Can-Am Spyder F3-T Test

Menus

• The Touring sporty version … or the other way around…
• Discovery
• In the saddle
• In the city
• Highway
• Departmental
• Comfort / duo
• Braking
• Convenient
• Consumption
• Revisions
• The opinion of Sandrine, the driver of 1.60m
• Conclusion

The Touring sporty version … or the other way around…

After the RT and especially the Spyder F3-S, Can-Am returns with a new three-wheel model placed between the two previous models with the Spyder F3-T and its Limited version. Based on the very sporty F3-S model, the T brings a touch of Touring, without taking on the overweight of the RT. We therefore keep a sporty look but with more storage and also more comfort. The best compromise for a fan of three wheels? And only difference? Test between Alicante and Valencia … because the F3-T is much more than that.

Discovery

The Can-Am Spyder F3-T will not disappoint the connoisseur of the F3-S model. We find the same general line and this aggressive look which is reminiscent of certain snowmobiles up front. And in fact, we remove the skis to replace them with two wheels and the track by a huge central wheel (225 wide tire!) And we are very close to the Spyder … A lineage all the more logical as BRP is the leader world of snowmobiles with the Skidoo brand. This leadership continues on the water, also being the world leader in jetski with the Seedoo brand. As for the three-wheeler, they are also the leader, but without competition, because BRP quite simply invented the segment, which knows no competition. Some might think of the trike … But there are as many differences between a motorcycle and a trike as between a trike and a Can-Am. The only common point is the number of wheels, but the handling and the sensations have nothing to do with it..

With this new vintage, Can-Am also brings an essential element with a more successful on-board computer and especially music with a musical environment made up of 4 front speakers delivering 80 watts. Everything is easily connected via USB to an iPod, iPhone or mobile phone to deliver all the necessary power and liven up the road in rhythm. Point of detail, the radio antenna placed on the left suitcase is made more discreet with a shortened height.

Under the trellis frame, we find the famous Rotax 1330 cm3 in-line three-cylinder engine delivering 115 horsepower (at 7250 rpm) and 130 Nm of maximum torque at 5,000 rpm, for a red zone … Non-existent but capable of climbing to 10,000 rpm. We find all the safety electronics then with SCS (stability control system), DPS (dynamic power steering), ABS and TCS (traction control system) Bosch without forgetting the Brembo brakes.

The overall finish is excellent, down to the smallest detail … Including in accessories such as shuriken-shaped wheel rims, saddle stitching or even the inside of the trunk or suitcases. The Spyder is not made for the economy and we understand the 24,799 euros – all the same – that you have to take out to access your universe.

In the saddle

The saddle is wide. We span widely, climbing or not on the step. Do not try to put your foot on the ground, only the tips of the feet succeed for the driver of 1.70m, despite a seat height of only 675mm, the height of a custom. Either way, you’re on three wheels and up high. The legs and knees are fully supported on the side fairing and deviate significantly in width to reach the toe clips or the step depending on the model or accessories. As a biker, we prefer the toe clip version which offers more support. Motorists will probably prefer the more usual step version.

We then really dominate the road … The mirrors, larger and more integrated into the fairing than on the previous vintage, placed low and on the sides are ideal. You can’t see yourself in it (not even your elbows) and on the other hand the rear vision is just excellent on all occasions. They are more easily adjusted with a slight pressure on the mirror, provided they are stationary, because they are placed far enough away to make handling difficult while driving..

The feet extend noticeably forward, approaching a custom position, even if the bust remains straight. The arms then move apart significantly and the hands naturally rest on the handlebars. The position remains natural and comfortable while offering a real lever arm on the handlebars to put all your force on it..

Regarding the feet, Can-Am offers the UFit system, which in fact resides in five different levels of adjustment at the level of the feet (plus handlebar adjustments), in particular to take into account the length of the legs. All this makes it possible to have a vehicle that is as suitable as possible to the morphology of each person. In the end, this allows accessibility to both the 1.90m rider and the 1.50m rider..

Foot on the brake, mode button pressed, ignition … The central screen lights up and can be controlled from the left stalk. On the left, there is an enormous meter graduated up to 200 km / h (which it is capable of reaching) and on the right an equally enormous rev counter graduated up to 10,000 rpm. It’s sporty and rewarding. But it is the new central screen which gives all the information: clock, gear engaged, engine temperature, radio and sound control, totalizer and partial double trip, fuel gauge, driving time on the last trip, average speed … against no instantaneous consumption.

In the city

Parking brake disengaged from the switch, gears are shifted to the left-hand paddle. The gearbox is indeed semi-automatic. Support to increase gears. The speeds go down automatically … Unless you lower them manually with the index finger (on the other side of the handle). The whole offers the best possible compromise … Enough to forget the box and for as much all the freedom to roll on the report which one wishes, either higher or lower than the initial decision of the box. So if you drive in town at 50km / h, you can just as easily drive on 3rd by default or go up in 5th or even 6th, at 57km / h, at just 1850 rpm. And at this speed, the couple is nevertheless present to tow with vigor, whether solo or duo.

