Can-Am Spyder Experience is back! (March-April 2011)

[RiderInBlack]

the point being is it ONLY has a foot brake.. No handbrake... which makes it a car.... apparently.. In ozzie they are bikes.

So if I take the hand brake off my bike then it is a car? Fiddle.

[cowboyz]

So if I take the hand brake off my bike then it is a car? Fiddle.

well.. technically.. if you got linked brakes... then yes! apparently!!!

[Ocean1]

Ocean1 might be able to answer what the fuel economy is like....

Can't remember the numbers but cruising with the XB12 it'd cost maybe $5 more to fill.

There's plenty of grunt there, but it comes with a price, same as anything else. The difference is the higher drag means that even if you're being moderate with the throttle you won't lower the consumption to that of a similarly powered bike.

Excellent cruising machine.

[NZsarge]

Just googled it, one bloke did a 1000 miles in 24 hours and averaged 32.2 mpg, my ZX14 is averaging 40 mpg (just for comparison's sake).

[Grumpy]

So are you trading two wheels for three?

Seriously considering it although would probably trade the Mrs Z in on it. We are heading to Taupo for another ride so we will see how the other half likes it. She did the pillion thing at Palmy.

[Grumpy]

Well we did it. One shiny new Spyder is parked in the garage. We picked up a RS manual from Whakatane today and had a good trip home.

I have to admit the spyder experience really only touches the surface. After the trip home and spending a little more time in the saddle I got to try some different techniques in the corners. Shit these things can grip in the corners.

Been home for a few hours now and still can't wipe the grin off my face.

[Ocean1]

Well we did it.

Nice. Enjoy it, dude.

Take the plate off, chuck the mounting bolts and stick it back on with some 3M double sided tape.

Keep the spare plate somewhere safe.

[NZsarge]

Well we did it. One shiny new Spyder is parked in the garage. We picked up a RS manual from Whakatane today and had a good trip home.

I have to admit the spyder experience really only touches the surface. After the trip home and spending a little more time in the saddle I got to try some different techniques in the corners. Shit these things can grip in the corners.

Been home for a few hours now and still can't wipe the grin off my face.

Awesome mate, the test ride as it is was really short so i figured there's more to it than what we sampled. Be interesting to see what your take on the fuel consumption side of things is like as far as i can see that was one of the biggest question make/gripes I had about it.

[Corse1]

Well we did it. One shiny new Spyder is parked in the garage. We picked up a RS manual from Whakatane today and had a good trip home.

I have to admit the spyder experience really only touches the surface. After the trip home and spending a little more time in the saddle I got to try some different techniques in the corners. Shit these things can grip in the corners.

Been home for a few hours now and still can't wipe the grin off my face.

Yeah a mate road one last week and said they were doing them for between 16 and 17k for 2010 models. He was well impressed and wants to sell his two bikes to buy a spyder.
Not for me though but I haven'y ridden one.

[Hoon]

Yep did the Spyder experience today. Great fun and like others said only really scratches the surface. I had a few minor gripes, namely sliding off the seat in corners because the bike doesn't lean with my body and also on the straights my upper body wandering all over the place as I make minor corrections - all really due to me not being in sync with the bike yet and nothing that can't be cured with more saddle time.

Unbeknown to me I had the only bike with a sweet sounding aftermarket exhaust so the entire group were able to hear me thrashing it on our ride which I didn't know about until afterwards.

Awesome fun and thoroughly recommend to give it a try. Still not as 'connected' as a real motorbike but definately a lot safer and foolproof. Unfortunately I didn't win lotto tonight so won't be getting one

[mrmeal]

Unbeknown to me I had the only bike with a sweet sounding aftermarket exhaust so the entire group were able to hear me thrashing it on our ride which I didn't know about until afterwards.

The Black manual RS I believe? Had that myself and my girlfriend also on the experience three back could hear me gun it each time. lol I had a great day. I'd be a very keen owner, but I wouldn't trade my gsxr on one or anything just as yet. I reckon a few years I'd reassess. great fun though!


in hind sight: you def had the Black RS manual see you Monday D just looked at your profile lol.

Sounds like we both gave the bike a good throat clearing

[Grumpy]

Awesome mate, the test ride as it is was really short so i figured there's more to it than what we sampled. Be interesting to see what your take on the fuel consumption side of things is like as far as i can see that was one of the biggest question make/gripes I had about it.

I have read a bit about the fuel economy on the Spyders but I have to admit It doesn't really concern me that much at the moment. Fortunately the Spyder will be our weekend toy so I look on it being a little like buying a sports car for playtime. Fuel consumption doesn't really factor in to it at this stage ..... however if the price of gas keeps going up we may have to cut playtime to every second weekend

.
Unbeknown to me I had the only bike with a sweet sounding aftermarket exhaust so the entire group were able to hear me thrashing it on our ride which I didn't know about until afterwards.

Yep, you can't own a v twin without a loud pipe I reckon which is why we got a nice throaty muffler with ours.

[NZsarge]

I have read a bit about the fuel economy on the Spyders but I have to admit It doesn't really concern me that much at the moment. Fortunately the Spyder will be our weekend toy so I look on it being a little like buying a sports car for playtime. Fuel consumption doesn't really factor in to it at this stage ..... however if the price of gas keeps going up we may have to cut playtime to every second weekend

Fair call, nice that it has the Hindle pipe(?) they do sound nice and look a lot better too, what other bits did it come with?
Edit: Post some pics up dude.

[Grumpy]

Fair call, nice that it has the Hindle pipe(?) they do sound nice and look a lot better too, what other bits did it come with?
Edit: Post some pics up dude.

Only got the Hindle with it. Apart from that it is just the standard RS manual. We've already been looking at what sort of junk you can buy online and most of it is pretty tacky but after the ride home we both agree that a new seat might be in order. As per usual they design the seat to suit the lines of the bike (or should that be vehicle) and not your arse.

[NZsarge]

Only got the Hindle with it. Apart from that it is just the standard RS manual. We've already been looking at what sort of junk you can buy online and most of it is pretty tacky but after the ride home we both agree that a new seat might be in order. As per usual they design the seat to suit the lines of the bike (or should that be vehicle) and not your arse.

You can get pannier's for them too which are just basically Givi R35's which would make it a good weekend away machine and a great place to lock helmets away if you're out for a decent day ride and want to leave the bikes for a while.