The Shadow is gone... and I rode a...
 

Can AM Spyder...


So shortly after giving us the Shadow, ONSSP's mom was talking about wanting a new rig... she said she was saving for the down payment... Well, that didn't make any fucking sense, so we gave her the Shadow back for her to trade in...

Last night she came and picked it up... Came back a few hours later on one of these:
http://www.motorcycle.com/gallery/ga...-limited-1.jpg


They actually look pretty neat in person... sound pretty good too... It has all the bells and whistles, fully loaded. Comes with luggage made specifically to fit in the compartments, GPS, and a full color display to complement the gauges with all sorts of other shit (electronic windscreen, push button suspension adjustments, etc, etc). Here's an older version of the gauges:
http://images.affinitygroup.com/ts-m...G.jpg?&cvt=jpg


She offered to let me ride it... so ONSSP and I got on it and went around the cul-de-sac. Very weird... turning like a car and not leaning... weird.

We got to about 30mph and ONSSP was over it - "I don't like it, I don't feel safe on it, I feel much safer on a bike"... I agreed.

We came back and her mom told me to take it out by myself and 'really try it out.' I took off down the road, burning through the first couple of gears and mid-way through the tach in 3rd - 76mph (in a 45)... Not bad, but the front end gets a bit squirrely during hard accelleration at speed... controls are TOUCHY - think grated road on two wheels at 25mph... just seems to be controlling itself.

Took it around a little neighborhood - speed limit speeds, trying not to slow down for any turns (love me a yield sign)... Strange... very strange... doesn't feel right. Just like anything with more than two wheels that doesn't lean - feels like you're about to get thrown the fuck off it in every corner. :tremble:

Came back down the road and parked it... Neat... I never want to ride it again, but neat.

Pros: :rockwoot:
Couch on wheels
Bells and whistles to control the bells and the whistles
Looks pretty cool... sorta.
Sounds nice
No slouch on power, but no drag race winner either

Cons: :td:
Unstable when pushed hard (suspension settings may help, but I didn't have a chance to fuck with them)
Drives like a car, handles like a truck
Lean... none of it - feels like it's going to toss you in the corners
Traction control BS won't allow for donuts

Cool write up.

I know there is about to be a barrage of hate toward all things not 2 wheels.

I like anything with an engine, so I'd rock one for a while but I can't get over the price of those things.

Do you have any idea what she paid? I think in touring trim those things are well into the $20's.

I was cool with em until you were able to take your motorcycle test on em.

Now I don't even acknowledge the riders when they're out. Might as well be in a car or on a snowmobile.

I never thought about the testing aspect.

You know the T-rex? Those are also considered a motorcycle.

I guess you could take your test on one of those too?

I was going to kick you in the nuts if you got a spyder. Trikes in any form are a good way to get yourself killed in the mountains. There is a good reason they banned 3 wheeled ATVs...

Perhaps? I don't know for certain, I just know a selling point for the Can-am was that you could do your bike test on it.

The seating position is different, side by side versus 2 in a row. Not sure if that would have any bearing on it.

The T-rex has got to be a more fun, serious machine.

A guy brought one out to the Texas Mile and wanted to run it. One of the car techs and I were going over it to try and figure out what was bike and what was car. From our standpoint it was more car than bike. It looks like it'd be fun to run around the block like you did, but then I'd be over it.

I'd be very slightly more interested if it leaned like a Piaggio MP3. If it's anything like a snowmobile, I'll pass. Any decent turn feels like the thing is attempting to throw you off in a violent and painful manner.

I smell a banning comming on for this :lol: