Interesting conversation at the gas pump - asked why I chose to ride a Spyder rather than 'a real motorcycle'?!

Gwolf said:

Unfortunantly the V-Rod was discontinued in 2017. They just did not sell, dispite being more modern and balanced engines with performance gains over the traditional Harley engines. I think what it comes down to is the sound. It doesn't sound like a B-John Deere tractor, it ain't a real Harley.

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vito1943 said:

Yesterday I had a beautiful two hour ride, mostly along the Rock River in Illinois, and ended with a stop near my home to refill the gas tank. A middle aged guy approached me, curious about the Spyder. He said it looked really interesting, but wondered why I chose this ride rather than, in his words, "a real motorcycle". He said that he had been a casual motorcyclist earlier in his life, and that he didn't think trikes were still motorcycles, although he said that traditional trikes, like the Harley Triglide, were still "real" because you had to manually change the gears, and they had a single wheel in front of you when you're riding. I told him that I had ridden traditional motorcycles for over 40 years, but preferred my Spyder for many reasons. I told him that I didn't dismiss any of the earlier motorcycles I owned as less than real because they had electric starters, or cruise control, or ABS, or any other technological improvement over the bikes of the past. He said that he'd consider getting a Miata or some other small convertible when he gave up riding two wheelers, but hadn't yet done so. I told him that I also owned a small convertible, a Mini Cooper S, which was a hoot to drive, but a totally different experience to riding the Spyder. I sort of ended the conversation with telling him that whether he considered my ride a real motorcycle or not was of no consequence to me. I said that I had traded in a Honda Goldwing to buy this Spyder, and in the four years since, I have never regretted that decision for even a moment, considering the Spyder a far more enjoyable ride. He just shook his head and walked back to his car.

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Lew L said:

Guess I've been lucky...
When I've been gassing up or in a parking lot and people come up and ask/comment about my Spyder, it's always a sincere question or complement on the looks/color. Lots of questions like: How fast is it? Is it comfortable? How does it handle? etc.
I know there are people out there who are having a bad day and are looking to start something - bad idea.

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Peacekeeper6 said:

Don't get me wrong, I ALSO have positive interactions at the gas pumps, outside restaurants/bars, etc.

I'd say about 9/10 are good ones. But there ARE some negative ones as well.


(Hey Lew, starting next month I'm going to start skiing on Fridays. I'll text you if you want to meet up on the mountain).

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