Congratulations to all you Spyder Ryders who have hit the 25,000 mile/KM mark and beyond! Three owners have sent in their photos and mileage numbers for the month of October and have achieved their 25,000 Mile Pins — who will be next to join this group?

Check out these dedicated Ryders and their Spyders below! Keep on Ryding!

Donald Corey



Nichele Weatherford



Robert Anderson

On the morning of October 24 I left the house at 5 a.m. to start a San Luis Obispo ride, the first overnight ride for the West Coast Spyder Ryding Group. My first stop was 40 minutes to North County House of Motorcycle to meet with Spyder owner, Art and his wife to be, and to top off the gas tank for the two hour ride up Interstate 5. We would officially start the ride at Jet World in Castaic and meet up with the rest of the riders.

We left Jet World at around 10:15 a.m. and proceeded up Interstate 5 and then west on a two lane road that took us to New Cuyama. This turned out to be a very good road with all types of riding, for the group it was great.



When we reached New Cuyama we stopped to pick up another rider named Diggitt and had lunch at the only place to eat within 50 miles called the “Burger Barn.” The cook was outside on a huge BBQ pit cooking away and the meat smelled great. I was getting ready to order some nice diet food when TJ announced that he would pay for the lunch of anyone that could finish the “Big Buddha Burger.” Now I like a challenge and a free meal so I ordered one. Tony and I counted the patties and there were 6 burgers! Tony also ordered one and the eat fest was on. We both finished the Buddha and then split the left over fries from someone and washed it all down with a couple of cokes. TJ paid up and gave me cash for my free meal that I paid for before eating.

From there we traveled west on highway 166 where we arrived at the town of Santa Maria. From this point Kathy was the only one that had the motel in her GPS so she took the lead and only made one bad turn in the wrong direction. She just couldn’t take directions from that woman in the GPS – who was right all along!

We arrived at the motel and everyone got settled in and we were off to downtown San Luis Obispo where there isn’t free parking until after 6 p.m. We finally found a public parking lot with enough spots for the 8 Spyders and 10 riders that made the trip. I returned the bet money and told Tony that I would take credit for future help.

We finally located a bar and grill called “Mothers” and went inside to eat again. It had only been a few since the Big Buddha Burger and here we were eating again. We spent about three hours there before I headed out for ice cream just down the street. We decided to head back to the motel and I held an open room until about 11 p.m. and then shut it down because we planned to leave at 6 a.m. the next morning for breakfast in Morro Bay.

By now you must think that all we did was ride and eat – and you’re right we did!
We were up bright and early Sunday morning. I could not resist showing off the RT’s heated hand grips that were on the highest level. There was some jealously but it was short lived. Off we went in the darkness of the morning where we arrived at the rock in Morro Bay and TJ found a place called “Frankie and Lola’s Front Street Café.” I thought that this little hole in the wall would have only expensive food (see the video) but to my surprise this was a fine gourmet eatery. The food was awesome and we highly recommend this place to anyone in the Morro Bay area.

As the sunrise continued we could see that it was going to be a beautiful day. We headed out to the rock for about one hour and then headed north to Hearst Castle and only went through the information center.

We decided to head south and stop at a gas station just short of the Madonna Inn. We had a couple of minor repairs that needed to be done so I tried out the passenger seat and almost fell asleep except it was too hot for that. Off to the Madonna Inn for lunch which turned out to be sundae’s, banana splits etc. Yes we were eating again!

We rode south on the 101 freeway and we split into two groups as half of the group was headed inland the other half continued south. It was the end of a memorable weekend. I think we are all looking forward to the next trip.

I traveled 847 miles that weekend. I am closing in on 11,000 miles and loving every minute of it with the West Coast Spyder Group.

You can catch more RT adventures on westcoastspyder.com

Remember– it’s about the ryde - not your destination

Hello Spyder enthusiasts and owners! It's been a busy week and a half for the Can-Am Spyder RT and me. After going down to Los Angeles to tape the "Cyberguy" segment for Tribune TV, another video crew came out to the house to tape a webcast for BRP. We did several interviews and two sets of riding videos, around our neighborhood and out on some country roads. I've been promised a copy from the BRP folks – I can’t wait to share it with you guys.

Last week, we got up early and rode the Spyder roadster down to El Cajon, to join a group of Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA)  Chapters on the Halloween Poker Run up to Santa Ysabel, in the mountains near Julian; it was a great event!

