Wondering about Can Am Spyder type motorcycles

In My Humble Opinion
41

Comparing a new Can-Am to my 14 year old Ducati ST2.

0-60
Can-Am [4.5 seconds](4.8 seconds)
Ducati ST2 4.0 seconds

Standing 1/4 mile
Can-Am Spider 12.1 seconds
Ducati ST2 11.3 seconds

MPG
Can-Am Spider 30mpg
Ducati ST2 44mpg

Handling
Well, measuring cornering on a motorcycle is a black art, but not sure there is really any debate here.

My 14 year old bike cost me $3500 last year. For me there is no contest here. BTW, the ST2 is probably one of the worst accelerating and performing Ducatis ever made. There are literally dozens of sport bikes that will beat my numbers quite handily.

42

A fair number of motorcycle accidents are the cyclist “dropping” the bike due to wet roads, sand, etc. haven’t heard OS a single case where someone dropped a Can Am.

Ride what you like and like what you ride. Nobody will put a gun to your head and force you to buy and ride a Can Am. 25 years ago I loved riding my Suzuki GS 1100. Today I wouldn’t even get on one. To each his own.

43

(bolding mine)

:nitpick:
First of all, you’re comparing ‘apples to oranges’. The OP (and thread) is about the Can-Am Spyder, a strictly on-road type cycle with 2 wheels in front and 1 in the rear, not the 1 wheel in front w/2 in the rear All Terrain Cycles that were popular (and inherently dangerous, I know, I had one) back in the 80’s.

Second, Harley has recently reintroduced the 3 wheeled trike. (1 wheel in front and 2 in the back) Having never ridden either the Can-Am or the Harley 3 wheel trike, I can’t justifiably comment on their safety or riding characteristics. But…

I can comment on the 1978 Honda 90-cc ATV 3 wheeler. Just DON’T, they’re fucking dangerous as all fuck! :eek:

44

(bolding mine)

1+
I couldn’t have said it better. :cool:
JSYK I’ve been riding since I was 16, weapon of choice these days is a Road King.

45

Well, I know all about physics, momentum, and centrifugal force.

And that’s what I commented on.

Or do you have a beef over my knowledge in those areas, too?

46

I just love how some one who isn’t Newton knows all about his laws…

47

One big advantage of a trike that hasn’t been discussed much in this thread is that when you stop, a trike just stops, where a bike will fall over if you don’t do something to prevent it. This appeals to a lot of folks. At very low speeds a trike is extremely easy to control, where a bike isn’t.

With trikes, you have two choices. You can have the single wheel at the front, as in a conventional trike, or you can have the single wheel in the rear, as with the Can Am Spyder. The problem with the single wheel in the front is that it’s not exactly the most stable configuration in a turn, which the British TV show top gear demonstrated very clearly in their segment on the Reliant Robin, a 3 wheeled car with the single wheel very unfortunately placed in the front:

(for those who don’t want to watch it’s basically Jeremy Clarkson flipping a Reliant Robin onto its side every time he goes around a turn over and over and over).

A typical trike isn’t usually quite as bad as a Reliant Robin just because their center of gravity isn’t as high as the Robin’s. But it still suffers from the same basic problem.

Having the two wheels in front, as in the Can Am Spyder, makes the trike much more stable in a sharp and high speed turn. If you look at the design of the Spyder, not only do they put both wheels in front, but they also have the entire thing sit fairly low to keep its center of gravity down low, which also helps with stability in turns. The long and short of it is that the Can Am Spyder will give you all of the benefits of a conventional trike (can stop without falling over, easy to control at low speeds) without a conventional trike’s nasty tendency to want to plant your face into the pavement in a high speed turn.

A Can Am Spyder can’t lean into a turn the way a bike can, so it’s not going to match the performance of a bike. But if you are one of those folks that likes a trike, the Spyder will significantly outperform a conventional trike in a turn.

As I understand it, a Spyder counts as a motorcycle in PA. So with very little training and practice you could take your Spyder in and get your motorcycle license. With the same level of training, most folks wouldn’t be able to control a bike well enough to pass the test just because of the low speed balance issues.

Personally, I’m with NotDeadYet. Ride what you like. No one else has to like it but you.

48

Don’t have to get raped to know you wouldn’t like it! :smiley:

49

Why do people persist in calling the CAS a “bike” or “motorcycle?” Sure, it’s legally one, but it doesn’t behave like one at all. As far as I can tell they’re only good for people who are too disabled for a real bike or people who are just terrified of riding a real bike.

