Compare spyder with Honda goldwing trike

[Theyida]

My wife and I both ride Honda goldwing Trikes. I have considered getting a new one and I would like for someone who has experience with both to give me an actual comparison between the two. I have never ridden one. The dealership in Greenville Texas won't let you test drive until all the paperwork is done. I don't want to do that until I pretty well know I am going to buy.

[newday777]

There are lots of videos on it.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=goldwing+ ... ORM=CHROMN

The canam handling is totally different. Go to a rally to get a test drive before you spend the money.

[Viking]

Watched a couple of those videos and the riders were not very objective. One did not even know what he supposedly paid for his Can Am F3. As was stated, if you want to back up in a hurry, the Can Am has it every day. For everything else it appears the Goldwing outshines the Can Am.

[alwrmcusn]

JMO: I was looking to replace my 2009 RSV Hannigan trike and was interested in the Can Am Spyder. I went to my local dealer for a test ride.
I had test ridden one about three years prior when I instead elected to have the Venture "triked". I found the steering to be quite "twitchy" and was told it was a matter of getting used to the feeling of the Spyder's steering.
Three years later when I was looking to trade the Venture trike I again did a test ride on a new Can Am Spyder. Again I found the steering very twitchy to the point that I really wanted to simply stop and walk back to the dealership. The saleslady told me that the Spyder had not been "setup properly" and that...
1. It would feel better after being setup correctly. (kinda scary that they would put the machine out to demo ride if they knew it was not setup properly)
2. It would take a few days to get used to the steering. I agree with that because it also took about 300 plus miles to get used to the trikes steering after some 50 odd years of two wheel riding.
I still really like the look and feel of the Spyder but I did opt for my 2008 GL1800 Motor Trike instead. Very happy with it.

[2003Cobra]

There was a post not long ago on one of the forums I visit that talked about this topic. I was surprised at how many folks had both a Goldwing trike and a Spider. The general conses was they liked the Goldwing over the Spider. That being said I have a friend who went from a BMW to a Spider and she likes the spider. I would look for a dealer who will let you take one for a test ride and see what you think.

Note: From what I understand, if you are one who likes to do your own maintenance then you may be disappointed with the spider because even though you can do some of it your self you still have to take it back to the dealer for computer/electronic maintenance.

[GoldWingrGreg]

My wife and I both ride Honda goldwing Trikes. I have considered getting a new one and I would like for someone who has experience with both to give me an actual comparison between the two. I have never ridden one. The dealership in Greenville Texas won't let you test drive until all the paperwork is done. I don't want to do that until I pretty well know I am going to buy.

In my GWRRA chapter, 5 female co-riders, are no longer co-riders, and now have their own Spyders. Their is a 6th woman that went from a GL1800 trike to a Spyder. All rally like their Spyders. The husbands will say that when they ride them, that the Spyder is made more for a woman rider ... hand-grips close together, and not made for large hands and stuff like that. But, they all admire the Spyder, because from the ground up it was intended to be a trike instead of taking a m/c and kitting it into a trike.

[WingAdmin]

One of the main differences between the two is that the Spyder has traction control and lateral stability. It won't let you get the rear end loose, no matter how much you push it (barring badly impaired road surfaces like ice or oil - can't do much about that). For instance, if you are in a corner and want to accelerate hard out of it in a way that would cause the thing to skid, it will override your throttle control and modulate it to prevent loss of traction.

The Wing, not being designed as a trike originally, has none of that.

[xatczma]

I have a 2010 Gold Wing with the Hanigan conversion. My wife and I test drove the Spyder Touring model 3 years ago during one of the open rides promotions. Did not like the ride as not even close to the smoothness of my Wing. Other points were less room as my wife was perched right up against my back (I an 6'1" and she is 5'11") and had to keep her head more upright to avoid banging into my helmet. The passenger foot pegs are very high and got uncomfortable for her in a short time. Engine was very buzzy and had lots of vibration. It felt like a snowmobile engine (it is). Also was not crazy over the thumb shifter. I am sure if I rode one for a few months I would get used to the shifting and engine vibrations but my wife would not ride with me because of the other issues.