can-am spyder

[sonicspeed]

i saw a bright yellow spyder on highway 278 in north alabama friday afternoon. has anybody else in the area seen it? too bad it was going in the opposite direction

 

[rogdeb]

I've seen 3 on the street, just not in your area though. Sacramento, CA

 

[madmike2]

I saw one in Orangevale. I watched it turn left in a 25 mph intersection. I think I'll stay on motorcycles.

 

[cota95]

My wife and I took 20 minute demo rides on the Spyder last June and they are a lot of fun to ride. Quite different than riding with a sidecar. The bike makes a good amount of power and comes equipted with stability control and anti lock brakes. Biggest adjustment for me were the linked brakes with a foot pedal only-no bar lever. Felt unnatural. We were told at the time that these were prototypes only and they would not be delivered to customers until April 08.

 

[sonicspeed]

i think what surprised me most was the area i saw it in. i will not be trading my FJR for one either

 

[Flyguy]

My wife and I took 20 minute demo rides on the Spyder last June and they are a lot of fun to ride. Quite different than riding with a sidecar. The bike makes a good amount of power and comes equipted with stability control and anti lock brakes. Biggest adjustment for me were the linked brakes with a foot pedal only-no bar lever. Felt unnatural. We were told at the time that these were prototypes only and they would not be delivered to customers until April 08.

That's just because you have an AE. Who would ever trade one of those!?

But beware, the spyder has some HUGH advantages and an ocean of developement in front of it. It will eventually outbreak any car or bike and has some interesting potential numbers on the skidpad. Also storage possibilities will be interesting. The big thing is that it overcomes the bikes biggest weakpoint - the tire profile which produces a miniscule contact patch. I believe that bike technology is already bumping up against this limit and I know that rider capability has. In AWD configuration the spyder could handle a LOT more HP controllably.

What we see now is a concept in it's infancy. Watch out when it grows up!

 

[luvtoride]

I saw one on Rte 40 in NC on Friday. Very, very low riding. I hear that it is similar to riding a quad.

They look like a blast but sit too low for my taste. I'd constantly be afraid of getting run over.

Heidi

 

[evil_henchman]

They were doing test rides on one at Capital Yamaha in Sacramento a while back. They handle more like snowmobiles than quads IMHO. The stability control means it may not turn where you want it to, kinda like a snow machine on ice. Not for me thanks.

 

[Zolton]

If they changed the brake pedal to a lever and developed a thumb type shifter something along the lines of the AE technology then I think this would be a fantastic machine for the handicaped. Could be a whole new niche opening up.