[RTrev001]

I currently ride an '08 BMW R1200RT, but it really isn't quite the right bike for my needs. I bought it thinking that it would be great for my wife and I to take long trips, but it turned out that her back and knees prevent long trips.

So... we take short trips. Around the countryside, to local towns, and so on. With both of us aboard, with our gear, I'm balancing around 1000 lbs. I'm only 5'8", and getting close to 60 years old, and I'm tired of holding this thing up.

I'm seriously thinking of swapping for the Spyder as soon as the bike is paid off, but have two reservations. Maybe you folks would be kind enough to comment on them.

1) The final belt drive. I like to ride on dirt roads, and in fact I have extended family who live on unpaved roads. I've always heard that small stones and gravel don't mix well with belt drives. Should I be concerned about this?

2) Those tires. When I first saw the Spyder, I thought it would be wonderful to have car tires. That rear one looks like something off a Corvette, and the fronts look like the sort of thing any auto tire shop would have in stock. But then I read that we have to use "special" tires, which can only be obtained through Can Am dealers, and so on. If true, it seems like Can Am might have missed a major marketing angle there. I'm tired of buying expensive motorcycle tires only to have them wear out in 6-8K miles.

Both of these could be show stoppers for me. Could be.. but not necessarily.

Should I be concerned about either or both of these?

Thanks much!

Bob

 

[Spyderman]

I have not heard any complaints about tire life, actually no comments at all... what are y'all getting for tire life?

The tires do not seem to be over priced, they are on EBay all the time, I say a new pair of fronts sell for only $89 recently.

here are few on there right now:

Rear Tire $109.95

Front tire $72.48

Shipping is high from these fellows....

 

[Freddy]

I've had my Spyder for only a month and after just two weeks on only paved roads in got a pebble stuck in the rear sprocket, splitting the belt in two. After several calls to the dealer, BRP agreed to supply a new belt. I've since made a guard for the inside of the belt as that's where pebbles can get in, it's pretty well unprotected there.

Regarding the tyres, the stock one say 'for motorcycle use only.' Which means you can't put them on a car. I don't see a problem putting car tyres on a Spyder, however, which is what I'll be doing when the time comes.

 

[RTrev001]

I've had my Spyder for only a month and after just two weeks on only paved roads in got a pebble stuck in the rear sprocket, splitting the belt in two. After several calls to the dealer, BRP agreed to supply a new belt. I've since made a guard for the inside of the belt as that's where pebbles can get in, it's pretty well unprotected there.

As long as it doesn't happen in the places I go, like areas of Vermont where there is no cell phone coverage and probably no Can Am dealer.

Regarding the tyres, the stock one say 'for motorcycle use only.' Which means you can't put them on a car. I don't see a problem putting car tyres on a Spyder, however, which is what I'll be doing when the time comes.

Same thing as above.. being able to get tires anywhere your tire happens to die would be important to me. Also, can all three wheels be easily removed without special tools so we could pull in to any tire shop and they'd be able to work on it?

And yes, I'd love to know what folks are seeing for tire mileage. Also, general cost of ownership. Frequency of services, how much work you do yourself versus how much needs specialized equipment (I gather the Spyder has more computers that the space shuttle.)

Thanks!

Edit: As an aside, cost of ownership is one of the reasons I want to trade the BMW. If I rode as much as I would like to, I couldn't afford the tires and services I would need!

 

[ecurbrolyat]

Done made the leap...

Hey Bob,
I had a 2007 BMW K1200GT. I put about 15,000 miles on it and took a fairly long ride from Ohio to Nova Scotia this past summer. When I got back to Ohio I decided to get a Spyder because I dropped the Beemer 3-times on the Nova Scotia trip. The High Center of Gravity and my 67 year old legs just didn 't get along well.
I sold the BMW on eBay and got a reasonable price for it. Enough to pay off the loan and still have a few bucks left to put on the new Spyder.

I ordered the 2010 RT SM5 from a Can Am Dealer in PA (Ohio Dealer SUCKs) and they also sold me a 2009 SM5 to use until my new model arrives (Ohio Dealer make note that I bought TWO Spyders from the PA Dealer and NONE from you because you were such a jerk-off). I have a committed buyer for the 2009 so when the 2010 finally comes in I should be ready (I'm saving like mad).

One problem with the BMW was that I couldn't modify it to my liking. For example, there is no place to put highway pegs, etc. The Spyder has a number of comfort-devices available and I plan to customize my 2010 RT to my liking. Maybe even my wife might get to like it (no luck so far).

