For those that have ridden both, which gave you the biggest grins? This isn't about performance, reliability, or problems per say, but just what was the most fun. I've ridden a Ural, but a not Spyder (or any other sidecar rig) and was wondering which configuration was the most fun IF you've done both. Thanks!
I test rode both and ended up buying a Ural. Personally I find the Ural a lot more fun and challenging The Spyder performance would be nice to have sometimes Cheers
never had a chance to ride a reverse trike, will someday the ones here look interesting http://ido-endeavor.com/
Sold my 06 GearUp 2 years ago and bought a Can AM Spyder. Both were/are a lot of fun but the Spyder wins as far as performance and comfort go. GearUp, to me anyway, started being a lot of work to ride versus the Spyder which is sit back and blast down the freeway.
I have ridden both. They are really different animals. Sidecar serves me with fun, but also allows me to take family along. I have a number of friends who use them for their dogs. Really depends on your needs/wants. My personal opinion is you get more smiles per mile with any sidecar rig, but it is easier to put more miles in on a Spyder over a sidecar. Much less maintenance with Spyder vs Ural (but few sidecar rigs require as much maintenance as a Ural). I know it's near impossible to go test pilot a sidecar rig, but Spyder dealers are glad for you to test ride the Spyder. Go ride one and see what you think. Good luck with your choice.
Not really able to compare the two. Other than three wheels, and not having to put a foot down at stops. Ural is almost a lifestyle change. Slow, fun, almost comical. The Spyder is more like the fastest go cart you've ever played with. They accelerate fast, stop fast, respond the way you'd expect in corners.
I own both... I am on my 2nd Can Am Rt (11 & 14) and I still own a 11 Gear Up... Can Am is for touring/vacations: I love to go places in comfort, fast and with 1/2 ton of luggage, the new 14 has more engine personality than previous but I still consider it as an appliance: my touring appliance ! The Ural is more for 2/3 days rides with some pals on same bikes, camping at the end of a dirt road or taking the dogs to look extra cool! I have more pleasure on the Ural but these is "tiring" pleasure as it needs a lot more work than the Can Am just to go around the block! UDF gets tiring very fast too! I am taking my Can Am to Canada this summer two up for a 5000 miles ride: not sure I'll do it with the Ural!
I'm a Ural and BMW RT owner. +1 on the Ural being more work. BUT, with the RT I'm sitting so still my back gets crampy and I end up doing stretches and wiggles. On the Ural I'm working every step of the way. Great for my back and arms. No cramps. I do get a bit more tired by the end of the day, but it is fun. No freeways due to top end limits, but backroad travel is plenty interesting if slower. RT is tops for getting miles on the highway. Pay the tolls, set cruise control and roll on! Interestingly, heavy rain killed my beemers left switch group, no more cruise control and have to cancel turn signals by clicking the 4-ways on and off if I don't want to wait for the time out. Last year rode the Ural through a huge gully washer (down to 10 ft visibility before I stopped) and no problems
I would disagree that "it's near impossible to go test pilot a sidecar rig" Ural has been running demo days all over the USA since last February, where we test rode one, not once, not twice, but 3 times. I got in about 50 minutes to an hour on a 2014 Gear Up. That was all it took. Bought one a few months later.
Having ridden both & buying 2 GU. The Cam is fun but quickly leaves me looking for an end to the ride. Fast it can be & very smooth but something in me craves the Ural's ride. A well set up Ural is a better ride than any of the ''custom builds'' that I've ridden.
I have a Ural, a DMC rig attached to a BMW GSA and have ridden the spider for part of an afternoon. My take is the Ural is primitive, rough, slow and a hack of a lot of fun. I have put nearly 50,000 km on mine from C to C and from Mexico to Alaska. Always slow, always fun, basic and every mile was a challenge. That said I still loved it. The BMW rig is faster, easier to do the miles, way more practical for long distances and higher speeds. For me it seems just as capable off road as the Ural. I tend to go deeper and tougher with the BMW, it seems a lot more stable off road than the Ural ever did. I like the creature comforts of the BMW, everything is a notch better, except the Ural looks the part! I personally dislike the C-am its like an easy chair compared to either of the rigs I own. Tons of techie stuff, the ride is smooth but its sort of scary at the same time it did not behave well on roads with worn tracks. It always seems to hit the pot-hole, strictly a pavement machine, lots of protection but its not the same as a rig. I don't think I would ever buy a Spyder, a new Ural maybe, but my old one is broken in and has been trouble free for a long time now. Rigs are a lot more fun so for smiles for mile my vote would be a sidecar.
I own both a Ural Retro (2012) and a Can-Am Spyder (also 2012). Can-Am is by far the superior machine in every way you can possibly compare them. I prefer the Ural and use it as my daily driver. If I'm in a hurry I leave earlier. Wife rides the Can-Am. Not throwing rocks, she just likes the 100% reliability and comfort, and it runs good. The Ural is everything they say but I still laugh out loud every time I ride it. I's slow, ornery, and more fun than anything else I own. BMW R1200GS sits in the garage with the cars. Yep, I'm crazy.
Thank you - I have 5 units which are all available for test rides. Prepare for a real adventure ride!
I am on my 2nd of each: -14 Can Am RT & Ural GU -15 (+ 3 others sidecars...), for fun loaded max a week trips I use the GU and can go on dirt roads. For long hauls I take can am and enjoy 600 miles + a day. On twisty fast the CA is easier on arms. Speed is no comparison, nor is maintenance ( thk god as the CA is a pain to do anything on it!!). Depends what you want to do with it!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
In reading all the posts related to the Ural it makes me think back to when I had a 1961 Triumph Bonneville 650. I worked on that thing every week night just so I could ride on the weekend and then back to a weeks worth of repair. It was the first of over 100 motorcycles I have owned and perhaps the most fun I ever had. Sometimes a bit crude is OK, it adds challenge and positive uncertainty to the adventure of riding.
over 90,000 km on my Ural and about 400km on my sister-in-laws CA. Must say love the acceleration,power, and push button shifting and on the road handling of the Spyder. Didn't like the fact there was no way to miss any obstacle on/in the road and it did too much thinking for me. Couldn't drift a corner with tail out, bike called this a no-no. The CA riding was enjoyable but it sure felt good to get back on the old school, crude, slow Ural. Kinda like me I guess.
I've ridden both. A comparison is not really fair as they are very different machines. The Ural/Dnepr wins for me in all places but highway or multi-state trip. The Spyder is pretty soulless and too many automatic - gotta push this, step on that unnecessary electronic lawyer/safety things just to start it. A week of that and I would...
A Ural/ Dnepr is a proper classic sidecar rig. A CanAm is a snowmobile on wheels. No comparison between them that I know of... YMMV
And on what do you base this analogy between a Can Am and a snowmobile? Experience on any? Technology? Impressions or just same building company? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk