New purchase input

[Leland]

F3 is my suggestion:

I would be driving this mainly around locally with some longer weekend trips for now with a couple of longer distance trips per year. Working towards retirement in a couple of years at which time I would do more long distance trips. Currently single but for longer trips would be likely accompanied with a rider.

I would strongly suggest you purchase the 2017 F3.

I looked at the topography of the area where you live on Google Earth. You have some nice twisties and rolling hills to ride. You don't have to ride the Spyder (F3) hard all of the time (which is where the F3 excels), you can lay back and ride nice and easy, but when the that bit of winding/rolling road lays before your eye you'll thank yourself for buying the F3. Consider the fact that an F3 can be ridden easy or hard in all conditions ie. twisities, hill climbing etc, whereas the RT will roll from side to side.

If you purchase the F3 make sure the dealer installs a BajaRon Sway Bar. That will set them back only $288.00, so don't let them talk you out of this purchase. It's not hard to add the bar later, but you have to raise the Spyder up 25 inches off the ground, so consider that factor. The sway bar turns the F3 from good fun to GREAT FUN.

The new display tries to turn the Spyder into a cell phone accessory. I think you want to ride, not waste time messing around with a poorly design new interface. Keep it simple!

Go back to the dealer and ride the F3 on those winding, twisting road around your area. Ride it hard, open it up to a least 5000 rpm. Lean into the turns, lock your outer arm elbow for support, push on the outboard peg, putting your CG lower. You will have a new option of the F3 if you ride it hard. The RT is great for the long hauls, so I'm not bashing that ride, but from your description I think the F3 will make feel like a young man, not a retiree.

BTW. I had this exact dilemma when I went to buy a Spyder. I tried them both. I was like you, not sure before the ride but after giving it a hard workout it was a easy choice. So tell the dealer you want be sure of your decision and ride them both again.

Please let us know which Spyder your choose to purchase.

 

[UtahPete]

I realize a lot of people don't wear ear protection, but deafness is cumulative and permanent. Given all the Harley guys out there with their loud mufflers who don't think hearing protection is cool, and all the concerts out there where the band plays loud enough to shake your body, there's going to be a lot of deafness in America in the next 10-20 years. I wish I owned stock in a hearing aid company right now.

Deafness is already the number one malady affecting veterans at the VA, from what I 'hear'...

 

[Easy Rider]

So I wouldn't use one's age to determine which model to buy.

Maybe not but it IS a valid consideration.

AND.....since you mentioned it......I know several guys around 70 who still think they have the strength and reflexes that they had when they were 20. Pretty much 100% of them aren't making a realistic assessment of their current capabilities.

Your time will come......sooner or later.

 

[baileydale]

F3 for me

65yo never ridden a RT but have owned a RSS now own a STL and a F3 . F3 buy far to me is more comfortable ( have a not so good back) and loads more fun. As others have said, try both again ride them like you plan to .Then pick the One that trips your trigger!!!

 

[mark4Jesus]

How many 20 year olds do you see riding GoldWings ??

With age comes an inevitable slow down......at some point......for most people.......and the "sport" models no longer are a good fit.

Thirty years ago, quite a few. I was one of them. However, that group of twenty-somethings must have been the last twenty-somethings to buy a Wing!

 

[GRUNT]

RADIO UPGRADE

I agree that the new dash is a big fu2k up .Why would they have a radio that you can not hear ,as it will not connect to a head set ,ether by Bluetooth or cord . You need a smart phone get music or GPS ,if there was a way to scrap this piece of ***** dash and have the old one installed i would be i line .:banghead:
Yes i bought the wrong year ,but i was not made aware of all the BS this dash needs to work . I was not aware the radio is useless .

Last week I would have 100% agreed with you about the radio and not being able to hear. I dropped off my 2018 F3L to get my first service and at the same time my dash received the newest update. I don’t know if it was the update or if one of the techs in their service department altered my speaker settings but what a HUGE difference. Usually when riding 55 mph or faster I couldn’t hear or make out the song but I just got back where I rode with my wife on I-10 going to 75 and could easily hear everything. I know this might sound like BS but it’s crazy how much has changed. My wife on the back said the same thing. I’m going to call tomorrow to see if I can find out because it’s intriguing. I can also tell you I use to have issues linking my blue tooth where Pandora would play but haven’t had any issues. Usually every 3rd or 4th time I start my 🕷 I would have to shut it back down and try again so my Bluetooth connection worked along with Pandora. Makes me feel little better about paying $360 for first service.

 

[bikerbillone]

My wife and I just made a purchase last week. For driving, I think the F3 is a lot more fun than the RT. However, as a passenger I found the RT to be much more comfortable. Passengers on the F3 (at least the one we drove) sit higher than the driver and catch a lot more wind than they do on the RT.

Personal taste, but I also like the 2017's mix of analog and digital on the dashboard over the 2018 all digital dash. Plus, we saved a couple thousand dollars more via the 2017 rebates currently being offered.

I too was thinking 2017 RT with rebate, can you reveal exactly what you paid excluding tax? I found it interesting the comment 2017 vs 2018.

 

[bikerbillone]

I would strongly suggest you purchase the 2017 F3.

I looked at the topography of the area where you live on Google Earth. You have some nice twisties and rolling hills to ride. You don't have to ride the Spyder (F3) hard all of the time (which is where the F3 excels), you can lay back and ride nice and easy, but when the that bit of winding/rolling road lays before your eye you'll thank yourself for buying the F3. Consider the fact that an F3 can be ridden easy or hard in all conditions ie. twisities, hill climbing etc, whereas the RT will roll from side to side.

If you purchase the F3 make sure the dealer installs a BajaRon Sway Bar. That will set them back only $288.00, so don't let them talk you out of this purchase. It's not hard to add the bar later, but you have to raise the Spyder up 25 inches off the ground, so consider that factor. The sway bar turns the F3 from good fun to GREAT FUN.

The new display tries to turn the Spyder into a cell phone accessory. I think you want to ride, not waste time messing around with a poorly design new interface. Keep it simple!

Go back to the dealer and ride the F3 on those winding, twisting road around your area. Ride it hard, open it up to a least 5000 rpm. Lean into the turns, lock your outer arm elbow for support, push on the outboard peg, putting your CG lower. You will have a new option of the F3 if you ride it hard. The RT is great for the long hauls, so I'm not bashing that ride, but from your description I think the F3 will make feel like a young man, not a retiree.

BTW. I had this exact dilemma when I went to buy a Spyder. I tried them both. I was like you, not sure before the ride but after giving it a hard workout it was a easy choice. So tell the dealer you want be sure of your decision and ride them both again.

Please let us know which Spyder your choose to purchase.

Rode the f3 in some TN twisties about 75 miles, great sport, not so much for the passenger, she was not happy. If you're riding two up, my advice is the RT, but I'm surely not the expert here.

 

[BryanSD]

Well, that radio must be amazingly loud, then. At 70 mph on my RT, I can't hear the radio at all at any volume because of the wind noise. If the radio could overcome the wind noise at that speed, I expect I'd be deaf in a few miles. In fact, if I'm going farther than a few miles on the highway, I wear custom earplugs because I want my ears to last until my old age. When I get a new smartphone, I'll put my music on the phone and play it back through my helmet speakers. Until then, the only use my RT's radio has is to provide entertainment in the garage.

I actually find at times the radio is too loud on my 2017 RT, but I suppose with earplugs you're not going to hear to hear it too well. I'm quite the opposite in viewpoint, I think music blaring via helmet speakers is more dangerous from a safety perspective given you're less likely to hear the noise made from an approaching/nearby vehicles. I was a bicyclist for many years and I saw way too many people using audio earbuds keeping them oblivious to nearby dangers. I tried it once and didn't know a semi was on my tail until it swooshed by. You're right though, hearing is an issue. At age 50, I already have hearing issues...but it's likely not from music or wind noise but the blasted lawn mowers and other outdoor tools I've used over the years.

 

[stmike 1800]

Last week I would have 100% agreed with you about the radio and not being able to hear. I dropped off my 2018 F3L to get my first service and at the same time my dash received the newest update. I don’t know if it was the update or if one of the techs in their service department altered my speaker settings but what a HUGE difference. Usually when riding 55 mph or faster I couldn’t hear or make out the song but I just got back where I rode with my wife on I-10 going to 75 and could easily hear everything. I know this might sound like BS but it’s crazy how much has changed. My wife on the back said the same thing. I’m going to call tomorrow to see if I can find out because it’s intriguing. I can also tell you I use to have issues linking my blue tooth where Pandora would play but haven’t had any issues. Usually every 3rd or 4th time I start my 🕷 I would have to shut it back down and try again so my Bluetooth connection worked along with Pandora. Makes me feel little better about paying $360 for first service.

The newest update is 12.20 ,i do not know what all it does ,but i do know it fixed the average L/100.

 

[Kiry]

Speakers are stellar on my 17 F3. Honey thinks it's better than his Indian. I do have it setup for variable volume (goes up with throttle/speed) and loud, probably can take it down to normal, haven't tried that yet.

Can hear just fine (for me) at 65-70 :thumbup:

PS: I mostly listen to Pandora on my phone via USB.

 

[GRUNT]

Radio

Speakers are stellar on my 17 F3. Honey thinks it's better than his Indian. I do have it setup for variable volume (goes up with throttle/speed) and loud, probably can take it down to normal, haven't tried that yet.

Can hear just fine (for me) at 65-70 :thumbup:

PS: I mostly listen to Pandora on my phone via USB.

My wife thought I was nuts because I told her it sounds louder as we start rolling but your comments confirm it. I really wish I was showed this when I purchased but my salesman didn’t even know how to start it.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

So I wouldn't use one's age to determine which model to buy.

That's for sure!!!! I find it interesting, or even intriguing, how people's health and physical abilities can vary so dramatically after about age 55. Some 60 year olds can barely move while other 90 year olds are still climbing mountains.

 

[BryanSD]

I too was thinking 2017 RT with rebate, can you reveal exactly what you paid excluding tax? I found it interesting the comment 2017 vs 2018.

It was $24,900 for the 2017 RT SE6 Limited.

 

[stmike 1800]

Wow and about $ 10,000 more here in Canada .I will have a hard time sitting till memory fades. :sour:

 

[Buckeye Bleau]

Probably too little too late, though I will off a nickel of advice anyway.

What are your plans when attempting to get somewhere in inclement weather?
Do you stop and wait for it to subside?
Do you press on because you need to get there.

With the RT you raise the windscreen hunker down and arrive in good shape.
With the F3 you are going to be wet and wind blown.

Joe

 

[Easy Rider]

With the RT you raise the windscreen hunker down and arrive in good shape.

I thought that too.

UNTIL I got caught is a heavy pop-up Florida thunderstorm.
Water on road. Had to slow down to prevent hydroplaning.
Got SOAKED in the couple of minutes it took to find shelter.

Thankfully it didn't last long.
Wrung out my shirt, wiped off the Y and by the time I got home most of me was dry again.

 

[Highwayman2013]

How many 20 year olds do you see riding GoldWings ??

With age comes an inevitable slow down......at some point......for most people.......and the "sport" models no longer are a good fit.

I'm retired and much prefer the F3L.

 

[gnorthern]

Lots of good advice offered in this thread. But, IMO, it comes down to ergonomics. Which one is most comfortable for you?

I have to agree. I put a luggage rack on my F3-T and purchased another drybag, and as a result can carry a lot. I do not think luggage should be a consideration.

 

[bikerbillone]

It was $24,900 for the 2017 RT SE6 Limited.

Thanks Bryan, good information.,
BikerBill