why i purchased my spyder

[rugercharger]

to the spyder community. i guess i just had it with the motorcycle publications and general motorcycle 2 wheel community and their rants about profiling spyder buyers as people who cant ride a 2 wheel motorcyce, or dont have good balance on two wheels or are just intimidated just thinking about it.

I for one bought my spyder rt because i was getting uncomfortable with my wife as a passenger on my victory cross country that we enjoyed for 8 years. ever since she was involved in a pretty bad automobile accident she was paranoid any time someone looked like they were going to pull out in front of us. this started affecting my confidence with riding with her on the back of my bike. i had a decision to make. just ride by myself and enjoy my beast of a bike, which was no fun without her, or consider an alternative that she would feel more confident with. she felt more secure sitting on the rt when we looked at it. so i did what any loving husband would do, i gave up the victory, and purchased my spyder.

So far we have ridden more just in the last few months than we have since her accident 2 years ago. no regrets. now i must admit, at first, when i test drove the spyder, i did not llke it. but i reminded myself why i was considering it. that over ruled my objection to it. so i bought it anyway and sold my victory.

So what are my thoughts on the spyder? well,i become more impressed with it after every ride. the spyder is a well designed and engineered vehicle. after adjusting to how it handles,it is alot of fun. the 3 wheel factor also makes alot of sense. last sunday i wound up on a farmers piece of property where he stores some of his equipment which was dirt and gravel with some rocks thrown in. on my victory it would have been challenging to even consider, on my spyder i just moved ahead, not a problem.

i get more impressed with the technology that is in this spyder every week i tinker with it. i believe that the 2 wheel people that have a grudge with this 3 wheel layout are just in denial. so the question is ..............for some of you that transitioned from two wheels to the spyder, why did you make the move? now i will say, i did keep one of my bikes because i felt that i would be riding it when the wife is not riding. i was wrong, it sits alot because i like riding the spyder even when the wife is not going on a ride. just saying. i guess i dont fit the general motorcycle community profile.:chat:

Edited by breaking the article into paragraphs to make it easier on the eyes for the readers. No changes were made to any of the text...all as written by the OP.

 

[Deanna777]

:welcome:

and :congrats:

Deanna

 

[strykerAKAmack]

Started out at 7 on a honda 50 trail bike ,last bike b4 accident that had me off bikes for 11 years was yzf r6 .
bad back , bum leg couldn't throw a leg over or put any weight on it to keep it upright at a stop .
Missed riding like no tomorrow .
Been on an 18 F3S M6 for just over a year now and lovin life back in the wind .
I just tell those who question y 3 wheels that I'm ahead of the curve
Only thing missing is lanesplitting in traffic .

 

[Spyder Insyder]

I'm 70 years old riding on two wheels since I was 16. At last count, I've owned 30 motorcycles, including 6 Goldwings and 2 Harley Road kings. Over the years the wife and I put a lot of miles on the Goldwings. However as I have gotten older, I no longer feel confident on an 800+ lb. motorcycle with luggage and a passenger. So last year I sold the Goldwing (GL1800) and bought the Spyder RTL. Since then, we have taken several out of state trips on the Spyder and have put almost 10,000 miles on it. I still ride solo on the Harley, but everything 2-up is on the Spyder. The RTL is a great touring machine, and the perfect replacement for the Goldwing.

 

[Haze]

Reason for a Spyder

12 yrs riding. Had a bad accident on the scooter that caused me to give up on 2 wheels.
Went head on with a hit and run driver who appeared to be texting as he crossed into my lane.
Even after the accident& recovery I wanted to get back into the wind. 6 mo wait and the Spyder was
the solution to touring size and stability.

 

[pegasus1300]

50+ years on two wheels, bad accident that affected my balance, plus I realized that my situational awareness was not what it should be to keep riding on 2 wheels. I was not, however, ready to give up riding. I bought a Goldwing trike, put lots of miles on it, never liked it, sold it, and bought a Spyder RT and never looked back. My wife will not ride on 2 wheels anymore but she will ride on the Spyder from time to time. I love it.

