Driving Practice, or Attempted Murder by Spyder?

[JamesLaz]

I am lucky to still be alive, my wife tried to kill me!

My wife loves our (MINE ALL MINE) Can Am Spyder and wants to learn to drive it and maybe get her one at some point. I have taken her to a few abandon off road areas to practice, and she has done well doing up 45 MPH. The other day we were on a long ride out on some very low traffic country roads and I asked if she wanted to give it a try on the open road. She was nervous but wanted to give it a go.

When trying in the abandon areas she was very cautious and took it easy and listed to every word I was saying in the intercom. She did very well and took direction well, I was impressed with how cautious she was.

This road we were on had a 50 max speed limit and was a older country road with little traffic. I had pulled off, turned off the music and we were on intercom only. I got on the back she got on the front, and I instructed her on how to pull on to the road, slow and easy and take it slow. She confirmed and got ready to go.

She looks and there is a car coming in our direction, I tell her to let it pass and then to go easy.

For some unknown reason my wife's brain shorted out and she saw the car and as soon as it passed, she took off! She in her mind thought she had to catch the car. I am on the back and feel like I'm about to go flying off! I look and we are doing 60! I am now yelling in the intercom slow down, slow down, and she's just gunning it. When we hit 70, I was seriously worried, she was not doing well, and I could tell she was in over her head. She finally heard me and slowed down. We got pulled off and she said her mind got stuck on the car and it was all she could think of; nothing else.

She calmed down, we tried it again, and she did great. She kept it to 50 mph and was fine, she got caught up not thinking of what to do and was just thinking of that damn car or whatever reason.

I know she feels really bad about it and she doesn't understand why she did it. I think she let her nervousness get to her.

She had no idea how much it takes to be the one driving, you can't relax like in a car, you have to be on and paying attention 100% of the time.

We will have to see how she does the next time and if she even wants to get one for herself now. I like the idea of her being able to drive if I can't for whatever reason.

Thanks,
James

 

[racoon]

Perhaps it's time to sign her up for a 3-wheel Basic Rider Course?

Google found two companies in Arizona that offer the three wheel course:

https://motorcycletraining.com/courses/

https://ridearizonamtc.com/course-descriptions/3-wheels-basic-rider-course/

 

[Snoking1127]

Send her to the Can Am training class in Gibert, Peoria, Tucson, Sierra Vista. E Park Link Dr off 79 about 10 Northwest of Oracle Junction runs to the West for 18 miles and has really low traffic and some curves to practice on. Concentrating on another vehicle coming the other direction is really bad, particularly in curves. One needs to look to where they want to go.

https://www.can-am.brp.com/on-road/us/en/learn-to-ride/registration.html

 

[blacklightning]

3 years ago, my wife, and my 2 buddies wives decided that they were going to get their license and ride their own spyders. Well, I made the move first and picked up my wife a nice used F3T, even before she got her license. The leader of the 3 got her license first and ordered a brand new 2022 F3S (paid twice what I did for my wife's 2016 F3T). My wife and my other buddy's wife took the class together. On the first day, my buddy's wife almost ran over the instructor and didn't go back. A month later, she decided to order a new Slingshot. It has been nearly 3 years and the one who got the new F3S has driven about 300 miles, the one with the slingshot has driven maybe 1000 miles (this includes driving it to the Spyder Rally in Maggie Valley). But my wife has been a trooper, especially the first year. We normally take a trip to the mountains for my birthday week. 2 years ago, I asked that we take our spyders and the only gift that I wanted was for her to ride her own, and don't complain. She did great. We did the BRP from the Boone area, all the way down to Cherokee. Her biggest issue is that when leading, she follows other cars too closely. But as a follower, she is as good as they come. For 2023, her milage was down quite a bit, and she probably did less than 500 miles. But I am hoping we can get her back up to the 2000+ miles a year like she did in the beginning.

 

[MonPaul]

I am lucky to still be alive, my wife tried to kill me!

My wife loves our (MINE ALL MINE) Can Am Spyder and wants to learn to drive it and maybe get her one at some point. I have taken her to a few abandon off road areas to practice, and she has done well doing up 45 MPH. The other day we were on a long ride out on some very low traffic country roads and I asked if she wanted to give it a try on the open road. She was nervous but wanted to give it a go.

When trying in the abandon areas she was very cautious and took it easy and listed to every word I was saying in the intercom. She did very well and took direction well, I was impressed with how cautious she was.

This road we were on had a 50 max speed limit and was a older country road with little traffic. I had pulled off, turned off the music and we were on intercom only. I got on the back she got on the front, and I instructed her on how to pull on to the road, slow and easy and take it slow. She confirmed and got ready to go.

She looks and there is a car coming in our direction, I tell her to let it pass and then to go easy.

For some unknown reason my wife's brain shorted out and she saw the car and as soon as it passed, she took off! She in her mind thought she had to catch the car. I am on the back and feel like I'm about to go flying off! I look and we are doing 60! I am now yelling in the intercom slow down, slow down, and she's just gunning it. When we hit 70, I was seriously worried, she was not doing well, and I could tell she was in over her head. She finally heard me and slowed down. We got pulled off and she said her mind got stuck on the car and it was all she could think of; nothing else.

She calmed down, we tried it again, and she did great. She kept it to 50 mph and was fine, she got caught up not thinking of what to do and was just thinking of that damn car or whatever reason.

I know she feels really bad about it and she doesn't understand why she did it. I think she let her nervousness get to her.

She had no idea how much it takes to be the one driving, you can't relax like in a car, you have to be on and paying attention 100% of the time.

We will have to see how she does the next time and if she even wants to get one for herself now. I like the idea of her being able to drive if I can't for whatever reason.

Thanks,
James

This made me think of how helpless our passengers must feel when we decide to go a little crazy sometimes!

 

[AndysF3S]

Maybe, just maybe there was toooo much instruction going on? Has she been a licensed vehicle driver for years or is she just learning to drive?

My suggestion is the same as the others, find and let her enroll in a good 3 wheel driving school than stand back and let them provide the supervision. You may be surprised at how soon she becomes competent.

 

[ARtraveler]

Teaching some people to drive can be a real issue. Personalities kick in and stuff happens.

In your case, let someone else teach her the basics. :bowdown:

 

[2dogs]

A hidden disaster waiting to happen if you put her on a spyder. My wife is almost the same as yours. If we were away from home and something happened to me and I couldn't drive, my wife's well being would be my first of several concerns. My spyder would be near my last concern. It's replaceable, my wife isn't. Sorry, that's just how I see it.

 

[Mikey]

I would love my wife to do what yours is wanting to do!!! She loves to ride her own sled and would not want to do anything else! Can I get her to dip her toe in this pool, not so much!! She likes to sit back and smell the roses and tell me what I should have done, after I did it. So, what I can say just like above, be kind, and if you don't think you can teach her the right way to drive a bike, then find a class and maybe do it with her, maybe YOU will learn something and you will both come out of it better off in a lot of ways!!:2thumbs: Good luck I am jealous.

 

[Cobwebs]

How is she with driving generally. Had any accidents. What are her reflex actions like. Does she think ahead and behind or follow traffic. Most of us that have come from motorcycles to Spyders know of people that just shouldn't have gotten on a motorcycle and paid the ultimate price. Spyders, I count as being a bit more forgiving than a motorcycle but less so than a car. You know your wife's ability's better than anyone here, so you're not going to find the answer on these pages. For what it's worth, she's off to a poor start - go from there.

 

[JamesLaz]

Thank you all for your responses. I wanted to give a bit more information on this matter.

First off, she had done extremely well in her lessons before this on road incident. She is a very good driver in general and I fully trust her driving, she is not an emotional or nervous driver. The next point is after she got over the first 30 seconds and slowed down, she did great. She knew what mistakes she'd made, acknowledged them, and wanted to keep trying. She was afraid I was mad and would not teach her any longer.

We have always planned on her attending the Can Am rider courses her in Arizona, but she wanted to get some experience first so as to not look like a total newbie. She had never been on a motorcycle or three-wheeler before we got ours, so it’s all new to her.

I love that she has taken an interest, I honestly never thought she would be so into it, but it has become a great couple's activity for us and has only helped us be closer. I love being on the road and reaching down and putting my hand on her leg as we ride along.

I am going to continue to encourage her to lean more and do better and hope she enjoys it as much as I do. I joke about her, but truly love our Can Am couple’s time.

Thanks,
James

 

[racoon]

The whole point of the 3-wheel Basic Rider Course is to learn the basic skills of riding a 3-wheeler.


After taking mine, I asked them when they were going to offer an 3-wheel Advanced course. Nothing scheduled, yet.

 

[AZrailwhale]

Thank you all for your responses. I wanted to give a bit more information on this matter.

First off, she had done extremely well in her lessons before this on road incident. She is a very good driver in general and I fully trust her driving, she is not an emotional or nervous driver. The next point is after she got over the first 30 seconds and slowed down, she did great. She knew what mistakes she'd made, acknowledged them, and wanted to keep trying. She was afraid I was mad and would not teach her any longer.

We have always planned on her attending the Can Am rider courses her in Arizona, but she wanted to get some experience first so as to not look like a total newbie. She had never been on a motorcycle or three-wheeler before we got ours, so it’s all new to her.

I love that she has taken an interest, I honestly never thought she would be so into it, but it has become a great couple's activity for us and has only helped us be closer. I love being on the road and reaching down and putting my hand on her leg as we ride along.

I am going to continue to encourage her to lean more and do better and hope she enjoys it as much as I do. I joke about her, but truly love our Can Am couple’s time.

Thanks,
James

When I took the Arizona Trike course, all the other riders were total newbies. None had even sat on a Spyder before. I had been riding for three years in CA on my F-3 and used it in the course.

 

[MRH]

Just one thought before purchasing a Spyder or Ryker of her own. As others have pointed out, sometimes those get very miles and it's likely because it's something they want to do for you, not for themselves.

Make sure it's something she really wants for herself, not just to make you happy.

https://www.riders-share.com has lots of rental opportunities for the occasional rider.