The next day, Cherrie and I hit the road at 5:00 a.m. so we could ride to the 38th Annual Griffith Park Sidecar Rally in Los Angeles. As usual, there was a great crowd and hundreds of really, really interesting machines. I think you'll like the video.



We rode down with our old friends Walt Fulton and Nancy Foote, owners of the Streetmasters Motorcycle Workshop (www.streetmasters.info). Some of you old-timers might remember Walt as one of the riders featured in the iconic motorcycle movie "On Any Sunday," as well as a four-time Daytona winner. While there, we also ran into old friend Perry King, a movie and TV actor who is also a total motorcycle nut.  I won't say Perry is a "movie star," but he was in such famous movies as "The Lords Of Flatbush," "Slaughterhouse Five," and "The Choirboys," as well as dozens of TV shows, such as "Will & Grace," "The Outer Limits," and "Cold Case."

Perry will also be the MC at this year's AMA Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on December 5, when I will be honored to present David Hough as the latest inductee into the Hall Of Fame. And by the way – David and I will be riding to Vegas for the ceremonies aboard two Spyder RT units!

Last Friday night, Cherrie and I realized that we actually had no commitments for the Halloween weekend. This was a free weekend (which never happens) for us but since we’re not used to staying home, we decided to take advantage of the time to ride around to some of our favorite old haunts, and show off the new RT to a bunch of Southern California motorcyclists.

We hit the road again around 5:00 a.m. (we get to bed early – don’t worry) on Saturday morning, stopping off to have breakfast with GWRRA Chapter K in Van Nuys, before riding up the world-famous Mulholland Drive in Hollywood, to the Rock Store. We would have liked to gone here on Sunday, but the truth is, you can’t find a place to park your bike within a mile of the Rock Store on any given Sunday, so we opted for a Saturday.

After showing the bike to about 100 riders, and handing out dozens of brochures, we rode on down to the Pacific Coast Highway, through Malibu, and down to Venice Beach. If you’ve never seen Venice Beach, try to imagine the world’s largest congregation of surfers, aging hippies and wannabe TV and movie stars. It’s no wonder that Jay Leno brings his camera crew down here any time he wants to show just how weird things can get in Southern California.

On Sunday morning, we were off again by 6:00 a.m. (yea, we slept in), riding down to Orange County to the GWRRA Chapter R annual bake sale, then on down to Laguna Beach, and up the Ortega Highway to the famous Lookout Roadhouse. We got home just in time to see the full moon coming up over the Pines to Palms Highway, which is right in our back yard.



All in all, I believe we rode about 650 miles this past weekend, and met up with over 500 motorcyclists along the way. It was a great way to spend a November weekend…

My RT mileage review for the Gatlinburg round trip was based on 15 total fill ups. I removed the two lowest and the one highest (downhill mileage) to average 12 fill ups. I also did not always follow the recommended 91 octane per the owner’s manual.

The 12 fill ups that were used on the trip to the Spyders in the Smokies event was done using 86 octane and 89 octane. Starting with 86 octane on the West Coast and changed to 89 octane as the gas got cheaper approximately halfway. I was riding solo with approximately 320 pounds of added weight to the bike which includes rider and luggage and the stuff needed to tour the required distance. My speed was held at no more than 74 mph regardless of the max speed limit that was posted, and trying to keep freeway speeds from 68 mph to 74 mph. The windshield was used as weather required and when not needed the shield was down to its lowest position for that open road feeling. As I reached Gatlinburg, TN. and rode in the mountains, on flat surfaces and in the rain, I experienced all conditions that affect total overall gas mileage. I had a fair portion of the fill ups that were used that did land in between 30 mpg to 31 mpg with a few lows of 26 mpg to 28 mpg. (Final average results below)

On my way back to California I held the same riding conditions with the exception that I only used the recommended 91 octane for all fill ups. This did not result in better performance with regards to quick response to the throttle and when the passing power was needed.

TOTAL MPG:

Going east from San Diego,CA to Gatlinburg, TN. the total average was 28.735 mpg

Going west from Gatlinburg, TN. to San Diego, CA. the total average was 30.0251 mpg

Additionally, I recently ran a few local tests (freeway riding) when I went to meet up with the Try Spyder demo team in Covina, CA at Bert’s Mega Mall, Malcolm Smith’s Motorsports and Huntington Beach State Park. I also held a maximum 72 mph and ran with the windshield up at its full height to push the air around me and not make me part of the drag of the bike. While the windshield being at full height may not sound very important, it turned out to be the way to get the best mpg possible.