 

[Little Blue]

My Story

:shemademe_smilie: I had a bike before I was married and she was okay with this. Fast forward, a little Girl was born and the bike needed to GO. Twenty-five years later, I was thinking 'time to get a motorcycle'. We went to a local motorcycle shop, 'just to look'. I saw my first Spyder (a 2013). I fell in love with that Special Spyder. A few years later, I was the proud owner of a 2016 RTL. We both love the Time and Always RYDE SAFE........:yes: :yes:.........:thumbup:

 

[MakoShark2]

45 years old, +30 riding on two wheels (although not all of them regularly).
I'm Located in Europe and I did had my share of travel on two wheels. Went to Morocco, ridden the dunes. Did the mythic Stelvio pass in Italy, Grossglockner high Apline road in Austria. Ridden the Picos de Europa National park in Spain, the Alps and Pyrenees mountains up and down. But did all of this solo as I never got comfortable riding two up for longer rides.
So it was more than time to have some touring time with the Missus and the Spyder just looked perfect for that.
One year and 16.000km (10.000mi) after, no regrets on changing. The Spyder is a wonderful touring machine, fun to ride and I don't miss a single bit of the two wheels driving thrill.

 

[Saluda]

Welcome.

 

[Blackrain047]

Well... I have all the strength to ride a 2-wheeler, but with the Spyder, I just love them! I don't have to worry to much about balance, more visible on the road, wife feels safer and we're more comfortable and...

It's DIFFERENT! About 8 out of 10 bikes on the road looks all the same nowadays. I like to be different and the Spyder attracts a lot of attention. :thumbup:

 

[PMK]

The original post is somewhat similar to us. My wife is not comfortable on a two wheel motorcycle. Myself, I would not have purchased the Spyder. Our 2014 RTS was bought for both of us. At this time, I have no issues concerning riding on two wheels. The Spyder was a means for us to ride together. I still have other motorcycles, she tells me I have too many.

 

[Wahrsuul]

I think the profiling by the two-wheelers is the usual "this is our opinion, don't bother us with facts". I'm still able to ride "regular" bikes, but as with the OP, my wife is not. Since I didn't care for 'wing trikes, we went with the Spyder. She loves it, and I enjoy using it to commute.

 

[cruisinTX]

to the spyder community. i guess i just had it with the motorcycle publications and general motorcycle 2 wheel community and their rants about profiling spyder buyers as people who cant ride a 2 wheel motorcyce, or dont have good balance on two wheels or are just intimidated just thinking about it. I for one bought my spyder rt because i was getting uncomfortable with my wife as a passenger on my victory cross country that we enjoyed for 8 years. ever since she was involved in a pretty bad automobile accident she was paranoid any time someone looked like they were going to pull out in front of us. this started affecting my confidence with riding with her on the back of my bike. i had a decision to make. just ride by myself and enjoy my beast of a bike, which was no fun without her, or consider an alternative that she would feel more confident with. she felt more secure sitting on the rt when we looked at it. so i did what any loving husband would do, i gave up the victory, and purchased my spyder. so far we have ridden more just in the last few months than we have since her accident 2 years ago. no regrets. now i must admit, at first, when i test drove the spyder, i did not llke it. but i reminded myself why i was considering it. that over ruled my objection to it. so i bought it anyway and sold my victory. so what are my thoughts on the spyder? well,i become more impressed with it after every ride. the spyder is a well designed and engineered vehicle. after adjusting to how it handles,it is alot of fun. the 3 wheel factor also makes alot of sense. last sunday i wound up on a farmers piece of property where he stores some of his equipment which was dirt and gravel with some rocks thrown in. on my victory it would have been challenging to even consider, on my spyder i just moved ahead, not a problem. i get more impressed with the technology that is in this spyder every week i tinker with it. i believe that the 2 wheel people that have a grudge with this 3 wheel layout are just in denial. so the question is ..............for some of you that transitioned from two wheels to the spyder, why did you make the move? now i will say, i did keep one of my bikes because i felt that i would be riding it when the wife is not riding. i was wrong, it sits alot because i like riding the spyder even when the wife is not going on a ride. just saying. i guess i dont fit the general motorcycle community profile.:chat:

WOW! I was going to post a longer response, but your story came across as almost identical to mine. Only two big differences; I have not yet sold any bikes and initial purchase of the Spyder was for it to be her ride to tag along with me on a bike. Otherwise very similar situation in that I no longer feel comfortable two up on a bike and the Spyder solves that problem. We now do two up on the Spyder a lot because she does not have the stamina to drive herself for more than an hour or so. I don't mind taking the back seat though as it gives me the chance to look around with camera in hand like she used to do when we only had a bike.

 

[blacklightning]

I started riding in August 2006. Purchased the bike for a 40th birthday gift to myself. My kids were old enough, and we were financially in a position to purchase a "toy". Riding changed my life. In August of 2014, the wife and I looked at the spyder and said how nice it would be to get one in a few years for us to enjoy together. The next month, I had an accident on my 2003 ZZR1200. The wife wanted me to sell and stop riding all together. 3 weeks later, I picked up the 2014 RT and told her, "look honey, I can't fall over!" After riding that for 2 years, I decided to pickup another 2 wheeler. But after only 6 months, I didn't feel comfortable, but still wanted something sportier than my RT. So I sold the 2 wheeler and picked up a 2012 RSS. After another 6 months, I decided to sell the RT, and trade in the RSS for my current F3T. I did pick up another 2 wheeler and love it. But I will always have a spyder of some sort. That gives me the confidence to have a passenger (my wife). Which is something that I never would do on 2 wheels.

 

[lloydw1]

Have arthritis in both hips. Will soon be having the left and then right side done as soon as I can after. Considered selling my Spyder in the spring. I'm addicted to the sound of big V-twins. BUT after much thought I'm keeping my F3T. I enjoy the more relaxing ride and the added safety of that third wheel. I'm 50 and have over 25yrs of 2 wheel experience and riding in the rain always scared the crap out of me.....on the Spyder the rain is nothing to really worry about. Besides the only bikes that have my attention are the Yamaha Venture and the new Indian Challenger,expensive to me. My '16 F3T is paid for so taking a loan out just isn't worth it. Besides I now have the BRP chrome rear wheel and I have my rear pulley out to get chromed as I type this........gotta keep it now lol

 

[Woodaddict]

I have always been interested in the Spyder, the looks, being different. For my wife who feels more comfortable on 3 wheels and will ride more. At 58 I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a BIG luxury 2 wheeler and then loose money going to a Spyder after I would have gotten tired of holding up a BIG 2 wheeler.
So the Spyder is our first luxury motorcycle, saved for trips, every now on then. My previous BIGGEST bike was 800cc, nothing bigger than that ever.I still have a 2 wheeler to take me back and forth to work. I average 28-31 K per year between the 2.
Just did a "out west trip" last year, Colorado, Wyoming, S Dakota, 2 weeks, 7,600 miles. 2017 trip to Maine and Canada. Both times Spyder performed without any problems.
Been Spyder owner for 2.5 yrs now.

 

[ARtraveler]

Happily, for me, the health issues that drove me away from two wheels have mostly been solved. The hip that made one leg unable to give support to two wheeling was fixed in 2016.

Ownership of Spyders, started in 2008 for me. It started as a unique way to own three wheels. The ride was cool, and we got lots of looks and questions from others. From 08 to 11, I had both flavors in the garage.

When the hip started acting up, two wheels got put on the back burner. I did not go back to two wheels until 2017. I still ride my Vulcan regularly. I love the two wheel experience for some special wind therapy.

I know that the time will come when I no longer feel safe on two....at 74 (soon), I know the two wheel days may be getting numbered.

Happily, I will still have three to ride when I want to.

 

[Chupaca]

welcome, welcome

after 60+ years on motorcycles of all kinds I sold off all and figured I had run the gamit. Though I never ran across the spyder till 2011 I found them new and different from the standard trike or side car. We moved to southern CA in 2011 and the wife said we needed to have a motorcycle once again. I said if we do it would be a spyder.....so 2012 she bought me one....:clap: love it....:bowdown:

 

[HayRog]

Great thread starter Rugercharger

I'm 74 years old. Wife and I travelled extensively, two-up on 2 wheels for many years. Suzukis, Hondas, Yamahas, etc.
Arthritis started creeping up on me - wrist, fingers and ankles, this made riding 2 wheels less fun and painful
It was a joint decision to buy the Spyder in 2015 and it's been working out perfectly for us both. :2thumbs:

 

[cruisinTX]

Great thread starter Rugercharger

I'm 74 years old. Wife and I travelled extensively, two-up on 2 wheels for many years. Suzukis, Hondas, Yamahas, etc.
Arthritis started creeping up on me - wrist, fingers and ankles, this made riding 2 wheels less fun and painful
It was a joint decision to buy the Spyder in 2015 and it's been working out perfectly for us both. :2thumbs:

OK, when you say "joint decision," does that mean your joints told you it's time or does it mean you and the wife made the decision together? :yikes: sorry; but someone had to ask.