Just wanted to share the unbridled joy and ease of riding the Spyder!

[Shoey]

This is really my first time posting on this forum. I realize many here have experienced the same process as I have.
Last year my wife and I bought a RT Limited, truthfully she put more miles on the bike than I, but that’s besides the point.

Over the years I’ve owned strictly BMW motorcycles and put perhaps 250 thousand miles on the various bikes including a trip around the Alps.
I’ve read many articles about aging riders and what options and challenges we face. I turned 70 this year, and given that I live in Massachusetts, when it came time to get the bikes out of storage, I anticipated some changes due to a hip replacement surgery over the winter. What I didn’t expect was

I get it, and I’m so thankful we got one!

So my point is, for anyone who’s getting to that point in your lifetime, please consider 3 wheels as a viable and joyful option.

Ride Safely…
Shoey

 

[PDXRTL]

I'll second what Shoey wrote and add that you don't need to wait until you get "to that point in your lifetime". Three wheels, especially the Can-Am reverse trike configuration, is not just a dreaded last resort. It is a viable option at any point in one's lifetime, even for those (like me) who are perfectly capable of riding on two wheels.

 

[BajaRon]

I'll second what Shoey wrote and add that you don't need to wait until you get "to that point in your lifetime". Three wheels, especially the Can-Am reverse trike configuration, is not just a dreaded last resort. It is a viable option at any point in one's lifetime, even for those (like me) who are perfectly capable of riding on two wheels.

This is the message that needs to get out. 3 wheels has always been the anathema to riders which needed to be avoided until the last possible moment. I might have been one of those. And, to be frank, I still feel that way about a conventional trike (no disrespect intended, just an opinion).

But the Spyder is a game changer. It is every bit as fun and rewarding as 2 wheels. Not the same experience, but the ride is just as worthy. And so much safer with a lower skill level required.

People have tried to shame me, on occasion, for riding 3 wheels. I just chalk it up to the fact that they don't know what they are missing. They think they are going to run off and leave me. Instead, they start sweating about that vehicle looming large in their mirror and hoping I don't run over them!

 

[Snoking1127]

I have peripheral neuropathy in both feet and would no longer be able to hold up a road bike. I last had a KZ650SR in the early 1980's, with many dirt bikes before that. In the fall of 2020 I bought a 2018 RTL and in January 2024 I bought a second 2018 RTL. In May 2024 I did an 1850 mile repositioning/bucket list ride with the first Spyder from Arizona to Washington via the Northern California and Oregon Coast. I wanted to go up Highway 1 North of San Francisco to where I had spent my last year and a half at the USCG Loran A Station in Point Arena, Ca summer of 1967 to discharge on Jan 3rd 1969.

So I now have a Winter Spyder in Az an a Summer Spyder in Wa. I also have a 2021 Kawasaki KRX 1000 SxS that I have put 6,000 miles on, and it gets trailered back and forth with stops in Moab and Sand Hollow Ut. Oh, and in two weeks I turn 81 young years old. So don't slow down, or Father Time will catch up with you.

 

[Shoey]

I agree one doesn't have to get to that point in time to enjoy the benefits of the Spyder. Funny story, there's an Irish Pub near where I live and on every weekend there's a large group of "motorcycle enthusiasts" gathered for lunch, many on Harley Tri-Glides, they really take the time to ask questions and show a lot of interest.
In the end, we all just enjoy riding. I'm just thankful it doesn't have to stop and it's getting better by the mile... Now it's time for the Mods!
Thanks to all for your input.

 

[pegasus1300]

I have been on my Spyder for 10 years and 80,000+ miles. I came to the Spyder thru a Honda Conversion that I rode for 4 years. I saw my Spyder KSL.com a local sales platform, sold the Goldwing and never looked back. I was 68 and just recovering from an accident that put me and my wife in the hospital for 9 days. I discovered that my situational awareness had diminished as I aged, but this was so gradual that I had not noticed. Your physical strength may be fine, but how is your awareness? Your level of deterioration will be different than mine or anybody else's. Only you can tell, so keep an eye on it. I am so thankful for my 2012 RT and the riding time extension it gave me. It is just so dang fun.