2015 Can-Am Spyder Roadster Spied!

[billybovine]

The pictures show a camouflaged prototype vehicle. Obviously it's a Spyder. What features of the prototype will make it into production and when can only be speculated on. But there must be something in the pictures that BRP does not want us to see. I missed it but the pictures must have been posted on the Ontario Spyder Riders Facebook page. BRP requested that the pictures be removed and they were. That has caused some controversy as you may imagine. The explanation takes the tone of dealers needing to informed first of new models and features. Not the customers telling the dealers.

 

[KX5062]

I guess a lot people don't haunt motorcycle or car boards in which "spy photos" are in the norm. You have to really look at the photos carefully and repeatedly to get some of the details of what their doing. :lecturef_smilie:

It clearly is a test mule that missing body work and has others covered by cloth panels. But, you can see some interesting details that offer glimpses of what's to come.

For example some of the things I see are:

It has a single large radiator in the center of the bike. Very different concept to current models and based on the body work around it, I'm sure this is going to be production.

It does have a frunk, if you look closely you can see the seam of the trunk line under the covers. Probably much smaller than current production.

It has the ACE motor, not the 996. If it is some new 600cc ACE variant, then it looks identical to the 1330cc, so I would tend to believe it's the 1330.
http://www.brp.com/en-us/innovation/eco-performance-technologies/4-stroke-engines (This IS the ACE 600 and it looks nothing like the photo.)

As some of have pointed out, it has a tubular swingarm with a belt drive. That could just be for testing purposes and not production. Bending and welding aluminum tubing is expensive and usually only done by low production high end companies, so I would believe it's for testing only and not for production. (Suzuki tried it on a motorcycle and dropped it because of production costs.)

The riding position does seem to be production. However, don't go by looking at the rider. He is a tester with a laptop in his lap, so he is hunkered up because he's beta testing and not because he has to. The riding position does bring the feet significantly forward and the bars offer a much more upright posture.

The seat, grab bars and other things appear to be production level and not exclusively for testing.

The lights also appear to be production, although not in the finished body work. As does the instrument panel.

The wheels, brakes and front fenders are all standard production stuff.

I'm sure other sharp eyes people can see other things. :firstplace:

 

[Kratos]

I love the way the rider is looking at the camera like "Crap, they got me."

 

[Topshotta]

Good to Go

I like it......it's different. Anyone interesting in buying my 2012 RSS? Need to make room for this new design.

 

[bobnaquin]

Not impressed....

Someone needs to put the crack pipe down and move away from the CAD machine.

 

[SpyderGTL]

New Roadster Model?

If I were to guess, it's the new entry-level roadster - it definitely has an old school roadster vibe to it. Personally, I think the Can Am Roadster would finally live up to its name!

I'd bet the farm, if I had one, that this mule has the triple in it. I took quite a few pictures all around the naked 2014 RT at the Owner's Event in June, and the right side of the 1330 engine on that RT is identical to what's seen in the pictures.

I think BRP is going after the small to medium size cruiser market. I think this could be a fourth model to the line-up and obviously not with just a stripped down RS. The forward controls, seating position, and exposed engine bay help give it a cruiser feel to it. The minimal Tupperware and electronics will help keep the cost down. Just like a metric cruiser, say a Honda Shadow Aero 750, my first bike, initial purchase price is held down by making something like a windscreen an option.

With a real roadster look and a presumed ~$10K price point, it looks like retro-look bikes, like my old Shadow Aero or the Honda CB1100 or even the new BMW RnineT (though at a higher cost) and even the Harley Sportster could be the targeted competition.

With the triple apparently going into this roadster, I wouldn't be surprised if the triple becomes the common engine across the product line - that could be the big change for the RS and ST for 2015. Of course, the RS could get this platform as well, with more Tupperware, electronics, and the driver's foot position pulled back for the sport riding position.

Personally, I'm looking for an ST with the triple in it, and now that I've seen the forward controls on this mule, I'd like those too. The current brake pedal location just doesn't work well with my body geometry - it's the reason I bought the BMW instead of a Spyder.

My two cents...

 

[capt.jim]

I'm kinda liking it actually, the forward controls, handlebars look easy to change, the exhaust shape looks like they may have put the cat back in there like the GS/RS, which would be real convenient, the swing arm setup, sinister looking headlights.
I see a lot I like, even the looks on a different level. To each their own I guess.
It's all speculation at this point.

 

[IntoTheWind]

Really? Soap Box Derby anyone...

Not Impressed, if that’s coming next, I'll sell my Spyder and purchase a T-Rex or Sling Shot.

 

[jpbuch9309]

ugly:yikes::yikes:

 

[retread]

I'd like to see a shot of the left side, looks on a mule are like lipstick on a pig, show me the running gear, the position changes for the controls, things like that. Everything else is just cosmetics.

john

 

[johnnyg]

Carol and I well see you all Friday afternoon so we can make the light ride :trike:, then coming back home { Moss Bluff :dontknow: } and come back over Sat.

 

[spydee owner]

Like the seating position. Also like the way the foot brake is positioned. engine side panels are finished which would suggest to me that -if this is pre-production - there will be no plastic site panels.

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree: It looks like more mechanicals, and less Tupperware. :2thumbs:

 

[Whitetail]

Id love to see a set of bare minimum body panels for the RS. Except the RS is kinda ugly under the plastic wires and pipes everywhere this looks much more finished because its meant to be exposed, of this is an entry level spyder at 10k or less and is about as fast and gets better gas mileage than the current RS i will be trading, although, it looks like passenger seating is very very minimal. Maybe the tester is sitting where the passenger sits to fit the laptop on her lap, hence the weird position.

 

[Yazz]

The responses remind me of the Harley folk's responses to the V-Rod over a decade ago and to this day it's the "red-headed stepchild" of their brand. Time will tell how this one plays out.

:agree:

Was at a bike rally the first time I saw a V-Rod. Everyone kept calling him 'Water Boy.'

My how times have changed... yet never changed at all...

 

[wyliec]

:agree:

Was at a bike rally the first time I saw a V-Rod. Everyone kept calling him 'Water Boy.'

My how times have changed... yet never changed at all...

Excellent; but, that will fall on deaf ears. Lamont tried to say that (in another thread); but, I think he got a little bit too wordy. You got right to the point.:thumbup:

 

[MarkLawson]

Not Impressed, if that’s coming next, I'll sell my Spyder and purchase a T-Rex or Sling Shot.

Are you concerned that your Spyder will somehow take on the new look if they put the Spyder pictured into production???

 

[reissooz]

the more things change the more they stay the same.....

:agree:

Was at a bike rally the first time I saw a V-Rod. Everyone kept calling him 'Water Boy.'

My how times have changed... yet never changed at all...

As a v-rod owner and member of the v-rod owner groups, this is truly deja vu! I look forward to seeing the final product. A Spyder with a little more forward foot control and more upright seating with a little less bodywork (like rear trunk, etc.) would be just what I would hope for, especially with the 1330 motor!

 

[H2O]

Someone mentioned a single radiator across the front. Take a closer look at one of the photos showing the right side in front of the tire. I think I see a radiator mounted sideways which could make the front grill a simple divided air scoop for pushing air through 2 side mounted radiators.

John

 

[DaDrkmysta]

6 weeks away right?

For what it's worth if BRP found a way to cool of the pesky heat issue and get more zip out of the Spyder for a much younger demographic so be it. The more different looking spyders out there the better. I'd hate to see spyders fall into that "they all look the same" mode. RS,RS-S,ST,RT and now a let's call it "Shorty" for now. I can't wait to see finished product.