Happy to Own a M8 Tri Glide and a Cam-Am F3S Spyder

[Capt.Bob]

The past couple of days in North Florida we have experienced warmer afternoons that have been really terrific for riding. The day before yesterday, I rode down to the coast on my M8 Harley Tri Glide Ultra and just enjoyed the heck out of it. A number of people were oogling the trike and commented on the color and the bling. The Love Jugs really add some chrome bling to the "boring" side of the M8 engine and it comforts me that the engine is experiencing improved cooling.

OTOH, I took out the 2015 Can-Am Spyder F3S yesterday that I had installed floorboards on rather than the foot pegs that have you in the semi-birth stirrup position and road inland along beautiful small rolling hills of North Florida/South Georgia country roads with some decent twists in the road.

As I was riding yesterday, while enjoying the scenery, I also reflected on the very different ride qualities of the two trikes. In the past, when I would look at a Spyder, I would think to myself that that is the ugliest looking arachnoid I have ever laid eyes on. However, having owned one for the past 1.3 years, I find myself very much satisfied with its performance and very different way that it makes power and handles the twisties. It was surprisingly comforting to have the two wheels out in front of me as I rode yesterday with each wheel having superb suspension compared to my 2017 TGU.

The only suspension mod I have made to the Harley was to get Kevin's Custom Comfort Lift Kit which I dearly love in terms of how it functions and improves the stance and the stock shock performance. Granted, as I have read the threads on the shock upgrades that DK offers, I know that for about a grand, I could improve my Harley's ride performance but I generally ride my trikes solo so the benefits would be less than if I were riding two-up. However, I kind of wonder if that is what I really want to do?

I enjoy the significant differences between the two trikes and think that I will keep the Harley as my cruising "Barco Lounger" and have the Can-Am for my sport trike. Not sure that I need to blend their performance closer to each other? The Harley even with stock pipes has a fairly loud sound with attendant vibration and the Can-Am is quieter, smoother and gruntier and revs much faster and higher with its three cylinder 1330cc Rotax engine.

I guess it is great fun being lucky enough to own two fun and very different machines. I continue to marvel at how different they are but still keep me in the wind on three wheels. BTW, 4 months after my complete left hip replacement, both trikes are soooooo much more comfortable to ride with no more chronic hip pain. Yes, I could now more easily go back to a two-wheeled machine but as I was riding yesterday, I thought to myself, who cares? I think I like the relaxed ride that my trikes provide more than missing leaning into curves and having to read the tarmac more carefully and remembering to put my foot down at stops

 

[Texan]

When I first realized I might have something going haywire with my balance I started thinking about 3 wheelers I started doing some research. Realized quickly that buying a TriGlide was cheaper in the long run than converting my '10 Ultra. I happen to be in Sturgis that same year that CanAm brought 2-3 truck loads of their new 2 wheeler for demo rides. They were sit up over by the auditorium, which was close to where we were camping, so I walked over and tried out this strange machine.

Right up front I didn't really care for the way you sat on it and not in like a Harley. Another thing out on the road it did what we called "hunting" in the railroad industry. In that it would search the road for a good place to run like a box car hunts the rail for a running spot. Felt I was fighting it the whole time. Now, remembering these were some of the first to be sold here and I'm sure they've changed a little.

A few years later on I visited with one of their engineers about the problems they experienced putting 6th gear in their transmissions without MAJOR reconfiguration of their whole motor and drive train.. Guess it wasn't pretty. Basically said they just cut down 5th gear and shoved 6th in the same case.

Glad you like riding you CanAM I didn't enjoy the experience at all.

8~\o

 

[Capt.Bob]

Texan, Like any new machine that we ride, there are idiosyncrasies that we need to adapt to. The Can-Am definitely will be more sensitive than my TGU to tilting camber roads and tend to want to fall off in the direction of the slope. However, once you get used to that which I would say takes about 500 miles, it is not even something I think about. The other thing that a lot of people experience when they first ride a Spyder is that the power assist steering generally leads to all kinds of excessive little steering inputs that makes the trike feel unsteady as hell. Once you get a lighter touch on the handlebars, this phenomenon goes away almost completely.

I am glad that you are very comfortable with your Harley trike and that is what it is all about. OTOH, I am damn glad that I can afford two trikes because I find that I am getting twice the pleasure out of riding trikes. Generally I find that one size does not fit all and have worked extensively on the Can-Am to get the level of comfort I experience on my Tri Glide. Once I achieved this, the Can-Am became just as much fun as the Tri Glide but only different.

