Don in E Texas
New member
My wife, Pat, and I took our test ride yesterday on two different model Spyder’s… one with auto-shift; the other with a standard bike transmission. As of last week I had never heard of a Spyder - never saw one. My brother spotted one on the highway in Houston and emailed me about it. At my age (73) the thought of a regular motorcycle is out of the question (I’ve about 25 yrs of riding behind me - from over 50 yrs ago on a single cylinder Harley to a Goldwing tour bike). There are recent posts on the Forum from folks that list why they are not riding a ‘regular‘ bike, so I won‘t repeat. The following report from both of us is written to help someone new to the Spyder. We are not professional riders/writers - we don’t write product reviews for “Rider” magazine. So take from it what you will.
Don’s report.
The day was perfect to ride a bike! 80 degrees, sunny, dry. But with gusty winds. Our sales rep showed us four different Spyders (08 and 09) and then showed us around the ‘08 we were to test ride. Fit and finish were up to what I would expect and no surprises there. Nice storage in the front end (note: one bike we saw had a pair of Corbin bags -- wow, they are first rate!). Sales rep went over all the controls, etc. My first thought was the location of the parking brake. It appears the first thing you do prior to getting on the bike is to release the parking brake!! That is backwards to me and not at all safe. Example: driving a 18 wheeler - after a walk around you enter the cab and do the required checks - start the engine - air pressure up -- all looks good. Place transmission in gear -- check around you prior to moving -- THEN release the parking brake. I rode a Honda Silver Wing scooter --- parking brake was close to my right knee where I thought it should be.
Getting on the bike. Unlike a regular bike (rider gets on first; passenger next) the passenger gets on in the drivers position and slides back to the rear of the seat. (hey, if no one told ya, you would not know). Get on the bike by placing your left foot on the left drivers peg - swing you leg over (what you folks that are Vertically Challenged should read in this is you do not need to have long legs to drive/handle a Spyder)
Start the engine. This is not a Harley twin - so no shake/vibration. You can actually use the rear view mirror at idle! We are ready to go. Place transmission in 1st - let out on clutch -- engine stalls. Do this a couple of times. Once I get going I’m going far too fast!! I want to take off and go about the speed of a walker!! I never could get this bike to do this. It either idled or it wanted to GO!!… I did not care for this. The roll-on of the throttle was not as smooth as I’d like. Why am I interested in slow driving? Picture a nice Saturday at Wal*Mart -- you want to back out and there are two Hummers on either side blocking your view and you want to back out SLOW. Or going forward in the same parking lot -- kids, shopping carts and people plus you will have a crowd looking at your machine. You want to drive slow. Enough of the slow stuff. Lets get out on the road!
The steering is effortless - the transmission shifts like any other bike. First intersection is ’ruff railroad crossing. SMOOTH ride over the tracks. Now a left turn for about 5 miles of two lane twisty roads with 50 plus mph speed limit. I’m still fighting the throttle/clutch when starting out, but not stalling the engine. I feel that the bike is in control of me at slow speed. Did I mention it was gusty wind? The bike did not need a windshield; the gusts were from the side almost for the entire test ride. This is what made the test ride so good. We are talking one fine stable machine. 18 wheelers, etc will not blow you off the road!!! I made the twist’s at my slower than normal speed - the bike of course is fully capable of faster speeds, but I don’t want to drive past my comfort zone. I want to make it to 74!
Wife and I did some practice riding in a church parking lot - then returned to the dealers lot. Again, slow speed was a problem for me -- and once the bike was shut down and we got off, the last thing was to set the parking brake. I guess if you just put the transmission in gear before you got off the bike, you would be OK - bike could not roll.
Now to drive the auto-shift bike. Again we were shown the operation of the bike prior to a test ride. Slow speed driving is no problem with the auto-shift!! For the first time on a Spyder I’m in control of the bike at any speed (within my comfort zone). We left the dealers lot and were out on the highway. For the first time, I had a full smile going!!! Now we’re talkin’ riding!
