Spyder RT vs Goldwing Trike or Harley Tri Glide

[Tin Man]

​​Met a couple of trike riders, one rides a Goldwing and the other rides a Tri Glide, both tell me they have taken test rides on the Spyder and that the conventional trikes ride smoother and handle better. I have no reason to doubt what they tell me since I have never ridden a conventional trike. Just wonder if anyone on the forum has tried both types of trikes and can share there feedback. I was surprised to see no comparisons on youtube.

 

[jScotD]

a buddy of mine, long time Harley rider, went to a Harley trike after getting hit on his 50's Harley and almost losing his leg.. He went riding with a guy on a Spyder up on the Trace in Land Between the Lakes in Western KY.. he said the guy in the Spyder was making the turns looks so easy, while he was fighting his HD trike to keep up.. He said it was not a pleasant ride.. He sold it, and said if he did it again he would buy a Spyder.. I offered him a good price on my 2012 RS,,since I want a ST-S... said he was totally out of motorcycles..

 

[BajaRon]

​​Met a couple of trike riders, one rides a Goldwing and the other rides a Tri Glide, both tell me they have taken test rides on the Spyder and that the conventional trikes ride smoother and handle better. I have no reason to doubt what they tell me since I have never ridden a conventional trike. Just wonder if anyone on the forum has tried both types of trikes and can share there feedback. I was surprised to see no comparisons on youtube.

It is a physical impossibility for a conventional trike to handle better than a reverse trike like the Spyder. The dynamics in a turn coupled with the stance of each machine gives a great advantage to the 2 wheels forward design.

What they probably did not like about the Spyder is the instant reaction to input that they do not get on their conventional trikes. This makes the Spyder seem 'Twitchy' to the uninitiatied. And getting used to a different machine will always give the impression that things are not what they should be.

Of course rider skill and how the various versions of each trike are set up will make some difference.

As far as smoothness, that may be a more debateable aspect. Still, I'd say the Spyder will hold it's own in that area with these 2 contenders.

 

[boborgera]

​​Met a couple of trike riders, one rides a Goldwing and the other rides a Tri Glide, both tell me they have taken test rides on the Spyder and that the conventional trikes ride smoother and handle better. I have no reason to doubt what they tell me since I have never ridden a conventional trike. Just wonder if anyone on the forum has tried both types of trikes and can share there feedback. I was surprised to see no comparisons on youtube.

I don't know about the Gold wing, But i do know about the Tri Glide, And as much i hate to admit this, My
Spyder rode much smoother than my Tri Glide, As far as handling ,The Spyder and the Tri will do the same speeds on the same curves, Each needs Just a little different technique to do it. My Spyder had power steering, My Tri no power steering, On the highway the Tri runs like it's glued to the road, Straight and true, My Spyder gave the tail wagging the dog feel, Nothing wrong with that just different.
The Spyder and the TRI Are two different machines for two different missions.
The Spyder sedate, The Tri rough and tumble.

 

[Tomite]

I'm fairly new to motorcycles but have a Spyder and my dad has a Goldwing Trike. I've driven both and definately like the way the Spyder handles and rides over the Goldwing. Took my mom for a ride on the Spyder and she said it was a much smoother and enjoyable ride than with my dad's trike.

 

[CSW61]

RT vs GW Trike

My wife owns a 2010 Rt and I have a 2008 GW with a CSC Trike Kit. She rides both and when she 1st started riding the RT she liked the GW better but since she bought it in 01/12 she now would much rather ride her RT. When we stop for gas everyone wants to know which is better. I tell them my GW is like driving a Caddy and her RT is like driving a Porsch.

 

[Pennyrick]

This topic has been batted around before on several threads. I have ridden all three and owned a gold Wing with a Motor Trike kit before I got my first Spyder.

Two wheels in the rear is hard to handle in turns unless the front end is 'raked' or kicked out a bit to take some pressure off the bars in turns. The rear wheels are pushing you straight while the front tries to make the turn and it takes a lot of pressure to make the turn. Two wheels (pushing) against one is tough to handle all through a turn as the front end wants to 'plow'.

Two wheels in front would be almost impossible to turn without a power assist but once it gets started the single rear wheel tends to power you through the turn better. One wheel pushing against two is harder to handle initially but smooths out once the turn is entered so the Spyder doesn't 'plow' like the Tri Glide or triked Gold Wing.

That said, the Tri Glide and triked Gold Wing have a much tighter turning radius and do handle better from that aspect. It helps if you have 20" biceps though. As far as a smoother ride... I'd say it is a draw with much depending on the type of seat, setting of the shocks and air pressure in the tires.

 

[Grandpa Spyder]

I have test driven all 3 before I bought my Spyder. The Tri Glide steering was very hard to me. I didn't like it. The GW was better then the HD and I really liked the looks of the GW. But I went with what had the best safety features, so the Spyder won out for me.

 

[MouthPiece]

Where's George???? :dontknow::dontknow::dontknow:

 

[Bob Denman]

Everbody is gonna back their own dog in this battle...

 

[BajaRon]

Everbody is gonna back their own dog in this battle...

That is why it's so hard to ever get down to reality.

 

[Mr. White]

I have 8,000 miles on BR1 and 63,000 on Punkin'. As said earlier, power assist on BR1 is mandatory...without it, you can't do much with it....I know, my steering assist went out....my Motor Trike has a 4.5 degree triple tree....without it, steering is much harder.

Handling...I like both...yes, they are different rides and I have hard time choosing which to ride when I go to my barn in the mornings....ha ha It boils down to personal opinion. Red cars vs Black Cars if you will.

