Can am Spyder

[Doghouse58]

I Place 2x6 on ground under edge of ramp , that changes angle just enough that my Road King doesn't bottom out at the top. If you're loading/unloading while slides are in you can always raise the front using just front leveling jack weither you're hitched or not, only have to raise it to about were truck sit without trailer weight.

[xrated]

I Place 2x6 on ground under edge of ramp , that changes angle just enough that my Road King doesn't bottom out at the top. If you're loading/unloading while slides are in you can always raise the front using just front leveling jack weither you're hitched or not, only have to raise it to about were truck sit without trailer weight.

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to start on that project this afternoon, as we are supposed to have a few days without rain here in E. TN. I need to get the Spyder in the T.H. garage, figure out exactly where it needs to be and be able to strap the front wheels down, then hopefully there will be enough room on each side of it for our bicycles. Which leads to the next project....bicycle racks/mounts for the bikes sitting along side the Spyder. Most likely, when the Spyder is in the T.H. garage, the bikes will have to be placed in backwards so the handlebars do no interfere with any of the bodywork of the Spyder. One other thing I will be doing with all of this is to drill and "pin" the HappiJack in the up position. I've read several instances of the sofa part of it dropping during transit. That fiasco would do a lot of damage to the Spyder under it and drilling the chain track/support rails looks to be a fairly easy job with a pin through the tracks on all four frame pieces.

[LV Naturist]

@xrated Audrey and I just bought a Can Am Spyder F3 and will be hauling it in our 381. I'm just wondering if you've loaded yours yet and, if so, how did it go? Did you need to raise the front of your 394 to avoid the break-over angle issue or was the 2X6 sufficient?

On a side note, we really got lucky on our Spyder. We've been keeping an eye out for one so when we go to the touristy areas, we don't have to tour in the big truck. I found this one at our local dealer and couldn't pass it up. The previous owner bought the Spyder new in 2016, accessorized the crap out of it, and parked it in his garage. His wife had a baby and evidently told him he couldn't ride it. He finally put it on consignment at a local dealer for a fraction of what he had in it. It is in showroom condition with literally 376 miles on it!



John

Edited to add: Excuse the hair and beard. With the Covid pandemic, I haven't been able to see my favorite barber. LOL

[xrated]

@xrated Audrey and I just bought a Can Am Spyder F3 and will be hauling it in our 381. I'm just wondering if you've loaded yours yet and, if so, how did it go? Did you need to raise the front of your 394 to avoid the break-over angle issue or was the 2X6 sufficient?

On a side note, we really got lucky on our Spyder. We've been keeping an eye out for one so when we go to the touristy areas, we don't have to tour in the big truck. I found this one at our local dealer and couldn't pass it up. The previous owner bought the Spyder new in 2016, accessorized the crap out of it, and parked it in his garage. His wife had a baby and evidently told him he couldn't ride it. He finally put it on consignment at a local dealer for a fraction of what he had in it. It is in showroom condition with literally 376 miles on it!



John

Edited to add: Excuse the hair and beard. With the Covid pandemic, I haven't been able to see my favorite barber. LOL

Holy Cow.....376 miles on it....that's a nice find for sure. Is this your first one or have you had Spyders before? Mine is the first Spyder I've ever owned and it is really weird at first. I'm going on 50 years of motorcycles and so used to two wheels, leaning into corners, front brake usage, etc. Anyway, I'm getting the hang of it and starting to enjoy the Spyder more and more every ride.

Yep, I got the Spyder in the 394. I'm using some 6" x 6" blocking under the end of the ramp to decrease the incline and keep the Spyder from dragging. I had also bought some low profile car ramps that are about 6 - 61/2" in height, so once the ramp gate is down, I place the car ramps up against that and those are for the front wheels. Then I have a 3' long wooden ramp for the rear tire. I wanted to be able to load or unload with the trailer hooked up to the truck and not have to adjust the front of the trailer up to be able to load. Once inside, I drive it onto some e track and strap the front wheels down, apply the parking brake and I'm ready to go. I had to make my own bicycle racks for my bike and my wife's bike and they fit perfectly along side the Spyder. I also got my HappiJack bed system drilled and pinned so that the bottom part cannot fall while travelling. I used pins just like they have for the upper bed, just had to drill holes to put them in. I should have taken some pics the day I put it in the trailer, but wasn't even thinking about it. Maybe the next time I load it up, I'll try to remember to snap some shots of everything. Congrats on the new Spyder and I hope you are enjoying it....

