Just wanted to share the unbridled joy and ease of riding the Spyder!

[Shoey]

This is really my first time posting on this forum. I realize many here have experienced the same process as I have.
Last year my wife and I bought a RT Limited, truthfully she put more miles on the bike than I, but that’s besides the point.

Over the years I’ve owned strictly BMW motorcycles and put perhaps 250 thousand miles on the various bikes including a trip around the Alps.
I’ve read many articles about aging riders and what options and challenges we face. I turned 70 this year, and given that I live in Massachusetts, when it came time to get the bikes out of storage, I anticipated some changes due to a hip replacement surgery over the winter. What I didn’t expect was

I get it, and I’m so thankful we got one!

So my point is, for anyone who’s getting to that point in your lifetime, please consider 3 wheels as a viable and joyful option.

Ride Safely…
Shoey

 

[PDXRTL]

I'll second what Shoey wrote and add that you don't need to wait until you get "to that point in your lifetime". Three wheels, especially the Can-Am reverse trike configuration, is not just a dreaded last resort. It is a viable option at any point in one's lifetime, even for those (like me) who are perfectly capable of riding on two wheels.

 

[BajaRon]

I'll second what Shoey wrote and add that you don't need to wait until you get "to that point in your lifetime". Three wheels, especially the Can-Am reverse trike configuration, is not just a dreaded last resort. It is a viable option at any point in one's lifetime, even for those (like me) who are perfectly capable of riding on two wheels.

This is the message that needs to get out. 3 wheels has always been anathema to motorcycle riders and needed to be avoided until the last possible moment. I might have been one of those. And, to be frank, I still feel that way about a conventional trike (no disrespect intended, just an opinion).

But the Spyder is a game changer. It is every bit as fun and rewarding as 2 wheels. Not the same experience, but the ride is just as worthy. And so much safer with a lower skill level required.

People have tried to shame me, on occasion, for riding 3 wheels. I just chalk it up to the fact that they don't know what they are missing. They think they are going to run off and leave me. Instead, they start sweating about that vehicle looming large in their mirror and hoping I don't run over them!

 

[Snoking1127]

I have peripheral neuropathy in both feet and would no longer be able to hold up a road bike. I last had a KZ650SR in the early 1980's, with many dirt bikes before that. In the fall of 2020 I bought a 2018 RTL and in January 2024 I bought a second 2018 RTL. In May 2024 I did an 1850 mile repositioning/bucket list ride with the first Spyder from Arizona to Washington via the Northern California and Oregon Coast. I wanted to go up Highway 1 North of San Francisco to where I had spent my last year and a half at the USCG Loran A Station in Point Arena, Ca summer of 1967 to discharge on Jan 3rd 1969.

So I now have a Winter Spyder in Az an a Summer Spyder in Wa. I also have a 2021 Kawasaki KRX 1000 SxS that I have put 6,000 miles on, and it gets trailered back and forth with stops in Moab and Sand Hollow Ut. Oh, and in two weeks I turn 81 young years old. So don't slow down, or Father Time will catch up with you.

 

[Shoey]

I agree one doesn't have to get to that point in time to enjoy the benefits of the Spyder. Funny story, there's an Irish Pub near where I live and on every weekend there's a large group of "motorcycle enthusiasts" gathered for lunch, many on Harley Tri-Glides, they really take the time to ask questions and show a lot of interest.
In the end, we all just enjoy riding. I'm just thankful it doesn't have to stop and it's getting better by the mile... Now it's time for the Mods!
Thanks to all for your input.

 

[pegasus1300]

I have been on my Spyder for 10 years and 80,000+ miles. I came to the Spyder thru a Honda Conversion that I rode for 4 years. I saw my Spyder KSL.com a local sales platform, sold the Goldwing and never looked back. I was 68 and just recovering from an accident that put me and my wife in the hospital for 9 days. I discovered that my situational awareness had diminished as I aged, but this was so gradual that I had not noticed. Your physical strength may be fine, but how is your awareness? Your level of deterioration will be different than mine or anybody else's. Only you can tell, so keep an eye on it. I am so thankful for my 2012 RT and the riding time extension it gave me. It is just so dang fun.

 

[Metalman]

I too am riding a Spyder due to multiple medical issues. I had been riding two wheel motorcycles for 62 years, when I was hit with neuropathy, broken hip, replacement knee, and other problems. I went without riding for about a year and that's all I could take. So I bought the Spyder and I've been riding it nearly every day for a couple months. I don't find that it's a great substitute for a motorcycle, but I straddle it like a motorcycle hold the handlebars like a motorcycle, and I'm out in the wind like a motorcycle. To me, there's nothing like leaning when going around curves on a motorcycle. And it's easier to avoid holes and debris in the roads on a motorcycle. But as we get older, we have to sacrifice certain things, and I'm willing to do so, so that I can keep riding.

 

[Knizar]

My Spyder is a motorcycle!
It's not a bike,
But it is a trike.

