[skyjumper88]

Anyone tried one of these yet? They look pretty cool and they look like they would be fun to ride but probably not as fun as a bike. I persoanlly have never ridden on one or probably would not care to. They just came out last year i think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyKgNuThKUQ&feature=related

 

[LobsterMagnet]

It's popped up here before,
Summation:
Riders who ride the can-am expect a motorcycle feel and are disappointed.
It rides like a really light weight car but does not handle like a motorcycle, therefore feels funny and maybe even uncomfortable. On that note, everyone said that it is indeed physically comfy.

 

[spicy]

basically a snowmobile for the road. and people who couldn't figure this out just by the way it looks probably deserve to be disappointed...

a much more interesting model would be to make it like the piaggio MP3 so that it can lean.

 

[TwoColorShoe]

basically a snowmobile for the road. and people who couldn't figure this out just by the way it looks probably deserve to be disappointed...

a much more interesting model would be to make it like the piaggio MP3 so that it can lean.

Or give it an extra wheel and a proper seat/steering setup and make it a Miata killer. It's only a gimmick for now.

 

[bumblebee]

They have a place in motorcycling. They make riding available to those who otherwise couldn't. My father-in-law rode motorcycles for decades. Now, in his 70's, he continues to ride on his MotorTrike, that makes him less a motorcycle enthusiast than any on here?

Trikes and Spyders can be modified so people like amputees can ride and enjoy a motorcycle as much as anyone

 

[Baatfam]

Or give it an extra wheel and a proper seat/steering setup and make it a Miata killer. It's only a gimmick for now.

You mean like the Ariel Atom?

I want one, BTW....(the Atom, that is)

 

[binx_19]

i rode/drove whatever you call it around a parking lot, i think it would be kind of fun to tour the country on, you can take it through anything including snow, it has very advanced traction control, you cant even drift a corner on ice in that thing, just the slight slip and the traction control kicks in.

 

[R6JUNKIE]

theres a guy around here that has one and took his 8 year old daughter for a week tour on it. there was a small write up in the paper. it sounded like a real enjoyable trip and a very nice bike to do that on.

 

[Vulgar1]

My neighbor works at a local dealership that has one right now. He has driven it around and said it was just like riding a snow mobile. He said it feels very stable, but the rider feels like they will come off during hard cornering.

They look very interesting to say the least. And I agree with the comment about being for people that couldn't otherwise ride. I am sure it would be fun to do some kind of week long tour on, but I don't think I will be buying one. The idea of not being able to lean in turns kind of ruins it for me. To each his own I guess.

 

[Rhetorik]

It would be on the top of my list if I were to suffer an accident that stopped me from being able to ride on 2 wheels.

 

[afpreppie04]

I think if I had some accident where I couldn't ride a motorcycle anymore and was going to go on a long tour I'd rather take one of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbcgtTMcmPY

Still leans like a bike, but puts puts little support wheels out when you're stopping so you don't tip over.

 

[skyjumper88]

I think if I had some accident where I couldn't ride a motorcycle anymore and was going to go on a long tour I'd rather take one of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbcgtTMcmPY

Still leans like a bike, but puts puts little support wheels out when you're stopping so you don't tip over.

Wow, I agree with you that looks really cool. I think I would rather take one of thoughs then the spyder.

 

[scythe08]

A coworkers' 73 year old father bought one fully loaded and tricked out in may AND HASN"T COME HOME SINCE!! He took the bike out for 2 weeks straight until His Wife threatened him with a divorce,so He came back and got her and they have been having the time of their lives on it and are still on the road touring. His Pop has injuries that won't allow him to ride anything other than a trike and the spider was about 10 grand cheaper than brand new trike that he looked at. He has no mechanical issues with it, tho I'm unsure about how many miles he has put on it.

 

[TwoColorShoe]

You mean like the Ariel Atom?

I want one, BTW....(the Atom, that is)

Exactly, just for a quarter of the price.

 

[PhilB]

A coworkers' 73 year old father bought one fully loaded and tricked out in may AND HASN"T COME HOME SINCE!! He took the bike out for 2 weeks straight until His Wife threatened him with a divorce,so He came back and got her and they have been having the time of their lives on it and are still on the road touring. His Pop has injuries that won't allow him to ride anything other than a trike and the spider was about 10 grand cheaper than brand new trike that he looked at. He has no mechanical issues with it, tho I'm unsure about how many miles he has put on it.

They have the same Rotax engine that the Aprilias have been using for a while; it's a good solid reliable engine.

Like others, I couldn't see myself getting one unless I had an injury or illness that prevented real 2-wheeling.

A guy who has bikes worked on at my dealer's shop built himself a big 3-wheeled ATV sand-dune bike from a '60's Triumph 500, with Husky forks and front wheel, and a big custom built rear axle/swingarm with sand paddles on it. The bashplate on the bottom doubles as a drip pan for the Triumph engine.

The guy is about 6'4", weighs 300 lbs, and has a wooden leg. Wouldn't *that* surprise you coming up the other side of the dune.

PhilB

 

[BeeGee]

saw a couple on the road yesterday - one was towing a trailer.

 

[arcticamt6]

Took one out for a 15 mile test ride. It was actually pretty fun. Felt very quick to me, but alas, I ride a fiddy so anything is quick. I second the comment about feeling like you're gonna get thrown off. I took it onto a decently twisty road and I had to fight to stay on on some corners. But I got a hell of a lot of looks and a lot of people were smiling and giving me thumbs up at stop lights. If it wasn't $16k then I might consider it. If I could not physically ride a bike, I'd buy one.

 

[LobsterMagnet]

He said it feels very stable, but the rider feels like they will come off during hard cornering.

Horizontal forces vs vertical body position. On a bike you lean so that the force exerted is vertical. Can't lean on the can-am (although there are other trikes which allow it to an extent)

I imagine it feels very odd in turns.

 

[KatanaMike]

I was in NW Arkansas over Labor Day weekend tooling around in my four-wheeled motorcycle ('07 Miata) and saw about a dozen of the Can-Am Spyders there.

Didn't get to talk to any of the riders though and none of them looked like they were having a bad time.

 

[DaleCaliente]

around here they are cool for the ruff-rider wannabe types. The equivalent of a Escalade w/ 26" spinners for the motorcycling world