You then enjoy the pleasure of driving and the ease of handling to wind up quietly or on the contrary make a standing start while toasting everyone, with a lot of screeching tires. Want to test 0 to 100 km / h in 4 "8? It is possible! When you are told that there is torque! And when a few meters further, you have to take the brakes, the foot can crush the pedal (to the right) and it stops vigorously … by engaging the ABS. And if a little room is needed to make a U-turn, it is always possible to reverse.

Because the driving pleasure lies above all in the engine, round, powerful, torquey, pleasant in all gears, further enhanced by the sound of the exhaust, including the original and sublimated in its Akrapovic version..

Now, we quickly realize that the front axle is wide with its almost 1.5 m … So forget the possibility of squeezing between cars! Although when it is wide, motorists hesitating and not seeing a car there try to shift to let pass. And it can go through but at the cost of risk taking. So forget the city … The Spyder needs space.

Highway

The Spyder engages on the motorway at 90 km / h in the last gear at only 3,000 rpm! It then takes 1,000 rpm every 30 km / h, still being only 5,000 rpm at 150 km / h. We can then open wide and it goes into the towers without asking for the rest to go tickle the 7,000 rpm. There is then hardly any need to hold the handlebars because the stability is so strong, even at full six and even in big curves. So that at 190km / h, there are still some.

The head is well protected from the wind in its standard version. The optional low screen, more sporty, is aesthetic but, on the contrary, makes you feel the pressure of the wind on the bust. On the other hand, with the high bubble, we hardly feel the air pass over the helmet with a total absence of pressure..
Whether solo or duo, the comfort is excellent and the handling just as much. There is no need to make any effort to stay the course even to easily overtake all trucks and other vehicles without ever feeling the effect of the volume of air exceeded. And this remains true, even at maximum speed.

And this is undoubtedly the moment when you will choose to engage the electronic speed regulator (with a flick of the right thumb thanks to a bolt well positioned and easy to handle).

Departmental

The Spyder arrives angry on the small roads … Or calm. Because the model offers several faces according to the will of its pilot. As we have said, the Spyder is easily tamed and you feel good on board from the first few meters, with an easy grip even for the novice. A Spyder is easy to drive.

But get down a gear, attack and it engages nervously on the small roads. We forget about the gearbox while the engine is downshifting before vigorously accelerating out of a corner and deciding whether or not to go up a gear, to go up or not in the towers. The pace then accelerates and begins to test the qualities of the pilot … and we no longer talk about driving but rather piloting. Because if the first models released in 2008 easily clamped down on the pilot with fast-cutting electronics, those years are over. And the 2016 Spyder agrees to go gliding when re-accelerating out of bends, especially in the wet … Sensations guaranteed … Bikers were frustrated a few years ago by this sometimes intrusive electronics. Those days are over. The electronics now only intervene when the real risk appears. And again … Because when the sun gives way to the rain and the road becomes slippery … The pilot must restrain his desire to accelerate too violently on pain of getting partially in the way. Yes, the 2016 Spyder asks the rider to be more delicate in the rain and wind up rather than wanting to continue to see a nervous rhythm, alternating too quickly between acceleration and braking. That said, comparatively, the electronics intervene when the re-acceleration is precisely too sudden and cuts. While maintaining the acceleration in a regular way, it is then that the engine does not cut and that we can modulate the glide..

We can then taste the second face of the Spyder, which accepts just as much to wind on the torque and the last report at barely 2,000 rpm to appreciate the landscape or on the contrary attack, depending on the mood of its driver or of his pilot.

Because when the pace really picks up, the Spyder becomes more physical. Because if it can be handled very easily at normal / legal speed with the associated driving … its physical aspect increases exponentially with the increase in speed and not linearly. The rider will appreciate fighting a little to force him to enter a curve and to turn sharply without being carried away by the centrifugal force which has the more and more furious urge to catapult him outside the turn. You have to push harder on the handlebars, keep your gaze far towards the exit and try to lean inward to help as best as you can not to get knocked off. Result, even in very cool outside weather, you warm up quickly after a few kilometers of driving..

The behavior of the Spyder is in all cases perfectly healthy but then requires a little muscle … And when the pilot begins to spend all his energy, the passenger sees himself a little tossed about. He will then thank heaven if he has a backsplash, really essential for the duo. The physical effort required is then greater than that required by a motorcycle at equivalent speed, knowing that we are going much faster and much stronger than a car..

Comfort / duo

The Spyder T is really comfortable. Granted, the original saddle is already very plush, but the Sachs shocks and swingarm do a great job of turning the F3-T into a flying carpet..

