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in a way that is very different from two wheels . Steering and body positioning do play a massive role , forget what you know about counter steering and turn in , these things are essentially a car controlled by handlebars . The characteristic of the front end is identical to performance based sportscars , double wishbones with coil over shocks , it ’ s a challenging concept that takes a little adjustment of riding styles , it doesn ’ t disappoint when it all clicks . It ' s all held together with a torsional rigid Y frame that incorporates a trellis style rear swingarm allowing for the wide rear tyre .
Everything combined allows for fast corner entry however , a little planning is required , a level of subtlety helps the cause and keeps the bike feeling planted , aggression startles the beast , and it feels as though it could bight back . Road holding overall is exceptional however the three-wheeled configuration does tend to follow the contours of the surface , on more than one occasion we felt that the bike wanted to drag us off the road , and combined with a strong gust of wind we almost did . It comes about from the Can Am ’ s front wheels constantly looking for the easier options , the road ’ s low spots . Controlling a Can Am means constant inputs from the rider , adjusting bar position and looking well ahead , increase the speed and greatly levels of input are required . A riders upper body does all of the work .
Add rain to the occasion and the unthinkable almost occurred . Wind and a large puddle induced a level of sphincter clenching very rarely seen . The wide wheels of the Can Am Spyder F3 caught the water and immediately the bike steered toward those cable barriers hated amongst bike riders . Steering into the turn helped but just as quickly encouraged the machine to side the opposite way . It was but just a moment of panic yet reinforced how quickly things can turn , the positive was the three wheels as the bike stayed upright and the rider relieved , had this been on two wheels we ’ re sure the outcome would be different .
We ’ re also sure that the Cam Am ’ s Vehicle Stability System played a huge part in keeping the bike out of too much danger . The ABS , stability and traction controls all work together to keep the rider safe . Surprisingly the same system works well on poorly graded gravel roads keeping the machine in as straight a line as possible . There ’ s no way to slide these things through a corner , that ’ s left to the Can Am Ryker Rally , perhaps a ride for another time .
The Can Am Spyder is the size of a Sumo and can be as nervous as a Ninja , for a machine of such size and weight the Can Am Spyder is perfectly suited to low-speed riding and for some riders would offer greater confidence than a similar weighted machine of two wheels . And
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