Pats report:
Since it's been 30 years since I last drove a motorcycle, I was a little apprehensive about driving again. The first Spyder I tried was a little scary, as the distance between the left grip and the clutch lever was too big (yes, we did all the adjustments). I kept letting the clutch out too fast. Also, the Throttle took some getting used to. A very little goes a long way! I did feel that the Spyder was driving me.
Then we looked at the one with semi-automatic transmission. What a difference! No clutch, and the throttle was much easier to control. And since I'm only 5'3", if I stand up real straight, not having to put my feet down and hold it up was great!
Riding on the back was pretty comfortable, especially with a backrest. Yesterday, our test ride day, was warm and windy, a good day to test the stability in a crosswind, and riding on the back felt OK.
It's a keeper. I'm looking forward to getting it home and taking it out on our country roads.
Don’s follow up…… after watching Pat fight the bike with the standard transmission, I knew that if I purchased it, I would be the only one to ride it. That was not my goal at all. But the auto-shift changed both of our minds about the bike. Some questions the group might reply to….. The auto-shift model - how do you get off the bike and set the parking brake when you are on an incline? Looks like a great way to see the Spyder go off into the woods or run over someone. Pat said the back seat had some road bounce that at the drivers position I did not feel. Might just need to have the tension adjustment set for two-up riding - I don’t know what it was set for.
If all the dealer had was the bike with standard transmission, I would have said “thanks for the demo” and gone home. The auto-shift changed my mind completely. We are now the proud owners of a 2008 Red Spyder with auto-shift transmission!!
After market thoughts and ideas. There is a world of ‘stuff’ for the Spyder out there!! My first purchase will be highway pegs! Here are my views on why I like highway pegs. By being able to change position of your legs, you also change where your butt hit’s the seat! In other words if you start to squirm in the seat, just put your feet up on the pegs!! I’d get highway pegs before I’d ever look at after market seats as that might be all you need. Here is another example. Say you are in your most favorite chair at the house - Super Bowl is about to start -- you are watching the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleads do their “thing”… All is well. Notice what you move while you are seated? Your legs!! (going to the fridge or bathroom does not count in this test) And I’m tipping my hat to Pittsburgh!!! Great game!! Windshield might be the 2nd after market purchase. Need to do my due-diligence and see what is out there and what height I might want. Handle bar riser? Not enough saddle time to make up my mind about that yet.
Pat and I look forward to your comments.
Don’s report.
The day was perfect to ride a bike! 80 degrees, sunny, dry. But with gusty winds. Our sales rep showed us four different Spyders (08 and 09) and then showed us around the ‘08 we were to test ride. Fit and finish were up to what I would expect and no surprises there. Nice storage in the front end (note: one bike we saw had a pair of Corbin bags -- wow, they are first rate!). Sales rep went over all the controls, etc. My first thought was the location of the parking brake. It appears the first thing you do prior to getting on the bike is to release the parking brake!! That is backwards to me and not at all safe. Example: driving a 18 wheeler - after a walk around you enter the cab and do the required checks - start the engine - air pressure up -- all looks good. Place transmission in gear -- check around you prior to moving -- THEN release the parking brake. I rode a Honda Silver Wing scooter --- parking brake was close to my right knee where I thought it should be.
Getting on the bike. Unlike a regular bike (rider gets on first; passenger next) the passenger gets on in the drivers position and slides back to the rear of the seat. (hey, if no one told ya, you would not know). Get on the bike by placing your left foot on the left drivers peg - swing you leg over (what you folks that are Vertically Challenged should read in this is you do not need to have long legs to drive/handle a Spyder)
Start the engine. This is not a Harley twin - so no shake/vibration. You can actually use the rear view mirror at idle! We are ready to go. Place transmission in 1st - let out on clutch -- engine stalls. Do this a couple of times. Once I get going I’m going far too fast!! I want to take off and go about the speed of a walker!! I never could get this bike to do this. It either idled or it wanted to GO!!… I did not care for this. The roll-on of the throttle was not as smooth as I’d like. Why am I interested in slow driving? Picture a nice Saturday at Wal*Mart -- you want to back out and there are two Hummers on either side blocking your view and you want to back out SLOW. Or going forward in the same parking lot -- kids, shopping carts and people plus you will have a crowd looking at your machine. You want to drive slow. Enough of the slow stuff. Lets get out on the road!