Oh, and as far as the hair goes, I couldn't get in anywhere to get mine cut either.....so I took my beard trimmer (didn't have any hair clippers) and cut it as close as I could. After that, I shaved my head completely and so now I'm sporting the "bald look"....

[LV Naturist]

Holy Cow.....376 miles on it....that's a nice find for sure. Is this your first one or have you had Spyders before? Mine is the first Spyder I've ever owned and it is really weird at first. I'm going on 50 years of motorcycles and so used to two wheels, leaning into corners, front brake usage, etc. Anyway, I'm getting the hang of it and starting to enjoy the Spyder more and more every ride.

Yep, I got the Spyder in the 394. I'm using some 6" x 6" blocking under the end of the ramp to decrease the incline and keep the Spyder from dragging. I had also bought some low profile car ramps that are about 6 - 61/2" in height, so once the ramp gate is down, I place the car ramps up against that and those are for the front wheels. Then I have a 3' long wooden ramp for the rear tire. I wanted to be able to load or unload with the trailer hooked up to the truck and not have to adjust the front of the trailer up to be able to load. Once inside, I drive it onto some e track and strap the front wheels down, apply the parking brake and I'm ready to go. I had to make my own bicycle racks for my bike and my wife's bike and they fit perfectly along side the Spyder. I also got my HappiJack bed system drilled and pinned so that the bottom part cannot fall while travelling. I used pins just like they have for the upper bed, just had to drill holes to put them in. I should have taken some pics the day I put it in the trailer, but wasn't even thinking about it. Maybe the next time I load it up, I'll try to remember to snap some shots of everything. Congrats on the new Spyder and I hope you are enjoying it....

Oh, and as far as the hair goes, I couldn't get in anywhere to get mine cut either.....so I took my beard trimmer (didn't have any hair clippers) and cut it as close as I could. After that, I shaved my head completely and so now I'm sporting the "bald look"....

This is my first Spyder and you're right, it does take some getting used to. I am getting the hang of it though. I haven't ridden a MC since the late 70's, so it's been over 40 years. It's interesting though that one doesn't forget the riding style even after all that time. I still try to lean into a turn like I did on my MC, but aside from learning to balance myself, I find it's not really that necessary on the Spyder. It's a lot of fun and easy to ride. Mine has the semi-auto 6 speed which is nice. I have ramps for my quad but didn't really want to haul them around, so I may resort to loading the bike while the trailer is unhooked and raised in the front. We're heading up to Utah next week for Memorial Day and I plan to take the Spyder with us. I'll be experimenting this weekend on loading it and see how it goes.

And Nevada loosened the restrictions, so I was able to see a barber, finally. If it was going to be a while longer, I was already contemplating your solution. Looks good on you though.

John

[xrated]

This is my first Spyder and you're right, it does take some getting used to. I am getting the hang of it though. I haven't ridden a MC since the late 70's, so it's been over 40 years. It's interesting though that one doesn't forget the riding style even after all that time. I still try to lean into a turn like I did on my MC, but aside from learning to balance myself, I find it's not really that necessary on the Spyder. It's a lot of fun and easy to ride. Mine has the semi-auto 6 speed which is nice. I have ramps for my quad but didn't really want to haul them around, so I may resort to loading the bike while the trailer is unhooked and raised in the front. We're heading up to Utah next week for Memorial Day and I plan to take the Spyder with us. I'll be experimenting this weekend on loading it and see how it goes.

And Nevada loosened the restrictions, so I was able to see a barber, finally. If it was going to be a while longer, I was already contemplating your solution. Looks good on you though.

John

Thanks John, I'm still a little shocked when I look in the mirror (well, more than usual). I'm 65 years old and have never had hair this short....that I can remember.....but I'm getting slowly accustomed to it. We are in the Knoxville, TN area and are hoping to do an "out west" trip next year.....Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion and few other places, then head up to the Moab area and spend several day taking in the sites, including Arches. I just retired on April 30th, so we should have time to do the planning, just as long as this Virus stuff cooperates between now and next May or Sept.

