Trike vs. Spyder

[rhino 2]

The only time i was embarrassed Was when i parked next to a few Spyder owners that i knew from when i had a Spyder. , And i had to push the Tri-Glide out of a parking space , And they offerd to help me... That was before i put in the Mechanical reverse...

[mirider]

IMO like arguing Ford vs Chevy, they both get you down the road. Just a matter of personal taste and who cares if one's faster than the other ??? I like the sound, look, and ride of my TG so that's what I own.

[Capt.Bob]

Title says it all

In the past few days, I had an opportunity to take the same 120 mile route out in the countryside of North Florida/South Georgia on my 2017 Tri Glide first and today on my 2015 Can-Am Spyder F3S. For my physiology, the Tri Glide rider position is a bit more comfortable. The rumble of the Harley is unmistakable and fun. However, the Rotax 1330 in my F3S Spyder is somewhat vibey with a lot of grunt coming out of those 115 ponies. The steering is much heavier on the Tri Glide but then again, the steering is almost too light on the Spyder. The Spyder suffers from bump steer over uneven pavement sections where the Harley with the front wheel does not.

The engines on the two machines are so different. The Harley motor is old school even though it is a new M8 compared to the Rotax 1330. I frankly think I have a bit more confidence in the Rotax than I do in the Harley lump at this point. Time will tell if that is an issue that might try and bite me?

The above poster suggested that this is a Chevy vs. Ford debate. I would respectfully have to disagree. The two machines are conceptually so different and still trikes that it is amazing to me. Of course everyone has their preferences. I prefer to ride both

[rhino 2]

I had a Spyder And now i have a Tri-Glide....Their both trikes and thats where the similarities end...Thats like me trying to compare my [EX] VTX 1800 to my [EX] Suzuki Sv650....Both are bikes but for two different missions..

[trikermutha]

Title says it all

In the past few days, I had an opportunity to take the same 120 mile route out in the countryside of North Florida/South Georgia on my 2017 Tri Glide first and today on my 2015 Can-Am Spyder F3S. For my physiology, the Tri Glide rider position is a bit more comfortable. The rumble of the Harley is unmistakable and fun. However, the Rotax 1330 in my F3S Spyder is somewhat vibey with a lot of grunt coming out of those 115 ponies. The steering is much heavier on the Tri Glide but then again, the steering is almost too light on the Spyder. The Spyder suffers from bump steer over uneven pavement sections where the Harley with the front wheel does not.

The engines on the two machines are so different. The Harley motor is old school even though it is a new M8 compared to the Rotax 1330. I frankly think I have a bit more confidence in the Rotax than I do in the Harley lump at this point. Time will tell if that is an issue that might try and bite me?

The above poster suggested that this is a Chevy vs. Ford debate. I would respectfully have to disagree. The two machines are conceptually so different and still trikes that it is amazing to me. Of course everyone has their preferences. I prefer to ride both

Have you had the chance to test ride the RT before you went with the F3? Just wondering your opinion if you did?

I have had the Tri and Now the Spyder RT and know the difference between the two.

The F3 is lighter and driver is seated different than the RT.

[Capt.Bob]

Have you had the chance to test ride the RT before you went with the F3? Just wondering your opinion if you did?

I have had the Tri and Now the Spyder RT and know the difference between the two.

The F3 is lighter and driver is seated different than the RT.

I did sit on some RT's and the riding position was more comfortable like my Tri Glide. However, I wanted a lighter and sportier trike to compliment the TGU. I added floorboards and upgraded the seats on the F3. I have only invested a total of about $15k in the F3S with all of the farkles and as you know, that is about $10K less than the RT's.

I will be doing my annual oil change tomorrow on the F3S Spyder as it is within two weeks of being due. I have been looking at the YouTube videos and had ordered a OEM factory synthetic oil change kit along with some Gold Plugs to get rid of the Torx bolts. I even bought a 35mm spanner to open up the oil filter canister. I only had an opportunity to put 3k miles on that trike this year because of all the other vehicles I was messing with. I suspect I will at least double that mileage this coming year. It is a fun challenge to balance my time between my two trikes and my street legal sports/race car. The RT's are definitely the Barco Loungers of the Can-Am series but are also pretty spirited in their own right. I just didn't need two trikes with luggage capabilities.

[trikermutha]

I did sit on some RT's and the riding position was more comfortable like my Tri Glide. However, I wanted a lighter and sportier trike to compliment the TGU. I added floorboards and upgraded the seats on the F3. I have only invested a total of about $15k in the F3S with all of the farkles and as you know, that is about $10K less than the RT's.