The steering is effortless - the transmission shifts like any other bike. First intersection is ’ruff railroad crossing. SMOOTH ride over the tracks. Now a left turn for about 5 miles of two lane twisty roads with 50 plus mph speed limit. I’m still fighting the throttle/clutch when starting out, but not stalling the engine. I feel that the bike is in control of me at slow speed. Did I mention it was gusty wind? The bike did not need a windshield; the gusts were from the side almost for the entire test ride. This is what made the test ride so good. We are talking one fine stable machine. 18 wheelers, etc will not blow you off the road!!! I made the twist’s at my slower than normal speed - the bike of course is fully capable of faster speeds, but I don’t want to drive past my comfort zone. I want to make it to 74!
Wife and I did some practice riding in a church parking lot - then returned to the dealers lot. Again, slow speed was a problem for me -- and once the bike was shut down and we got off, the last thing was to set the parking brake. I guess if you just put the transmission in gear before you got off the bike, you would be OK - bike could not roll.
Now to drive the auto-shift bike. Again we were shown the operation of the bike prior to a test ride. Slow speed driving is no problem with the auto-shift!! For the first time on a Spyder I’m in control of the bike at any speed (within my comfort zone). We left the dealers lot and were out on the highway. For the first time, I had a full smile going!!! Now we’re talkin’ riding!
Pats report:
Since it's been 30 years since I last drove a motorcycle, I was a little apprehensive about driving again. The first Spyder I tried was a little scary, as the distance between the left grip and the clutch lever was too big (yes, we did all the adjustments). I kept letting the clutch out too fast. Also, the Throttle took some getting used to. A very little goes a long way! I did feel that the Spyder was driving me.
Then we looked at the one with semi-automatic transmission. What a difference! No clutch, and the throttle was much easier to control. And since I'm only 5'3", if I stand up real straight, not having to put my feet down and hold it up was great!
Riding on the back was pretty comfortable, especially with a backrest. Yesterday, our test ride day, was warm and windy, a good day to test the stability in a crosswind, and riding on the back felt OK.
It's a keeper. I'm looking forward to getting it home and taking it out on our country roads.
Don’s follow up…… after watching Pat fight the bike with the standard transmission, I knew that if I purchased it, I would be the only one to ride it. That was not my goal at all. But the auto-shift changed both of our minds about the bike. Some questions the group might reply to….. The auto-shift model - how do you get off the bike and set the parking brake when you are on an incline? Looks like a great way to see the Spyder go off into the woods or run over someone. Pat said the back seat had some road bounce that at the drivers position I did not feel. Might just need to have the tension adjustment set for two-up riding - I don’t know what it was set for.
If all the dealer had was the bike with standard transmission, I would have said “thanks for the demo” and gone home. The auto-shift changed my mind completely. We are now the proud owners of a 2008 Red Spyder with auto-shift transmission!!
After market thoughts and ideas. There is a world of ‘stuff’ for the Spyder out there!! My first purchase will be highway pegs! Here are my views on why I like highway pegs. By being able to change position of your legs, you also change where your butt hit’s the seat! In other words if you start to squirm in the seat, just put your feet up on the pegs!! I’d get highway pegs before I’d ever look at after market seats as that might be all you need. Here is another example. Say you are in your most favorite chair at the house - Super Bowl is about to start -- you are watching the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleads do their “thing”… All is well. Notice what you move while you are seated? Your legs!! (going to the fridge or bathroom does not count in this test) And I’m tipping my hat to Pittsburgh!!! Great game!! Windshield might be the 2nd after market purchase. Need to do my due-diligence and see what is out there and what height I might want. Handle bar riser? Not enough saddle time to make up my mind about that yet.
Pat and I look forward to your comments.
