Meltdown, Tandoori and Breakfast

This Sunday was the first long ride on the Spyder with both of us on the bike. It went well. That is until the bike lost all power, dash turned orange and displayed the message limp home mode. I pulled over and shut it off for 20 seconds. Restart and all was fine. Throwing caution to the wind we continued to Ft. Collins. Got the anniversary pearl necklace and three jars of Tandoori mix. The return trip was uneventful and my back was in good shape. Then on Sunday we decided to press our luck even further and rode to Estes Park with the neighbors for brunch buffet. I've been looking for a good buffet for a couple years. Again things went well until the trip back. A single idiot light indicated it was unhappy but all the gauges show everything is within tolerance. Now I am trying to figure out how to get the bike to Denver to have someone look at it. But first I need to stop for gas. When I pull in under the awning I can now see the idiot light is indicating low fuel. What do you know? I burned up an entire tank in a single weekend. It has been so long since I have gone that far that I just didn't expect it. My back has survived the weekend. Any short comings the Spyder has are forgiven.

I have discovered that the passenger has as much effect on the Spyder as on a two wheeled motorcycle. I would get my weight positioned for a corner then Marilyn thought she would help and shift her weight. This unsettled things and I had to readjust. Seeing me struggle she would lean even farther which in turn would make things even worse. I explained the situation at the next stop. Once she stopped trying to help me and just sat still I was able to corner much better. It still feels weird that the bike does not lean into a corner but I suspect that once I get used to it I should be able to corner quite quickly.

Spyder Pics

Aquisition

Sometime in April 2010 I went to Denver to look at the Spyder RT (touring version). They had no demo bike but I was able to ride an RS (sport version). It seemed to be OK on my back and I hoped that the RT would be better with its more upright seating position. The next weekend I returned ready to buy only to find out that they were sold out. But for $1000USD I could put my name on a waiting list. Irritated at the cost I did and so began the wait. I periodically called for status but never got anything encouraging. After two months they told me that they expected the bike for list position #1. I, being #2, would be next in line. What's more, the owner of the shop was going to meet with the Can-Am CEO in Las Vegas. After the meeting they were still unable to provide any answers. But they did suggest that it might help to contact other dealers around the country. I assumed this was what they had been doing. On the afternoon of Friday 6/18/10 I called the Can-Am dealer in Durango, CO. Turns out they had exactly the bike I was looking for.

New plan for the weekend. We drove 125 miles to Fairplay that Friday night and got the ATV trailer from the cabin. Saturday we drove 250 miles to Durango. They had us in and out in an hour. So it was 250 miles back to Fairplay where we spent the night. Sunday, the remaining 125 miles back to Longmont. Almost 48 hours and 750 miles later I had a Can-Am Spyder RTS. At one point I went to get something from the truck and Newt looked at me as if to say, "I'll bite you if you make me get back in that truck".

About 9:30pm I couldn't stand it so I went for a ride. It was only about 10 miles but it did my soul good to be riding again. I had very little back pain, which was very encouraging. This crazy experiment just might work.

I'll post pictures soon.

My Background

Riding Experience
I got my first motorcycle in 1984 and have been riding ever since. It was a Honda XR350. While it was made street legal, a lot of my riding was done off-road. I lost my job in 1985 and spent the next year riding the trails of Rampart Range south of Denver. Since then I have had several bikes. Eventually I got into street riding which led to an interest in touring. Unfortunately in 2003 I hurt my back and am unable to ride comfortably for any appreciable distance. Thus my latest acquisition, a Can-Am Spyder RT-S.

Bike List
1984 Honda XR350
1985 Honda 700 Intercepter
1998 Suzuki 750 Katana
1995 BMW R1100GS
2002 Cannondale 440E
2002 BMW R1150GS*
2005 Suzuki DRZ400*
2010 Can-Am Spyder RT-S*
*current bikes

Why a Blog?
It all seems a bit like exhibitionism but I want to play with blogs to understand their finer points. The Spyder is a departure, a starting point going in a new direction. So this seems like something to blog about. I do not claim to be articulate, or even interesting. This is mostly for me. If you get some entertainment from this, all the better. Also I tend to be a bit sarcastic so you shouldn’t take any of this very seriously.