It really depends on what kind of riding that you're going to want to do, and whether or not you will carry a passenger. The Spyder by far is a better long distance machine and much better for carrying a passenger comfortably. The Spyder also has power steering and the Rally doesnt. The standard Rally 900 would need upgraded suspension to carry a passenger, and the additional passenger seat and backrest would need to be added. The Rally Edition already comes with the upgraded suspension as well as a few other things. I've ridden both Spyders and the Ryker before buying and chose the Ryker Rally. The Spyder was nice and if I had planned to ride two up, I probably would have gone that route, they are great machines. But, I went with the Ryker over the F3 for several reasons.
Price, I've had bikes that easily cost twice as much as my Ryker Rally Edition, and what they are currently selling the Rykers for are a bargain, so I can still afford to have some two wheelers in the stable. The Rykers are really best for local around town, or short one day trip types of riding. I've upgraded my Ryker to be able to do both local and long distance trips equally as well.
Also I'm a solo rider and never ride with a passenger. I do a lot of long distance rides by myself, its just my me time and the performance of the Ryker just ticks the box. Performance, I've mostly owned sportier bikes or sport touring bikes because thats what has always appealed to me. I've also owned Harleys and two Goldwings, but just about everything else was sports or sport touring bikes. The Ryker is shaft drive compared to the belt drive on the Spyders, and after owning several shaft drive bikes, I really prefer the shaft drive system over belts or chain for the obvious reasons.
Performance again, the Ryker is smaller, lighter, sportier, more agile and maneuvers on a dime, and as already mentioned, its fast. You sit in the Ryker compared to sitting on the Spyder. This helps with that becoming one with the machine feel. Because I usually do a couple of long distance trips every year from central Florida to Tennessee & NC for a weeks worth of riding those beautiful twisty Smoky Mountain roads, I've spent considerable time setting the Ryker up for so that its capable for long distance trips.
I've added luggage, cruise control, upgraded to the Comfort Seat and a backrest, Auxiliary driving lights, upgraded horn, LED brake light strobe, additional USB power ports, Garmin Dash Cam Mini, Garmin Zumo GPS (already owned), upgraded sway bar & end links (the factory ones are not good), insulated drink holder and a few other items. So I probably added another couple thousand dollars getting it set up for solo touring and still I'm $9,000 under the RT SE and $3000 under the basic F3 SE with no luggage.
I now call it the
Ryker Rally Sport Touring Edition. Those are the reasons I personally went with the Rally.Since I've only ridden a couple of Spyders and never owned one, I'm not sure what if any upgrades will be necessary on the Spyders, I'm sure someone will chime in about that. A buddy of mine owns a 18 Spyder and has done some upgrades but I dont know what all other than the seat. I do know that he loves it and wouldnt think of parting with it. A few pics of the Ryker Rally Sport Touring Edition.