Old Gold Wing rider considering a 2012 RT need help finding a fair value for it and advice.

[charliebeagledog]

Thanks for the welcome and new to three wheels and Spyders.

I had two Gold Wings and 84 used and bought a 97 brand new sold it around 2021 and bought my wife a Mazda Miata when she was going through cancer but haven't been back on two wheels or ever tried three. I'm 63 now and met a really neat gentleman in his late 70's early 80's living his best life and loving the Blue 2012 RT he bought new. We met last summer or the summer before and we talked for a good 1/2 hour about his experience. We exchanged information in the event that he ever was considering giving it up. This week his son called me and told me of the unfortunate passing this winter of his dad. He isn't interested in keeping the the bike and that they had talked about calling me.

I don't know how to accurately value the bike to get a fair win-win price on a transaction if I move forward and looking for some help.

I used the Vin decoder on the forum which says its a RT but his son said it was the loaded model with a windshield that goes up and down and heated driver and passenger hand grips. I don't know the difference of the different RT models and need a bit of an education here.

It has 30,000 miles and last fall the dealership did a major service, new tires $368, replaced a defective kill switch and for $616, Fuel and intake repair for $1212. total bill for repair was $2600 in Nov 2025

Called and talked to his old service writer and verified and regular maintenance has been done at the dealer (incidentally the same dealership I bought my wing from 29 years ago.

There doesn't appear to be any accident history on the bike and it seems pretty clean and well maintained.

I wouldn't feel safe on two wheels but might consider three (Though I know I'm getting older and my reflexes have slowed and I'm certainly not as strong as I was 15 years ago or so when I sold my Gold Wing. Also we are in Wisconsin so I would only be able to ride about 6 months a year.

Does the motorcycle safety foundation allow Spyders to participate? I would take one every other year when I rode to keep my skills up and might do it annually now.

Are there good years and bad years in the Spyders? Is 2012 a decent year and how long do these bikes tend to last when well cared for?

Whats changed since 2012 that would make me want to consider a newer one as opposed to this bike?


I know this is a lot of questions and feel free to point me to any good resources i should read as well as your personal experiences.

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences here! I'll upload pictures from my phone once the post is approved for public viewing

 

[BajaRon]

Like any vehicle, trying as many as you can will answer a lot of your questions in ways that a text reply here isn't going to be able to do. The 2012 was a decent year for the Spyder RT. 30k on a decently maintained Spyder is no big deal. But you may find your local dealership may not work on a Spyder over 10 years old.

Price seems to have a wide range. So again, that’s a ‘Shop Around’ issue.

The RT went to a 1330 motor in 2014. And all Spyders after 2016 have the same 3 cylinder transverse power plant having replaced the original 998 V-Twin. Improvements have been made over the years.

Some try out the platform with a relatively inexpensive older machine like the 2012 you are considering. Then move up into a newer model once they understand more of what they are looking for. Others just jump to the front of the line from the start. It all depends on factors that only you can address.

 

[jdgretz]

To add to what BajaRon said (you should listen to what he says), in 2020 the Spyder did a facelift and changed the rear top box. It really changes the whole look of the bike. In 2024 the infotainment screen was redesigned. Also at some point they went to a six-speed semi-automatic transmission on all Spyders (not the Ryker - very different animal), where you shift up (paddle shifter), but the bike will downshift on it's own, or you can manually downshift. Among the minor/major changes:
At some point the factory CB option went away
The full manual transmission went away in 2020 I believe
2023 was the last year of a direct aux audio input to the bike's sound system
The only streaming audio the bike now supports is Apple Car Play
Three basic designs - the Ryker (entry level, low, feet forward riding position); the F3 (think cruiser. Sit in the bike, not on the bike. Feet forward riding) although it is the sportier of the Spyder versions; and the RT - touring bike. More like a Goldwing than a VTX or Shadow.

As to pricing - that gets a bit tougher. A quick look at CycleTrader.com shows 2012 RT going for around $8.3k to $9K, but there are some nice looking 2015s for the same price ($9K). I'm guessing that somewhere in the low $8K range to $8.5 is reasonable.

I moved from a GL1800 to a 2024 Spyder RT Limited in December of 2025. Adverse long term use of statins (Lipitor) took me out of the heavy two-wheel game in 2023 and it took me a few years to first, admit to myself that I am probably no longer safe on my long solo trips on a 1000+ pound motorcycle, and second to recover sufficiently that both the wife and I feel confident I'll be just fine doing those trips on a Spyder. I'm heading out for a planned 8,000 mile trip in August and plan to be gone for most if not all of the month.

It is a completely different animal from a two-wheeler. Still a lot of fun, but much different. The first few rides may scare the begeesus out of you, but after about 500 miles you really start to get the hang of it. With three wheels you may find your riding season is a bit longer than when on two-wheels. It's not a snow machine, but with good tires and some common sense, you are probably much more stable and safer in the wet.

Oh, and I'm 78. You'll find a number of folks in their 80s out terrorizing the countryside on these things.

Good luck, and keep asking questions. Everyone here is willing to help.

jdg

 

[JC4givs]

To add to what BajaRon said (you should listen to what he says), in 2020 the Spyder did a facelift and changed the rear top box. It really changes the whole look of the bike. In 2024 the infotainment screen was redesigned. Also at some point the went to a six-speed semi-automatic transmission on all Spyders (not the Ryker - very different animal), where you shift up (paddle shifter), but the bike will downshift on it's own, or you can manually downshift. Among the minor/major changes:
At some point the factory CB option went away
The full manual transmission went away in 2020 I believe
2023 was the last year of a direct aux audio input to the bike's sound system
The only streaming audio the bike now supports is Apple Car Play
Three basic designs - the Ryker (entry level, low, feet forward riding position); the F3 (think cruiser. Sit in the bike, not on the bike. Feet forward riding) although it is the sportier of the Spyder versions; and the RT - touring bike. More like a Goldwing than a VTX or Shadow.

As to pricing - that gets a bit tougher. A quick look at CycleTrader.com shows 2012 RT going for around $8.3k to $9K, but there are some nice looking 2015s for the same price ($9K). I'm guessing that somewhere in the low $8K range to $8.5 is reasonable.

I moved from a GL1800 to a 2024 Spyder RT Limited in December of 2025. Adverse long term use of statins (Lipitor) took me out of the heavy two-wheel game in 2023 and it took me a few years to first, admit to myself that I am probably no longer safe on my long solo trips on a 1000+ pound motorcycle, and second to recover sufficiently that both the wife and I feel confident I'll be just fine doing those trips on a Spyder. I'm heading out for a planned 8,000 mile trip in August and plan to be gone for most if not all of the month.

It is a completely different animal from a two-wheeler. Still a lot of fun, but much different. The first few rides may scare the begeesus out of you, but after about 500 miles you really start to get the hang of it. With three wheels you may find your riding season is a bit longer than when on two-wheels. It's not a snow machine, but with good tires and some common sense, you are probably much more stable and safer in the wet.

Oh, and I'm 78. You'll find a number of folks in their 80s out terrorizing the countryside on these things.

Good luck, and keep asking questions. Everyone here is willing to help.

jdg

Well said