Hello everyone,
New Spyder owner/rider here. Been riding cycles for about 12 years (Hondamatic, Royal Enfield, Honda Shadow Aero, Piaggio MP3), and never really felt comfortable with a passenger (wife) on the back, so I started looking into the Can-Am Spyder. I did a bit of reading and watching videos, and found one for sale locally, test rode it and bought it. 2011 Can-Am Spyder RT SE5 with only 3500 miles on it.
So far the hardest part about riding the Spyder is remembering to ride in the middle of the lane ! After all of my miles on cycles, it just seems so foreign to me to ride in the middle. For my first couple of double up rides, the wife kept tapping me on the helmet, reminding me to move over to the right. I solved that problem by running a thin piece of red pinstripe tape down the middle of the windshield, which I try to keep aligned with the middle of the lane on the road ahead of me. It seems to be working really well, and hopefully I'll remove the line when I get a few more miles under my belt.
And speaking of windshields...I can't believe what a difference riding with a windshield makes. No wind on me at all, and all this week I rode with the visor up on my helmet and never once got cold.
Another minor annoyance with the Spyder is that the horn button is located right about where the turn signals were on my last bikes. I've honked the horn a few times when I meant to push the turn signals. Oops! No biggie, just another thing to get used to, (same for reaching for the hand brake).
I've found the seat to be quite comfortable, and my wife says that she's quite comfy up in her perch as well.
Love all of the storage room on the RT, I may just put away my backpack for good !
Reverse gear....fantastic !!!!
Great power on the RT as well. I haven't really rolled the throttle a lot, but when I have, it's responded quite well. Throaty sound and quick acceleration.
Automatic downshifts - love it.
I feel like I'm a turtle going around corners right now, but I know that will get better with time and miles.
Hit my first roadkill the other day. I saw it on the road ahead of me, and was concerned with getting it between my front wheels, and was worried about the low front end clearance.....but I didn't even think about the fact that I had lined it up perfectly with that back wheel. Bump and squish.
I'm getting lots of heat on my right foot, and realize that it's coming from that lower vent (radiator and engine heat). Is there a accessory vent available to redirect that heat ? It feels OK now, but in the summer that will be one hot foot.
I've already added a ram ball mount for my cell phone (which doubles as my GPS) between the handlebars, and I plan on adding USB charging port in the place of one of the empty switches in the dash. Also scouting out locations to mount my GoPro. Picked up a repair manual on CD as well.
I've been reading many, many messages and posts on this forum...lots of great information loaded here !
Looking forward to many miles of smooth, happy riding.
Joe Lynch
Columbus, Ohio
2015 Chevy Volt
2016 Mitsubishi Outlander
2011 Can-Am Spyder RT SE5
1979 Triumph Spitfire
Homebuilt motorbike - Torker Bicycle w. 88cc 2 stroke gas engine
n your spyder purchase and:welcome:to the spyder web. Dale
