Hitcher
29th December 2008, 18:01
Earlier this year we arrived at a service station at Lillooet in British Columbia Canada. It was a lovely sunny day. We needed a cold drink and Big Yam needed petrol. Whilst there we got our first sight of a new fangled three-wheeler -- a BRP Can-Am Spyder -- ridden by the dealer principal of Can-Am in Vancouver, with his son on pillion.
Despite much drooling and audible admiration from myself and fellow rider Warwick, Mrs H ended up as the only member of our group allowed to take the Spyder for a spin around the service station's considerable carpark.
A couple of months ago, TSS Motorcycles in Lower Hutt scored themselves a Spyder dealership and a couple of demos. Taking one out for a spin has been on my to do list ever since. Today I did just that.
Due to their insurance requirements, TSS are required to accompany Spyder test riders. After completing a few circuits up and down the street behind their store under Stu's watchful gaze, I set off in pursuit of Stu on another Spyder, with Mrs H doing the pillion thing behind him.
Spyders are not motorcycles. They have to be steered by pushing on the handlebars -- in the opposite direction required by countersteering on a motorcycle. The steering is very precise and quick, so doesn't require much effort for normal riding. Also a trike is fixed to the road as a car is, so doesn't naturally lean into a turn. A trike rider needs to do this.
Another difference of note is the complete absence of a handlebar brake lever. The marvellous brakes are actuated by using a brake pedal, which is located in exactly the same place as the brake pedal on a motorcycle.
Old motorcycle riding habits die hard. One does not need to put one's foot down when stopping.
The Rotax 990 engine that powers the Spyder is a v-twin and an absolute peach. It has a lovely rorty engine note and likes to lug and rev. Nice. The gearbox is five-speed (I rode a manual version), one down and four up. Reverse is mechanical. A handlebar-mounted lever activates a reverse position one click down through first gear.
Instrumentation is unusual. As well as having nicely located analogue speedo and tach, a digital readout provides exactly the same information at the same time. There's a trip computer, and all of the switchgear and controls (apart from a parking brake) are where a motorcycle rider would expect to find them.
There is a 40-litre storage compartment as a front "boot", with similar storage space to some convertibles.
So did I like it? You betcha. These things have a "huge grin" factor. They are head turners too, with motorists, pedestrians and even little-old-ladies on zimmer frames taking a keen and active interest.
Would I buy one? Tough question. If I was in the market for either a convertible MX5-type thingee or a full-dress tourer like a Goldwing, the Spyder would be a serious contender in those stakes.
What did Mrs H think as a pillion? Not to put too fine a point on it, she found the experience perturbing, largely due to being thrown away from the bike while cornering. The trike doesn't lean like a motorcycle, as noted above. Stu says that Mrs Stu was the same too at first, but has got used to being a Spyder pillion.
Despite much drooling and audible admiration from myself and fellow rider Warwick, Mrs H ended up as the only member of our group allowed to take the Spyder for a spin around the service station's considerable carpark.
A couple of months ago, TSS Motorcycles in Lower Hutt scored themselves a Spyder dealership and a couple of demos. Taking one out for a spin has been on my to do list ever since. Today I did just that.
Due to their insurance requirements, TSS are required to accompany Spyder test riders. After completing a few circuits up and down the street behind their store under Stu's watchful gaze, I set off in pursuit of Stu on another Spyder, with Mrs H doing the pillion thing behind him.
Spyders are not motorcycles. They have to be steered by pushing on the handlebars -- in the opposite direction required by countersteering on a motorcycle. The steering is very precise and quick, so doesn't require much effort for normal riding. Also a trike is fixed to the road as a car is, so doesn't naturally lean into a turn. A trike rider needs to do this.
Another difference of note is the complete absence of a handlebar brake lever. The marvellous brakes are actuated by using a brake pedal, which is located in exactly the same place as the brake pedal on a motorcycle.
Old motorcycle riding habits die hard. One does not need to put one's foot down when stopping.
The Rotax 990 engine that powers the Spyder is a v-twin and an absolute peach. It has a lovely rorty engine note and likes to lug and rev. Nice. The gearbox is five-speed (I rode a manual version), one down and four up. Reverse is mechanical. A handlebar-mounted lever activates a reverse position one click down through first gear.
Instrumentation is unusual. As well as having nicely located analogue speedo and tach, a digital readout provides exactly the same information at the same time. There's a trip computer, and all of the switchgear and controls (apart from a parking brake) are where a motorcycle rider would expect to find them.
There is a 40-litre storage compartment as a front "boot", with similar storage space to some convertibles.
So did I like it? You betcha. These things have a "huge grin" factor. They are head turners too, with motorists, pedestrians and even little-old-ladies on zimmer frames taking a keen and active interest.
Would I buy one? Tough question. If I was in the market for either a convertible MX5-type thingee or a full-dress tourer like a Goldwing, the Spyder would be a serious contender in those stakes.
What did Mrs H think as a pillion? Not to put too fine a point on it, she found the experience perturbing, largely due to being thrown away from the bike while cornering. The trike doesn't lean like a motorcycle, as noted above. Stu says that Mrs Stu was the same too at first, but has got used to being a Spyder pillion.