JUST READ THIS

[Easy Rider]

I'm an engineer. If the glass is half-full, then the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. hyea:

I'm an Engineering Technician. That depends......on whether or not the water is still flowing. :roflblack:

Engineers design things; Technicians make them work. :thumbup:

 

[Easy Rider]

I'm 63 yrs old, neither weak nor sick nor female nor disabled. (knock wood). I'm looking at a couple Spyders, used, of course, starting tomorrow. I've had interest in them since the beginning and now I feel the time is right for me to get one. I'll be selling my Triumph Bonnie.

I started my Spyder shopping with almost exactly the same theory as you expressed.
I bought a used one, in fact.
It had so many niggling little problems that I traded it back in for a new one.

IF.....you really can afford a new, or almost new, one, I strongly suggest that you do that.
And by that I mean that you can pay cash......or at least 50% down in cash; otherwise you REALLY can't afford it.

The design is pretty complex and it took them some time to work out the bugs.
They are still trying to get good technicians trained and experience in many locations.

An older model CAN be a good value but the odds are that you will need some patience.

 

[Easy Rider]

:shocked: Is there a difference between being biased; and having an honest difference of opinion? :dontknow:

And the fact that people even ASK that question is a perfect illustration of the problem.

Bias is based more on emotion and propaganda and ulterior motives.
Don't confuse me with facts, my mind is already made up.

An honest difference of opinion is hopefully based on facts.......and both parties are willing, and maybe even eager, to learn more.
Tell me more about that.

 

[Easy Rider]

Now, I forgot what the original intent of this thread was. Oh yeah, I just checked; the spyder is going to disappear.

I wonder what one would find if you Google: Long term economic outlook for the US. ??

I don't follow this closely but have heard some things lately that give me pause.

Like that total personal debt is now WAY higher than just before the '08 crash.
And most of the rules trying to prevent shaky credit are now either gone or not being enforced.

Auto sales are down; both new and used.

Wages have not kept up with the apparent growth in the rest of the economy.
And that is critically important in a "service based" economy; ALL of the wealth comes from the consumers.

Once again, it seems that we are killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.

And the first things to go when there is a downturn are the intermediate high end items.
If you are Donald Trump, you can still afford a yacht.
But if you are un- or under employed all of a sudden, you probably can't afford a Spyder anymore.
And the Spyder dealer can't afford to enlarge his business or buy an Audi.
When the food chain collapses, pretty much everybody suffers......except those at the very, very top.

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: If you just cut your own throat now: you wouldn't have to suffer through any more of the decline... :banghead:

Sometimes it is best to just face the Music... :shocked:



...And DANCE!! :yes: :cheers: hyea: :dg1::dg2::riding:

 

[classicvw]

Jeez. I guess it's safe to assume you're a glass half full guy?

Personal debt did not cause the '08 crash

Auto sales are down very slightly. These sales tend to be cyclical anyways. The masses can only hold back car buying for so long, then whaddya know? It zooms back up.

If you are ANY CEO or wall street guru, you'll still afford a new yacht whether the markets go up or down. No matter how the rest of us are doing.

I wonder what one would find if you Google: Long term economic outlook for the US. ??

I don't follow this closely but have heard some things lately that give me pause.

Like that total personal debt is now WAY higher than just before the '08 crash.
And most of the rules trying to prevent shaky credit are now either gone or not being enforced.

Auto sales are down; both new and used.

Wages have not kept up with the apparent growth in the rest of the economy.
And that is critically important in a "service based" economy; ALL of the wealth comes from the consumers.

Once again, it seems that we are killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.

And the first things to go when there is a downturn are the intermediate high end items.
If you are Donald Trump, you can still afford a yacht.
But if you are un- or under employed all of a sudden, you probably can't afford a Spyder anymore.
And the Spyder dealer can't afford to enlarge his business or buy an Audi.
When the food chain collapses, pretty much everybody suffers......except those at the very, very top.

 

[ARtraveler]

I am thinkin its time fer a tooney.

https://youtu.be/BkzE23pyME4

 

[Bob Denman]

:clap::roflblack::thumbup:

 

[WellsboroSpyder]

Remember when ?

There was a time when you would go months without seeing a BMW out on the road, now I see them come through our small town of Wellsboro very weekend. I live on the road to the Wellsboro PA Grand Canyon and when I'm not out riding, I can see several Spyders going and coming on the weekends.

 

[41canine]

Poor Service

Great machines sell themselves.

One of the biggest problems Can-Am has is both the lack of dealerships and skilled technicians. Too many times I've read in this forum the stupidity a dealer has put a Spyder owner through for a common problem. I've even read the word "stealer" instead of dealer. My dealer has ONE tech who is very good but if he leaves I'm screwed. Then there is the quality side to the Spyder, anything I buy I give it 3 strikes and your out. If I experience a tow and two issues that require trailering my bike to a dealer they will never see my face again. The days of poor quality/reliability/customer service are over, at least for me.

Lets face it, the demographic spike for Spyders (from BRP) are clearly those who are in their 60s, disabled and women. This demographic statistically speaking are not at their peak, financially speaking, to throw away $30,000 on toys. People in their 60s are slowing up in life, disabled people have physical issues that require less income and more personal expenses. Women make less from career choices, child rearing and are physically weaker....on average. Two wheel rides are cheaper to buy, cheaper to fix and dealerships, depending on brand, are everywhere. My thoughts.

I agree with you one hundred percent. My dealer sells them like crazy, to us old codgers, but the service is absolutely M.I.A. They have, allegedly, two techs although I've only ever seen one. And he refused to install the Bajaron sway bar because "It affects the ABS and will kill you!" I'm old, not stupid.

From a fellow Blue Knighter.....CA IV Ride with Pride.

 

[Easy Rider]

:shocked: If you just cut your own throat now: you wouldn't have to suffer through any more of the decline... :banghead:

Sometimes it is best to just face the Music... :shocked:



...And DANCE!! :yes: :cheers: hyea: :dg1::dg2::riding:

A perfect example of "head in sand"......or some other dark region.
If any of that was meant to be funny......I'm not laughing.

Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them.

 

[Bob Denman]

If you have no control over what's coming around the corner: you might as well be smiling when it gets here!

 

[Easy Rider]

Personal debt did not cause the '08 crash

Open to some debate.

But without a CRUSHING amount of un-secured or under-secured personal and small business debt, the "securities crisis" that the big banks created would have been just a blip on the radar.

And the banks "too big to fail" are now even bigger. And they are back at it creating essentially worthless paper again.

 

[Easy Rider]

If you have no control over what's coming around the corner: you might as well be smiling when it gets here!

But you DO have control but it's worthless unless you properly EXERCISE IT.

You have to be able to see around and through the issues that the politicians throw up as distractions and get to the heart of what is really important.

In the last election, we completely failed at that.

Now the foxes are guarding the chicken house.......and we are still worrying about the wrong things.

 

[Bob Denman]

Just so you know: I've reported your post to the Forum Administrator... :lecturef_smilie::shocked: