I’ve really missed being on the water for the past month or so, and the two or three of you who follow my exploits will know it is with great trepidation that I launch into telling you about a motorized experience I had the other day.

First off – WOW! (Feel free to substitute your own exclamation.)

Nothing I’d ridden or driven in my life has quite approached the feeling of hopping on a Can Am Roadster Spyder. Actually, there’s not anything on the road these days that is like this sculptured three-wheeled beauty.

The two front wheels provide close to 60 inches of wide-stance stability and suction-cup, road grabbing grip, while the rear 225-60 tire provides a fat footprint to deliver all 106 horsepower from the Rotax 998cc engine to the ground and send you past 60 mph in 4.5 seconds.

You straddle this sleek machine much like you would any bike, but picture yourself astride a snowmobile – with wheels and a five-speed manual transmission (with a reverse gear, of course). Its 697 pounds sit on a 105-inch wheelbase and will deliver a reliable 35 miles per gallon (probably more if you can resist the urge to twist the motorcycle-style throttle toward you and hurtle down the highway. It has a 7.1- gallon fuel tank that’ll give you a range of a little under 250 miles, enough to get you from Bangor to Boston without a fuel stop.

Rick Salley of Dover-Foxcroft dropped by the other day with three Spyders and four friends, including Dover-Foxcroft Police Chief Dennis Dyer. Salley is the district manager in Maine for Bombardier Recreational Products (think Ski-Doo, personal watercraft, outboard motors, etc.) He’d been by earlier in the day for a visit, but I was tied up. No problem. Salley and friends headed to Bar Harbor, rode up Cadillac Mountain and put on 120 miles or so and came back, grins pasted to their faces.

Dyer, 58, is a motorcycle guy. I should say was a motorcycle guy. He’s a convert, he said. Three wheels make much more sense and provide way more comfort – to say nothing of not having to put your foot down for balance when you stop at a light.

Salley offered me a chance to try the Spyder. He didn’t have to twist my arm (but he did make sure I had a motorcycle endorsement on my license and that I signed my life away on several sheets of paper. He gave me the necessary orientation, showed me the foot brake (there’s no hand brake like on a motorcycle), showed me how to put the machine into reverse and a few of the bells and whistles and we were off.

I didn’t get a lot of time behind the handle bars. We zipped up Buck Street and into Bass Park where there’s a BIG parking lot. There I could do the least damage. Salley waved me on and I was off while he watched from the sidelines.

I tried a few “tight” turns, a few accelerations and a couple of quick stops just to see if all the electronic gizmos lived up to their claims. They did – at least as far as my timidity would allow. There’s a stability control system, traction control system, antilock braking and electronics that would keep you from doing doughnuts in other-than-ideal conditions, and what’s called dynamic power steering. The double A-arm front suspension offers 5.7 inches of travel to the 14-inch front wheels, making for a gentle yet commanding ride.

The rear conventional swing arm hugs the 15×7-inch rear wheel and softens the ride with a monoshock. When you want to stop the four-piston calipers grab 260mm discs at all three wheels and haul you down authoritatively. Did I mention they’re antilock brakes? There’s even a parking brake and a front “trunk” with 44 quarts of storage space.

Retail price for all this fun? $15,499.

And then you could spend more money on accessories like six spoke cast wheels or a performance muffler or Xenon lights or maybe a backrest. I can envision a whole range of products to customize the Spyder. And stay tuned. There’s a good chance there’ll be other models than this introductory and sporty roadster.

If you’re itchin’ to try one out, the dealers in Maine each have a demonstrator available (if you have a motorcycle license) and if you’re in Bangor today (Saturday) between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. drop by Nicky’s Diner on Union Street where you’ll have an opportunity to try one out. Huff Forest Products is sponsoring the event.

Salley said there are six dealers in Maine: Reynolds Motor Sports, Gorham; Robertson’s Sales and Service, Sanford; Reggie’s Ski-Doo, Leeds; North Country Motor Sports, Augusta; Huff’s Forest Products, Pittsfield; and Fort Kent Ski-Doo.

Or go for the virtual ride at Can Am’s Web site: www.brp.com.

jstrout@bangordailynews.net

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