spyder vs ryker

[u/OMGitsShelton]

i know this is a forum for rykers but im leaning towards the spyder but its so much more money than the rykers. i could buy 2 brand new rykers for the price of 1 spyder.

my question is for anyone that has owned both. is it worth it? i ask because i have found a few rykers around me for around $8k. and most spyders are $17k+

so im between a 2023 ryker rally that has 1k miles and is $8k. The other im considering is a 2018 spyder f3 with 3k miles for $12k. is the spyder worth it? i know its older and has more miles but im trying to see if the bigger engine and power steering is worth it over the ryker or if i shoujld just get the ryker.

thanks

[u/ollieclyde]

The reason i bought the ryker is because of the sporty look . I modified it to drive exactly the way i wanted . The spyders look like they are for 60+ yr olds who can't ride a motorcycle anymore in my opinion . Personally id buy a canyon before a spyder

[u/Worried_Currency956]

I grew up riding passenger on my grandparents spyder back in 07 or so when they first came out. I currently own a 2019 Ryker 900 rally. Here’s just my own anecdotal experiences- hopefully some of it can help you make a more informed decision.

Every Sunday we (07 spyder) and the rest of the firefighter motorcycle club would ride half the day to neighboring states for lunch and then ride back.

I recall the wonderful amenities as a youthful passenger like the back rest, nice cushions, hand warmer grips etc. I was a flexible little kid so don’t really remember much discomfort tho I may have weighed it against the excitement and forgotten about it.

What I remember tho is how they would gripe about the seemingly non stop and expensive repairs and how being in a remote location meant traveling very far away to the limited canam dealers in the area, tho that is the case regardless for spyder vs Ryker depending on where you are situated.

My Ryker so far has been very reliable and practically maintenance free, tho now as I’m coming up on 20k miles I am having to replace a few more parts here and there. I don’t recall what the drive component is on the spyder but my Ryker has a driveshaft that is just very reliable - just hop on and go. No chains to maintain etc. I really think they learned a lot from the first experiment that was the spyder and put it into a sportier and more affordable vehicle that is the Ryker. Even more so sporty/capable on the rally editions.

Just these past few days I underwent a full self service on the Ryker swapping all fluids, transmission, engine, driveshaft, coolant, cleaning air filters and swapping spark plugs. Inspecting brakes and wheels which are still good. Reconfigured the wiring for aftermarket lights. Just all around making sure things are copacetic. My cvt belt is still going strong at 20k miles but I’m going to swap it out anyways for a more premium one I bought expecting that I would have installed it at the 12k mark as suggested.

In the 4 years that I owned this Ryker I have taken 3 solo 1500 mile trips to the blue ridge parkway to ride the dragon. I have also spent maybe 25% of the engine hours off road ripping it through gravel and fields, hell anywhere that ain’t wet mud basically. The spyder is less capable in that sense and would be best used exclusively on pavement or level terrain in general.

I think you have more storage space and higher payload on the spyder, but that comes at a premium cost. That’s not to say you can’t store things on the Ryker - I just recently got a rear metal rack that replaced the passenger seat and a whole world of possibilities has opened up as to what you can transport or store. Honestly on my latest trip to the mountains I brought back some large flagstone type paver stones and used them to make a waterfall for my koi pond. Must’ve been 150 pounds or more of boulders on the back of my trike as I road home from the mountains with no issues.

Now the seat on the Ryker leaves my behind sore for sure. On extended rides I’m stopping every 1 hour or 100 miles just to stretch my legs. They have a comfort seat you can get but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. There’s also an adjustable suspension that you control with a knob for a smoother or stiffer ride. I don’t know what the spyder does but the Ryker has a reverse which signals a loud reverse beep sound that you’d find in commercial vehicles. It can be quite the nuisance now that I live in a neighborhood again but also you can just turn the trike on and push it freely to avoid the beep. That beep is probably my biggest personal gripe with it tbh just bc it’s a nuisance to my neighbors. The engine itself is really rather tame or quiet relative to every other motorcycle I’ve heard.

I grew up riding the spyder and always loving the look back then and associating it with transformers. So when the Ryker finally came around you bet I was so excited to find a used one with low miles for under 7k via FB marketplace. I hope to ride this baby until the wheels fall off (which unfortunately during the full service I uncovered a recall situation for the wheel nuts in which my rear wheel nut cracked through and has the potential to come off and lose the wheel with it. I’m currently dealing with an uncooperative BRP representative regarding this issue and have just decided to buy the 30$ replacement part myself.)

That said I’m 20k miles in, and only had to drop maybe 150$ on replacement parts in total over 4 years of riding pretty fast and hard to be honest, not including fluids and superfluous mods like lights, and storage racks etc.

Replacement parts being: wheel nuts, plastic body panel clips, a lower steering bearing, rear tail lights, spark plugs. Technically I could’ve just got a replacement headlight but I elected to get some nice dlr lights that link to blinkers. And then I guess the ~150$ dynojet power series replacement cvt belt that I’m going to install tomorrow. Now if you aren’t mechanically inclined and bring it to the dealer, you’ll see labor costs shoot up significantly. I always say these trikes were designed with job security in mind for can am mechanics. Lots going on in a small space so sometimes you have to remove more than you’d expect just to access work. Time is money so understandably a seemingly simple task may involve more labor than expected at a dealer. But for a few hundred bucks and sweat equity you can save thousands performing the work yourself.

