I took the 2014 RT back to the dealership today after the Can-Am Spyder RT 2014 - Customer Program Kick-Off ended. All I can say is it was a blast riding the two 2014 RT’s for the past eleven weeks (minus one that was rained out) putting on over 5283 miles in the process, and I wish I could have kept one for keeps. The first RT that BRP had me test was a RT-S, and the second was a RT Limited (I do not know why they changed vehicles). I wish that BRP would have had the backrest on the Spyder’s so I could see how they were. Would also been nice if the Limited had the GPS, so I could get lost going somewhere.
The test had me do some riding that I never did before. I rode two Spyders in the past. On the 2010 RS I put on 12,700 miles in twenty-one months or an average of 151 miles per week before trading in for my RT. This included a trip to SITR in 2012 for 1500+ miles. On my 2012 RT I put on 7250 miles in fifteen months for an average of 120 miles per week before selling the RT. This included a trip to Las Vegas at 550 or so miles. For the test period the least miles I put on was week eight when it rained all week, followed by the next lowest at 380.4, and ending at 628.2 when I took the 2014 to Las Vegas. My average for all eleven weeks was 508.27 miles.
Some of the things I did while ryding the bike, and my thoughts.
I ran the bike out of gas (on purpose) to see how far I could go, and how it would react. I ran out at 208.5 miles, and thought I would get more. I can only assume it is due to the fact that all but maybe 50 miles were on the freeway going between 65 to 75 mph.
I took the RT on a short trip to Las Vegas (553 miles round trip), and have to say it was way more comfortable than my 2012. I don’t know if the RT-S and the Limited had different seats, but I liked the seat on the RT-S better. Like I said, I don’t know if it is the way the padding was put in, or that one was a comfort seat, and the other not.
I did not like the ECO mode, as in order to use it properly I had to ride too slow for my liking. It felt like I would get hit from behind by cages that thought I was traveling too slowly. I noticed that the ECO mode wanted me to shift the bike at around 2900 rpm’s, so I did that in non-ECO mode for the most part. While I am what I would call myself a non-aggressive driver/rider, but I do like to get to the speed limit (or 5 mph over) fast. My average for using ECO mode was five tanks for an average MPG of 32.54, and non-ECO was 20 tanks for an average MPG of 31.97. For such a small difference I would rather not bother with the ECO mode. One thing I did notice was, just like my 2012 RT, when ryding back roads in a group I got better MPG due to the slower pace. I am sure others would get better mileage than I did depending on ryding styles.
During several 90 degree plus rydes I noticed that my head was hotter than my right foot. Not that the heat is completely gone, but I would say it is lower than what would be expected considering you have your legs around a hot motor. I would even go as far as saying if I was not wearing boots (or a better boot), my foot would not have felt the heat.
I learned two things during this test, and the first is that it is REALLY scary ryding in dense fog. So bad that the first time I turned around, and went back home. Fog is bad enough when in a cage, but really bad when on the Spyder. The second time I went to work, and saw fog I did not even make it 10 miles before turning back home.
The other thing I learned is not to make excesses for not taking the bike. Before I would say “I do not want to get up an extra ten minutes to get all geared up to ryde to work in the morning, or it is cold”. Well this test required me to ryde every day to ryde the 300 miles I agreed to do every week, and it did not matter if it was hot, cold, sunny, or raining. I HAD to ryde. By about the third week I started to look forward to the ryde every day.
While I really enjoyed the whole experience, it really was a great ending to this chapter in my life. During the test period I had to sell my 2012, and now no longer own a Spyder. I say this chapter because I WILL be back on a Spyder someday. I can’t say for sure if I will continue to post on SpyderLover’s unless I have something to add to the conversation, but I will continue to read the forum for a while. I do have some stuff I will be selling, so I am not gone yet.
Ryde safe everyone, keep the painted side up, and the rubber down.
Robert
“Blue Star”
The test had me do some riding that I never did before. I rode two Spyders in the past. On the 2010 RS I put on 12,700 miles in twenty-one months or an average of 151 miles per week before trading in for my RT. This included a trip to SITR in 2012 for 1500+ miles. On my 2012 RT I put on 7250 miles in fifteen months for an average of 120 miles per week before selling the RT. This included a trip to Las Vegas at 550 or so miles. For the test period the least miles I put on was week eight when it rained all week, followed by the next lowest at 380.4, and ending at 628.2 when I took the 2014 to Las Vegas. My average for all eleven weeks was 508.27 miles.
Some of the things I did while ryding the bike, and my thoughts.
I ran the bike out of gas (on purpose) to see how far I could go, and how it would react. I ran out at 208.5 miles, and thought I would get more. I can only assume it is due to the fact that all but maybe 50 miles were on the freeway going between 65 to 75 mph.
I took the RT on a short trip to Las Vegas (553 miles round trip), and have to say it was way more comfortable than my 2012. I don’t know if the RT-S and the Limited had different seats, but I liked the seat on the RT-S better. Like I said, I don’t know if it is the way the padding was put in, or that one was a comfort seat, and the other not.
I did not like the ECO mode, as in order to use it properly I had to ride too slow for my liking. It felt like I would get hit from behind by cages that thought I was traveling too slowly. I noticed that the ECO mode wanted me to shift the bike at around 2900 rpm’s, so I did that in non-ECO mode for the most part. While I am what I would call myself a non-aggressive driver/rider, but I do like to get to the speed limit (or 5 mph over) fast. My average for using ECO mode was five tanks for an average MPG of 32.54, and non-ECO was 20 tanks for an average MPG of 31.97. For such a small difference I would rather not bother with the ECO mode. One thing I did notice was, just like my 2012 RT, when ryding back roads in a group I got better MPG due to the slower pace. I am sure others would get better mileage than I did depending on ryding styles.
During several 90 degree plus rydes I noticed that my head was hotter than my right foot. Not that the heat is completely gone, but I would say it is lower than what would be expected considering you have your legs around a hot motor. I would even go as far as saying if I was not wearing boots (or a better boot), my foot would not have felt the heat.
I learned two things during this test, and the first is that it is REALLY scary ryding in dense fog. So bad that the first time I turned around, and went back home. Fog is bad enough when in a cage, but really bad when on the Spyder. The second time I went to work, and saw fog I did not even make it 10 miles before turning back home.
The other thing I learned is not to make excesses for not taking the bike. Before I would say “I do not want to get up an extra ten minutes to get all geared up to ryde to work in the morning, or it is cold”. Well this test required me to ryde every day to ryde the 300 miles I agreed to do every week, and it did not matter if it was hot, cold, sunny, or raining. I HAD to ryde. By about the third week I started to look forward to the ryde every day.
While I really enjoyed the whole experience, it really was a great ending to this chapter in my life. During the test period I had to sell my 2012, and now no longer own a Spyder. I say this chapter because I WILL be back on a Spyder someday. I can’t say for sure if I will continue to post on SpyderLover’s unless I have something to add to the conversation, but I will continue to read the forum for a while. I do have some stuff I will be selling, so I am not gone yet.
Ryde safe everyone, keep the painted side up, and the rubber down.
Robert
“Blue Star”
