I don’t own one but test rode one this morning. Initial thought upon seeing it was wow, its way too small for me. But I took it for a test ride and discovered:
-I liked it, quite a bit. The short seat height made it easy for me to get on and off, which I struggle with greatly on my Harley touring. (Bad knees, bad back, limited flexibility). In fact I barely, and I mean barely got on and off an RT limited after 3-4 minutes of contortions.
-The 998cc motor was pretty torquey and had strong acceleration even with me at 400#. I was concerned it would not have adequate power but it does for the kind of cruising I do.
- On a day like today, low 40’s, either a windscreen or full face helmet is needed for comfort. My half helmet and lack of gloves left me frozen. Guess I’ve been riding behind some type of cafe or larger fairing since 1981 and I’m now spoiled. But the wind felt good otherwise.
- Coming from bikes and most recently some 20” floorboards, I expected my legs to cramp. However the feet forward riding position was very comfortable and I got used to the low overall height after just a couple of miles. I do wonder how visible one is to other drivers so would probably add additional lighting and or modulators.
- Strange not having a hand brake but the trike stops very well.
- I still felt awkward at the end of my test ride when cornering, but that may be due to only riding two wheels in the past, or the suspension, though it didn’t feel loose to me. Cornering was the only time I felt top heavy so I would probably add sway bar and maybe two up spring if I purchase.
-Steering took some effort but wasn’t difficult. I did test ride a limited which had power steering and a more plush ride but that bike also had an air shock and plush seat. I do believe I would replace the seat on Ryker, I’m wider in the bottom than most.
- Overall I liked the Ryker enough to want to ride it again. The dealer didn’t have a base model F3 uncrated but is getting one together in the next 1-2 days. I plan to ride the F3 and Ryker immediately following so I can make a better decision. The F3 will have a larger engine so I’m interested to see how that one rolls on.
- Oh, and that limited I did ride was a 2010. Reminded me of a mini Gold Wing. Power everything from front trunk release to pushbutton parking brake and heated passenger grips, etc. But while the ride was very plush, there was very limited space for my feet and I think it would be cramped overall without floorboards. I also had a hard time finding the brake pedal though I know pedal extensions are available. So most likely I’ll purchase a Ryker or F3.