The pavement must really deteriorate enormously for the comfort to be felt and even then, it is more the dynamic lifts in the arms that tire rather than the back which barely feels the big compressions. Better the 2016 vintage offers adjustments to the rear suspension and a preload adjustment at the front; possible settings that did not exist on the Spyder F3-S. It is also this adjustment of the rear shock absorber that can change the behavior of the Spyder and in particular its ability to glide, easier with a pressure of 2.5 bars than with the 4 bars that can be combined. We are really at the level of the comfort of a GT. Suddenly, the 200 km of a day are totally forgotten.

Braking

With three 270mm discs and Brembo braking, the Spyder brakes excellent, with excellent brake distribution between front and rear. As a result, the machine never gets off the ground even under heavy braking. At worst, the ABS is triggered, while letting the Spyder stop in line. And the three-wheeler allows you to stay upright even after very hard braking.

Convenient

The Spyder F3-T now offers 78 liters of capacity, between the trunk placed at the front and the two side cases … Enough to start a week on vacation. However, neither the trunk nor the suitcases offer the possibility of putting on a full face helmet; and yet there is not much missing for this to be possible. Jets will pass by cons.

In terms of accessories, there are now interior soft suitcases perfectly adapted to the shape of the trunk but also side cases. On the other hand, the suitcases do not unclip in the "hard" version. On the other hand, there are suitcases as accessories with a smaller capacity which they unclip.

Still in terms of accessories, you can choose between three sizes of screen. The lower of 21 "is very aesthetic but anecdotal in terms of wind protection. The middle offers very good protection. The higher, of 28", protects completely and without causing any particular eddies but gives a much more Touring look and less sporty.

Finally, the glove box above the dashboard, accommodates and connects a large mobile phone and all small items, including a large pair of gloves.
Note that the Limited version of the Spyder T also offers heated grips, which proved to be very effective and pleasant during the cool morning hours of test days..

There are also seat backs, both for the passenger but also for the rider. And indeed, they turned out to be pleasant on the second day of testing. In fact, if the backrest is a little extra for the pilot, it is essential for the passenger, to wedge it and prevent him from being too roughed up behind..

Consumption

The sticks descend steadily and half of the gauge is reached after 170 km of small roads, for an overall range closer to 340 km in real conditions of use, even if Can-Am officially announces a maximum possible range of 400 km with the 27 liters of the tank. It must be said that the T model also weighs 44 kilos more than the S, which offered around 350 km of autonomy..

Revisions

The Spyder only needs to come to the dealership every 15,000 km, the annual mileage of a normal Spyder user (or once a year), knowing that this service is very light and almost only involves oil change. The first major overhaul does not occur until after 45,000 km with the change of the spark plugs.

The opinion of Sandrine, the driver of 1.60m

During the first minutes and the first turns, you can feel the heaviness of the machine and the fear of getting caught in the turns is present. But after a few kilometers of winding roads, the Spyder turns almost on its own, still using more arms than on a motorcycle. The missing brake at the handle is disconcerting at first. The engine and the semi-automatic are very nice. We change gears above the paddle, the Spyder downshifts automatically in the event of braking or slowing down which is very practical. The motor is very flexible with a great amplitude. As you go, you let yourself go but be careful not to let yourself go too much or to ride above your limits because the turns are all the same more physical than on a motorcycle. The best part is that the Spyder gives sensations very quickly and at moderate speed on departmental roads. Great sensations with added safety: the engine does not stall because it downshifts automatically, we have 3 wheels so no risk on the slope, at worst a slip of the rear wheel when cornering in the rain. In conclusion, the Spyder is a great machine for small riders and ideal for discovering the roads in the great outdoors..

Conclusion

The Spyder F3-T offers the same dynamics and the same driving pleasure as the S model, with a machine that is fun and easy to handle. It also offers the storage that is lacking in the S and additional comfort which is very pleasant as the years go by. In short, the T offers the best compromise between the Touring of the RT and the limits of the S while keeping a price – almost – reasonable at 24,799 euros and a little more expensive at 26,499 for the Limited edition. It is not a motorcycle, it is very far from a trike or a side and it is therefore a machine apart, which has no equivalent. This exclusivity comes at a cost, but the product lives up to the price, offering fun and security that no other machine offers. Finally, its ease of handling makes it easily accessible to women who will find it a reassuring machine, allowing them to enjoy the sensations offered by the motorcycle in terms of outdoor life and grip with the elements while having fun. What to have two for a couple? It seems that many owners of Can-Am actually have one for the gentleman and another for the lady. When we love, we don’t count…

Strong points

• Motor
• Fun
• Security

Weak points

• Consumption
• Congestion

The Can-Am Spyder F3 T technical sheet

Test conditions

• Itinerary: small and varied roads + highways + of the city
• Mileage: nearly 400 km over two days including night road

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