Price: £17,199
Engine: 1,330cc
BHP: 115
Gears: 6-speed auto
Top speed: 110mph
Range: 220 miles
Common sense tells you that if you build a vehicle that’s a weird amalgam of all the worst aspects of a motorbike and marry them with all the inconveniences of a small car, you end up with a useless mongrel. You’ll have an open-sided three-wheeler with no roof, no doors, no windscreen and no seatbelts. You’ll get cold and wet yet you can’t slalom through traffic. You won’t be able to park it in that tight space outside your flat and you can’t fill the boot with a big family shop. What common sense doesn’t tell you is that the Spyder F3 S is about as much fun as you can have on your own, in public and with the lights on. For some reason what makes no sense on paper makes total sense in the flesh.
The Spyder F3 S is the latest trike from Can-Am. The company is a subsidiary of Bombardier, which is a world leader in building things that put a big grin on your face. It makes Ski-Doos and Sea-Doos, and a host of all-terrain vehicles which look like Mad Max stunt vehicles. The Spyder has been with us for a few years now. Can-Am, in a canny move, gave the first one it built to Jay Leno. Last month it manufactured its 100,000th – and it gave that one to him, too.
Most motorised trikes have two wheels at the back and one at the front. They’re a danger physically, as they have a tendency to topple over, while at the same time delivering a body blow to your sense of self-esteem. The Spyder, however, has a unique Y-shaped footprint: its two wheels are at the front. This makes it stable and incredibly comfortable to ride. It has anti-lock brakes and traction control as well as anti-roll technology. You can plug in your iPod and TomTom, and it has a neat digital dash. In America Can-Am showrooms are popping up next to Harley-Davidson dealers in an attempt to lure diehard bikers off their hogs. They won’t be disappointed. The Spyder can be personalised and has customised peg and handlebar positions to suit your riding style. Greener-minded Hell’s Angels may also like its Eco-mode system, which improves fuel economy. They’ll all like the power and torque they get from the liquid-cooled Rotax 1330 ACE engine. By law you are permitted to ride the trike without a helmet (or in fact a mullet), but obviously you’d be nuts to risk it.
Riding the Spyder is like sitting on a mobile throne. It’s like an ultra convertible. Unsurprisingly it attracts endless attention. One enthusiastic admirer drove alongside and filmed me on his phone. He then jumped out to show me his footage when I stopped at the lights. “It’s Spyder Man: The Movie,” I joked. But he didn’t get it…
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter at @MartinLove166
