Almost New RT-S Owner

[Greyhnd1]

Hi All! I'm almost a new owner of a RT-S. Just waiting for that last car payment in two months. We're new riders (my wife and I) with no experience, except for Bermuda sccoters, lol. Looking forward to cruising around the finger lakes in upstate NY and joining the local club.

Any helpful suggestions for purchasing the RT-S vs. other RT models? Would enjoy hearing advice from veteran riders. Should we buy used to start with or just jump on a new bike?

Thanks, and we look forward to the Spyder experience!

[spyderdave]

You're picking a good bike to start with :-)

Be sure and remember that a Spyder is a motorcycle with 3 wheels. While the handling is somewhat different, many aspects are the same as with 2 wheel motorcycles. The primary items being safety. Take the time to purchase the correct equipment, also take the time to wear it. RT Spyders have just about everything that a car has, EXCEPT for seat belts, air bags and crumple zones. Good riding gear helps with these differences.

As to riding, start slow on less traveled roads. Get some miles under your belt. Notice the differences when riding solo or two up. Most notably, avoid highways to start with. The RT Spyders have lots of frontal area, they will be very twitchy when riding in heavy traffic at high speeds. A good head wind or cross wind will make it even worse.

Take some time to try out different settings on the Spyder. Adjust the front shocks, front tire pressure and rear air bag if equiped. I upped the front shocks to the highest preload, and set the front tires to 20 PSI (which is 2 PSI over what Can Am recommends as the maximum). These changes made the bike much more stable in turns. I'm a big guy at 270 pounds.

Be prepared to live the life of a rock star. Make sure that you have time when filling the tank. 99% of the time, someone will walk up and ask questions.

Most importantly, enjoy the ride! Welcome to the Y experience.

[Greyhnd1]

Thanks Dave! Great advice and we'll be sure to follow. Fortunately we have miles and miles of back country roads here in the Finger Lakes. We'll have plenty to do right in our own backyard to gain lots of experience before taking on that first long road trip. Cheers!

[sassapnts]

Welcome, Grey!

I can only think to add that if you don't already have your motorcycle classification on your license, you'll need it. Or at least I believe its a nationwide requirement.

Take your time, get comfortable, and then tackle traffic. Remember, when you're riding on the outside of your vehicle, treat every other driver as if they don't see you. Better safe than sorry!

Sass

[Bob Denman]

Welcome to the party!
The Spyders will feel like nothing that you've ever ridden before...unless you have snowmobile or ATV experience!
The RT-S is a real nice ryde... I've got the A&C model and have been slowly bringing it up to "S" specifications... it would have been MUCH cheaper to have simply purchased one initially@
I gather that you're from the Finger Lakes region... Perhaps we can work out a ryder where we can meet in the middle somewhere!