#1.... The Slingshot is NOT a threat to the Spyder. It is a glorified go cart and not practical except to rip around a little. Not a mileage machine. ALSO notice how WIDE the slingshot is. Only about 8" of road left to move in. The thing is a road hog. Cool, but...
Again, I beg to differ, if only to offer a friendly contrarian view.
The Slingshot is not a threat to the ST or RT as it is not a touring machine. No argument there.
But, as a happy RS owner, let me tell you the three general types of people who consider buying the RS:
1. People with ~$20K in their pocket who ride motorcycles who now want to ride 3 wheels, either for physical reasons, safety considerations, or genuine personal interest/curiosity.
2. People with $20K in their pocket who never rode motorcycles before who want to ride something "motorcycle-like."
3. People with ~$20K in their pocket who never rode motorcycles before who want to ride something sporty. I call these the "disposable income for recreational vehicles" segment-- the same segment that buys quads, snowmobiles, jetskis, etc. that aren't always motorcycle riders.
Category #1 is overwhelmingly populated by your RT and ST owners now that those models are available (before they were available, everybody bought the RS because that was our only option-- they don't factor into the *future* popularity of a "sport Spyder," however, as they now have choices more to their liking).
Category #2 is right in the Spyder's wheelhouse. The RS (or now F3) can appeal to that market, and those people are not likely to cross-shop the Slingshot.
Category #3, however, *is* likely to cross-shop the Slingshot, and hard. If they want something sporty but DON'T want a motorcycle, before they had the RS as an option. The F3 may kick serious tail-- no one here has ridden one yet (except those dirty, awful people who aren't talking!

)-- but on face value it
doesn't seem to be as oriented towards the sport rider as the RS was.
I'm only working on assumption, but my assumption is that the population of Category #3 is by far the largest group. If you are not already a motorcycle rider but want a three-wheeled touring machine, you're going to get an RT or an ST. But if you are not already a motorcycle rider and you just want to have something fun in the twisties, you're probably going to look at something that costs the same but almost-certainly delivers superior sport performance (having spoken with folks I trust this past weekend who've already driven the Slingshot, they all raved about it with drool in their mouths, it's *that* fun).
For my money, BRP had two real options to compete in that "disposable income" segment: make the RS (or its replacement) cheaper to expand its appeal/market penetration, or go in a different direction altogether, and turn away from that "sporty three-wheeler" customer who never appeared in profitable numbers. On face value, it looks as if BRP chose the second option with the F3. BRP couldn't obtain/generate customers interested in a sport trike, maybe there are customers for a cruiser trike, they're going to try.
I don't begrudge them their choice; they're smarter businessmen and women than I am, they've done their market research. That said, this wouldn't be the first time market research was
wrong, and for the sake of all of us who really do genuinely love the Spyder in ALL its forms, I hope that isn't the case with the F3.
P.S. All the disclaimers above, I can't wait to ride one. :2thumbs: And honestly, I may be in the market for one if it's as comfortable to ride as one hopes, leaving my sport enthusiasm to be satisfied by my hopefully-growing stable to two wheels.