my F3 ride

[Triumphcycleman]

I haven't posted to this forum in a long time. I'm a dealer, and i get to ride Spyders nearly every day. I truly appreciate each model for its strengths and weaknesses. If I had to choose one for my only Spyder to ride, it would probably be an ST. That said, I am more of a sport touring motorcycle rider, so I spend much of my free time on a Triumph Sprint ST. Its my favorite ride, until last week.
I am NOT a cruiser rider! So when BRP unveiled the F3 I wasnt thrilled. Although it is MUCH better looking in person I wasn't sold on it. Not for me says I! Then I rode it, and I was STUNNED by the handling, FLOORED by the arm stretching acceleration, THRILLED by the reduced stability controls. I will OWN the first one that hits my shop! The Sprint is history!

 

[BikerDoc]

Damn nice to hear.......

 

[NovaSpyder]

Wow, thanks for the post. I think you just upped the anticipation level.:shocked: I'm sure you'll now get lots of questions.

 

[Netminder]

:doorag: Good to hear you liked the F3 , looking forward to seeing it and Tetris driving one!

 

[flamingobabe]

thanks for your ride report...I had a 2009 RS got a 2013 ST.....love the ST....even through all the heat problems.....will test ride F3 November 6th....getting excited....just got the ST running good.....scary....it's only $$$$

 

[SPYD3R]

3 words

nothing negative here, but the 1st 3 words of your 2nd sentence tells me something....
"i'm a dealer"....
being such, aren't you required to say ONLY positive things about the products you sell...???
just ask'n....
dp

 

[ARtraveler]

:thumbup::thumbup:

 

[PrairieSpyder]

Thanks for the review.

 

[NovaSpyder]

nothing negative here, but the 1st 3 words of your 2nd sentence tells me something....
"i'm a dealer"....
being such, aren't you required to say ONLY positive things about the products you sell...???
just ask'n....
dp

I had the same thought at first, however I think he mentioned the fact simply to explain why he got to ride the F3, the rest is simply from a motorcycle enthusiasts point of view, IMO. We will all get a chance at a test drive, and some of the toughest critics are here

 

[SPYD3R]

NOVA

I had the same thought at first, however I think he mentioned the fact simply to explain why he got to ride the F3, the rest is simply from a motorcycle enthusiasts point of view, IMO. We will all get a chance at a test drive, and some of the toughest critics are here

NOVA....
i will be the very 1st in my neighborhood to TEST RIDE the new F3....
i'm thinking that; if i like it, i'll buy it... but i'll also keep my RS, just in case....
dp

 

[NovaSpyder]

NOVA....
i will be the very 1st in my neighborhood to TEST RIDE the new F3....
i'm thinking that; if i like it, i'll buy it... but i'll also keep my RS, just in case....
dp

Right on. I'll be waiting to read the test ride reports, we won't see any up here until probably April.

Dan

 

[Triumphcycleman]

Yes, I am a dealer, but no, I pay my own bills so I can say what I think. The point I'm making with the F3 is it is the first Spyder that I've really, really fallen in love with in the 5 years I've been selling them. Its that good. You ride it with your legs rather than your arms. It almost feels like a SkiDoo with the Rev chassis. When it powers off the corners it almost "tails" out which is so much fun! For those with flat tracking in their past its kind of like that when you drive it hard out of the corners, almost arst first! The acceleration is HARD at WOT, especially at 6k+. Unlike any Spyder before it. If you love performance, you will love it.

 

[iSpyder123]

I haven't posted to this forum in a long time. I'm a dealer, and i get to ride Spyders nearly every day. I truly appreciate each model for its strengths and weaknesses. If I had to choose one for my only Spyder to ride, it would probably be an ST. That said, I am more of a sport touring motorcycle rider, so I spend much of my free time on a Triumph Sprint ST. Its my favorite ride, until last week.
I am NOT a cruiser rider! So when BRP unveiled the F3 I wasnt thrilled. Although it is MUCH better looking in person I wasn't sold on it. Not for me says I! Then I rode it, and I was STUNNED by the handling, FLOORED by the arm stretching acceleration, THRILLED by the reduced stability controls. I will OWN the first one that hits my shop! The Sprint is history!

What an awesome story! Dealer or not, thanks for giving an honest assessment, especially coming from a dealer who gets to ride the lot and has done a test ride on the F3.
It just goes to show that a test ride can really make the difference.

The F3 is stunning with the touring package plus the fact that it has the Rotax 1330 ACE engine. That's just my opinion.

 

[Chupaca]

Sold..!!

you are. Glad you found the one to own. Ryding them whenever and having your pick it must have impressed you a lot to want to own one..it will always be tge test ryde....congrats..!! :thumbup:

 

[Triumphcycleman]

Its been years since I've ridden something I later had to have! I was very skeptical of the F3 going into the conference reveal. IMO the cruiser market is "soft" and certainly not very appealing to me. But this bike is so different in how it rides that it will really appeal to guys like me that are looking for a different experience. I'm not sure what the passenger experience will be (I suspect more like the ST) but I think a lot of "on the fence" two wheeler riders are going to love it.

 

[Bob Denman]

Well; I think that your report ought to set some folks to drooling,
Thanks! :2thumbs:

 

[Dudley]

thanks for your ride report...I had a 2009 RS got a 2013 ST.....love the ST....even through all the heat problems.....will test ride F3 November 6th....getting excited....just got the ST running good.....scary....it's only $$$$

The F3 is all but in your garage!

 

[Lamonster]

Riding is believing as they say.

I know exactly what you're saying. This by far is the most fun I've had on a Spyder. nojoke

 

[NJArachnyd]

Triumphcycleman - I appreciate your thoughts and input. I'm still firmly ensconced in the 2-wheel world, and like Lamont's previous endeavors, I'm involved with heavyweight custom-type bikes. That being said, we just bought a 2011 RS-S for my wife, and it's a blast! Between the fun we're having with the Spyder and the cruiser-type riding position & performance of the F3, I'm very enthusiastic about the new machine.

 

[daveinva]

So, here's my dilemma: as a long-time RS rider, I'm used to really throwing my Spyder around in the twisties. I've long since optimized it for cornering (shocks, bars, seating position/boards/risers), and I ride it as hard as I can. It's no two-wheeler carver, but having ridden it back-to-back with both stock RTs and STs, neither of those can compare to how I've set my RS up.

All of which comes down to: how does the F3 handle? Given how critical "body English" is to cornering a Spyder (i.e. shifting weight forward and to the inside, feet pushing off the pegs/boards), the cruiser-style seating position has had me (and many other RS owners) skeptical.

I'm most definitely going to test ride an F3 as soon as I can get my hands on one, but in the interim: how is the handling in comparison to the current stable of Spyders, especially the RS?