Rob Rodriguez
New member
I dropped my 2012 RS off at the dealer for an oil change and while I was waiting they let me take their F3 demo out for a ride. It was about a 25 mile ride and in that time I think I have a pretty good sense of what the F3 is and isn't. I thought I would share my thoughts here for other RS, RS-S riders who are thinking about an F3.
Pros:
Electronic parking brake......My 2012 RS has a manual parking brake and the electronic one is so much nicer.
Exhaust sound.... The triple makes a nice throaty exhaust note that I really liked
Relaxed Nanny....The relaxed nanny lets you burn the tire a little and even get a little sideways. Nice, should be like that for all Spyders.
Brakes......The brakes were excellent, just excellent
Cons:
Seating position..The seating position on the F3 is all cruiser and almost identical to my Harley. If you like that position its great but personally I don't. I find this position to be uncomfortable for long rides (more than 100 miles). I also find that when the road starts getting rough this seating position puts that rough road jolt right into your butt and lower back. Very uncomfortable. Its one of the reasons I sold my Harley and a VERY BIG reason I would not buy an F3
Bodywork....I haven't heard this mentioned before but when sitting on the F3 it feels to me like there is a whole lot of long, wide bodywork in front of me. The RS does not have this. On the RS is feels just the opposite, like nothing is between you and the road. The F3 just feels like a whole lot of bike between me and the road.
Overall the F3 is a nice bike. The 1330 engine is nice although personally I don't see it as a major (maybe even no) performance improvement over the 998. It sounds nice but I'm not sure its any faster than the 998 and while driving it I had hard time "reading" the engine. "Reading" the engine meaning is the RPM to low, to high, is the power band where I need it to be to pass, etc. It reminded me a lot of the 4-stroke engines BRP is putting in the sleds. There is this on/off quality about it. It did seem to have a bit more pull than the 998 but without lining the 2 up side by side I don't know if its true. The relaxed nanny is super nice. I'm not sure why BRP didn't do this a long time ago. With a smooth road the ride quality is fine but once the road gets a little rough you immediately feel it right in the seat of your pants. The RS rides better over more road conditions I think. I also thought the F3 required much more handlebar movement for turning than the RS does. If your a "cruiser" bike type of rider I think the F3 is what your looking for in a Spyder. It you are more of a sport bike, straight bike, cross over bike, dual sport type bike rider I don't think you'll be happy with the F3. It was fun to demo the bike but I certainly wouldn't buy one. I'm hoping BRP has something in store for the RS, RS-S in 2016.
A side note. The F3 I demoed had 359 miles on it and the front end without a doubt was not aligned properly. It wandered all over the road. How is it BRP still can't provided a properly aligned bike from the factory. There really is no excuse for this.
Pros:
Electronic parking brake......My 2012 RS has a manual parking brake and the electronic one is so much nicer.
Exhaust sound.... The triple makes a nice throaty exhaust note that I really liked
Relaxed Nanny....The relaxed nanny lets you burn the tire a little and even get a little sideways. Nice, should be like that for all Spyders.
Brakes......The brakes were excellent, just excellent
Cons:
Seating position..The seating position on the F3 is all cruiser and almost identical to my Harley. If you like that position its great but personally I don't. I find this position to be uncomfortable for long rides (more than 100 miles). I also find that when the road starts getting rough this seating position puts that rough road jolt right into your butt and lower back. Very uncomfortable. Its one of the reasons I sold my Harley and a VERY BIG reason I would not buy an F3
Bodywork....I haven't heard this mentioned before but when sitting on the F3 it feels to me like there is a whole lot of long, wide bodywork in front of me. The RS does not have this. On the RS is feels just the opposite, like nothing is between you and the road. The F3 just feels like a whole lot of bike between me and the road.
Overall the F3 is a nice bike. The 1330 engine is nice although personally I don't see it as a major (maybe even no) performance improvement over the 998. It sounds nice but I'm not sure its any faster than the 998 and while driving it I had hard time "reading" the engine. "Reading" the engine meaning is the RPM to low, to high, is the power band where I need it to be to pass, etc. It reminded me a lot of the 4-stroke engines BRP is putting in the sleds. There is this on/off quality about it. It did seem to have a bit more pull than the 998 but without lining the 2 up side by side I don't know if its true. The relaxed nanny is super nice. I'm not sure why BRP didn't do this a long time ago. With a smooth road the ride quality is fine but once the road gets a little rough you immediately feel it right in the seat of your pants. The RS rides better over more road conditions I think. I also thought the F3 required much more handlebar movement for turning than the RS does. If your a "cruiser" bike type of rider I think the F3 is what your looking for in a Spyder. It you are more of a sport bike, straight bike, cross over bike, dual sport type bike rider I don't think you'll be happy with the F3. It was fun to demo the bike but I certainly wouldn't buy one. I'm hoping BRP has something in store for the RS, RS-S in 2016.
A side note. The F3 I demoed had 359 miles on it and the front end without a doubt was not aligned properly. It wandered all over the road. How is it BRP still can't provided a properly aligned bike from the factory. There really is no excuse for this.
