[moklodge]

I figured the general chatter was the place for this.


First off, I have to say I was really excited to run a Spyder. Not because I want one but because I love motorized vehicles of any kind. But man, am I missing something here?


I found the ride harsh, the refinement and execution of the whole animal 2nd rate, and as unmotorcycle an experience as you could have. It followed the crowns in the road toward the curb constantly and the inability to correct your line if you misjudged a corner was dangerous. At least in a car, you are not as limited by the g forces because you are nestled in a seat and can therefore turn the wheel harder to get back in your lane. But not on these Spyders. You can only turn as hard as your arms can hang on. Leaning is not really an option and if you go wide and a car is coming, you're a goner.


Really found it unrewarding and as an option for those that can't ride 2 wheels anymore, I think a true trike with 2 wheels in the back actually makes for a safer platform. Or a convertible.


Again, am I missing something?

 

[mrtappan]

Yeah...... I've seen more than one funeral because of part of the front steering breaking. Hope they fixed that little problem. There was just another in our little group that was someone's wife dieing like that. Some part of the front wheel broke, she immediate veered off the on ramp into the trees. Dead.

I'm not some impressed with any Polaris product including Victory.

My 2013 Hard Ball had an uncontrollable tank slap at about 95mph. I sold it the week I found that out......... then bought the Valkyrie.

 

[Arkyrider]

Did a test ride on a Spyder a couple months ago. I will never buy one of those. IMO it was like riding a 4 wheeler on pavement. I didn't like wrestling it the entire time.

 

[moklodge]

That is exactly how it felt to me - wrestling. I was amazed at how unrefined and unpredictable it was. Always hunting for it's line with a very jerky, unstable sensation. I think two wheels in the front may be an inherently poor design with such a narrow wheelbase. Just a new idea that they ran with purely because it was different and therefore sellable. I would not be surprised to hear that behind the scenes, Polaris engineers deemed it a bad idea but the company moved forward anyway because of the market opportunities and money they had spent in development already.


I rode the new F3 by the way so I can't speak for the RS and RT models.

 

[bigbird]

I test drove an RT (luxury touring version), and an F3 (sporty cruiser version). I loved the F3. It was geared nice and low for around town, whereas I had to slip the clutch to get underway in the RT, which was geared for relaxed highway cruising. The fly-by-wire throttle response was perfect. The 1330 cc triple had lots of power, and the trans shifted very smoothly. I didn't drive any semi-automatics. That would have been blasphemous. Having driven and owned snowmobiles, I liken the handling and reaction of the Spyder to a snowmobile. Those expecting a Spyder to handle and react like a motorcycle had better look elsewhere. The Spyder makes no excuses for what it is; a 3 wheeler with a layout and drive just like a snowmobile. I liked the experience a lot. It took about 10 minutes of driving to acclimatize from 2 wheeled to 3 wheeled handling.
I would have no problem owning an F3 Spyder.

 

[moklodge]

Ah yes, the snowmobile analogy. I guess I'll wait and try one again in January.

 

[Buffalohead]

Forgive me if someone has already mentioned this but something else to consider about the Spyder is that Consumer Reports listed the Spyder at the absolute bottom of the list when it comes to percentage of repairs. The worst in reliability IIRC. I wasn't surprised to see the Japanese bikes had the fewest percentage of repairs. The only American bike that was grouped with the Japanese bikes with fewer repairs was Victory (a Polaris product). There wasn't enough data on Indian yet, another Polaris bike. H-D and BMW didn't place very high either. IIRC, Yamaha was at the top with the other Japanese bikes and Victory very close.

 

[bigbird]

Forgive me if someone has already mentioned this but something else to consider about the Spyder is that Consumer Reports listed the Spyder at the absolute bottom of the list when it comes to percentage of repairs.

That's interesting, as I personally know 3 owners of older Spyders who have had no issues since new. The older 1L V-Twin Rotax was a bitch for regular maintenance, but the new inline 1330 triple is much easier to work on and even has a zero maintenance valve train. Not many DOHC 4 valve heads can make that claim.

 

[Buffalohead]

That's interesting, as I personally know 3 owners of older Spyders who have had no issues since new. The older 1L V-Twin Rotax was a bitch for regular maintenance, but the new inline 1330 triple is much easier to work on and even has a zero maintenance valve train. Not many DOHC 4 valve heads can make that claim.

I know what you mean. My last BMW was flawless. My friend and I both maintained our BMW's the same. His had every possible problem before 9,500 miles. Of course he argues Consumer Reports was right. Go figure.

 

[soggybottom]

Spyder is Canam I thought? Did Polaris buy them?

 

[napper39]

man canam is who makes spyders made in canada,i have bought two spyders and love them it did take a while to lern how to ride but there grate bikes i have an rt now sitting next to my valk.no matence proulbms just fun to ride.

 

[mrtappan]

You got lucky. I had a Victory. The one thing I learned from owning a Victory was: "If you want to know if you should buy a bike, visit a big forums tech section for the bike and read the posts."

If I'd have known then what I know now........