You will recall that I have been pondering a solution for my motorcycling blues and have been thinking a lot recently about the Can Am Spyder. My thoughts run along the lines that I don’t have to put my foot down when it stops, solving my lack of mobility issue and making it much safer than the lottery that is in existence at present. I was also hopeful that the more relaxed riding position may make being able to cover more than 100kms before having to get off and ease the pain in my knee and my thigh possible. I have an offer for an extended test ride from an old CRRC buddy in Canberra, but making the time and getting there has been an issue.
So, with that in mind, I did some checking and found out that the nearest Can Am dealer to me is at Penrith, I rang Western Motorcycles and booked a test ride yesterday. I was pretty excited as I ground my way up the Northern Road, pausing along the way to pay my respects to the Oran Park circuit, now just a dust bowl of houses under construction. On arrival I was met by a bright and friendly young man named Todd who listened as I told him my story (how polite people are to listen to an old buffer prattling on sometimes) and then gave me an overview of the Can Am range. It starts at a measly $A20k on road no more to pay, which is a far cry from the +$A30k that was the price for the base model when the range was first introduced. Great value considering the features that are available.
Western Motorcycle’s demo bike is a Spyder RS-S a slightly more “sporty” version of the RS with stiffer suspension and a glorious-sounding Hindle pipe. It also features better quality mag wheels and some extra “bling.” We rode one the same colour as this one.
We then suited up and he pillioned me to a local park that had a huge, paved car park that was empty. A perfect place to test ride in safety. Getting on to the seat was the first challenge. The bike is very wide and I was totally unable to swing my leg over the seat as you’d do with a solo motorcycle. Fortunately, since the bike can’t fall over, standing on the footpeg and climbing on is perfectly do-able.
However, the moment I settled into the seating position, a problem became apparent. Being carried as a passenger requires that the passenger spread their knees apart around the rider and the pain that this action induced is something that I should have foreseen. Since my right hip is now equipped with a Dynamic Hip Plate that is screwed into the outside of the femur and attached to the ball of the femur at the top, the simple action of spreading my knees as wide as I used to be able to is considerably restricted. I have developed all sorts of “work-arounds” for this in the real world, but I had overlooked completely the fact that this was going to happen when trying to passenger. Fortunately the distance to the car park was only short and I consoled myself with the thought that, for the rider, the situation would not be the same and I’d be able to keep my knees closer together around the tank.
Once Todd had given me an excellent demonstration of the bike and its features and also instructed me in the correct way to corner it (lean your body into the corner in a slightly exaggerated “racer crouch”) it was my turn. My job was to copy what Todd had done, doing some low-speed figure 8 maneuvers, some U turns and a higher speed accelerate and brake hard scenario.
Unfortunately my worst fears were realised the moment I took the rider’s position. Not only were my knees spread as far apart as they had been when passengering but several other issues raised their heads as well. Firstly I still had to climb on, scarcely a deal-breaker, but annoying nonetheless. Then the positioning of the parking brake (behind the passenger footpeg on the left hand side of the bike) meant that I had to twist around to be able to reach it, placing considerable stress on my knee and DHP. Once on the move the actual technique of riding the thing was at least as easy as Todd had said it would be. An experienced motorcyclist should be able to acclimatise in a very short period of time as I was to soon prove. But doing the low-speed figure-eights placed great stress on my right leg also as well as bringing to my attention the fact that, while the bike does have a very good power steering, the thing still has to be STEERED. It only took a couple of minutes for me to be experiencing great discomfort in my damaged right shoulder.
Higher speed stuff, U turns and braking and accelerating are all a doddle and, man, the thing STOPS!! ABS and those big fat tyres means that a panic stop should cease to be one if you’re riding a Can Am.