I suspect that it has been somewhat of an uphill battle for Can-Am in having new Spyder riders being able to overcome those first impressions. I only took one 30 minute demo ride on a slightly earlier model and decided to jump in with both feet. As I mentioned, the first about 500 miles was a pretty steep and relatively unpleasant learning curve and I was questioning my buying decision throughout that entire period. Once I got used to the trike and especially after my recent hip replacement, both trikes are as friendly to me as old pairs of shoes.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Very good review Bob

I like the rolling hills down by Ocalla and the canopy road thru Penny Farms

Folks like to call us flatlanders BUT we do have some very nice roads for riding

and u have 2 fine machines for that riding See you on the road some where here in FLA

 

[Pegasus1300]

When I first realized I might have something going haywire with my balance I started thinking about 3 wheelers I started doing some research. Realized quickly that buying a TriGlide was cheaper in the long run than converting my '10 Ultra. I happen to be in Sturgis that same year that CanAm brought 2-3 truck loads of their new 2 wheeler for demo rides. They were sit up over by the auditorium, which was close to where we were camping, so I walked over and tried out this strange machine.

A few years later on I visited with one of their engineers about the problems they experienced putting 6th gear in their transmissions without MAJOR reconfiguration of their whole motor and drive train.. Guess it wasn't pretty. Basically said they just cut down 5th gear and shoved 6th in the same case.

Glad you like riding you CanAM I didn't enjoy the experience at all.

8~\o

HMMMM not sure which companies engineer you were talking to but when Can Am went to a 6 speed transmission they also went to a new engine ( 3 cyl 1330 vs Vtwin 998)and drive train using an engine that was always designed as a 6 speed.

The "hunting" that you experienced is common with riders coming over from years on 2 wheels and takes some adapting to get used to. Hope you get a chance to ride one again.

 

[hogcowboy]

Texan, Like any new machine that we ride, there are idiosyncrasies that we need to adapt to. The Can-Am definitely will be more sensitive than my TGU to tilting camber roads and tend to want to fall off in the direction of the slope. However, once you get used to that which I would say takes about 500 miles, it is not even something I think about. The other thing that a lot of people experience when they first ride a Spyder is that the power assist steering generally leads to all kinds of excessive little steering inputs that makes the trike feel unsteady as hell. Once you get a lighter touch on the handlebars, this phenomenon goes away almost completely.

I am glad that you are very comfortable with your Harley trike and that is what it is all about. OTOH, I am damn glad that I can afford two trikes because I find that I am getting twice the pleasure out of riding trikes. Generally I find that one size does not fit all and have worked extensively on the Can-Am to get the level of comfort I experience on my Tri Glide. Once I achieved this, the Can-Am became just as much fun as the Tri Glide but only different.

I suspect that it has been somewhat of an uphill battle for Can-Am in having new Spyder riders being able to overcome those first impressions. I only took one 30 minute demo ride on a slightly earlier model and decided to jump in with both feet. As I mentioned, the first about 500 miles was a pretty steep and relatively unpleasant learning curve and I was questioning my buying decision throughout that entire period. Once I got used to the trike and especially after my recent hip replacement, both trikes are as friendly to me as old pairs of shoes.

Learning to ride these beasts with Spidey hands is key to liking them. Some come to it quickly and others never do. They fight it. Spidey hands just mean a very light grip on the handlebars. When I have to ride my wife's Spider I have to remember to get the loose grip and not fight it. But at least I know what to do so it's not too bad for me. If they didn't have the power steering assist I'm betting riding a Spyder would be very tiring so I'm glad they have it. Although it is just one more thing that can and does cause problems. In general though, you either like a Spyder or you don't. There aren't too many in the neutral group which I'd say I'm in. I am getting close to having to make a decision as to converting what I have or just say screw it and get another Spyder. It will be the cost factor more than like or dislike that drives my choice though. The F3 is tempting me I must admit.

 

[Capt.Bob]

Learning to ride these beasts with Spidey hands is key to liking them. Some come to it quickly and others never do. They fight it. Spidey hands just mean a very light grip on the handlebars. When I have to ride my wife's Spider I have to remember to get the loose grip and not fight it. But at least I know what to do so it's not too bad for me. If they didn't have the power steering assist I'm betting riding a Spyder would be very tiring so I'm glad they have it. Although it is just one more thing that can and does cause problems. In general though, you either like a Spyder or you don't. There aren't too many in the neutral group which I'd say I'm in. I am getting close to having to make a decision as to converting what I have or just say screw it and get another Spyder. It will be the cost factor more than like or dislike that drives my choice though. The F3 is tempting me I must admit.

