Spyder Tourer Cool or Not ?

Front on the Can-am Spyder Tourer reminds me of something from HR Puff N Stuff but from the side and rear think it might be a fun thing to road trip on.

Can someone please tell me if this thing is Cool or not I really cannot tell,

 

I am not a big fan of the Can-am. I got to ride one for about 30 minutes during a demo-ride in the Atlanta area. I rode the semi-automatic version, without the touring equipment.
Overall, feels very, very strange cornering this bike (term used loosely)
I could see it as a touring machine, but don't even think about hitting the twisties. You have to push extremely hard on the bars to initiate a turn and then keep the pressure on the bar during the entire radius. The twin front wheels want to return to straight ahead positioning so I found myself fighting the machine. There is no lean capability built into the front suspension.

As a touring only machine, large trunk in front is standard, then throw on some bags and off you go. No curves, no fun......might as well take the cage!

There are other 3-wheelers out there that are much more designed for curves and long distance trips. Keep looking! The 'T-Rex' is one of the others and it SMOKES in the corners! Ask Sir Joey_Dude about trying to hang with one of those in the North GA. mountains!

 

I've seen those in person and um, I got to say it just isn't cool... I mean, you don't get the nimbility of a motorcycle. You might as well get a three-wheel goldwing.

But a cool 3-wheel vehicle is the T-Rex:



Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!!! I remember going on a group ride with some VFRworlders here and we helped a handicapped guy who had one of those. He got it stuck on the side of the road and we picked it up to put it back on the asphalt. The guy had hand controls but damn he could still really haul ass on that!

more info here http://www.campagnamotors.com/T-REX/intro.html

 

Agree the Ariel ATOM is Iceberg Cool, did you catch the Top Gear Ep a few seasons back where they put it through its paces ?

Top Gears Ariel Atom Linky: :thumbsup:
YouTube - Top Gear - Ariel Atom - BBC

 

And right on cue, Joey chimes in!

And Reg....you can have your four wheels! :biggrin:
We couldn't keep up with the T-Rex in the corners, and yes...we can ride our VFR's! :thumbsup:
That thing stays flat and stable in the corners because the way the front suspension allows the geometry of the wheels to tilt. He hauled ASS!!

To each his own, but my jaw dropped when I saw the T-Rex leaving us behind!

Gary

 

The wife rides an 08 Spyder, semi-automatic.
Georgia - there is some lean in the front suspension. I have noticed that following her. The suspension is that of a car, the front A arms and such. It does handle the corners pretty well, but no, it's nothing like the VFR that I have. She does take the off ramps more gingerly, but from what she has told me, people post on the spyder lovers forum that they have taken off ramps at 80+ MPH. Now, what a car can take them at (suggested speed) I do not know. She has even stated that in a strong cross wind it can be difficult at most to keep it straight. They don't lean like a normal bike so cannot combat the cross wind like what a 2 wheeler does.
IMO, the T-Rex is more caged than a Spyder is. It's pretty close to a 3 wheeled car without doors.
These things are really catching on, as they are cheaper than a 'wing 3 wheeler, can get MASSIVE amounts of trunks for them for the two week tour. There are a lot of performace options for them. She personally has the hindle exhaust on it. That was the reason for the Scorpion exhaust on mine, but her's is still louder. She can take me off the line, even when I'm burning the clutch up to try to keep up. Top end, no, because they are speed limited to 105, and that's where the VTEC starts up on mine, so she doesn't stand a chance there.

 

I'm glad your wife likes hers, Keag.
I found the reach across the bars in a turn was awful, and I hit some turns at 50 mph and it felt pretty unstable. Maybe it's an aquired taste! :smile:

 

It's like driving an ATV, according to her. And with that stability control, it will apply the breaks on you regardless. Traction control, ABS, the semi-automatic downshifts, but no upshift.

She does get a LOT of looks. We were at a car show in East Moline about 1 month ago. Voulenteering, she was taking the $$ for the cars. It was parked right there and so many people were walking by, taking pictures and such. I was getting a kick out of it. One drunk guy asked if it were front wheel drive. With the belt to the back tire, ya think?

and yeah, I'm glad she likes it too. Now I get to have a little more fun while out & about.

 

LOL I had to laugh at GeorgiaRider and I chiming in at exactly 2 minutes apart! Incidentally, I have seen more ladies interested in the Can-am than the guys. A friend's wife is thinking about getting one of those because she's still too scared of the 2-wheel concept.

 

+1 fro TRex, That thing is awesome. If I have to choose between Spyder and T Rex
I would pick the T Rex in a heart beat.

 

The T-Rex and the Atom are pretty expensive compared to the Spyder. I've only seen the Spyder in person and it looked kind of cool but I don't know about riding one.

 

it's also better for short ppl, and the ones that are older that still want to ride. Most of the other ones around here are men riders, no so much the ladies.

 

At 4 Votes for " Cool " and 4 for " Not " pretty close so far so, actually have seen the Normal Can am on the road, followed it through some twisties seemed to handle well enough but for some reason tailing it also bugged me so despatched it at the first safe opportunity...

 

There's one somewhere in my development- I always see it go by but I've never seen it in a driveway. My kids get all excited when they see it go by, but then they also get all wound up whenever the Goldmember-looking electric car goes by, so I don't hold great stock in their opinion of 'cool'.

I can defnintely see it working for riders who want/need a trike but don't want either a GoldWing or an uber-chromed Graf Spee-size chopper with Cragar SS wheels and straight pipes. I'm kind of undecided at the moment, but I figure the whole point of riding is to be able to do your own thing.

 

I had a couple friends demo a Spyder this summer. They weren't crazy about it. Said it wasn't as easy to ride as they'd thought it would be.

Personally, I think they look cool, but this touring model is ugly. Kinda over the top, ya know? And almost like a Goldwing trike with the wheels reversed. But I also bet it would make for a decent touring rig.

 

IT'S for people who don't have the riding skills necessary to handle a motorcycle........

 

Not cool for the Can-Am. Cool for the T-Rex.

 

Definitely not cool, and it's not because it's not a motorcycle. I don't know what it is. It doesn't have explosive power, isn't nimble in the curves, and doesn't even look cool, so why would anyone buy it instead of a motorcycle. I know there's a shoe for every foot, but this one doesn't fit on mine. The t-rex, though, is awesome. With the zx-14 engine, that think howls. Too bad they're so expensive.

This is just my opinion, and I'm usually wrong, so don't pay attention to me.

 

Jamie- yeah, plenty of low end power - enough to smoke the wheels until the traction control kicks in. Top end? not so much, but then again it is limited to 105. It is a touring bike, not a sport bike. No, it's a touring trike, just like the goldwing trike, or any other home-made jobbie out on the road. They are more nimble in the corners than what they look to be. There is a lean, but not as much as a standard 2 wheeler. They are a niche bike, no doubt about it.

Of course, I am slightly biased in my opinion as there is one in my garage.