thank you Leviathan - spyder experience

[REVIT13]

Thanks TROY for the invite to ride the can am spyder today.

enjoyed the 2hr session followed by a blast home on the busa.

[Leviathan]

           

Hey Ian, thanks for coming along and having a bit of fun.

For everyone else, if you get a chance to test ride one of the Can-am spyders I can assure you that you'll enjoy it. It's sort of like a quad but due to the ABS, traction control & vehicle stability system it corners surprisingly well. The 990cc twin has ample torque and no doubt (without anyone watching over your shoulder) it would light the rear tyre up nicely, which by the way is a 225/50 R15. Fronts are 165/65 R14's.
Steering is all handlebar turning - no counter-steering or lean on these. Brakes to all 3 wheels are controlled by the right foot pedal & stomping down hard brings you to a pretty sudden stop (with ABS on).
Just trying to remember some of the other figures.....front luggage compartment is 45L, I think he said they were speed limited to 170 KM/hr. The seat is comfy as, but the family jewels get swished as the design pretty much has you dry humping the tank all day long. It comes in a 5 speed manual & tip-tronic style semi -auto & yes, it does have reverse.
All in all, not a bad product but I think the pricing starting at $28990 for the manual & $30990 for the auto is a wee bit steep. I think both Ian & I both enjoyed our "Spyder Experience" but as the saying goes - there's no place like home, and for me there's no bike like my Busa

For the WA guys the bloke there said Saturday was pretty much packed out but Sunday was only about half booked.

Cheers
Troy

[Rev004]

Sounds like you had some fun today fellers, you couldn't have picked a nicer day, it was absolutely awesome.

[Ward P]

Seen the odd one about, they definitely look the part.
It's always fun to ride/drive something a bit diferent.

If you were on it for 2 hours, I would like to hear a bit more about how it went. A ride report, how it handled, did you take it through some twisties?
Suppose I'll just have to try and get a ride one day.

[REVIT13]

thanks for the photo's troy.

yes the weather was awesome which made it all the more fun.

yes we went through twisties and sweepers and spyder was stable. Like Troy said priced a bit steep and there's nothing like the busa.

Troy's overview is pretty spot on and they also have a dvd to watch but these things stop on a dime. Recommend you try them out when in your state and make your own assessment but i won't be adding one to my garage.

I can say i've ridden one and that's it for me and yes they turn heads.

cheers

[BUSABAZZ]

I test rode on of these things a couple of months ago and i have to say i was quite impressed.
I see you got same one i rode with the "sport optioned" features with the mag wheels and hindle exhaust.
Yeah they smoke up pretty well too, i rode in ththe wet down here and every time the back started spinning the rear would kick out only to be corrected by the stabalisation control but was still spinning.
For S.A customers i was told $35,000 on road with all sports options.

So whos going to buy one?.... but the real question i need to ask is: that if someone buys one how long until it's turboed?

[Leviathan]

I'm far from being a product reviewer but I'll give it a go...

Ian & I both turned up about 1/2 an hour early which was Ok as there was a "don't blame us" form to fill out. It also gave us some time to catch up, have a cup of coffee and watch the previous group navigate the witches hat section.
When it was our time one of the Can-Am guys took us over the machine, pointing out it's basic controls & features and re-enforced a number of times about keep your arms bent & not putting your feet down etc. Then we were into it.
The starting procedure is normal except there is a button on the dash that has to be pressed for a few seconds to initiate the computer system. All controls felt similar (apart from the absence of the RH brake), riding position is neutral so you could spend along time in the saddle.
They had a small tight circuit set up with witches hats that opened up into a 100m straight, U-turn at the roundabout & another 100m straight with an emergency stop at the end. All of it was in first gear except the straights where I could get it into second before braking hard for the roundabout & the E-stop. It is very stable and rides the small bumps well - as long as your arms are bent. This was natural for me due to my height, but I did try to ride stiff armed and every little bump moved through my shoulders to give a pendulum type effect through my upper body. Due to the VSS & ABS these things can turn in sharp under very hard braking and would leave a 2 wheeled bike for shame on a nice tight circuit. Coming out of the last tight corner onto the straight I gave it a fist full and the torque of the twin pulls hard. A quick shift into 2nd at about 8K & just had time to squeeze a touch more throttle before the hard braking left at the roundabout, back down the 1st then punch it out of the roundabout & back towards 8 -9K before stomping on the brakes for the E-stop. We did this about 3 times before heading out on the road.
On the road I finally found the need for 3rd & 4th but only selected 5th just to make sure it was there, back to 4th @ 100Km/hr doing 4K. Ian's "bike" had the upgraded kit which included the Hindle exhaust & when I had a turn on it I found I wanted to be a gear lower all the time just so I could get lost the exhausts note The route they took us on didn't have any really tight corners but some nice fast sweepers that were wet (due to the farm irrigation on the side of the road) & I found it remained stable & inspired a confidence that you probably shouldn't have when riding someone else's machinery . They say that lean doesn't work on these things but I found it just felt natural to slightly lean into the corner so that you were looking over the front wheel guard (& it made me feel like I was going faster). The gear box is smooth up & down the range, but i found it hard to select neutral - kept going from 1st - 2nd back to 1st etc, it requires a very delicate touch. We didn't get a chance to try the auto box but the guys said it was better than the manual so I assume I'd be happy with that as well.
So that's about it. Like Ian, I won't be going out to buy one but with 1 powerball maybe there would be room in my garage for one. They are being introduced into the states now so it shouldn't be long before they are being pimped, turbo'd, stretched & lowered
Cheers
Troy