Spyder Ryde Across America II


with Fred Rau & Lamont Bryden
First of all, I have lost the Lamonster. Due to a combination of technical difficulties and some personal business that came unexpectedly, Lamont had to cancel his trip out west and head home to
Secondly, I have been running in and out of rain the past two days, and had to take an extensive detour due to a road closure. Thankfully, I had the Spyder’s CB radio on channel 19, and heard the truckers ahead of me talking about a fatal accident that had just closed the highway, so I was able to get off before I hit the jam. If I hadn’t, I would have been stuck there for nearly four hours.
By the way, I will say again that the weather protection on the Spyder RT is phenomenal. I haven’t even bothered to use my rainsuit, as I only get wet when I stop.
I made it into
For anyone interested, I expect to be at Wild West Honda on I-10, on the west side of
Personal Note to Michael C:
Michael, I have received your messages and have been trying to reach you, but your email system has me blocked as SPAM. Change your settings to allow me through so I can send you the link you need.
Fred
Saturday dawned clear and cold in Daytona, but with a promise from the weather-liars that today would at least warm up into the sixties. All week long, temps have hovered around 20-25 degrees below normal for this time of year. Yesterday, my ride to the track was in 34-degree temps.
Luckily, this was one of the rare times when the forecast
was correct, though, and the combination of the warming trend, coupled with the
fact that this was the weekend, brought large crowds to the
Lamont and I rode down to the Sunshine Mall for a meeting with the members of the GL1800 Riders Board, and were delighted to see not only dozens of vendors set up in the parking lot, but a crowd of around 150 riders. We had lunch with them, and then I headed back to the BRP display at the track.
Had a great day of talking with hundreds of people who came by to see the new Spyders, mostly just curious about the new machine they had only seen in photos in the bike magazines. Most seemed impressed, and many even seriously interested in someday owning an RS or an RT. One slight oddity I couldn’t help but notice, however, was an even higher interest level in the RT622 trailer than in the bikes themselves! At the risk of blowing my own horn too loudly, I had predicted to BRP that this would be the initial reaction among touring riders, since trailers were already a known and accepted part of their lifestyle – and the RT622 represents a quantum leap in both quality and price in this genre. Dozens must have asked me if the trailer could be purchased separately to use on their existing bikes. Personally, I think this bodes well for the Spyder, as once these riders see the quality and value of the trailer, it will eventually lead to a good reputation among touring riders, that will in turn attach itself to the bikes.
Anyway, tomorrow I am going down to
Fred
PS
A shameless plug -- check out my all-new online magazine for touring and sport-touring riders at www.fredraumotorcycling.com (also available through www.fredrau.com). There's a free, sample issue you can get from the homepage, featuring the Spyder RT as the cover story!
FR