Can-Am Spyder? - Not For Me

We've all seen these machines by now, I've seen them on the streets.

The question I have for you is, "would you buy one?"

These things retail for $17K to $18K.

Bombardier, the company who makes this thing, isn't necessarily trying to win over motorcyclists, as they are folks who would like to ride a motorcycle, but want training wheels. At least that's what the folks said at the demo in Temecula last month. Well, they didn't actually use the words "training wheels".

They don't lean. When you go around the corner, you have to counter-lean to keep your body from getting pulled off of it.

I was spending some time on the Can-Am Spyder website moments ago, checking out all the media. I discovered they have a sub-site specifically for Southern California customers. It seems the folks at Bombardier is focusing their efforts here in my neck of the woods. They have a SoCal Spyder Blog too.

I'm sure it's fun to ride, but are you willing to spend $17-$18K to get one, and will you ride it often enough to justify that purchase?

Since I'm a motorcycle rider, maybe I'm just biased.

20 comments | Post a Comment

---

Thinking About a Sportbike

Just last week, a guy who's been hanging around with our riding club asked if I would still ride with the club if I bought a sportbike.

"Of course I'm going to still ride with the club," I said. "Will you still ride with me?"

He asked that because while we were at a local motorcycle dealer, I could not take my eyes off of a Yamaha FZ6. I told him that I was giving that bike some serious consideration. I don't know if he was joking with his question or not, because he kept a straight face. But I thought it was an interesting question.

Interesting because it shows there's clearly a social divide within the greater motorcycle community between sportbike riders and cruiser riders. They're like rival camps. Throughout cruiser forums and blogs, I've noticed people blaming the younger and more daring sportbike riders for giving all motorcyclists a reputation for being dangerous and stupid. But equally as well, people on sportbike forums and blogs blame the older, more feeble, cruiser riders for not knowing how to handle 800lbs of steel and putting other riders in danger.

In a way, it's almost like Democrats and Republicans; at an early point in your life you pick a direction to go in, and you throw your loyalty to it and blame "the other side" for creating all the problems.

But we're all motorcycle riders, just like we're all Americans, and we all love our freedom to ride, whatever "riding" means to you.

So lately, I've had my eye on the Yamaha FZ6 pictured above. Technically, it's not a sportbike, it's a standard, when you consider the more upright riding position, and a gearing designed more for commuting than for racing. But it has sport styling, so it's often confused for a sportbike. But kid you not, these bikes perform very well in the twisties, much better than my Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic, and better than my Yamaha Road Star. And with 98 peak horsepower, and a light 459 pound aluminum construction, it'll carry me around quite easily.

And then a brand new one is priced at only $7,000. How can I resist?

One of my other buddies is totally in support of me buying this. He's a cruiser rider also, but understands the need to carve canyons evermore efficiently. Just this morning, he called me up about a used FZ6 at North County House of Motorcycles, and offered to meet me there because that dealer lets people test ride used bikes. I am very tempted.

But seriously, I can't throw down money for another bike right now. First, I'd have to sell the Road Star, and I know that bike will only fetch me $3-4K, and I'd still have to dig into my bank account for the rest. I'm carrying a second mortgage that I really need to get rid of, and I've been nagging my wife about toning down her spending.

If anything, maybe towards the end of the year I'll revisit this.

You might be interested in a related FZ6 article I posted yesterday on Biker News Online (link).

4 comments | Post a Comment

---

Thank God for the Road

"Thank God For The Road"

Recorded by "The Flatlanders"

There’s the sky, here’s the earth
This is the road for all it’s worth
It’s a ribbon, it’s a river, it’s a wave
It’s an arrow and it’s a snake
It’s asleep and it’s awake
And it stretches from the cradle to the grave

Thank God for the road
And the hubcaps and the headlights
And the mudflaps and the taillights
And the dim lights and the bright lights

Thank God for the road
And the miles that come between us
The little rains that come to clean us
The guardian angels who have seen us

Thank God for the road
No matter what it takes to drive it
Life and death can seem so private
Still you think you will survive it
Thank God for the road

There’s the sky, here’s the earth
This is the road for all it’s worth
It’s a ribbon, it’s a river, it’s a wave
It’s an arrow and it’s a snake
It’s asleep and it’s awake
And it stretches from the cradle to the grave

Thank God for the road
The soft shoulders you can cry on
The hard nerves you rely on
The fast curves you can die on

Thank God for the road
And the stars that shine above it
No matter what you once thought of it
You always knew you’d come to love it

Thank God for the road
And those old telephone poles
A cup of coffee and a sweet roll
When you’re trying to save your own soul
Thank God for the road

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UOGEO2/ref=dm_sp_adp

No comments | Post a Comment

---