The Pavement Adventurer's Dream: 2018 F3 Spyder Limited Review

It happened at night, I was on the Lakeshore under the Gardiner in Toronto, I stopped at a light and a couple excitedly hopped off the curb and ran up to me, I was in gear so I got ready to hit the throttle, then the woman said “What is that?!, it reminds of Batman, you’re Batman!” It’s been at least four years since I'd last ridden a Spyder so when EatSleepRIDE gave me the opportunity to review the 2018 Spyder F3 Limited, I jumped at the chance.

The Spyder is a three wheeled motorcycle, I think. In some pat of the US its classified as an autocycle and you don’t need a motorcycle licence to operate one. It’s been called a tricycle, a three-wheeler a batcycle, autocycle, and motorcycle, but where I went this three-wheeler I got dramatic reactions, stares and lots of questions.

Design

The Can Am Spyder is a bike at the back and a car at the front. It’s firmly planted in the automotive and motorcycle world. The F3 models live up to this the most. The front has a huge grille and two headlights in an angled housing that glares at you when you question if it’s a bike or a car.

All the tires are fat automotive style tires with the rear tire being 15 inches thick. The rest of the machine is a like a motorcycle, with the engine under the rider, a swingarm and pillion seat.

Power

Like their Sea-Doos and Ski-Doos Can Am used the trusted Rotax ACE (Advanced Combustion Efficiency) engine in the Spyder and keeping with threes the three cylinder Rotax 1330 cc engine pumps out 115 hp.

The big triple gives the F3 the unique triple-styled deep grunt that I love. It sounds beefy. Too bad you can’t really sit there at a red light and rev it because the transmission is a 6 gear semi-automatic. This means you have to switch gears using paddle styled thumb shifters and the Spyder will downshift for you. For red light revs I had to shift into neutral hold the brake so I didn’t roll and then rev it like a grinning idiot. I did do just that with a huge grin whenever the Toronto crowds were thick enough. Even thought I was able to roll the Spyder with my feet, it has a reverse gear. It’s a wide beast so the reverse made parallel parking a breeze. Reverse will really shine when you’re parked on an incline with your front facing downhill and the person in front of you is really close.

Is it Fast?

Yes, sorta. The Rotax ACE is super responsive and mid-range around 4000 rpms is where it feels the fastest. It’s driven by a carbon fibre belt and has a huge rear sprocket so it’s torquey and it comes off the line with enough to make everyone who’s already starring at you notice. At the high end of the power band it leaves something to be desired. When you’ve ridden machines that feel like you’re taking off from the line when you’re already doing the ton(ne) the Spyder just can’t compete. That being said, I don’t wish it had more power or was faster. It feels plenty fast and riding a Spyder feels different so I couldn’t see myself comfortably cruising at 160kph on this anyway. If you’re a driver and this your entrance into the motorcycling world you’re going to be happy.

Riding it? Driving it?

Riding/Driving a Spyder feels like riding a giant snowmobile that’s also an ATV and a motorcycle. It’s different. You sit like you’re on a cruiser, feet forward arms out and for the millionth time, you push to steer. There is no counter steering. What everyone, rider or not, really cares about how it feels in the turns. In the turn, the centripetal forces push you to the outside and the Spyder feels like it’s trying to throw you off of it like a bucking bull changing direction. With no counter steer, you’ve got to steer around corners and you take the g-forces in your arms. On a motorcycle you tend to take these forces in your hips and you lean in. I found myself thinking about the front tires and wondering if I’d be back to a two-wheeler in certain corners. Eventually after the fear subsides you’ll start leaning in and push down on the outside floorboard and realize you’ve got a lot further to go.

While you’re doing all of this, you’ll realize you’re having fun. It’s a lot of fun to ride even without the lean for the corners because the lateral forces you get from cornering are a whole different experience. I like coming into a turn slowly then rolling on the throttle through apex to exit. It feels like you’re shooting out of the corner and things can start feeling a bit slippery. I think I need to get on the F3-S and pop it into sport mode (BRP feel free to lend one if you have any lying around).

It can’t fall over, but is it safe?

There is the Vehicle Stability System, that employs technology straight from our four wheeled rides. The traction control system keeps you from doing burn outs and slides by adjusting ignition timing, fuel injection and torque. It’s basically the same thing as engine mapping that is programmable on certain motorcycles. The always on, Stability Control System keeps all three tires on the pavement and will automatically apply the brakes individually or slow the engine automatically. There is also Dynamic Power Steering that helps you in the turns or backs off during parking lot maneuvers.

When it’s time to stop you’re going to grab the air, because none of the Spyders have a brake lever. The trike has a single brake pedal on the right that controls Brembos up front and a single floating caliber on the rear tire. The brakes are really good, ABS is also standard and the brake pedal is stiff, but responsive to high pressure for that unexpected stop. There is also a parking brake that you can really feel clamp down when it engages. No one is going to roll this into the back of any truck.

What do you do with it?

I rode this Spyder exclusively for the 4 days that I had it. For about 12 hours when I had it, it rained. Then dropped down to 5 degrees. Then it was sunny. I rode for an hour in the rain, the stability was awesome, I wicked the droplets from my visor with a head flick and kept on moving. When it was cold, the heated grips that are standard with the F3 Limited were a God send. My toes and core felt really protected from the wind during that time which was a nice change. When it got hot, I took off my rain suit stashed it in the integrated side luggage. I zipped around Toronto with no fear of street car tracks but dodging potholes is done best by positioning them right in line with your shoulder. As cool as I felt, I did not like losing my lane splitting, and filtering just felt too dangerous – wait! I never do either of those maneuvers.

Carrying a passenger was no problem, the ride was so plush, then I realized it was probably rear shocks automatically adjusting the ride to accommodate for the extra weight (I should state that my passenger did not by any means have “extra” weight) – phew!

The Spyder makes you want to adventure. The F3 Limited has 138 L of storage space and can get 400 km on a single tank. The 6-speaker sound system was loud and automatically adjusted for my speed, the LCD panel connected to my phone and the multi-selector made it easy to shuffle through The Eagles, Fat Joe, Pharrell and Dua Lipa.

BRP Connect Technology lets the Spyder connect with smartphone apps that will integrate, GPS, weather, music and the ability to connect with other riders and share routes. Integration is ongoing but if there is an app that you like that lets you connect with other riders, find and share routes and monitor your ride to make it as safe as possible it could very well be integrated into your Spyder F3 soon (I’m talking about EatSleepRIDE).

Should you buy it?

It depends. If you are a motorcycle purist then probably not, but you should try it. If you want a fun really safe way to experience the road and travel with a friend then yes. The Spyder F3 Limited as I reviewed it comes in at $32,799. You can check out the full specs at brp.ca/spyder. At that price point it might be your upgrade or your second or third motorcycle. Many have wondered who buys the Spyder but BRP has reported that they have sold over 100,00 units since the Spyder first appeared in 2007. Other manufacturers have noticed and now there more and more three wheeled options in the autocycle market.

Okay, so I want one. Though I could never have a Spyder as my only bike/trike. The Spyder is a totally different experience from riding and that’s not a bad thing, but it’s not enough for me. At least not right now. To be fair, I stepped outside of myself and thought, who is the Spyder for? Borrowing from Peter Jones, the Can-AM Spyder is best critiqued when you consider that you’re not adding a wheel, you’re subtracting one.