I love the "Spidey hands" moniker! You are sooooo correct. What I did pretty early on after realizing I was fighting myself with the twitchiness of the steering on the F3S was to increase the diameter of the stock grips with some Spyderpops foam grips that slip over the existing stock grips and allow me to keep a very light touch on the handlebars thereby reducing and/or almost eliminating that Spidey hands phenomena. Can you imagine that when I first picked up the used F3 in the middle of Orlando, Florida that I was on the freeway within 3 miles never having ridden an F3 Spyder. There was heavy traffic and I had about 3 short miles to acclimate to the new trike. Talk about almost filling my britches with all of the tension behind the first 50 miles on the freeway. Oh, and I didn't have a windshield so "cruising" down the freeway at 75 mph following my wife in our car with that twitchy steering and feet in the semi-birth stirrup position was a real pucker :AGGHH:

I have subsequently added floorboards, an F4 windshield with Baker Air Wings and an upgraded seat with a backrest, anti-sway Ronbar and two-up rear shock to make the ryde comfortable for my tastes. I didn't realize at the time how completely alien the F3S Spyder was compared to my Tri Glide Ultra having just sat on them in a Can-Am dealer's showroom. I had only test ridden a somewhat ragged out RS-S model with the 998 Rotax and thought it was pretty trick but was looking to get into the improved 1330 3-cylinder Rotax as opposed to the 2-cylinder 998 that had some passenger heat issues that were addressed in the new trikes.

I know that the Spyders are kind of geeky looking but to my eye, to a certain extent, so is my Tri Glide Ultra when I ride behind my friend that has one. They are both kind of weird but very fun in their different ways.

 

[hogcowboy]

I have subsequently added floorboards, an F4 windshield with Baker Air Wings and an upgraded seat with a backrest, anti-sway Ronbar and two-up rear shock to make the ryde comfortable for my tastes. I didn't realize at the time how completely alien the F3S Spyder was compared to my Tri Glide Ultra having just sat on them in a Can-Am dealer's showroom. I had only test ridden a somewhat ragged out RS-S model with the 998 Rotax and thought it was pretty trick but was looking to get into the improved 1330 3-cylinder Rotax as opposed to the 2-cylinder 998 that had some passenger heat issues that were addressed in the new trikes.

Well you got all the things that help. I think of all, the Ronbar is the best for helping make these things ride like they are on rails.

 

[Capt.Bob]

Lately, it seems like my rides are fairly easy 100 mile jaunts. Today, I was out on some twistier roads with the M8 Tri Glide Ultra and found that it was no more difficult to take tight sweepers as fast as I do on the Spyder and felt just as comfortable. I use the slight lean off technique and the trike feels extremely planted. Doing autocross, I am used to looking fairly far into the curve so that I am not looking where I am actually riding and this makes the curves seem much more benign.

I did notice that for about the first 60 miles, I found the Tri Glide to be loud and viby. The last 40 miles, I absolutely loved the drone of that big V-Twin engine and the sound was more music to my ears. Very strange because the first 60 miles, I was beginning to wonder why I owned such an expensive loud and viby trike? BTW, the mufflers are stock and I find them a bit louder than the stock mufflers on my 2016 103 TGU.

I can tell you that transitioning back and forth between a Harley and a Can-Am is really a trip and a half! I know someone a while back remarked that they had a TGU at their summer home and a Can-Am at their winter home. It is a really schizophrenic set of contrasts but fun as hell!

 

[hogcowboy]

Lately, it seems like my rides are fairly easy 100 mile jaunts. Today, I was out on some twistier roads with the M8 Tri Glide Ultra and found that it was no more difficult to take tight sweepers as fast as I do on the Spyder and felt just as comfortable. I use the slight lean off technique and the trike feels extremely planted. Doing autocross, I am used to looking fairly far into the curve so that I am not looking where I am actually riding and this makes the curves seem much more benign.

I did notice that for about the first 60 miles, I found the Tri Glide to be loud and viby. The last 40 miles, I absolutely loved the drone of that big V-Twin engine and the sound was more music to my ears. Very strange because the first 60 miles, I was beginning to wonder why I owned such an expensive loud and viby trike? BTW, the mufflers are stock and I find them a bit louder than the stock mufflers on my 2016 103 TGU.

I can tell you that transitioning back and forth between a Harley and a Can-Am is really a trip and a half! I know someone a while back remarked that they had a TGU at their summer home and a Can-Am at their winter home. It is a really schizophrenic set of contrasts but fun as hell!

Yup...that transition is nearly as bad as going from a bike to a trike like I do. Those first few miles can and well be killers. Not something you want to do after having several hard drinks.:Coffee::Coffee::Coffee:

 

[Thomas L]

re-

I am just the opposite. For our long hauls, especially - non freeway roads, it will always be the CanAm (Spyder RT.) For quick strips, especially on good highways, It will be the Tri-Glide. The rides are just two different. The Spyder, too much comfort. The Tri-glide, just plain more fun. But you do pay the price, on bad bumpy surfaces.