dndfindley
New member
For those of you contemplating selling or trading your Spyder this may be of value to you...or not. I had my 2012 RT A/C for about 18 months and 12,000 miles. Other than an orange screen a couple of times (both times it was fine after restart) it was trouble free. I originally got it because the wife said that was all she would go 2 up on. We had some good rides but lately I am on it by myself 3/4's of the time. If it's just me I want something lighter, faster, quicker, more agile and something I can ride with some friends who have BMW's. Before the announcement of what BRP would be offering for the 2015 lineup I had hopes of a lighter and faster RSS with a detuned Nanny. I would have traded the RT for that. But alas as we all know the F3 was the new offering. Many of you like it and that's fine. I think it's ugly and that it is not a handling machine in the way of an RSS. It is a cruiser and will appeal to that crowd. I don't like cruisers, never have. Again, if that is your cup of tea go for it. By not offering something sportier BRP lost me. For a few months I have been reading articles on various websites about a new 2015 offering from Yamaha (I have always been a Yamaha man) called the FJ-09. The description got my attention. The description of the FJ-09 read as if it was designed just for me - comfortable riding position, lightweight (463 lbs) ABS, traction control, 6 speed, 847cc triple putting out 115 hp. All of this on a machine that could hang with or beat a sportbike in the twisties all things being equal as to the respective riders. All this for $10,495.00. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Spyder but it has so much more performance and it's easier/cheaper to maintain and might I say - more reliable. I went to the Yamaha dealer who is not a Spyder dealer and put a deposit down on the FJ-09 as it was not yet in showrooms. The local Can Am dealer had previously offered me only $12,500.00 in trade for a new 2014 Yamaha FJR 1300. I went to a non Can Am dealer who also sold Yamaha's and he offered me $13,500.00. My FJ-09 arrived Monday morning and I picked it up that afternoon. I got the first one in the Knoxville, TN area. Because of weather I have only put about a hundred miles on it thus far but it is a hoot. It is everything the websites said it was. Yamaha hit a home run. The Yamaha dealer is going to keep the Spyder and sell it on his showroom in lieu of seling it to a Can Am dealer as they don't want them. Since the dealer also sells Goldwing and Triumph trikes he will have trike clientele coming thru the showroom. I'll still pop in here from time to see what's going on just like some others who no longer have Spyders.
It does everything right and does it have the power. 115 hp @ 463 lbs. Taking curves without having to muscle it around brings back the grins I remember from a while back. As to MSRP - yes I paid sticker and from what I'm reading on the FJ-09 forum that's the way it's gonna be for a while. One dealer (don't remember the city) advertised one for a thousand below sticker and then added enough fee's to cover the thousand when it was purchased. Go figure. I'm not the type who gets his jollies off by negotiating down to the last nickel. That's a hassle and it can leave a bad taste with both you and the dealer. As long as I know I'm not being cheated I have no problem with the dealer making a profit - that's what they are in business for - not to give away their products.
