On Three Wheels With the 2023 Can Am Spyder RT

Table of Contents

• What Is the Can-Am Spyder RT?
• Do You Need a Motorcycle License to Ride a Spyder?
• Stopping the Spyder
• Shifting the Spyder
• Steering the Spyder
• Spyder Quirks
• Who Should Buy a Spyder?
• How much is a 2023 Can-Am Spyder RT?

The new public relations guy for Can-Am contacted me and asked if I’d like to ride a 2023 Can-Am Spyder RT for a few weeks. My “Spidey-Sense” instantly perked up, sensing an opportunity to recalibrate my feelings about riding on three wheels.

I’m a lifelong motorcyclist, the 2-wheeled variety. I’ve ridden a Spyder a few times and spent some time with the Ryker. With each vehicle, I never got comfortable. I felt like I had to forget 80% of everything I knew about riding a motorcycle to drive the 3-wheelers.

It didn’t help that I had a very negative experience with an unrelated 3-wheeler, a 2013 Ural Patrol sidecar hack. While riding on the freeway in Los Angeles, a pickup truck hit me from behind and sent me skittering down the pavement. Fortunately, I was geared up and wearing a full-face helmet, so I escaped serious injury (unlike the Ural, which was totaled). While riding a Ural is entirely different from riding a Spyder, I had some ghosts to shake.

Can-Am arranged to have a Spyder delivered to my home, and the delivery driver gave me a quick lesson to teach me how to start and ride the vehicle (I can’t bring myself to call it a bike). I spent some time studying the Spyder before considering a ride.

What Is the Can-Am Spyder RT?

The Can-Am Spyder RT is a 3-wheeled vehicle with two 15-by-5-inch wheels in front, one on each side of the body, and one 15-by-7-inch wheel in the center rear — about the same size you’d find on a base Honda Civic Hatchback. The Spyder is 109.3 inches long and 61.2 inches wide and weighs 987 pounds. For comparison, we’ll use that Civic Hatchback again, which is 179.0 inches long and 70.9 inches wide and weighs 2,828 pounds.

The Spyder stands securely on its own; no kickstand is needed. It has handlebars like a motorcycle. You sit on top of it, not in it. Big floorboards make a home for your feet. You straddle the engine, which ABS plastic bodywork panels conceal. There’s a brake pedal on the right side and a twist-grip throttle on the right handlebar arm. Each grip side houses multiple controls, like engine run/stop and starter on the right, turn signal, gear selectors, horn, and others on the left. The key enters the ignition just below the triple clamp, and some audio controls splay on the faux tank. A small, covered cubby separates the triple clamp from the dashboard in the front fairing. The 7.8-inch LCD digital dashboard is big, clear, and easy to read. Speakers flank the dash, and two additional speakers flank the pillion. Easy Bluetooth hookup connects your devices to the infotainment system. Side-view mirrors swoop out beyond the fairing’s edge. A broad and tall motorized windshield slides smoothly up and down at the front of the fairing for weather protection. The seat is comfortable and roomy, with a pillion section behind it that looks adequate for most butts.

Accessory backrests are available for both seating positions, and so is an accessory trunk with an integrated backrest. The RT comes with standard locking hard-sided bags. They are a decent size but too small to swallow my size XXL Arai Quantum-X full-face helmet.

My Spyder wore Petrol Metallic body panels – I would have called it “Blue,” but color’s not my long suit. The Spyder lineup got a makeover for 2023, and it works. The shape is vaguely scarab-like and futuristic but organically rooted. It got positive attention from my neighbors when I parked in my driveway and drew interested looks at every stop when I went for rides. The Spyder feels solidly built, with excellent fit and finish all around.

Underneath the bodywork lurks a Rotax liquid-cooled 1,300-cc inline-3-cylinder engine with fuel injection, tuned to produce 115 horsepower and 96 lb-ft of torque using Premium unleaded gasoline.

Do You Need a Motorcycle License to Ride a Spyder?

Here in Michigan, you need a motorcycle endorsement to ride a Spyder on public roads. In a few states (California, Nevada, and South Carolina, among them), you don’t need an endorsement, just a regular driver’s license. Riding the Spyder relies on basic motorcycling and car driving skills. It forced me to rethink and retrain my motorcycling instincts in several ways.

