isthatahemi
New member
Hello all!
This post will be long, but for those of you that like long stories here ya go!
First off, I'm 35, total powersports junkie, married to woman who loves to passenger, and strangely, gets very bored going slow. I owned and rode a sportbike before owning a car. I am one of those folks that is has never struggled to drive or ride any machine. I won't get on a bike again, as I tired of the constant, silly risks it involves where I reside. (My previously undisciplined / wild ways and the 4 YEAR license suspension also tells me I shouldn't!). Having travelled all over North america, I can safely say where I live has the WORST drivers. The roads are completely trashed, with potholes you could hide a microwave in, gravel covered roads (from winter sanding), that never get properly cleaned, and various other things that conspire against even a careful rider.i currently snowmobile in the winter, ATV during the summer, and hunt in the fall. Sledding, I spend a lot of time riding hard, and maybe 20% of the time 2up. ATV'ing, DW comes about 75% of the time. So that's me / us.
A low snow winter got me reading about the Spyder, and DW was pretty enthused, given her love for riding. I started reading everything I could, all the reviews, forums, blogs, etc. I find it a little disapointing how so many say the Spyder is for the infirm, disabled or the elderly. Though it may offer a platform for that, I think it is more like a snowmobile for the road! I read with slight dismay they lack of acceptance and understanding of the machine.
Anyhow, I shopped the used market for the last month, only to find used values very high for 2008 machines. Obscenely high resale values are common around here, I think driven by extremely cheap consumers. Anyhow, the local Spyder dealer has a couple of "new" 2011 RSS models for $7K off list, full warranty. So $11K for used 2008 or $14k new. I put a deposit down on the new one.
DW and I will be renting an RT SM5 for 4 days at the end of March, in California. I can see myself wanting to buy one, hence the (refundable) deposit. We bought full riding suits (with CE Armor), new helmets, gloves and boots. I mentioned to my wife how stupid I would feel if we had an off, and got hurt due to cheapness!
So the plan is to pick up the RSS when we get back from our ride in Cali. I think an HMF slip on exhaust will be done immediately, as I like the sound, and I clearly remember numerous times as a sportbike rider, the crack of the exhaust woke up some moron who wasn't paying attention. I foresee a Corbin saddle as well, and likely some saddle bags. And a cross country trip from manitoba to Key West this summer! (The wife and I are hard core road-trippers!)
One thing that concerns me is the stories I hear of the overly aggressive stability control. I suppose it is what it is, but the option drastically raising the threshold would be nice. Sometimes one likes to shut off the nanny, especially myself. It's highly unlikely that a Spyder would be any more difficult to handle than a snowmobile at full boogie. They high side, low side, buck, plow, and generally can be a handful of ridden past their limits, and driver skill is essential. I don't buy all the chicken little theories I hear for the spyder'so non defeatable system, other than the obvious legal reasons, coupled wih the unknown skill level of the intended rider. But I digress.
My wish there was more enthusiasm from the "younger" generation for the Spyder, but I will enjoy the more seasoned perspective of many of the great folks on this great site as well.
So there is my story, and hopefully it wasn't too boring. I'll post some more as my wife (DW) and I embark on this next adventure of ours!
This post will be long, but for those of you that like long stories here ya go!
First off, I'm 35, total powersports junkie, married to woman who loves to passenger, and strangely, gets very bored going slow. I owned and rode a sportbike before owning a car. I am one of those folks that is has never struggled to drive or ride any machine. I won't get on a bike again, as I tired of the constant, silly risks it involves where I reside. (My previously undisciplined / wild ways and the 4 YEAR license suspension also tells me I shouldn't!). Having travelled all over North america, I can safely say where I live has the WORST drivers. The roads are completely trashed, with potholes you could hide a microwave in, gravel covered roads (from winter sanding), that never get properly cleaned, and various other things that conspire against even a careful rider.i currently snowmobile in the winter, ATV during the summer, and hunt in the fall. Sledding, I spend a lot of time riding hard, and maybe 20% of the time 2up. ATV'ing, DW comes about 75% of the time. So that's me / us.
A low snow winter got me reading about the Spyder, and DW was pretty enthused, given her love for riding. I started reading everything I could, all the reviews, forums, blogs, etc. I find it a little disapointing how so many say the Spyder is for the infirm, disabled or the elderly. Though it may offer a platform for that, I think it is more like a snowmobile for the road! I read with slight dismay they lack of acceptance and understanding of the machine.
Anyhow, I shopped the used market for the last month, only to find used values very high for 2008 machines. Obscenely high resale values are common around here, I think driven by extremely cheap consumers. Anyhow, the local Spyder dealer has a couple of "new" 2011 RSS models for $7K off list, full warranty. So $11K for used 2008 or $14k new. I put a deposit down on the new one.
DW and I will be renting an RT SM5 for 4 days at the end of March, in California. I can see myself wanting to buy one, hence the (refundable) deposit. We bought full riding suits (with CE Armor), new helmets, gloves and boots. I mentioned to my wife how stupid I would feel if we had an off, and got hurt due to cheapness!
So the plan is to pick up the RSS when we get back from our ride in Cali. I think an HMF slip on exhaust will be done immediately, as I like the sound, and I clearly remember numerous times as a sportbike rider, the crack of the exhaust woke up some moron who wasn't paying attention. I foresee a Corbin saddle as well, and likely some saddle bags. And a cross country trip from manitoba to Key West this summer! (The wife and I are hard core road-trippers!)
One thing that concerns me is the stories I hear of the overly aggressive stability control. I suppose it is what it is, but the option drastically raising the threshold would be nice. Sometimes one likes to shut off the nanny, especially myself. It's highly unlikely that a Spyder would be any more difficult to handle than a snowmobile at full boogie. They high side, low side, buck, plow, and generally can be a handful of ridden past their limits, and driver skill is essential. I don't buy all the chicken little theories I hear for the spyder'so non defeatable system, other than the obvious legal reasons, coupled wih the unknown skill level of the intended rider. But I digress.
My wish there was more enthusiasm from the "younger" generation for the Spyder, but I will enjoy the more seasoned perspective of many of the great folks on this great site as well.
So there is my story, and hopefully it wasn't too boring. I'll post some more as my wife (DW) and I embark on this next adventure of ours!
opcorn:
pps:
