myths and prejudices...

[Buckeye Bleau]

The OTHER guys

I have been surprised by several people.

A relative of mine, by marriage, whom I have done business with in the past and always considered a good friend. He would gather with us at family events, usually riding his HD. Even when I did not have a bike he many times encouraged me to ride his, I always declined. When he has an event at his house there are usually several cars, many trucks and a dozen HD or more. The first day that I had the Spyder, I took it to his shop, where I rented warehouse space and paid for his employee's services, I went to the office and told him I wanted to show him something. I led him to the Byke and he said what the H___ did you get that thing for and he walked away. Since then, we talk, we visit, but I have never been invited to any events at his home, unlike before.

I am a member of the American Legion Riders and Patriot Guard, the local head of the ALR, a former Hell's Angel, grits his teeth when I show up for a ride. The road commander has said "nice whatever it is" but admits that it may not be right to ride with them as it is not a motorcycle, however they do allow HD Trikes to participate.

You know what, I don't care, it is my Ryde of choice, and to be honest with you I truly think that there is some jealousy tainting their vision, not disdain or anything else. One more note, the road captain did mention that he simply cannot give up the lean yet, but he can only ride for about 30 minutes or so do to COPD, hmmmm, wonder if his stupid pride is getting in the way of his pleasure?

Joe

 

[Deer Slayer]

The Spyder is a snowmobile on wheels.
It isn't a motorcycle, it isn't a SlingShot.
It is another class of vehicle that returns an open road feeling to the people on the vehicle.
It corners like a Spyder.
It does not lean but requiures concentration from the Ryder to complete the turn.
It's fun.
But, it ain't a motorcycle.
It looks kind of like a bike but it isn't.
Those who have never ridden one can be excused for their ignorance.

Amen!:2thumbs:

 

[Deer Slayer]

is it true that guy with that limp or huge scar on his leg is much cooler then us :spyder2: people?

I have a limp and scar and love me Sypdee.:riding:

 

[Deer Slayer]

Until you ryde in the boots of the broken and scarred, keep your yap shut! Can I get an Amen, Church?

 

[clinard]

2013 Spyder ST SM5 vs Triglide

How many wheels does it have....3 HMM

Does it have a V Twin....Yes HMM

Do you sit on it or in it....On it HMM

How do you steer it....With the handle bars HMM

Does it have a clutch....Yes HMM

How do you operate the clutch....with my left hand HMM

How do you shift it....With my left foot HMM (don't think HD has a semi-automatic yet)

How do you increase your speed....With my right hand I twist the throttle HMM

How do you stop it....Depress the brake pedal....O Geez's I just blew it

 

[Lurker]

Thanks to the Spyder, i have not said a single bad word about the slingshot. Why? Because i have never driven one!

Very nice posting Jason. I hear this a lot "The slingshot is not a motorcycle it's a car" they then go on to say " I would not buy one I will just buy a car" I guess somehow that makes sense but I don't know how. I also get the "if it doesn't lean what fun is it?"
I guess that comment explains the poor sales for ATV's, snowmobiles, corvettes, dune buggies, trikes and why nobody ever watches NASCAR

 

[Fat Baxter]

One thing I point out to the curious is that the oddities of controlling a Spyder -- easy touch on the controls; actually steering the handlebars; leaning your body in the corners -- are not unique to Spyders. They also apply to sidecar rigs, which have been around since forever. The difference in handling between a sidecar rig and a Spyder is that the Spyder's thrust and breaking dynamics are symmetrical, whereas a sidecar imposes an asymmetrical handling challenge to the the tug due to the laws of inertia: when accelerating, an object at rest (the sidecar) tends to stay at rest; when braking, an object in motion wants to stay in motion.

Before I bought my RT-S, I was seriously considering moving from my BMW to a Ural rig.

 

[missouriboy]

I've heard "why don't you get a REAL bike?"

So have I, and here's the response I'm going to try to remember to use next time:

"I guess so we can play 20 QUESTIONS!"

(I'd guess most Spyder ryders are old enough to remember that show...)

 

[Rogue Hawk]

The Spyder is a snowmobile on wheels.
It isn't a motorcycle, it isn't a SlingShot.
It is another class of vehicle that returns an open road feeling to the people on the vehicle.
It corners like a Spyder.
It does not lean but requiures concentration from the Ryder to complete the turn.
It's fun.
But, it ain't a motorcycle.
It looks kind of like a bike but it isn't.
Those who have never ridden one can be excused for their ignorance.

It's a unicorn! :yes:

 

[jegarh]

I started riding a Safety Cycle powered by a briggs & Stratton 1.5 hp engine. Went to Cushman then a Vespa and then some Triumphs, a Suzuki DS185, a Suzuki TS250, a Honda Trail 90, a Suzuki TU250X, a Suzuki DL650, a Yamaha XT250, a Yamaha WR250R, a Yamaha TW200, a HD Sprint 350, a Ural GU and now a 2014 RTS SE6. I have arrived.

After 12000+ kilometers on the Ural, the transition to the Spyder was a dream. The GU is especially good when the road from my house to the front gate is 6" deep slippery clay mud and everything else is grounded. I think that she thinks she is back in old Mother Russia in that weather

Of those listed I still have most of them and most of them still work.

I won't be getting rid of the RT anytime soon. Being almost 79 helps me to feel this way about the RT.

I hope to meet some of you fellow "geezers" in Boerne in October. :thumbup:

Jerry

 

[vondalyn]

spyders & recumbents

My thoughts exactly. Our Spyder is the first motorcycle I've owned but rode quite a few of my friends bikes when I was a lot younger.

My wife and I have even riding ours for about six weeks and have put about 3000 miles on it. We have gotten a lot of positive attention while on it and it has been the cause of quite a few conversations with total strangers, all of them positive.

In fact the only negative comments came from family, a nephew who started out not liking it based on its looks but quickly changed his mind when he got an up close look. The other was from my sister's husband who gave the story about a co-worker who said he had ridden one and it wandered all over the road and wasn't really a motorcycle. He sounded more jealous than anything else to me.

My wife wasn't too enthralled with the looks of a Spyder but the comfort more than made up for that and it must have grown on her because she thinks it looks sharp now.

She kind of got used to riding something a little different after years of riding recumbent bicycles with me. We had two recumbent tandems, a BikeE E2 and a Rans Screamer, along with a regular BikeE and a Rans Stratus XP. Definitely not your mainstream bicycles. And just like a Spyder , they got lots of looks and comments!

I have a Rans Rocket and my husband has the BikE mountain bike (don't know what the model is after all these years). I know someone else on here also rides a recumbent. I guess people who like "different" things, gravitate towards them in a lot of parts of their lives

 

[Lurker]

What leaning vehicle can do this, Not a spyder but close enough. Bikers and Trikers all in one.


[FONT=&quot]Just one of the enhancements of riding a SportTrike – you can also be a biker! Today we loaded up our 16 speeds and headed off to the state bicycle trail for a bit of fun. Hit some road construction along the way so 3 miles of gravel – who cares gravel is now fun. Put 10 miles on the bikes grabbed 22 geocaches then headed back home and took a nice scenic threw a tree lined (gravel) road.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Great times and no limits.[/FONT]