Stopping the Spyder

First, braking. The Spyder has a foot brake pedal on the right side, like a motorcycle, but no hand brake. Depressing the foot pedal engages braking on all three disc brakes simultaneously, with standard anti-lock braking (ABS) and electronic brake force distribution. A button on the left handlebar engages and disengages the parking brake. I had to remind myself not to reach for the brake lever to slow the bike as I would on my motorcycle. This action became more natural as I rode, but I remained concerned about my reaction in urgent braking situations. Fortunately, I didn’t have to test this during my time with the Spyder.

Shifting the Spyder

Second, gear management. The Spyder has a 6-speed semi-automatic transmission with a paddle shifter on the left handlebar. The rider initiates the upshifts by pressing the “+” paddle, and the transmission downshifts automatically when the bike slows down. The rider can manually downshift using the “–” paddle but doesn’t have to. There’s no clutch lever and no need to rev-match on upshifts. Shifting into reverse requires simultaneously engaging the “–” paddle and the “R” button on the left handlebar. I found the process hit and miss, nearly always taking a few tries to get the Spyder into reverse.

Steering the Spyder

Third, steering and handling. Controlling the Spyder’s direction would seem like it’s the same as steering a motorcycle, but it’s not. Riding a motorcycle involves counter steering and leaning the bike. Because of the Spyder’s car-like front end, it steers more like a car with handlebars than a motorcycle. Forget about counter steering, and use the Dynamic Power Steering (DPS) to help turn the front wheels — it’s automatically engaged when the engine is running. Unlike a sidecar hack, steering the Spyder doesn’t require much, if any, upper body strength. The bike’s suspension (double A-arms in front/swing arm in back with Sachs shocks at both ends) swallows up bumps and keeps the wheels connected to the road. Standard stability and traction control work in the background to keep things safe. Again, the more I rode, the more confident I became when cornering and riding in general. I never lost the fear that I might tip over if I cornered aggressively, but I doubt I was near the limits of traction or balance.

I rode in hot and cool weather, sunshine, and rain — after all, I live in Michigan. I got caught in a heavy downpour on my final ride returning the Spyder to a dealership near Detroit, and the Spyder was stable and secure on all types of pavement. The fairing and adjustable windshield did a great job of protecting me from the weather while I was in motion. Of course, I got soaked to the skin when I had to stop for traffic lights and other annoyances.

Spyder Quirks

If I could sit down with the Spyder’s designers and engineers, I’d have a few questions. Why is the starting procedure on this bike so convoluted? Why is it so hard to get into reverse? Why equip the vehicle with a semi-automatic and not a fully automatic transmission? Why is the rider’s seat not hinged for easier access to the fuel filler? Why isn’t there a hole in the ignition key to put it on a keychain or lanyard?

Who Should Buy a Spyder?

The Can-Am Spyder RT does have merit for some riders. Aging motorcyclists or those with mobility issues may find the Spyder delivers enough of the joy of motorcycling to justify the vehicle’s quirks. The Spyder is easy to mount, dismount, and operate once you’re familiar with it and it places far fewer physical demands than a motorcycle or even a scooter. You’re out in the wind like you can never be in a car, even a convertible, and you can enjoy powerful acceleration and G-force cornering. I suspect the starting price of $24,699 might deter younger or first-time riders from considering the 3-wheeler, but maybe not.

I’d have difficulty convincing my wife we should get a Spyder since she is completely enamored of the Polaris Slingshot, a much more car-like 3-wheeler that starts at $21,499. Many motorcyclists like the idea of a trike with one wheel at the front and two in the rear, like the Harley-Davidson Freewheeler (starting at $29,999).

I may never settle for three wheels, but my time with the 2023 Can-Am Spyder RT did help me recalibrate. I understand and appreciate these complex vehicles better now, and I’ll give them a wave when I see them on the road.

How much is a 2023 Can-Am Spyder RT?

As of late 2024, the lowest-priced models on our site were just under $18,000, with the average listing price of around $23,442. The top end of the price range was just under $31,000. Prices are based on their features, and mileage, and these prices were for models that were new in 2022-2023.

About the Author: Jason Fogelson

Jason Fogelson is the Managing Editor for Publication Operations with Cox Automotive Inc. He works with the editorial team to ensure everything you read on Autotrader is factual, grammatically correct, well-written, and relevant. Jason contributed to Autotrader for years before joining the staff in 2022 as part of a long career as a freelance automotive journalist and editor for magazines and...Read more about Jason Fogleson