You asked for me to post my pros and cons for a Spyder. Remember I am 75 and coming off of 300,000 miles in 15 years on two wheels, after many certified Iron Butt Association rides, and a lot of touring. I went from a Honda VTX 1300R to a Yamaha Royal Star Venture S, to a Triumph Tiger 900 GT. I liked them all for different reasons. I made all of them comfortable for me. I added an auxiliary tank for longer distances between required fill ups late at night. I can still safely ride two wheels anywhere I want to.
But at 75 I decided if I want to keep riding and enjoying it far into the future I would switch to 3 wheels. I seriously thought about a sidecar rig but figured a Spyder would be easier to resell later. I do not like the traditional trike. I do not like the handling of it. I have ridden all three of my choices including instruction on them. The Spyder was the winner. Since I like touring and riding long distances, I went with the Spyder RT Limited.
These are my opinions and observations. Please take them as such. I am not wanting to debate them. If you disagree, I don't could not care less. Everyone has their opinion.
Spyder RT Limited Pros and Cons (as compared to a 2-wheel motorcycle)
My comparison is to two wheels of many long-distance rides with an auxiliary fuel tank.
I have only had mine 4 months and 4,000 miles. I will know more after I do a SS1000. Don’t go by the number of pros and cons as some carry more weight than others. Each person's needs, wants, and requirements are different.
Be sure to test ride before you buy, probably more than once or twice. Try to make some on interstate and some on secondary roads. If you can rent one for a day or two that would be great. I rented one for two days. I rode about 500 miles including 100 local, 200 secondary highways, and 200 interstate. I liked it but at that time not enough to trade in my 2 wheels.
Pros:
In my opinion it is the best 3-wheel option. Beats not riding at all. It is stable. I like it. I feel safer. I still wear ATGATT.
It handles well on interstates at 75-80mph. Twisties are different.
Plenty of storage.
They have a lot of safety features. Great lights. It would be difficult to “flip” it. Safer than a trike.
Steady strong cross winds do not seem to affect it as much (less tiring) as on two wheels. Wind gusts are still felt but differently.
U-turns are easy.
Parking is not a problem. You don’t have to worry about the slope of the ground, it won’t fall over.
Do not have to put your feet down in heavy stop and go traffic or construction sites.
Do not have to hold in the clutch when stopped. It is semi-automatic. It has a thumb shifter. I’d rather have a foot shifter. You shift up
with no clutch. It will down shift automatically or you can down shift.
One brake, a pedal on the right foot operates all three brakes. ABS
As comfortable as any good touring motorcycle
It will not fall over.
Service intervals after the first 3000 miles is 9,300mi to keep warranty (2 years)
*Purchase 3 more years extended warranty $700 from Tom Parker @ I Motor Sports, Spyder dealer
630-634-8428, in Chicago area, 334 W Grand Ave, Elmhurst, IL 60126. It is a BRP BEST warranty, the same as dealers want from
$1700 to $2800.
Supposed to have a 7 gallon tank. May not be only 6 usable. I did manage to put 6.2 gallons in it with 33 miles left to empty, slow
process.
When new it comes with a hard copy owner’s manual. My last motorcycle only came with online manual.
A lot of aftermarket farkles. I’ve added several, of course only for comfort and for safety.
Cons:
Pricey but so is a Goldwing and many touring motorcycles.
Service can be expensive so can motorcycles.
It takes some getting used to. Very different from 2 wheels. I’ll aways miss two wheels on twisties.
Some say there are only 6 gallons of usable tank space. I will be experimenting. I have put in 6.2, very slowly, with 35 miles to empty
displayed. If in fact a person can use 7 gallons that is not bad even at 30 mpg. I am used to running an aux tank so 6 gallons
@75mph, for me, is a limiting factor.
A lot of plastic to remove for service. Goldwing? Even my Tiger 900 GT also had a lot to remove.
Twitchy steering when you first ride it. Just stay loose in your arms like riding a dirt bike. You will get used to it and even like it.
Steering is more sensitive to the irregular road surface than a motorcycle because of the 3 tracks.
It has three tracks making it more difficult to avoid debris in the road instead of one.
Extended warranty is expensive if bought through the dealers. See above.
*This is on the Con list because most touring motorcycles do better at speed. MPG should be between 30 & 35 at highway speeds. I’ll have to find out. Here is what I found out on a 3000-mile trip with varied highways and speeds. 75mph into a 20mph wind=28mpg. 75mph no wind=30 (maybe more). 65mph=33mpg. Below 65=40 and @ 55 a little better. Your mpg may vary.
Filling the fuel tank requires the raising of the rider’s seat. It is slow for a complete fill. Maybe modify filler hole for complete fill.
Keep in mind on this con, I am used to sitting on my seat holding the motorcycle vertically to fill the tank to the top. I then would pull away from the pump if I needed to go inside.
The range on interstates may only be 170 miles before empty, start looking at 140. I got 200 on back roads. Not sure if the tank was as full as it could have been.
Can Bus electrical system or whatever they call it. A lot of vehicles use it now. A fuse block should be the way around it; I’ll see.
As far as I know tires are only available through BRP, not cheap but no motorcycle tire is. A few run car tires. Most shops won’t mount them. My research shows the wheel rim lip is like a car so car tires should work.
The owner’s manual lacks a lot, and has a lot to be desired, but there is one. I think they use the same manual for all Spyders.
The seat and tail trunk strut are a weak point. Good aftermarket options. Easy to replace.
I've got the T shirt 