 

[Gwolf]

My left leg is amputated at the knee as a result of a motorcycle wreck in about 1981. I wore prosthetic leg for many years and got by riding two wheels for a while. About 2000, I started having problems with the prosthetic because of steel pins and bone growths causing bleeding and infections. The doctors told me to take the prosthetic off and don't put it back on or it would eventually kill me with staph infections. Took it off and I could still walk on one leg and crutches. I could still ride light two wheelers with one leg, but stopping or getting on not-level parking places sometimes turned it over if I got past the one leg balance point. I was good as long as it was moving, the stopping was the problem. Nobody was building any three wheel motorcycles back then. Never had even heard of Can Am. There were a few kits around to put an axle and two wheels on the rear of regular motorcycles. I got to work in a shed behind the house and built my own 3 wheeler. It rode pretty good and I rode it several hundred thousand miles all over the country. It was built out of a shortened 9 inch Ford rear axle kit and two old carbed Harley Sportsters. I used one for the trike and the other one for spare parts. Both engines were in good condition and I swapped them when needed. I rode that old Sportster trike for around 30 years. Never had a problem with it, other than normal wear, and never crashed it. It would lift a wheel on sharp turns, but nothing bad if you didn't take it past the balance point. I saw a few Spyders around and decided to buy one in 2019. Got a brand new 2019 F3-S Special Series, right off the delivery truck. It was great. No need to fabricate a cross over shift or operate shift and brake with the same foot anymore. It had plenty of power and was much more stable than the single front wheel trike I'd built. One of the reasons I switched to the Spyder is the Harley vibrations would cause my arms to go numb after two or three hours of riding. The Spyder was so smooth and well balanced, there was almost no vibration at the handlebars. I had to replace 3 or 4 speedometers and tachs on the Sportster because the engine vibrations would shake them apart. The Spyder does have some design problems and there are some small things I don't like, but it is way more stable and easier to control than the old single front wheel Sportster. Never cared what people thought about it. Had a few comments from people who knew me about riding the Spyder instead of the Harley, but I blew them off with a hand signal. I can't walk but short distance now because walking on one leg for 40 years has destroyed the knee in my good leg, which has also been broken long ago and has pins in it. I built a little trailer to haul the wheel chair, and I'm still riding. Gonna try to keep riding until they throw dirt on me. Not as far, not as fast, but still riding.

 

[Little Blue]

I support the 'Spyder as a Motorcycle'.
I also wanted to say that it's a Trike.

Some people just don't get it right.
Well I enjoy my Spyder and that makes me feel good.

Have a Blessed Day .

 

[Mrmikey]

I personally don't give a rats behind what others think about the Spyder, I like it is all that matters I bought it because I wasn't as stable on two wheels as I once was and didn't feel safe when stopping on uneven surfaces. Worrying about picking up 1000lbs of bike makes you a bit timid LOL.

 

[Monk/Bob]

I’m still learning to ride the Spyder. With 400+ miles into this experience, I know there is a long way to go before I can get back to the joy of riding that I experienced on two wheels. Living in Arkansas at the edge of the Ozarks a big piece of this experience is learning to handle the curves like I want.

That is what I have to do in order to get back to the joy of riding.

 

[BajaRon]

I’m still learning to ride the Spyder. With 400+ miles into this experience, I know there is a long way to go before I can get back to the joy of riding that I experienced on two wheels. Living in Arkansas at the edge of the Ozarks a big piece of this experience is learning to handle the curves like I want.

That is what I have to do in order to get back to the joy of riding.

Practice SMOOTH, looking through the turn and not at it, and apexing. It takes some experience since the Spyder is wider than 2 wheels, and it steers much more responsivity than 2 wheels as well. Not that you aren't already doing this. But I have to remind myself to do it when I don't need it. So that I'm proficient at it when I do need it.

 

[Monk/Bob]

Practice SMOOTH, looking through the turn and not at it, and apexing. It takes some experience since the Spyder is wider than 2 wheels, and it steers much more responsivity than 2 wheels as well. Not that you aren't already doing this. But I have to remind myself to do it when I don't need it. So that I'm proficient at it when I do need it.

Funny you say SMOOTH!! On two wheels that was always my thing. Hated hitting brakes, I always wanted to control everything with the throttle and keep everything smooth!! It is very evident that will take me a while. I’m still pretty smooth, but with it I’m very slow. Getting some speed will take me some time.

The information/feedback I’m getting from the bike is different and my body’s response is different, but it is changing somewhat every time I go out for a ride. My speed is still slow, but I feel that will improve with time.

Thanks for the encouragement, I will get there one of these days. I also need to stay patient and let things develop as I know they will with time.

For now, I am staying on back roads and pulling over to let people pass. Which is somewhat discouraging, but it is what it is.

 

[Little Blue]

Definitely need to take your time. I know for me it was a very challenging experience. But you know what, it only gets better with the time.

Be Healthy and Ryde Safe.

 

[Gwolf]

I came off 30 years riding a Harley trike. No problem adapting to the steering and cornering of the Spyder, but it took me 1,000 miles to stop looking for the clutch and front brake levers.

Really the lever habit went back to about 1960.

Took that long to remember to put it in 5th gear when I went from a 4 speed to a 5 speed. No problem adapting to the 6 speed of the Spyder, maybe because it is not a foot shift lever. It also has the gear number on the screen which was never on any other bikes I owned.