First test: At 131 miles I filled up 4.01 gallons for 32.66 mpg going to Bert’s Mega Mall, while returning home I repeated the same conditions and at fill up at 134 miles with a fill up of 4.13 gals for 32.44 mpg for a single tank fill up.

Now just to make sure this was not a fluke I ran the exact same bike conditions to Malcolm Smith Motorsports in Riverside, CA and the Huntington State Beach Park in Huntington, CA for a 3 dealer demo event.

Second Test: At 111 miles with a fill up of 3.6 gals for 30.83 mpg going to Malcolm Smith’s, while returning home I repeated the same conditions and was at 114 miles with a fill up of 3.76 gals for 30.31 mpg for a single tank fill up.

Third Test: At 101 miles with a fill up of 3.31 gals for 30.51 mpg going to Huntington State Beach Park, while returning home I repeated the same conditions and at fill up it was 104 miles with a fill up of 3.31 gals for 31.2 mpg for a single tank fill up.

Fourth Test: I just completed an overnight fun run with the West Coast Spyder riders and I completed one fill up at 140 miles with 4.28 gals for 32.71.

So here is what I believe that you will get for gas mileage with a maximum speed of 74 mph.

Full height shield going through non mountains areas using 91 octane as recommended would be 30 mpg – 33mpg.

Partial use of full height shield going through non mountains areas using 91 octane as recommended would be 30 mpg – 31mpg.

Low height shield going through non mountains areas using 91 octane as recommended would be 28 mpg – 30 mpg.

You can catch more RT adventures on westcoastspyder.com

Remember– it’s about the ryde - not your destination

On Thursday, I rode the Can- Am Spyder RT to Hollywood, CA to be filmed for its national TV debut!  Within the next month, the RT will be part of the "CyberGuy" segments with Kurt Knutsson segments that air on TV news programs in most of the major markets in the U.S.

What we were shooting is what is commonly called "b-roll" material, meaning they will shoot the part with the star later, in a studio, then splice in pieces of what we shot, making it appear as if he were interviewing us and inspecting the bike himself, when in fact, he wasn't even in the same state at the time. The filming of the segment was considerably less glamorous than it sounds - believe me J

The whole thing only took about 45 minutes, and was done entirely in the parking lot of KTLA’s studio. Several segments had to be re-shot when they were ruined by a loud truck going by, or a helicopter passing over.  Kevin McPherson, the BRP District Sales Manager for the Can-Am Division was also on site and spoke about the RT for the segment.

On the way home I got caught in one of our famous L.A. "gridlock" traffic jams. The first 40 miles of the 90-mile ride took nearly four hours.

I shot a little video of my own while there, though naturally, I wasn't able to shoot any of the interview. It's just a few minutes showing the cameraman getting detail shots, and the producer asking a couple of questions. There is very little video, and no audio but still I thought a few of you might like to see how it's done. Check it out!

This weekend started out on Thursday and was like any other travel day, I headed up to Malcolm Smith’s Motorsports for a planned oil change from the service department and then to meet up with the Try Spyder Demo Team. While I waited for my RT to be serviced I met with Malcolm. What a good person he is, I was honored to meet a legend in the power sport industry.

I also talked to a couple that had traveled 1 ½ hrs to see the RT. They have been following the blogs that were posted on Spyderryder.com and wanted their picture taken on the roadster. We talked for about 2 hours and I believe they are making the change to the RT.

On Friday and Saturday I headed to the Huntington Beach State Park where the demo team and Kevin McPherson, the Southern California BRP regional rep worked the demo rides. Friday was a bit slow but the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people that stopped by but they were wearing shorts and did not meet the dress requirements that allowed them to ride.

Saturday was overcast but Fred Rau and his wife Cherrie showed up with their RT and trailer. We spent time comparing notes about the RT and the different things that had happened with the bikes during our rides. It was interesting that we had different and not the same minor issues with
our RT's.

.

On Sunday I was off to meet up with the West Coast Spyder Ryders at North County House of Motorcycles where I had invited Fred and Cherrie to join us for a charity ride. There were 17 Spyders from the West Coast Spyder membership that raised over $1,500 for the police escorted “Ride for Kids” in San Diego. Be sure to check out the 3 videos that I posted on YouTube of the event.

You can catch more RT adventures on westcoastspyder.com

Remember– it’s about the ryde - not your destination

Now that we've been back in Southern California for a week, and gotten caught up on our bills, e-mails, gardening, laundry and such – at least partially – we are starting to run the new Spyder RT around to some of our favorite places, seeing old friends and making some new ones.

