. your thoughts?

 

[bjt]

I can't speak for Fred but I do know that people's opinions can change or don't apply in every instance. Does his book even mention a Spyder or any other trike or is it two wheels only? From the times I talked with him or read his comments, he seemed to truly enjoy the RTS he was riding. :thumbup:

 

[musicarcade]

ok, this is sure to elevate some peoples blood pressure. not the intended purpose but none the less here is my beef......on the advice of another member here posting that we all need to buy fred rau's new book ,"motorcycle touring bible" i purchased it. as i began reading through it last night for the first time i ended up with a feeling of betrayal! let me explain, in chapter 3 "avoiding common pitfalls in buying a bike" he goes on to explain, i qoute. "make sure it has enough range" , " to my mind, any bike intended for use as a touring machine should be able to travel a minimum of 175 miles on a tank of gas, with a reserve capacity to carry you at least another 40 miles beyond that if necessary.":dontknow: this is the same fred rau that talks on youtube about not having ANYTHING he would change about the spyder? hmmmm. another page..."RESIST BUYING THE LATEST AND GREATEST" i qoute, "when a new model, or totally new version of an existing model is about to come out,millions of dollars are spent to generate media hype that will hopefully trigger a feeding frenzy in local dealerships showrooms..." then he talks about the buyers of these new products having "a bad case of buyers remorse" he later flat out says to not buy these new models for at least two years! another point i dont remember him stating about the spyder. the chapters go on and on with spyder related contradictions. ok, so like you are probably thinking i checked the release date of the book. maybe it was before 08, wrong! copyright 2010 and first published date of 2010. so now we must assume he wrote this long ago and just now got around to publishing it.....but isn't that like me wrtiting an article about "the ins and outs of watching home movies" and in the pages of the book i talk about every vhs player on the planet with all the pros and cons but i release the book 3 years after the dvd player came out? what the heck! listen i enjoy fred rau and what he has done for the spyder..but come on. your thoughts?

I think you brought up some valid points, but you have to give Fred some leeway with the :spyder2: because it is not a motorcycle
And with that comment, I now finally get to use this little :bdh:

 

[CyncySpyder]

I haven't read it myself :dontknow: but your "beef" seems logical, at least to Teddy & I

 

[Lamonster]

Even though it's called the "Motorcycle Touring Bible" it was not written buy God nor is Fred the touring "god". This book has been in the works long before he had a Spyder and if you ask Fred point blank I'm sure he would tell you that range is an issue with the RT as we have had this conversation many times before. He is sharing his experience of riding many motorcycles over more than a million miles in the past 40 years.

I'm not sure what you're really upset about but I have his book and I hate to say it but I have yet to read it but even if I did it wouldn't change a thing about how I feel about the Spyder or the changes I would like to see in future RT's.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19055

 

[fordguyupnorth]

no the spyder was never mentioned. nor was any other 3 wheel bike. i know that fred loves his spyder of that i have no doubt! i just expected to finally see something in print ( other than on this site) about the spyder and once again ...nothing. i search and search my favorite motorcycle magazines and no one has accepted the spyder yet. or brp doesn't want to be involved. not sure. i think using the " the spyder isn't a motorcycle" line is a cop out though. who is going to use the spyder? motorcyclists! what will they do with it? the same thing they did when they had other brands of motorcycles!

 

[BajaRon]

I can understand that you're a bit put off by what seems to be contradictions here. Here is what I think you need to have in mind.

1- It's just 1 man's opinion
2- There is no perfect machine
3- Not everyone is going to like what you're riding (just as you may not be thrilled with someone else's ride)
4- If you are satisfied with what you ride, then who cares what someone else thinks.
5- Fred Rau loves his Spyder (another contradiction?)

Would we like to have more range on the Spyder (especially the RT)? Absolutely! Is there a risk in buying a brand new product? Yes!

Fred brings up some valid points that should be considered when buying a motorcycle. In my case, I was willing to deal with these 2 issues and I am very glad I did. I'd have passed up 3 years of pure joy if I'd followed Mr. Rau's advise (and that's all it is, advise).

And you know what you can do with advise..... Take it or leave it.

 

[fordguyupnorth]

very much understand that fred isn't god. but he is supposed to be one of the "top" ambassadors of the spyder. the book doesn't change my mind at all about the spyder either. but if your going to write a book about motorcycle touring, and include chapters on choosing the right machine to do what you want. at least have the responsability to make it relevant to the current decade.