After doing some more runs in the car park, seeking out more confidence and realising that the degree of “lean” required” wasn’t as great as first expected (Todd had told me that he was exaggerating the position so that I got the idea of what to do – when I explained that leaning off the bike and dropping the shoulder was something that I do when riding a solo he nodded), Todd handed me the keys and said, “Go for a blat. Turn left at the end of the street, left at the T intersection, go down the road a ways and then turn left again, left at the next T and it will bring you back here.” I left the car park, very tentatively, aware that the insurance excess should I bin it would be huge. It didn’t take long to become accustomed to the peculiarities, however. The RS-S model is fitted with a press-button gearshift mechanism on the left hand grip and an electronic, automatic clutch. No need to cut the power on shifts, just punch the button to go up a gear and flip the little paddle behind the twist grip to shift down. Foot brake only though, at the suburban speeds that I was doing, they didn’t come into play very much. The tremendous torque and engine braking of the Rotax engine takes care of slowing down most of the time. More than once I found myself reaching for the hand brake lever (it doesn’t have one), cutting the throttle while changing gear (see above) and reaching for the gear lever with my left foot (see above again).
However, having to deal with all these peculiarities at once still didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for trying it out in the real world and I have to say that it’s pretty impressive. It points and steers brilliantly. Once your brain becomes used to the fact that it isn’t going to flip over when you turn a corner it all starts to make sense. I also found an issue with the right footpeg that I was unable to rest my foot comfortably on it without actually actuating the brake. Riding with my toes pointed outwards did feel awkward.
But did I follow Todd’s instructions? Well, I THOUGHT I DID. Left, left at the T but somewhere after that it all got a bit jumbled and I suddenly found myself mired in the back street suburbs of Penrith, no idea where I was, no map, no GPS and no mobile phone number on which I could ring Todd and assure him that I wasn’t under a bus somewhere. Time ticked away as I found myself travelling in ever-decreasing circles, trying to acclimatise to the bike, trying to find my way back to Jamison Park, trying to avoid maniacal Sydney traffic and mostly trying to communicate telepathically to Todd that I was, in fact, OK, just totally lost! Diving down into a corner and realising at the last minute that it was a 90 degree turn induced a moment of panic, but the brakes and the stability control kicked in and it was accomplished without drama.
Just when I had started to get REALLY desperate (I’d got desperate quite a few minutes before that), I suddenly recognised my surrounding and noted that, as you do, I was coming back to Jamison Park from exactly the opposite direction from that which should have been occurring. Despite replaying it in my mind, I still have no idea as to how I did that. Todd, to his GREAT credit, was cool and unflustered and laughed at my discomfort as I explained how lost I had become. My 5 minute jaunt around the block had probably taken more like FIFTEEN minutes! He actually seemed genuinely pleased that I had gained some “real world” riding experience on the bike.
Back to the dealer with Todd in control (no chance of getting lost on his patch) and we discussed pricing and my situation. There is no doubt that, at $20k the bike is amazing value and I thanked him profusely for his time and patience.
BUT, I am afraid that the Can Am is NOT the solution to my problem. The exaggerated riding position that forces the rider’s knees wide apart makes any thought of owning one impossible. The strain that it puts on your shoulders when you are turning (and you HAVE to steer it, through even the smallest of corners) became apparent almost immediately and the inaccessibility of the parking brake also precludes it. Leaving aside any financial considerations, I cannot see how one of them could make me happy and comfortable. In fact, the more I rode it, the more I hankered for my beloved VFR where I can just THINK it around corners.
My thanks to Todd and Western Motorcycles. It was an interesting experiment.
sanoptic says
Hi Phil,
At least you tried the Can Am mate ,i think you should get an open top small car like an MG .Penrith has a classic dealer for them.
You could open the top during warm weather & enjoy the wind blast just like on a bike. I can picture you & your mrs cruising along the road without a care in the world. Oh hang on i think i’m reliving a dream i had recently on MY future…hehe!!
I hope you find what your looking for Phil , ever though of a bike with a side car perhaps ,easy to get on & off if you get the right bike.
Oh BTW Western Motorcycles personal are a great bunch just wish they sold Yamaha as i would have bought mine from them in a heart beat.
Seeya
Phil Hall says
Can’t see me doing the sidecar thing, Joe. besides, they’d be even harder to steer than the CanAm I’d reckon. Maybe an MX5 is in the future, thanks, mate. Yeah, I like the guys at WM, they’re tops.
grae says
“(how polite people are to listen to an old buffer prattling on sometimes)”
Oh shut up, you know you’re fascinating. 😛
Phil Hall says
🙂
grae says
Also, why not http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Rex_%28automobile%29 ? :D:D
Phil Hall says
Mmm, that IS interesting, thanks.