The former are understandable. The latter might be better off with a mustang convertible. I imagine it’d steer just as well.

50

Who put starch in your tidy whities this morning? It’s called a “bike” or “motorcycle” because in most places that is how they are legally classified. One person is saying its 100% as dangerous as a bike, and now it doesn’t behave like a bike. Most of the Can Am owners I know also own Harleys. I used to own a variety of different bikes from a big Suzuki to a small Honda.

Now, where I live (suburb/urban sprawl) there are very few twisty back roads, so most of my riding is on surface roads (I just hate riding on the Interstates). The wind in your face, the freedom of no doors, roof, radio, etc. and just feeling “alive” with 1000 cc of raw power between your legs is why I ride and guess what? When you are powering down the road with the Gulf of Mexico to one side and the Intercoastal waterway on the other, the number of wheels on the road simply doesn’t matter one little bit.

51

Nice analogy. :mad:

(bolding mine)
:rolleyes:
So… I take it you have a mustang convertible, then.

(bolding mine)

A+
Well said! :cool:

52

So, to distill the answers to my original questions, ignoring any “coolness” factors, I come up with these answers:

I gather the advantage of a CAS to a 2 wheeler is you don’t have to worry about low speed balance or staying upright at a full stop. And you have a reverse. The advantage of a CAS over a standard configuration trike is they’re more stable in turns.

The disadvantages to a CAS compared to a 2 wheeler are you can’t lean into turns and you have to slow down more to make turns. There don’t seem to be any disadvantages as compared to a standard trike.

What about braking, either to slow or come to a stop? You’ve got 2 wheels in front and I presume both have brakes. How does that compare to a 2 wheeler or standard trike? Are you more likely to downshift and/or engine brake to slow down than on one of the other types? I’d guess there’s a higher risk of face planting if you apply the front brakes too hard. True?

53

According to their FAQ page, ABS brakes are standard equipment. ABS brakes are also standard equipment on quite a few different makes of motorcycles these days, also.

54

I love my Triumphs and fast bikes. That said;

My friend since we were toddlers, parents’ own a dealership. He’s been riding motorcycles since his Dad had to catch him when he came to a stop because his feet didn’t reach the ground. He raced Ducati’s in the AMA pro circut for a few years. At the shop he’s test drove every sort of bike from vintage Indians to the hottest shit turbo charged custom bike imagineable. His opinion of a Can-Am? Good enough IF mobility precluded you from being able to put both feet down at a stoplight or the ilk.

Any day on a bike (or bike like object) is better than a car. IMHO. If I had to adapt to different handling, so be it.

55

You sure you got that bolded bit right? To turn left you steer to the right and lean left?:dubious:

That may explain why I kept stacking the honda 90 postie bike all those years ago.:smack:

56

It seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? But that’s the way it works. Same way on a bicycle too. You steer into the lean when you want to come upright. :slight_smile:

57

No, I have a reasonably-sized metric bike. A mustang convertible is just a cheap way to get wind in your hair without making an effort. I’m sure any other poorly-handling convertible with a little bit of grunt would also suit that need.

58

Yep, it’s correct. Google “counter steering” if you want more info. People do it unconsciously, but will swear they aren’t doing it. The problem is, if something goes wrong, or they panic, or whatever, because it’s unconscious they do the wrong thing. It does seem counter-intuitive, but has been proven. It doesn’t work at extremely low speeds (like where you could put your feet down), but once you’re off it’s the only way you’ll get a motorbke to go around a corner!

Next time the MotoGP or Superbikes is on TV (next weekend I think), watch them cornering. On a left turn you can see them hang off the left of the bike and they’ll push the left handlebar forward to get to the correct angle, then hold it there / stop pushing. When they do the slow-motion shots it’s easier to see

59

I’ve ridden bikes when I was young and invincible. Today, though I’d happily take it up again with a Triumph SpeedTriple, the need for all that gear and lack of utility is simply too much in the minus column for me. The CanAm doesn’t appear to eliminate that problem - still need a helmet and crash protection. Seems to me, a little convertible with some power and handling ability would provide all the views and wind in my hair I could possibly want, plus a little protection when it isn’t just the wind that’s blowing in the air. And I can still lean into the turns if I want. :slight_smile:

But the rest of you, keep riding what you ride. I’ll just continue to admire wistfully from afar.

60

That was the choice my buddy made. Bought an 02 vert w/ 35k on it in January for $21k. Way more car IMO than a Miata.