I will be doing my annual oil change tomorrow on the F3S Spyder as it is within two weeks of being due. I have been looking at the YouTube videos and had ordered a OEM factory synthetic oil change kit along with some Gold Plugs to get rid of the Torx bolts. I even bought a 35mm spanner to open up the oil filter canister. I only had an opportunity to put 3k miles on that trike this year because of all the other vehicles I was messing with. I suspect I will at least double that mileage this coming year. It is a fun challenge to balance my time between my two trikes and my street legal sports/race car. The RT's are definitely the Barco Loungers of the Can-Am series but are also pretty spirited in their own right. I just didn't need two trikes with luggage capabilities.

I been running amsoil in the 1330 now. Find that it quiets the engine down some. 35MM spanner. I thought it was a socket head type canister.

You will need a 6MM allen head and 45 MM torx to remove the drain plugs

[Capt.Bob]

I been running amsoil in the 1330 now. Find that it quiets the engine down some. 35MM spanner. I thought it was a socket head type canister.

You will need a 6MM allen head and 45 MM torx to remove the drain plugs

I have been messing around with too many mechanical things in the past couple of days. The open end/closed end ratcheting wrench I called a spanner because I have been messing around too much with my Lotus 7 replica. The Brits call wrenches spanners and I was at a loss for the proper word. Thanks for the heads up on the allen head and torx tools. I preliminarily tried a 40mm Torx in the transmission plug and it seemed to fit properly? Not sure if it is an equivalent to the 6mm allen? I am not that great a mechanic but I try hard and take 3-4x as long as a pro to do the same job.

[trikermutha]

I have been messing around with too many mechanical things in the past couple of days. The open end/closed end ratcheting wrench I called a spanner because I have been messing around too much with my Lotus 7 replica. The Brits call wrenches spanners and I was at a loss for the proper word. Thanks for the heads up on the allen head and torx tools. I preliminarily tried a 40mm Torx in the transmission plug and it seemed to fit properly? Not sure if it is an equivalent to the 6mm allen? I am not that great a mechanic but I try hard and take 3-4x as long as a pro to do the same job.

Be carefull not to round out the stock plugs. They will be tight to get off if its the first time. That don't sound right. Try 6mm on trans and oil is T45 torx

Better take this to Spyder area before we get a spanking

[DJFaninTN]

get a laser alignment and add in a Baja Ron Sway bar on that F3. I've also gotten rid of the cheap Kendra tires and gone with a real car tire on front and rear. you'll be amazed how much of a difference the tires will make.

[Capt.Bob]

get a laser alignment and add in a Baja Ron Sway bar on that F3. I've also gotten rid of the cheap Kendra tires and gone with a real car tire on front and rear. you'll be amazed how much of a difference the tires will make.

DJ, The Baja Ron Sway Bar was one of the very earliest mods as I felt that there was too much body lean even with the Fox shocks up front. I also added the Can-Am 2-Up rear shock to increase the stiffness of the rear of the trike. Finally, I went to Doc's Spyder Alignment in Folkston, GA and got the three wheel alignment (True Laser Track system where both front wheels were toed in 1/2" relative to the rear wheel). Doc used to align the three-axis gyros spinning at something like 3,000 revolutions per second (can't remember actual number) on atomic-powered submarines so I think he got the hang of the True Laser Track alignment system fairly quickly I even helped him with the laser placements because I use laser alignment all of the time for my large Newtonian telescopes in the collimation process for the mirrors.

My Kendra tires (all three) only have 3k miles on them as they were put on by the selling dealer at time of the used sale with 6K on the clock and so I have been pleased with their overall performance. Being that I am not riding a sport bike anymore like my last one which was a Yamaha R1, the Kendras are really adequate for 99% of my shenanigans on the trike. I ride it smoothly through the twisties and have yet to activate the Nanny (electronic stability control). Over on the Spyder Lovers Forum, I have seen a lot of words on tires but don't seem to be able to drill down on people being able to say how much better non-OEM tires really perform overall. I have heard a lot of whining about the stock tires and the rear's limited longevity but I have not heard definitive information that suggests non-OEM from a performance standpoint are particularly superior other than in terms of longevity?

To keep this thread relevant to the Harley trikes, on my 2016, at just about 15k miles, I changed up the front tire with the one Kevin from DK Customs was raving about where you run a rear tire in reverse and found that it did not negatively affect the handling of my 2016 TGU and may possibly have been just a tad more responsive than the OEM. Supposedly, the tire (Michelin Pilot Activ rear 130/90-17) would give the rider 25-30k miles of service which in some cases was 2-3x better than the OEM Harley front tire. Lest folks think I was riding my sport bikes like mopeds, I would routinely roast a $200 sticky rear tire in about 3-3.5k miles with no burnouts.