2012 Can-Am Spyders
2012 Can-Am Spyders
ROUNDUP
Stability's not a bad thing, but only in moderation
FOR 2012 AND THE FIFTH year of Spyder production, Can-Am serves up an even sportier RS model with an extra “S”: The RS-S gets gas-charged Fox shocks up front, six-spoke front wheels, three cool two-tone metallic paint options and a few more cosmetic upgrades. Your normal Spyder RS starts at $16,499 for a five-speed manual in black or white. And your new RS-S will run the sticker right up to $18,099 if you spring for the paddle-shift semi-auto fivespeed transmission. The fivespeed manual is available on both the RS and RS-S, and both gearboxes also contain reverse.
Compared to our longterm Spyder RT-S touring rig (p. 86), both RS models are considerably sportier, mostly due to the fact that, at 699 pounds, they’re some 230 pounds lighter: no more saddlebags or trunk out back, no more electric windshield, no more cruise control, no more sound system, no heated grips... What you do get is a more committed riding position, stiffer suspension, more wind in your hair and a more dynamic overall riding experience.
What the RS and RS-S do share with the RT (apart from the basic platform and 998cc Rotax V-Twin rated at 106 hp at 8500 rpm) is the same Vehicle Stability System, which is kind of a bummer because even though they’re lighter, stiffer, wider and therefore able to corner a bit harder than the tourers, the RS models suffer under the same overprotective TC yoke used on the RT. Both RSs can be ridden into corners sphincter-clampingly fast. Once you’re at or past the apex of the corner, mostly pointed down the next straight and dying to wring the silk out of the Spyder, twisting the throttle gets you a big buhbuh-buh, nothing...until the rear wheel isn’t sliding at all. Disappointing. During development, we’re told, when you could turn TC on and off, it was called “the nun switch.” It needs to be defrocked.
Then again, we’re not all maniacs, and Can-Am’s research tells it there are plenty of people out there who want the wind-in-the-face experience but not necessarily the gravel-in-the-butt one now that they’re predominantly 45to 55-year-old males, 27 percent of whom have never owned a motorcycle— and another 25 percent are women. A bunch more have physical problems that keep them off a motorcycle. In any of those cases, the Spyder performs on a level your typical “trike” can’t hope to match and definitely has potential to rock our Golden Years (which suddenly seem not so far away).
In the meantime, the RS is the best advertisement for the Spyder RT: If the nun’s going to rap your knuckles every time you try to ride like Gary Nixon anyway, why not attempt to act like an adult, sit back and enjoy a little luxury? All that’s missing are the cup holders.
For 2012, RTs range in price from the $21,699 base all the way up to the $28,899 Spyder RT Limited, complete with electricadjust rear suspension, Garmin 660 GPS and all the rest of it.
John Burns