Regarding the belts. I rode my Harley Sportster from Ohio to north of Fairbanks, AK (11,000 miles), much of it on gravel roads and the belt did fine. I took a spare along just in case but never needed it. My buddy did snap his belt, however, and he had to order one and have it shipped in to Whitehorse, Yukon. It took 3 or 4 days and we had to leave him there. I think he made it back

Bruce

 

[RTrev001]

Hi Bruce,

Hey Bob,
I had a 2007 BMW K1200GT. I put about 15,000 miles on it and took a fairly long ride from Ohio to Nova Scotia this past summer. When I got back to Ohio I decided to get a Spyder because I dropped the Beemer 3-times on the Nova Scotia trip. The High Center of Gravity and my 67 year old legs just didn 't get along well.

Yep, been there, done that. A guy on another forum bought a used Beemer, and he loves it, but he named it "Fritz the Fat Bavarian" after the first or second time it simply tipped over and he couldn't stop it. Especially a problem if you have a passenger with a lot of gravitational attraction to the planet (how's that for a tactful way of putting it?)

Regarding the belts. I rode my Harley Sportster from Ohio to north of Fairbanks, AK (11,000 miles), much of it on gravel roads and the belt did fine. I took a spare along just in case but never needed it. My buddy did snap his belt, however, and he had to order one and have it shipped in to Whitehorse, Yukon. It took 3 or 4 days and we had to leave him there. I think he made it back

Wait.. let me get this straight.. you had an extra belt with you, but you made your buddy order one and then abandoned him in a strange town? ROFL! Nice guy!

But yeah, the belt could be a problem. Maybe I should wait a little while. Bet they'll introduce a V-4 with shaft drive eventually.

Really would love to hear from anyone who's already switched to car tires, and see how that went.

Thanks much!
Bob

 

[Spyderman]

At The Tire Rack and Discount Tire there are only a few choices less expensive than the Stock Kenda Tire:

Tire Rack

225/50/R15

165/60/R14


Discount Tire

225/50/R15

165/60/R14

and not even the possibility of getting the same brand/style for the front and rear.....

 

[ecurbrolyat]

Wait.. let me get this straight.. you had an extra belt with you, but you made your buddy order one and then abandoned him in a strange town? ROFL! Nice guy!

Bob

I had a belt but it did not fit his bike.

 

[RTrev001]

I had a belt but it did not fit his bike.

I figured that. Just having a little fun. Sorry.

Every time I start to fantasize about the Spyder, the belt issue is what trips me up.

Bob

 

[budro1]

belt issues

I live on a gravel rd. 4 mi long. Been riding belt cycles since "87 (harleys) and never had one break. I do about 15 k per yr. The tires from the canam dealer in wv are very competitive with the same size car tires. I would rather use "motorcycle specific" tires for the stronger sidewalls. Belt breaks it is a couple hundred $, shaft problems, who knows.----Fred
BTW, love the spyder. The most exciting thing I have ridden in my 50 yrs. of bikin'.

 

[RTrev001]

I live on a gravel rd. 4 mi long. Been riding belt cycles since "87 (harleys) and never had one break. I do about 15 k per yr. The tires from the canam dealer in wv are very competitive with the same size car tires. I would rather use "motorcycle specific" tires for the stronger sidewalls. Belt breaks it is a couple hundred $, shaft problems, who knows.----Fred
BTW, love the spyder. The most exciting thing I have ridden in my 50 yrs. of bikin'.

May I ask what kind of mileage you're getting on a set of tires, and how often and how expensive the routine maintenance is?

You see, I'm trying to find something that not only meets my needs but which I can also afford to ride.

Here's an example. BMW R1200RT, for 20K miles, I figure routine tires and services would run somewhere in the $3000-$5000 range. For a Kawasaki Ninja 250r, same distance, we're looking at more like $800. This is partly because I could do more of the maintenance on the 250 myself, but also because parts are cheaper, etc.

So, given that the BMW RT is both too big for me and too expensive for me, I'll be moving to either a smaller bike or the Spyder. Not sure which yet. Having some sense of the cost of ownership of a Spyder would help.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[ecurbrolyat]

Belts

I figured that. Just having a little fun. Sorry.

Every time I start to fantasize about the Spyder, the belt issue is what trips me up.

Bob

Bob, methinks you are obsessing too much about the belt. I don't know your age but you'll be alot older waiting for a shaft-drive. Belts are fine

Bruce

 

[RTrev001]

Well, I'll stop down to the dealer and ask to have the service people show me how easy or hard they are to work on. Yeah, maybe I'm too worried about the belt. Thanks.