Need advice - is it worth going to 2 wheels first, or is 3 OK?

[LongIsland]

A different perspective. I retired in 2009 and got the motorcycle bug in 2010 at 58 yrs old. I took the MSF safety course and received my motorcycle endorsement. I decided to rent a bike for 3 days. I requested a cruiser figuring the seat being lower to the ground and no leaning would help me. When I went to pick up the rental it was a brand new Honda (I can't remember the model) but it wasn't a cruiser. I told the owner that I just got my license and wanted a low seating bike. He told me I would be fine on this bike. Well I dropped the bike 3 times, once each day damaging the saddlebags and a bit of my pride. All 3 times occurred when I was moving from a stopped position into a turn, rookie mistake. At any rate I decided that I was too old to learn how to ride 2 wheels and looked at trikes, fell in love with the Spyder and purchased a brand new 2012. I upgraded to a 2014 and haven't dropped it yet!

 

[tntnj]

I rode when I was 17 to 19 I had a few friends get hurt, then 1 got killed .I stopped riding for 30 years, got married ,but I never lost urge to ride (wife gave a hard time about a motorcycle. ) I got divorced , Kids are grown, bought my house and then bought my 1998 Yamaha V star , a year later I bought my 98 heritage soft tail ,sold it 2018. I stopped riding because my back and legs hurt. But I have been watching Can Am's since they came out. But when I saw the F3, I said that is my next bike. I bought my 2017 F3 LTD November 2019 and have not regretted it 1 second.

 

[MonPaul]

Very interesting question! It makes me think about how riding a 2 wheel motorcycle gives you a lot of muscle memory and habits that are hard to break when going to the Spyder. I am sure it works the other way around, where you have picked up a lot of habits and muscle memory riding your Spyder that would make going to 2 wheels a lot harder. Not saying that you couldn't, just that it would probably be harder than learning 2 wheels as your first bike.

 

[Arion]

If your sense of balance hasn't deserted you, and you're generally coordinated, there isn't any reason you couldn't ride a motorcycle if you chose to. As others have suggested, you should take a basic rider's course - both as an educational opportunity and to assess whether you like what you experience. Then it's a matter of finding a machine you feel comfortable with and will suit your riding needs.

I'm 75 and have been riding since the 1960s. Over the years I've has a pile of bikes ranging from very heavy and powerful to light and not so powerful. I feel each filled the expectations I had at the time I owned them. As I've matured (ripened?) I've made changes I hope have accommodated the aging process which includes, significantly, diminished upper body strength. I now have much lighter and easier to handle machines than I did 30 to 40 years ago when weight wasn't as much of a concern, and speed was much more of an essential thrill than it is now.

Several years ago I exchanged my beloved '93 BMW K75S for a much lighter and more nimble BMW G310R, and I'm completely happy with it given where and how I normally ride it. My wife also exchanged her Yamaha 535 Virago for a Suzuki TU250X and is much happier with it as well. Both of these bikes are well suited to the two lane country roads that are commonplace around our Maine home (where the bikes reside permanently).

Having said all that, we disposed of the two wheel machines we keep at our Texas winter home (her Honda CTX700 and my Kawasaki Versys 650) and replaced them with a pair of new-to-us Spyder RTs which, in our minds, are perfect for the wide open spaces we find in the U.S. southwest - Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, etc.

Explore, research, examine, assess, and then decide is a reasonable way to approach the issue, in my opinion. Unfortunately, this isn't a definitive answer but maybe it offers another perspective.

 

[Peter Aawen]

Hello everyone. As a long time rider of Spyders, I still have the need to prove to myself that a can and could ride a motorcycle. I am a 62 yr old male, with no health concerns, and am thinking about buying a motorcycle and learning to ride. I have to admit, I am a little nervous about 2 wheels, although I have driven everything from ATV, Snowmobiles, up to large trucks. From the vast amount of experience among the members of this forum, I would like an honest opinion if I learning to ride a motorcycle would be worth the stress and expense (have to buy one) or if I should just be happy riding on three wheels. I realize the steering is completely different and braking is done mostly with the hand brake. By the way, I love my Spyder and would never consider selling it.

Thanks for any feedback.

Seriously?? :shocked: Have you thought any on 'Why' you feel this? Is it an ego thing, or what?? :dontknow:



For my 2 bob's worth..... Sure, if you've always had a burning desire to learn to ride a motorbike, then go right ahead; and more power to you for at least attempting a lifetime desire! :thumbup:

But if it's 'just' a 'need to prove that you can', then I'd hafta say 'Why??' :dontknow:

I reckon that sorta 'need' to prove yourself is more than just a little bit like the kid who can't refuse a dare.... only most of us grow out of that, and the majority are a lot better off for doing so!! So if that's it, I reckon you too would probably be a lot better off just to get over that 'need' & go on enjoying ryding your Spyder!! There's a bit of a difference in the skill-sets required to ride each of these things, motorcycles & Spyders, and many moving from 2 to 3 wheels, & especially to Spyders/Rykers, find they hafta spend a LOT of time 'un-learning' many of the in-grained skills & responses motorcycling has taught them before they can learn to get the best ryding enjoyment out of their Spyder/Ryker - why would you risk detracting from what you have already just to show yourself that you can... for no real &/or burning reason?? :banghead: I promise we won't respect you any less if you decide not to learn to ride a motorcycle! :thumbup:

It's not WHAT you ride, it's just THAT you ride! So unless you've really had that burning desire to ride a 2 wheeled machine forever, then just get out there & Ryde your Spyder more, and worry about proving anything to anyone (yourself included!) a whole lot LESS! hyea:



Well, you did ask?! :lecturef_smilie:

 

[ARtraveler]

I am liking the idea to take a course and ride their bikes for a couple days. That should get you to the point to see if you want to pursue the subject further.

Bottom Line: It is mostly about your ability to hold up 500# + safely, and ride in a way that does not endanger yourself or others. :yes:

 

[Gwolf]

If you just gotta do it, get a used 100+ cc dirt bike and practice riding in the dirt. Won't hurt to drop the dirt bike and dirt does not hurt nearly as bad as pavement. If you get good with it, you can decide then, if you want a street bike or maybe you will be happy with just riding the dirt bike. Even the small ones are lot of fun. My old TS-185 was street legal and it would climb some steep dirt banks. Rode it about as much as the 750.

 

[RICZ]

MonPaul makes a good point about muscle memory. After 68 years on 2 wheels, my body and brain were well tuned in to what that's like. When I got my Spyder, I started climbing a very long and steep learning curve that took 1,000 miles before I gained confidence enough to go from liking it to loving it. Now, with over 2,000 miles, I'm tossing 'er around in the twisties with abandon.
The one thing that can be very dangerous, going from 3 to 2 wheels is forgetting to counter steer. There was a forum member who posted he did the opposite and on the way home after buying his Spyder, he counter steered his bike into the weeds.

 

[Peacekeeper6]

Hello everyone. As a long time rider of Spyders, I still have the need to prove to myself that a can and could ride a motorcycle. I am a 62 yr old male, with no health concerns, and am thinking about buying a motorcycle and learning to ride. I have to admit, I am a little nervous about 2 wheels, although I have driven everything from ATV, Snowmobiles, up to large trucks. From the vast amount of experience among the members of this forum, I would like an honest opinion if I learning to ride a motorcycle would be worth the stress and expense (have to buy one) or if I should just be happy riding on three wheels. I realize the steering is completely different and braking is done mostly with the hand brake. By the way, I love my Spyder and would never consider selling it.

Thanks for any feedback.

You're still young. I know LOTS of Harley riders who are WAY older than you.

That said, I HIGHLY recommend you take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course. It's really the proper and safest way, not by friends who have been motorcyclist for years. So I say, if you can hold a 500 pound bike up, go for it.

By the way, the transition from 3 wheels to 2 is A LOT more difficult than going from 2 wheels to 3. But it can be done, don't let others discourage you.

Good luck !!