Forums in general...
In the past I have belonged to various motorcycle forums pertaining to the bike I was riding at the time. My forum online activity started with the Valkyrie, then Goldwing 1800, then Harleys, then K1600 BMW, and now the Spyder. If I let the conversations on the specific forum influence me too much, I would not have bought any of those bikes. And then, once I had the bike, I was worried I would need to carry a set of spare parts based on all the breakdown comments.
Maybe I was extremely fortunate, but it turned out for me, all of those bikes were basically problem free and many had over 60K miles before I went to another. I remember when on trips with the Harley I talked to several folks and when I brought up a discussion mentioning something about the forum, they looked at me like I had 2 heads. I soon realized there are a huge multitude of folks out there that just ride and they skip the whole forum experience all together. They don't even think about potential issues with their bike, they just ride it.
I like this forum for all the great information and great folks on it, but just because you see some issues here that are discussed, don't let it get you down and don't assume these issues effect a huge percentage of the Spyders out there. Yes, I think the dealer situation sucks, both the few choices and the service from some of them, but so far my opinion of the Spyder is pretty high and I think its the only nice trike option out there. Just my opinion....
.... I also did not see this forum or read about this issue prior to buying it or I never would have bought it in the first place. Lots of great, honest info out there but it would have deterred me. I'm glad I got it, it's a great experience and so much fun to drive but like canamjhb said (and is spot on), service is the Achilles for this brand...
In the past I have belonged to various motorcycle forums pertaining to the bike I was riding at the time. My forum online activity started with the Valkyrie, then Goldwing 1800, then Harleys, then K1600 BMW, and now the Spyder. If I let the conversations on the specific forum influence me too much, I would not have bought any of those bikes. And then, once I had the bike, I was worried I would need to carry a set of spare parts based on all the breakdown comments.
Maybe I was extremely fortunate, but it turned out for me, all of those bikes were basically problem free and many had over 60K miles before I went to another. I remember when on trips with the Harley I talked to several folks and when I brought up a discussion mentioning something about the forum, they looked at me like I had 2 heads. I soon realized there are a huge multitude of folks out there that just ride and they skip the whole forum experience all together. They don't even think about potential issues with their bike, they just ride it.
I like this forum for all the great information and great folks on it, but just because you see some issues here that are discussed, don't let it get you down and don't assume these issues effect a huge percentage of the Spyders out there. Yes, I think the dealer situation sucks, both the few choices and the service from some of them, but so far my opinion of the Spyder is pretty high and I think its the only nice trike option out there. Just my opinion....