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Can-Am Spyder... Posted by Mike Lynch [Email]  (#81) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Mike Lynch) on Thu, 5 Nov 2009 14:12:39
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Here at the BMW motorcycle shop we took one of them 3 wheeled Can-Am Spyders in trade the other day on a real motorcycle, a new R1200RT, so naturally I had to ride it to see what the hub-bub is all about.
Works just like a real motorcycle in that you straddle the seat and it has the normal shifter and clutch set-up, twist throttle and brake pedal, but what's missing is a brake lever for your hand on the right/throttle side, only a brake pedal activates all brakes.
I expected a snowmobile on wheels, which mighta' happened if I had ever ridden a snowmobile before, but I haven't and so I was pleasantly surprised. Pretty tight and solid, not the two stroke rattle trap of a snow machine I expected in my mind. Nice 990cc V-Twin Rotax motor zips to 9,500 revs. Not as quick as a bike with the same motor because of the weight, but still very zippy and you can really nail it in the lower gears as there's is no danger of a wheelie. Handling is pretty decent and it's not difficult at all to hang on as there's no compensating lean in corners. Interesting, there's a tight 2nd gear 270 degree flat sweeper nearby and it wasn't that tough or scary to get the stability control to start cutting out the engine with a sharp turn and some throttle. I had ridden a Quadster (this one had a 167hp K1200S motor!) a similar vehicle with 4 wheels instead of only a single wheel at the back. There's a twitchy-ness or darty-ness to these kinda of vehicles once you get a little past normal steering corrections, I guess because you invoke major sideways G's petty quickly. Never a sideways G force in a motorcycle.
Typical BRP/Bombardier/Victory/Polaris/Can-Am construction, which is to say not a real high quality look or feel with lots of painted mystery metal (aluminum or pot metal?) and the front trunk lid/snout and the body work is a molded piece of plastic with the color in the plastic as opposed to a nice painted piece of whatever. Utilitarian switch gear, no real nice metalwork or paintwork, kinda' common stuff like a big toy as opposed to a small vehicle. Victory motorcycles are the same way, pedestrian construction, compared to say even the common Harley.
Very powerful allure to the consumer as 3 wheels must certainly be easier than only two, but nothing could be further from the truth. Average uninitiated folks think the same thing of a sidecar rig, that it is easier somehow, but a Can-Am Spyder while much easier to ride than a side car rig with it's asymmetrical layout, it's still a huge pain. True they won't tip over, but after that they're big, have a huge turning circle, and require a full parking space and of course you can't split lanes or get into tight spaces like with a motorcycle.
We bought it right and despite my disdain, it will likely save someone about $3-4k over a new one. And my curiosity is satisfied, been there done that......
, Thu, 5 Nov 2009 14:12:39 <-- Viewing This Message, Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:04:31, Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:09:26, Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:05:56, Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:45:28, Fri, 6 Nov 2009 14:50:39, Sat, 7 Nov 2009 12:27:39
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