My plan was to sell the Wing after I bought BR1, but love both and will keep both now that the wife got promoted to supervisor on the second shift at the sawmill.

I ride both in the twisties west of Bandera, TX and both do quite well. I enter the curves differently on each scoot...hey the are a different set up and after a couple of thousand miles, ya learn to ride them differently.

As a side note, the electronics and controls on Punkin' are MUCH better than BR1...smoother, easier to use, better in all areas. Reliability on the GW is far superior...no shop visits in 10 years for the Wing....two hard down times in the shop for BR1. Yes, I know, some have had no problems with their Spyders and some have had problems with their Wings. I speak of MY scoots only and my personal opinion....I will not argue the merits of either machine...because I am always right....

:spyder2:

 

[Kratos]

I will not argue the merits of either machine...because I am always right....

:spyder2:

roflmao.....For some reason that part was funny to me.

 

[MouthPiece]

He knows of what he speaks.

Chris

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree: George isn't older than dirt... but it was too young to remember when he was born! :thumbup:

 

[bikeguy]

A little over 3 years ago, after many years on 2 wheels, I decided to try 3 wheels. The first 3 wheeler I rode was a 2008 Can-Am Spyder GS. I only took a short test ride but it immediately felt comfortable and stable although it was a bit twitchy. I fully intended to buy a Spyder and was saving my money while I researched what was available to make the GS a little more touring friendly.

In the meantime, a friend decided to sell his BMW K1200LT with a Hannigan trike kit and asked me to ride it. It is a beautiful, well maintained machine with low miles, the easy steer fork rake, and the Hannigan kit is one of the best. I could not get comfortable on it. It didn't feel twitchy, it just didn't feel stable. Having the rear wheels stuck out to the side was also hard for me to get used to and I ran the right rear off the road a couple of times. No problem like that for the Spyder since I could see where the front wheels were.

Long story short, I stuck to my decision to buy a Spyder because it felt more comfortable TO ME. No doubt, someone else might come to another conclusion. I haven't regretted it. Wound up buying a 2010 RT in April of 2010. So far, I haven't had any trouble staying up with the 2 wheelers I commonly ride with although, admittedly, none of them are knee draggers. When you get right down to it, the best advice I could give you is to ride both and decide what feels best to you. If possible, take test rides that are long enough to give you a good feel of each style of trike and time to get at least somewhat used to each before you decide.

Cotton

 

[ARtraveler]

There have been other threads on this subject.

Rider magazine did a comparison test of the Tri-Glide and the Goldwing. At the time (about 2 years ago), Spyder was asked to participate in a three way test--but refused to supply a vehicle.

The GW was the winner in that test. BR1, seems to have the best on site knowledge re the GW vs. the Spyder.

It would be nice if Rider would try again, now that the suspension on the RT has been changed. Time will tell.

When I bought my RT, I did go check out the Tri Glide--the ergo's were not comfortable for me so other than starting it up, I did not go for a test ride--I did not like it, so knew I would not be happy--no matter what. Never had the opportunity to drive a GW trike--but have been on the two wheeled version. I liked that a lot.

Bottom line for me--the two wheels in the front provide more stability, the Spyder is close to the GW in amenities, the bigger powerplant would win out for me. I will continue to be a Spyder proponent. Were GW to come out with a two in the front configuration--I would be looking at them real quick. But it would still depend on how I felt after the test drive.

 

[Mr. White]

:agree: George isn't older than dirt... but it was too young to remember when he was born! :thumbup:

Bob, I may be a little older than some of our group, but do remember some things when I was young. I bought my first pickup truck in 1946 at age 14. (Oh, I know, I did get my drivers license the following year) I used to buy gas @ 5 gallons for .95 and have a nickel left over for a 12 oz Pepsi Cola. My folks would not let me get a scooter (washing machine engine and steel plate rubbing the rear wheel to brake) as they said it was too dangerous....they were right. (I finally did however) No helmets in the hills of southern Illinois, so I wore a football helmet. Lots of laughs until a friend's head came into contact with a street curb....I had the pleasure to ride in Japan, and around Europe, courtesy of the USAF. I rode several times with a German BMW club....once was enough, but I was a slow learner. Here is how the rides went....We would group, ride through the small towns and hills at crazy speeds and....sooner or later we would get to the Autobahn...no speed limit other than how fast your scoot would go!

I have never been the same after two rides on the Autobahn with those guys.....cruising at 120-130-140 turned my blood to wee wee....

The best thing about this discussion is we all ride, love our scoots and have not resorted to bad name calling. (yet)

:spyder2:

 

[Bob Denman]

The best thing about this discussion is we all ride, love our scoots and have not resorted to bad name calling. (yet)

:spyder2:

:agree: :2thumbs:


And I'm sure we'd ALL love to hear more about the rides in Europe... :bowdown:

 

[schnauzermom]

HAVE RIDDEN BOTH

Last year HD offered a Street Glide Trike, along with the Tri Glide. I rode it and found you had to be VERY physical with it. Pushing and pulling in cornering and turns. On straight roads, if there were any ruts, I was constantly fighting with it, it kept pulling in the direction of the rut. But, because I have always rode HD's, thats the direction I wanted to go. However, I thought to myself that I would be physically exhausted after riding it long distances. My husband talked me into trying the Spyder, since we had seen it on TV so I did. End of story. With the power steering and semi auto transmission, no comparison in ease of cornering, FOR ME. Thus, I am riding to to work every day on my RT to the HD dealership.