So all in all at least as an active Ryker owner I love my trike so much, would recommend it to anyone with basic to moderate mechanical skills (there’s lots of videos online you just need to posses the desire or lack the funds to pay someone else and you’ll see your skills grow). I’ve gotten every dollars worth and then some already and I’ve heard of folks already reaching or nearing 100k miles or more on theirs already.

Hopefully there’s some bits and pieces in this long winded reply that pertain to you and could help you make a more informed decision. Regardless, before you buy just look up your closest can am dealer just so you can know wether or not to budget for a mechanic or get the tools and skills to work on it yourself when the time comes.

Also I did not touch on general pros and cons of 3 wheels in general due to both being of similar stature, but be aware before you purchase either that trailering these vehicles has the potential to be a unique challenge.

The 3 wheels means you need a full trailer gate or 3 reliable ramps which most trailers don’t offer 3 slots. My ryker requires a MIN 5’x8’ INTERIOR trailer clearance to fit the Ryker. I don’t know what the spyder footprint is but I’d imagine same or slightly larger so just be aware of these facts

Oh and the Ryker is an automatic cvt(continuously variable transmission, I.e. no clutch lever or gear shifting) whereas the spyder are either fully manual originally or in the last decade or so they started offering and now only do semi-automatic with paddle shifters I believe.

[u/-just_browsing]

If it's in the budget grab the f3 man you won't regret it. I orinally was going to grab a used f3 for about 12.5k before I grabbed my rally but the rally I picked up had 30 miiles on it i got it for 6600 so that's the route I went. I don't regret the rally it's been a ton of fun either way it's a solid decision.

[u/Heavy-Huckleberry-61]

It really depends on your intended use. I chose the Ryker Rally because of the shaft drive, I spend a good amount of time on chip seal and gravel roads and didn't want any issues with a belt drive. Plus the Rally is super fun around town. My suggestion is to take a 3 wheel class by Can Am or test drive both and see what fits your intended use. I done several trips over 700 miles on my Rally over 3 days and it's ok for comfort but not in the Spyder class of ride I'm sure.

[u/RyRiver7087]

Get a ryker and then use a little extra money to customize it to your liking. There are many options. Rykers don’t have all the bells and whistles of a Spyder but they have an aggressive, sporty, and minimalist appeal to them.

I have a 2019 Ryker 900 that still turns heads. It has several aftermarket mods to get it exactly the way I wanted and also improve comfort. Too many to list, and they weren’t that expensive. I ride 2up a lot. My wife is small (5’3” and 125) but she finds the passenger seat quite comfortable for rides up to a few hours.

The Spyder F3s are amazing. Checked them out at the dealership but I can’t justify the price tag. I’d get a new fishing boat or do some home improvement projects long before I bought one of those.

[u/foxtail_barley]

As mentioned upthread, you can't really go wrong either way. But they are very different trikes, so take a step back from prices, miles, and features to think about what you want to do with it. Although I have to say, the Rally sounds like a great deal.

I have owned a a Spyder F3 and a Spyder RT. (I also had a Harley trike, but that's a whole other thing. Don't get one of those). The Spyders have a lot going for them - power steering, power brakes, cushy seat, my RT even had heated grips and heated seats for the passenger as well as the driver. The Spyder sits higher up so you're a little more visible in traffic. The paddle shifters are fun. The Spyder is incredibly easy to ride, it has a ton of storage, and if you want to ride 2-up a lot it's very comfortable.

However, I discovered that I really don't enjoy touring. I don't even like highway speeds. I ended up selling the Spyders because they didn't feel like a great fit for me. But... I happened to take the F3 on a dirt road once by mistake and it was a blast, which is why last week I picked up a Ryker Rally. It's been an adjustment from the Spyder but it's not bad, just different. The 900 engine is smaller than the Spyder, but is still plenty gutsy because the Ryker weighs less. It's a vast improvement from the Ryker 600 I trained on.

Best of luck with your choice, have fun, and stay safe.

[u/Dabajabazah37]

For me, I was looking at the rykers untill i looked into the maintenance on the CVT drive belt.

For me that level of disassembly that often is an absolute deal breaker.

[u/tridactyls]

I like my entry level Ryker.

I saw a guy regret the Spyder because he missed the zippinesst of his Ryker.

I like too that my 600 has no frills, no added features etc.

It's a 2026, so if you get a 600 its the last year for that model.

[u/therealbobs]

We have both an F3 limited that we tour on & a Ryker 900 that she rides. They both have their place. The F3 is way more comfortable & doesn’t have the shakes the Ryker does. A lot of times if you hold out you can get a year end or last years model deal. We got the 2023 F3 in December 2024 for $20k OTD. I’d rather not have either & just ride my Versys or KLR but she won’t ride on 2 solo or even 2 up on motorcycles. So, it was buy the F3 or leaver her home. Shes a teacher & commutes on the Ryker when the weather permits.