Road Test: Can Am Spyder Roadster

Editor’s Note: If you would like to test drive the Spyder yourself, stop by the Steel Dreams open house this Saturday in Burlington.

If you’re ready to go I’ll give you a ride to school,” I say. My son takes a look toward the end of the driveway and sees the bright yellow and black Spyder. His jaw drops and his eyes light up. “That is so cool!” he exclaims. “I’ll get my helmet.”

And so it went for pretty much the entire day that I spent road testing the Can Am Spyder Roadster. At every stop I was bombarded with questions and lot’s of comments. The Spyder has an arresting look; unlike anything else on the road. Riding it you can see and feel the eyes upon you. People point and stare. This is not a machine for those wishing to travel unnoticed.

The opportunity to road test the Spyder came from a local dealer, Steel Dreams in Burlington, WA. Service Manager Ron VanWaveren contacted me and asked if I would like to take the Spyder for a day. We agreed on a date and I arrived at the appointed hour to pick up what I would come to refer to as “The Bumblebee.”

After a brief orientation and a lap of the parking lot, Ron pronounced me good to go and I was off. Checking the time, I saw that I could make it back to my home in time to give my son a ride to school and make his day. After dropping him at school, I headed up Highway 9 to my office in Sedro-Woolley.

The riding position on the Spyder is what I would characterize as “neutral.” Neither a sport bike crouch nor a laid back cruiser posture. It’s a very comfortable position with little weight on the hands and wrists. Although I am 6′ 3″ tall, I have a relatively average inseam of 32 inches. Even so, I found the peg positions a little close for long cruising.

Riding the Spyder at speed is more like riding an ATV or snowmobile than a motorcycle. You don’t countersteer to initiate turns; instead you turn the bars in the direction you want to go. The Spyder does not lean and so the feeling is one of being pushed toward the outside of the corner. Like a snowmobile or ATV, transferring weight to the inside peg helps.

Spirited cornering requires hanging off on the inside. It takes some getting used to and I found myself going a bit wide in my first few turns. However, once mastered, the Spyder corners well and all that shifting of weight from side to side makes for a very active riding experience.

The fuel-injected liquid cooled 998cc DOHC 4-valve Rotax V-Twin engine pulls strong in all gears and the 106 hp launches the 697 pound (dry) Spyder off the the line and up to speed quickly. The 2-into-1 exhaust includes a catalytic convertor and an enormous side-mounted muffler that produces an agressive burble at idle and a delicious growl under hard acceleration. All without being noisy enough to offend the neighbors.

The 5-speed gearbox is closely spaced and you will find yourself in 5th gear around 40 mph under casual riding conditions. Fortunately the Rotax’s mile-wide powerband cuts down on the amount of shifting required around town. An electronic shifting transmission with bar-mounted paddle shifters is available. Final drive is via carbon-reinforced belt.

The integrated three-wheel disc brakes, 4 piston calipers up front and a single piston on the rear, provide excellent stopping power. There is no brake lever on the right handlebar, all of the braking is done with the footpedal. ABS is standard and there is a mechanical, foot-actuated parking brake.

In addition to the aforementioned DPS and ABS, the Spyder comes equipped with an alphabet soup of safety and security systems. These include VSS (Vehicle Stability System), TCS (Traction Control System), SCS (Stability Control System with Roll-Over Mitigation), and DESS (Digitally Encoded Security System.)

A multi-mode LCD display backs up the analog tachometer and speedometer with temp and fuel gauges, clock, gear position indicator, ambient temperature gauge, two trip odometers and, in a nod to it’s snowmobile roots, an hour meter. The digital dash is also switchable between metric and english units.

The Spyder’s under-seat fueal tank holds a prodigious 7.13 gallons; translating into an estimate 200 plus mile range.

Finally, up front, the hood opens to reveal yawning trunk capable of holding your riding gear (including helmet) or a couple bags of groceries. Additional travel bags and a cargo bin liner are options.

At the office, the Spyder gathered a crowd from the moment I parked it. I watched from my office window as a steady stream of folks stopped to walk around the machine, leaning down to see the suspension and shaking their head with a smile. A couple of times I witnessed drivers go past the Spyder only to stop and backup to get a better look.

The weather was too fine to stay at the desk for long, plus I really needed to put some miles on the Spyder to get a real feel for the machine so I bugged out early and headed further North on the curvy Highway 9. I stopped in at the local cruiser haunt, Scooter Stuff, for a coffee and to see what reaction the Spyder might get from the cruiser crowd. A handful of riders were there, enjoying the sunshine and their reactions as the Spyder wheeled up in front of the shop were positive. Even the mechanic came out for a look and pronounced it “pretty wild.”

I continued my journey North around Lake Whatcom and into Bellingham. Wanting to see how the machine handled freeway speeds I hopped on I-5 to go South a couple of exits to pick up Chuckanut Drive.

On the highway the Spyder begs for a 6th gear; turning 5,000 rpm at 70 mph. While the ride is smooth and stable at freeway speeds, the Spyder feels buzzy and there is considerable vibration in the rear view mirrors. The standard shortie windshield is adequate, but if you are going to do a lot of freeway time, take the optional tall windshield.

The double A-arm front suspension, equipped with an anti-roll bar soaks up the bumps. The rear, a long swingarm with monoshock is similarly supple. The 165/65R14 front tires are complemented by the meaty 225/50R15 rear. The latter beautifully featured by a cut-away rear fender.

I made a quick stop at Boomer’s Drive In for a refreshing drink and was greeted by a bouncy young employee who came running out before I even turned off the Spyder’s engine. She made a concerted effort to get a ride, but alas, I had no second helmet. Perhaps next time. Beverage finished, I headed for Chuckanut.

Riding Chuckanut on the Spyder is a unique experience. The unique handling and the weight shifting needed to carve the corners make the ride an absorbing and very active experience. I stopped at a couple of turnouts along the way where, as now expected, the Spyder again gathered crowds.

Chuckanut behind me I saw that my timing was such that I could also pick my son up at school. his classmates all pointed and stared as he strapped on his helmet and climbed aboard the wild-looking machine. I think he scored serious cool kid points. Wanting another freeway run to confirm my impressions, we blasted back North on I-5 to Bob’s Burgers and Brews for a late lunch.

After lunch it was time to return the Spyder to the barn. I dropped off my son and, reluctantly, headed back to Steel Dreams. As I pulled into a parking lot and shut it down I heard someone shouting. “I saw you up on Chuckanut!” A white pickup had pulled into the space beside me. Driving was a fellow named Jeff who had been researching and eagerly awaiting the availability of the Spyder. Jeff is in a wheelchair and unable to ride anymore. He hopes to enjoy motorcycling again and the Spyder is his ideal machine. Pure coincidence had caused our paths to cross twice in the same day. I told Jeff it must be a sign.

My day with the Spyder was an absolute blast. It is a fun machine to ride and the three-wheel configuration brings many benefits in terms of stability. It is definitely a viable alternative to a two-wheeled motorcycle and deserves a look. Priced at $15 - 19k depending on options, it is not unreasonably expensive for such capable and fun transportation.