[LV Naturist]

Thanks John, I'm still a little shocked when I look in the mirror (well, more than usual). I'm 65 years old and have never had hair this short....that I can remember.....but I'm getting slowly accustomed to it. We are in the Knoxville, TN area and are hoping to do an "out west" trip next year.....Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion and few other places, then head up to the Moab area and spend several day taking in the sites, including Arches. I just retired on April 30th, so we should have time to do the planning, just as long as this Virus stuff cooperates between now and next May or Sept.

Let me tell you... I hope your plans come to fruition. Southern Utah is an amazing place! You won't be disappointed. We've seen the Grand Canyon by mule down to Fantom Ranch and back up, by raft from Glenn Canyon to Bar 10 Ranch, and by Jeep to some very secluded overlooks requiring high clearance 4X4 and it still amazes. We haven't been to Moab yet but it is on the bucket list. We've driven through Bryce and Zion but didn't really have time to explore, and Arches is on the list. We still a few years from retiring as we have some financial goals we're on track for but not there yet. Although we are very active and love to travel, we still have that J-O-B thing to consider. We can't wait for the time when every day is Saturday.

John

[xrated]

Let me tell you... I hope your plans come to fruition. Southern Utah is an amazing place! You won't be disappointed. We've seen the Grand Canyon by mule down to Fantom Ranch and back up, by raft from Glenn Canyon to Bar 10 Ranch, and by Jeep to some very secluded overlooks requiring high clearance 4X4 and it still amazes. We haven't been to Moab yet but it is on the bucket list. We've driven through Bryce and Zion but didn't really have time to explore, and Arches is on the list. We still a few years from retiring as we have some financial goals we're on track for but not there yet. Although we are very active and love to travel, we still have that J-O-B thing to consider. We can't wait for the time when every day is Saturday.

John

Hang in there my friend, and when you get ready to retire...you'l be ready for it. I have a 50 year work history. I started at corner grocery in 1970 after my Sophomore year in high school and worked the summer and then after school and on Saturdays. So if you count that first job in 1970 and just retiring a couple of weeks ago, there the half century mark. It was time though and I am enjoying not having to go to work already. Someone once told me though, the only bad thing about retirement........"You never have a scheduled day off". I can live with that!

[LV Naturist]

Just for community knowledge... I loaded the Spyder in the garage yesterday and all went very smooth. I'll preface this by saying when the 5'er is hooked to the truck, it is a little nose high. I left the trailer hooked to the truck and slowly went up the ramp while my wife watched the clearance I had. With the ramp on the ground I had more than sufficient clearance and didn't scrape. WooHoo!



I then experimented with tying it down. I hooked up to a cross bracket on the front lower a-arms and that seemed to work well.





In the rear, I really couldn't find a good hook-up point, so I just went through the rear wheel. I prefer a 3-way tie-down to keep the bike in place in case of an accident. After looking at the way the strap went around the sprocket. I'm rethinking how I want the rear strap.





I think instead of a wide "V" I think I'll run the strap between the tire and the sprocket and come straight back to a single tie-down point. This should still give me a "pull" between the front and rear without potentially damaging the sprocket.

John

[RTJERRY]

Just for community knowledge... I loaded the Spyder in the garage yesterday and all went very smooth. I'll preface this by saying when the 5'er is hooked to the truck, it is a little nose high. I left the trailer hooked to the truck and slowly went up the ramp while my wife watched the clearance I had. With the ramp on the ground I had more than sufficient clearance and didn't scrape. WooHoo!



I then experimented with tying it down. I hooked up to a cross bracket on the front lower a-arms and that seemed to work well.





In the rear, I really couldn't find a good hook-up point, so I just went through the rear wheel. I prefer a 3-way tie-down to keep the bike in place in case of an accident. After looking at the way the strap went around the sprocket. I'm rethinking how I want the rear strap.





I think instead of a wide "V" I think I'll run the strap between the tire and the sprocket and come straight back to a single tie-down point. This should still give me a "pull" between the front and rear without potentially damaging the sprocket.

John

Thanks for the pics John. Do NOT TIE DOWN THROUGH THE SPROCKET. YOUR IDEA FOR ROUTING THROUGH THE REAR WHEEL TO A SINGLE TIE DOWN IS THE WAY TO GO!