For starters, I took the RT over to our buddies at Chaparral Motorsports in San Bernardino to give them a chance to see it and show it off. I owe these guys, because they let me use their extensive inventory of parts and accessories for photos in my new book, "The Motorcycle Touring Bible," which will be coming out this Christmas from Motorbooks International.

Then I went to a breakfast meeting with GWRRA Chapter Q, visited JBJ Cycles in Santa Ana for one of their famous Maintenance Seminars, and the next day popped over to Temecula Motorsports for an oil change. To my surprise, the Spyder Demo Team was at Temecula, so I hung out with them for a few hours, during which time I found out they were doing demo rides the next weekend at Huntington Beach Pier.

So, Cherrie and I took off at 5:30 Saturday morning to visit another GWRRA Chapter - CA1N in Oceanside - after which we rode down to Huntington Beach to hang out with the demo team again. There, we met up with a group from West Coast Spyders, who invited us to join them for the Ride for Kids on Sunday. So Sunday morning it was up at the crack of dawn again, to meet the Spyders in Vista at North County House of Motorcycles, then ride with them down to Cardiff by the Sea for the Ride for Kid event.

It's been a pretty busy week, as you can see, but the best is yet to come. Tomorrow I take the bike to Hollywood, for its national TV debut. We will be taping with "Kurt the Cyber-Guy" at KTLA studios, for a segment to be aired later on this month – stay tuned to when and where. Then another film crew is coming to our house on Friday, to tape a special webcast for the BRP dealer network.

On December 3, David L. Hough, of "Proficient Motorcycling" fame, will be flying into LAX, and we’ll be riding together on Spyder roadsters to Las Vegas to attend the American Motorcyclist Association Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremonies at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Dec. 5.

But we're not just attending - I will be going on stage to make the presentation, and David will be receiving his official induction into the National Motorcycling Hall of Fame. How cool is that?

I'm sure there will be more, but for now, here's a video of the past week...

I think that while I have been writing about the adventures of riding the new Can-Am Spyder RT-S and the events surrounding it, it is time to start really talking about the function of each component of the RT since I have over 140 hrs of riding time and 9,000 miles logged in less than 35 days.

When a rider has used a roadster this much the novelty wears off. That new roadster smell is gone and while the RT is still fun to ride you have learned what the hype is and what really works and what flaws need to be looked at and redesigned before production models are sent to the its new owners. I give BRP lots of credit for putting the new RT in the hands of the average rider and telling each to ride and inform them of issues prior to final production.

While I have been slow in getting started with a review of the RT, I felt it was important that I rode it for a good period of time and used every function that was available to me and without the excitement of having one of only five bikes that are on the road.

First, let’s talk about the electric windshield; it has an adjustment of 3.5 inches with a large surface area for protection. Anyone that stands up to 6’ 2” will find a sweet spot where the noise and head buffering is non-existent. At low speeds I keep the shield down to catch the cool breeze and that open air feeling. As protection was needed from rain, wind and insects I would set it to the tallest setting and look through the shield, while I normally always look over a shield. During the 25 – 30 hours of riding in the rain I found the shield at full height sent the rain over my head and gave me the best protection possible. Cleaning the windshield is easily done with the exception of the area that is in front of the support bracket in the middle of the shield. The electric wind shield for my 6’ 1” height gets an A rating for adjustability, function and appearance.

Next let’s talk about the sitting position. While it is set in a touring position, it is not a complete touring position for me at my height of 6’1” and 30” inseam. My legs are at less than a 90 degree angle instead of 90 degree or greater. Over a long ride that lasts for days you may find the need to stretch out your legs with nowhere to rest them. There is no more room to move the foot position forward. So while the RT is more comfortable than the RS for touring I would be looking for a set of aftermarket freeway pegs to stretch and relax my legs. If you don’t ride as many miles as I do in one day, you may not have the need to stretch your legs and will be just fine. Also, keep in mind that my thoughts are based on my body size and height. Your findings will vary based on your unique size and riding style.

The seat is comfortable and with the adjustable rear air suspension on the RT-S you can (and I have) rode for well over a thousand miles in a 24-hour day without all the discomfort that normally comes with a factory seat. I do wish that a heated seat was at least an option and the seat cover had at least a leather cover option for durability purposes.

These are just small issues and are my personal likes and dislikes and should be viewed that way.

Have a look at my critique and walk around of the RT – specifically the windshield, seat and seating position.




You can catch more RT adventures on westcoastspyder.com

Remember– it’s about the ryde - not your destination