knowledge4power spyder rider motorcycle

Last May, I fulfilled a dream I'd long had to buy a Can-am Spyder RSS; specifically the '14 model before they switched to the F3 replacement. Since they came out in '08 I had always wanted one. They seemed to be the perfect balance between freedom of the open road, utility to pack a few groceries in the front and go on trips, a very comfortable, spacious seat and a larger footprint than a conventional motorcycle, as well as greater safety with it's upgraded frame 40% stiffer than the earlier spyders all packed with muscularity and sportiness on 3 wheels, 2 up front and one in the rear.

It's as large and much safer than the largest of conventional motorcycle cruisers. It has sports car acceleration of 4.5 seconds 0-100kph (0-62mph) as well as 100hp and 80 lbs torque. There was never any fear of falling over at highway speeds from big rig wind gusts, and it dodges potholes with ease. Raise yourself off the seat if you're going over a large bump and you won't bottom out. Try the odd donut on gravel or paved road, the rear tire knows how to do it's job as it's almost as wide as the tires on my camaro (225 vs 245)

When riding, you take up enough space that no one tries to overtake you in the same lane; as long as you respect the distance between yourself and other vehicles, they show you the same personal space as they would a small car! It really is a great mix overall. It helps that they're such a rare anomaly. You'd not likely see more than 1-2 a week in summer. When people see them, they always pay attention; often with waves, smiles and thumbs up.

These past two to three years, more Canadians have been finding themselves over-extended, with car and recreational vehicles such as the spyder selling less. This is great news for anyone who has ever wanted one that's in a good financial position. Unfortunately my second job has only given me half the shifts that it used to, and I've had to put my bumblebee looking beautiful spyder up for consignment with only 5 months and 4000km of use it's sitting where I bought it from.

My hope is that who ever takes it will enjoy it as much as I did. My lessons learned are 3 fold: own a place of residence before buying yourself a toy, make sure you can afford it and be able to carry the costs in case of income reduction and if you meet the first 2 criteria, you only live once, try to enjoy it![spyderrss.jpg] :-)