 

[boborgera]

Fred is a Goldwing ''type'' of guy, He doesn't own a Spyder, He might like the Spyder but it's not his type of bike, But for considerations he'll ride one and advertise it. :dontknow:

 

[Firefly]

very much understand that fred isn't god. but he is supposed to be one of the "top" ambassadors of the spyder. the book doesn't change my mind at all about the spyder either. but if your going to write a book about motorcycle touring, and include chapters on choosing the right machine to do what you want. at least have the responsability to make it relevant to the current decade.

And if he had bragged up the Spyder every other page then what would that look like?

It is what it is.

The Spyder most certainly HAS been recognized and 'adopted' by the motorcycle world --- much more than many of us would have expected.

In the end--- who cares what anyone else or any group thinks?

Like what you ride and ride what you like !

 

[fordguyupnorth]

i guess if he bragged up the spyder on every other page it would look like.....well......the goldwing that he bragged up on every other page.

 

[Lamonster]

very much understand that fred isn't god. but he is supposed to be one of the "top" ambassadors of the spyder. the book doesn't change my mind at all about the spyder either. but if your going to write a book about motorcycle touring, and include chapters on choosing the right machine to do what you want. at least have the responsability to make it relevant to the current decade.

If you want current info on what he thinks about the Spyder go here.
http://blog.spyderfred.com/
He has over 50,000 miles on the Spyder he has now in just over a years time so I would say he pretty much still likes it even though it doesn't have the range he would like. I'm guessing he could really use that range now that he just rode from CA to FL last week and he's heading back now. :doorag:

 

[XLT]

:2thumbs:

very much understand that fred isn't god. but he is supposed to be one of the "top" ambassadors of the spyder. the book doesn't change my mind at all about the spyder either. but if your going to write a book about motorcycle touring, and include chapters on choosing the right machine to do what you want. at least have the responsability to make it relevant to the current decade.

for a relatively new book I thought the pages smelled musty.

 

[SethO]

interesting... the spyder is not in his book, I will say and agree that there is NO perfect bike but I thought he would talk about it with all the work he has done for brp..

 

[Lamonster]

I sent Fred a link to this post and maybe he can tell you why the Spyder is not in his book. He's heading back to CA right now so it may be a few days before he can post anything.

 

[fordguyupnorth]

COOL! thanks lamont! i am thinking YOUR the one that should be writing a book! appreciate all you do!:clap:

 

[Bob Denman]

If you think that describing the perfect bike is tough; try picking out the perfect girl! (Or Guy!)
Fred likes them... I like mine... you (I assume) like yours... What's wrong with that?:dontknow:

 

[fordguyupnorth]

not a thing is wrong with that! of course you and i have not wrote a book about it.

 

[hevnbound]

Anytime one writes a book addressed to a specific genre of society with a myriad of interests and opinions within that group, the writer has to use generalized terms and conclusions. I think the key to your classifying some of Fred's statements as contradictions is your own statement; "to my mind". The book wasn't written to you and you alone,

Travel range to a rider is different depending on their riding style. To one, a tank worth 100 miles is too much. A real "iron butter" doesn't start thinking about a break 'till around 300 miles!

I agree with Fred about being cautious on buying a newly released version/model, etc! Early adapters are usually disappointed when the product doesn't meet all their expectations. The wise and often frugal decision would be to wait till the "bugs" are worked out and the price goes down. That's why I waited - my serial nbr is 37 ..... I figured they had all the problems resolved after they built 36 Spyders!! :2thumbs:

I was wrong!:yikes: Brake recall, parking brake, trunk latch, DPS, DPS2, etc, etc. But like Fred, I have no regrets. Likewise, the fact of the "hype" from the manufacturers is designed to convince us consumers that we just have to have their latest and greatest! iPad sold 15 million of the first release. Not long after there were untold numbers of "almost new" iPads for sale when the unwary buyers realized - "I don't need this thing!". Anyone who bought the first batch of 2001 Goldwings will tell you (me included) that they would never had thought they would have the problems those bikes had - it was a GOLDWING for Pete's sake!

In the early couple of years the Spyder was released, it astounded me to see the number of low-mileage Spyders that were for sale! A lot of these people got caught up in the hype! It happens.

I've been reading Fred Rau for years, usually in MCN magazine (an excellent magazine BTW without paid advertisers). He has a style of writing like no other Motor Sport writer. He has never shied away from writing what he believes. He is like the rest of us however, he doesn't always take his own advice.

Well, that's my $nickel's worth!

 

[arntufun]

The only book I ever read is my wifes bank book !!! :roflblack::2thumbs::roflblack: