Help W/Decision Goldwing to Spyder RTS

[Chazzman]

My wife and I agree that white is the color we want, problem being the 2011 I thought is a 2012, which drives the price up considerably, no factory dealer money, no dealer discount to speak of. I guess the Limited sells really well according to the dealer. First they will try and locate a new
2011 to purchase from another dealer. If not we have to make a decision to go with the 2012 or just wait a while longer. They offered me top dollars on my trades so I am pretty tempted.

 

[Tulare Spyder]

Good luck. My "new" spyder is a 2010. Rides very different that two wheels.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.221993,-119.318510

 

[kevorama]

My wife and I were trying to decide whether or not to trade our Honda VTX up to a Gold Wing. I had seen a few Spyders running around in my area and was intrigued. My main complaint, living in a very rural area, where there is nothing but corn, soy bean, and sod fields was the fear of a deer strike, or better yet, a multiple deer strike. Then I started thinking about the added weight of trying to dodge that in a Gold Wing.
... A long story short: It takes about 10 hours of Spyder riding to start to unlearn everything that is ingrained in your 2 wheeled muscle memory. If you get an RT series, which is a close model to the Gold Wing, The seating position is similar. Unlike a bike, you actually turn the handle bars in the same direction that you want to go. If you think I'm nuts, turn your bars left and see what happens. As a biker, this is the general routine that you go through when a light goes from yellow to red:
Release throttle and grab clutch
Put pressure on front brake and add in back brake (70% of breaking power is in the front wheel)
Down shifting with the left foot (provided you're not running a suicide shifter)
When we took our first test ride on an RTS I was comfy until we hit our first quick change light. By habit, I reached for the clutch, not there, I reached for the front brake, not there, started to downshift with my left foot, not there. Once again, by 2 wheeled habit, I refused to apply rear brake aggressively. Duh, there is only one brake and it's an ABS that covers all three wheels.
Initially, the 5 foot wide front stance felt stable. What I didn't realize at the time was that on a 2 wheeler you only notice the road unevenness from front to back. The Spyder stance will magnify the difference in concrete or asphalt grade from right to left significantly. At first I thought that the RTS was squirrely on the hwy. With two wheels you keep your balance perfectly vertical regardless of the rain run off tilt of the road. On a Spyder if the road tilts at an 8° angle, so does the Spyder. My wife and I have 3,500 mi. on our 2011 RTS and love it! Like I said in the beginning of this book, it takes some hands on time to unlearn years of two wheeled experience. But, you'll love the new learning curve!

 

[JCSMOKE]

My wife and I agree that white is the color we want, problem being the 2011 I thought is a 2012, which drives the price up considerably, no factory dealer money, no dealer discount to speak of. I guess the Limited sells really well according to the dealer. First they will try and locate a new
2011 to purchase from another dealer. If not we have to make a decision to go with the 2012 or just wait a while longer. They offered me top dollars on my trades so I am pretty tempted.

Keep in mind that these things are not difficult to upgrade, if you are handy and like to mess around with your Ryde then maybe a more vanilla model could work for you:dontknow:

 

[gypsy_100]

Over the past several years my wife and I put over 95,000 mi on our GL1800 Gold Wing and I also have an '09 V-Strom 650 ABS so I'm right there with you. Let me give you a slightly different take on how I feel about it after putting 4500 miles on my new RT-S SM5. The RT is a blast -- I love it. But I describe it as picking up a new hobby. It's just different. Some days I ride two wheels and some days three wheels. Two different hobbies and they're both great. Everyone's always asking which is better, what do you miss, isn't one a compromise of something, etc. I gave up on that approach and just tell what I really feel -- two different rides, two different activities, and both are great!

Now for the passenger, again a little different take. My wife loves riding the back seat on the 'Wing. Leaning thru the corners is great. She likes always being "in balance" and not getting thrown from side to side. Very relaxed back there. With the RT, she feels the lateral forces in the corners and must use her legs to brace her and/or the handgrips. Not as relaxing a ride. Also true for all the camber changes in the road. It's amazing how much the lesser roads change camber and the two-wheeler's go straight thru and you don't even realize it. With three wheels, the bike will be changing lean angle in agreement with the slope of the road. The result is your passenger will again be getting forces left/right and must work harder to maintain position than on a two-wheeler. But my passenger is coming around and getting more relaxed back there. We've only had one ride in a downpour so far but that was a good hundred miles worth and she said she felt much better on the RT than on the 'Wing. Much more secure. That surprised me as for all the thousands of miles we've ridden in the rain on the 'Wing, she never complained.

So there you have it. I consider the RT an unqualified blast and my wife's not sure yet but getting better and more in tune with it. Time will tell. If your wife was never enthused about leaning thru the corners and thought she was gonna' fall off, she might love the RT right from the get-go. Just depends on her background and comfort factors.

As for a test ride, don't expect love at first ride. As others stated, I found it twitchy on the straights and corners and just wasn't sure about it. Rode a demo three times for about 50 miles total and finally said to myself "I don't know but I've just got to try this thing". Bought it and love it. Takes some time to cure the twitchiness -- relax, look thru the corners not at the road in front of you, etc. All the things you do on a two-wheeler. Just remember when looking far down the road and thru the corners that you've got five feet of width to deal with. Don't drop one wheel off the edge of the road or hit something. For safety's sake, don't take a two-up ride until you've got some experience with the bike. And for comfort's sake, not until you've conquered the twitchiness and developed a nice, smooth cornering technique that will maximize passenger comfort. If she has a bad experience to start with, it will be harder to overcome.

My two-cents worth. Enjoy!!

 

[Chazzman]

Thanks Gyspy, that was an excellent non-bias report. I made a concience decision, after 40 years of two wheel riding, to give it up for several reasons... My options were, find another hobby and sell my bikes, buy a trike (no way) or a Spyder. I took a new 2012 RT Limited with zero miles from the dealership for a test ride today, I just kept riding right to my garage, lol, I had left my GL1800 at the dealership. I left the Spyder in the garage went back and bought it. They are picking up my V-Strom tomorrow. I have a good relationship at the dealership. They paid me what I asked for my trades, $2400 over trade in, KBB, on my GL1800 and $1500 over on my V-Strom. I paid the difference, went by the insurance and was plesantly supprised that the insurance was only $60 more per year than my 05 Wing... Thanks everyone, I am not an official Spyderman... A lot due to this forum.

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[NancysToy]

Thanks Gyspy, that was an excellent non-bias report. I made a concience decision, after 40 years of two wheel riding, to give it up for several reasons... My options were, find another hobby and sell my bikes, buy a trike (no way) or a Spyder. I took a new 2012 RT Limited with zero miles from the dealership for a test ride today, I just kept riding right to my garage, lol, I had left my GL1800 at the dealership. I left the Spyder in the garage went back and bought it. They are picking up my V-Strom tomorrow. I have a good relationship at the dealership. They paid me what I asked for my trades, $2400 over trade in, KBB, on my GL1800 and $1500 over on my V-Strom. I paid the difference, went by the insurance and was plesantly supprised that the insurance was only $60 more per year than my 05 Wing... Thanks everyone, I am now an official Spyderman... A lot due to this forum.

:congrats: I know you are going to enjoy the ride as much as the rest of us that have been mesmerized by the Spyder. :thumbup:

 

[3whlLefty]

A Different POV

I've been riding since 1964. In 2001 I bought a 96 GW-SE trike. A California Sidecar conversion. It was pretty loaded and had a Diamond Seat (much like the Day-Long) and was very comfortable. I had a great time on it but when I saw the Spyder I decided I needed one before I got too old to ride. I have the RS-SE5 and am having a great time on it.

My wife doesn't ride very much but she found the GW more comfortable than the RS. Softer ride, more posh seat, and armrests for starters. The RT might be much better on that. My RS has a passenger backrest and foot peg extensions. I'm thinking of getting the armrests for her this spring. It looks like you can remove them when you don't have a passenger.

Just wanted to throw out that there are other 3 wheel choices out there. I'm stuck on the Spyder myself and hope to do a lot more riding this year. Have fun shopping and look at them all. :chat:

 

[GeoffCee]

The decision was made for me in 08 to give up 2-wheelers after 40 years in the saddle by a brain-stem stroke. Following 70+ years of perfect health I suddenly found myself recovering in hospital for 3 months suffering from stroke complications and physical limitations, some of which have since eased in severity over time. Some others I have learned to live with. Unfortunately, there are residual effects which are untreatable and they intrude on my every waking day. I have no choice in the matter, life is what it is.

I now ride a Spyder RT and I own it not because I was drawn to its design features, or because, like enthusiast Fred Rau, it appealed to me as a natural development of the touring motorcycle, but because it fits in with my wish to continue with my motorcycle touring hobby for a few more years despite the reduced state of my health. Thanks to the inherent stability of its three wheels, the Spyder is as near to pure motorcycling as I can now manage. In a pefect world I would still be riding a BMW 2-wheeler but that is just me being stubborn!

Having been obliged to turn to the Spyder I have grown to enjoy owning and riding it immensely. It is such fun! People out shopping with other things on their minds see us riding by and their reaction is almost universally a huge smile. This can only be because the Spyder is an attractive thing to look at, it cannot be because we as a couple present such a cheerful appearance, hidden as we are inside our helmet visors! When we pull in for gas, we are often asked what our trike is, who makes it and where it comes from. I've seen people pause in what they are doing just to stare at it. This reaction is quite unlike owning a BMW, even a new one shiny and bright from the dealer's showroom doesn't get noticed like this, but then motorcycles have been around for a very long time and the unique appearance of the Spyder hasn't. Perhaps this explains it.

The Spyder RT is a safe machine with heaps of lockable storage. I wish it returned more miles to a tank of gas but I can live with the minor inconvenience of filling up more often. I'm just grateful I've got it. :f_spider: