Dick Wells
New member
Picked up my 08 last July, with 836 total miles on it. Never will know for sure, just why I'm the 3rd owner, but, I have a couple of suspicions.
* I doubt that the 1st two owners gave the bike a fair trial. Many aspects of an RS make it a beast to ride, especially early on.
* It had a rather large mouse nest in the air cleaner, from being stored for many months of those two years. Like, about a full quart container of seeds, pine needles, cones, hay, acorns, feathers, etc, etc! All this making for a pretty sour running engine'
* The riding position still "sucks", after 6K+ miles.
*The seat is a sorry excuse for a place to sit, especially for a bony old fart of 71 YOA.
* The Rotax is one rough engine; Hardly an improvement over a Hog! Balance shafts and still, a whole lot of buzz, at any RPM.
* The fuel mileage is a joke, at around 31 on my last 1200 mile jaunt up through the Texas Hill Country. No excuse for a 1 L engine, hauling that light a machine, with no more frontal area than a Spyder, and with only a fraction of that 106 HP being used, to be that much less eficient than a Harley, which weighs 200 lbs more, and has a larger engine, and getting over 40! And the 1000 lb Gold Wing, with every option you could dream up, got a strong 45!
Now: The things that I DO like.
* I don't fault the ride. I like the way it soaks up bumps, the bad seat aside.
*Handling is surprisingly good. Can't believe how it handles diagonal road irregularities! That, disregarding the lousy DPS. Wish there was a delete for that thing. Forgot to put the DPS in the rant list, above.
*I like the brakes, squeel and all.
* I like the clutch and transmission real well, and that includes the reverse, which I consider top-notch.
* I like the lights, but have to admit that I haven't followed a Spyder, so can't speak to how visible it is from the rear. I've learned to ride with the high beams on in the day-light, because my (guys) have told me that they couldn't see my low beams when I was behind them.
* The thing is a hot rod, and I don't want more power. I'd give up 40% of that power to gain a 30% increase in fuel mileage. If they were available, I'd buy a set of cams that would give some torque at lower revs and an increase in mileage and (especially), smoothness.
Kind of a summary, goes like this: I rode that Gold Wing, yesterday, and liked it, pretty well. But. The Spyder will romp all over the Ural side-car, and the Gold Wing, and the Harley Dresser, and the Honda 1100 Shadow that I rode with, on the way to the Hlls, and back. If I was to go back to a two-wheeler, it'd have to be something like a Beemer with a good long seat, and enough storage to be a decent tourer. I just don't think that I'd be happy on something as plush as the GW, even though that 1.8 Boxer Six is sooooo smooth, and quiet. Don't want no Hog. Got more than enough buzz to last me a lifetime, right here in the Spyder.
Thinking about putting some pegs/boards out where I'll need to replace some of the Tupper Ware, and see if I can live with the Spyder a little better. Can't afford to trade for a Cruiser, and don't even know if I'd like one.
At my age, the wow factor of having a bunch of kids and (mostly) old farts like me, come up and ask questions, and even take pictures, is not enough to make me say that I'm really happy on the Spyder, or to make me stop missing my two-wheeler.
Gee, I wish my wife would let me ride a "real" motocycle! Now, that ought to stir the pot!
* I doubt that the 1st two owners gave the bike a fair trial. Many aspects of an RS make it a beast to ride, especially early on.
* It had a rather large mouse nest in the air cleaner, from being stored for many months of those two years. Like, about a full quart container of seeds, pine needles, cones, hay, acorns, feathers, etc, etc! All this making for a pretty sour running engine'
* The riding position still "sucks", after 6K+ miles.
*The seat is a sorry excuse for a place to sit, especially for a bony old fart of 71 YOA.
* The Rotax is one rough engine; Hardly an improvement over a Hog! Balance shafts and still, a whole lot of buzz, at any RPM.
* The fuel mileage is a joke, at around 31 on my last 1200 mile jaunt up through the Texas Hill Country. No excuse for a 1 L engine, hauling that light a machine, with no more frontal area than a Spyder, and with only a fraction of that 106 HP being used, to be that much less eficient than a Harley, which weighs 200 lbs more, and has a larger engine, and getting over 40! And the 1000 lb Gold Wing, with every option you could dream up, got a strong 45!
Now: The things that I DO like.
* I don't fault the ride. I like the way it soaks up bumps, the bad seat aside.
*Handling is surprisingly good. Can't believe how it handles diagonal road irregularities! That, disregarding the lousy DPS. Wish there was a delete for that thing. Forgot to put the DPS in the rant list, above.
*I like the brakes, squeel and all.
* I like the clutch and transmission real well, and that includes the reverse, which I consider top-notch.
* I like the lights, but have to admit that I haven't followed a Spyder, so can't speak to how visible it is from the rear. I've learned to ride with the high beams on in the day-light, because my (guys) have told me that they couldn't see my low beams when I was behind them.
* The thing is a hot rod, and I don't want more power. I'd give up 40% of that power to gain a 30% increase in fuel mileage. If they were available, I'd buy a set of cams that would give some torque at lower revs and an increase in mileage and (especially), smoothness.
Kind of a summary, goes like this: I rode that Gold Wing, yesterday, and liked it, pretty well. But. The Spyder will romp all over the Ural side-car, and the Gold Wing, and the Harley Dresser, and the Honda 1100 Shadow that I rode with, on the way to the Hlls, and back. If I was to go back to a two-wheeler, it'd have to be something like a Beemer with a good long seat, and enough storage to be a decent tourer. I just don't think that I'd be happy on something as plush as the GW, even though that 1.8 Boxer Six is sooooo smooth, and quiet. Don't want no Hog. Got more than enough buzz to last me a lifetime, right here in the Spyder.
Thinking about putting some pegs/boards out where I'll need to replace some of the Tupper Ware, and see if I can live with the Spyder a little better. Can't afford to trade for a Cruiser, and don't even know if I'd like one.
At my age, the wow factor of having a bunch of kids and (mostly) old farts like me, come up and ask questions, and even take pictures, is not enough to make me say that I'm really happy on the Spyder, or to make me stop missing my two-wheeler.
Gee, I wish my wife would let me ride a "real" motocycle! Now, that ought to stir the pot!
hyea:
Throwing snowballs? Whazat? 
