Track Day Over!!

The track day went off without a hitch, thank goodness! My heart sank when I heard it raining all through Friday night and just hoped it would clear up by the time dawn arrived. Some people phoned early to cancel as they didn’t want to ride in the rain, but then some other people surprised me by riding all the way from Krugersdorp to the other side of Delmas, probably around 120 or so kilometers, just to come learn about their bikes.

There were two riders from Witbank who wanted to try the Spyders in a controlled environment; the two riders from Krugersdorp – one has had his RT-S (big tourer) for a year and the other picked up his bike during the week; the dealers from Nelspruit with a couple who was in the process of purchasing an RT-S; Rui Senna, the instructor, was from Factory Racing (has raced Suzuki super bikes and quads); an owner who has had his bike for more than two years; a family of which the father has had his RS for a few months but they just wanted to see what the day was about; the accessories sales guy from the company and myself. Fred (from CMH, the importers of the Spyders and who I report to) and his son arrived a little later. The son Jaimie is a champion quad racer and at first was just along for the ride. But that was going to change during the day!

Rui did a great job in explaining the theory of the VSS (Vehicle Control System) of the Spyder, commonly known as the “nanny system”, because it really babies you. As we were at a track, we had sessions to ride, sharing the track with super bike riders. The first two sessions were used to do skills training and emergency braking was first up. Virtually ALL the riders had no idea that the brakes were that good and one or two almost pitched over their windscreen! We pulled quite a crowd from the super bike riders who at first looked down their noses at the Spyders but then gradually changed their opinion. We even had two regional racers and a marshal ask for rides later in the day!

We gradually built up the riding skills and then after lunch we let the guys loose on the track. After they learned how to corner and shift their weight properly, they really started enjoying their bikes. We had to make a few corrections to riding styles but all the riders went away with big smiles, agreeing that the day was well worth it.

Back to Jaimie… As mentioned, he’s a champion quad rider, around 17 years old, with the fearlessness of that age. So dad urged him to try the bike out and by the end of the day, we had to threaten him to get him off the track! We thought the only way he was going to come back to the pits was when he ran out of fuel. He made the exact same comment all new riders make – “I had no idea the bike handles so well” and “Jeesh, this thing is fast!”

So although the turn-out was not as expected, I think the day was a success nonetheless. I will organise another day like that when I’m back from my road show and will also try and arrange similar training sessions for the dealers around the coast.

First SA Track Day for Spyders

One of my ideas to get current owners involved in fun Spyder events, was to organise some track time. I would have loved to have the entire day just for Can-Am products, but that gets quite pricey and there is never a guaranteed turnout of customers. I then contacted Jacques at Red Star Raceway who was very accommodating and created some sessions for us on 23 April.

Organising the track day was not a problem and all my arrangements were running smoothly – I’d made sure the dealers had been promoting the track day, I had demo stock lined up and ready to go…. But then somebody casually mentioned that they would need stock for the Rand Easter Show. Well, not being a show going person, I’d clean forgotten about that! Together with that, the dealers were suddenly selling bikes like they’d never done before, so all my carefully stockpiled bikes were literally running out the door.

Time was not a friendly companion and I started getting heart palpitations about not having enough bikes for both the show and for the track day. As part of my track day planning, the demo bikes would go on sale the first week of May and I’d carefully worked out colours and quantities of each. Suddenly, in the last week, all of that careful planning went out the window. The short week didn’t help matters much either!

When there is stress and people have to change direction in mid-stream, you quickly find out who you can rely on. I have discovered absolute jewels who have supported me by actually thinking for themselves. Logic; taking control; not relying on somebody else to make decisions – these are all rare commodities in our day and age. The people I’d like to single out are Jan (the one driver), John (in the one workshop), Themba (in the other workshop), Michael (one workshop manager) – they have all come through this last week without once getting grumpy. John just became a father and even wanting to be with his new son over the Easter weekend, he and Jan have agreed to do the bike deliveries for me on Good Friday and on Sunday.

So now I’m ticking off the stuff I have to take to the track and it looks like I might just remember to take everything. Jan and John will be loading at around 9h00 and then I’ll see them at the track at about 10h30 and make sure the bikes and other stuff are safely locked away. I would like to ride a few laps before tomorrow, but I must also still do the final arrangements with the other instructor – one last thing I wasn’t able to get to this week.

The First South African Can-Am Spyder Road Show

The Idea

When I was given the very short brief of “Make Spyders visible”, I was basically given carte-blanche to come up with unique ideas to get the Spyders back in the public eye. Organising and attending dealer days have taken up most of my time and I’ve managed to cover seven dealers – Outdoor Motoring in Witbank; Boat and Lifestyle in Hartbeespoortdam; Investment Cars in Bryanston; Speed Bike in Klerksdorp; Factory Racing in Johannesburg South; Echo Powersport in Centurion, and Nelspruit ATV.

To follow on from that, I had to think of attending to our coastal dealers. Well, why not do a road show? That was easier to think about than to actually organise. Because it is such a novel idea, dealers have a hard time thinking of the concept and remotely organising a two month around-the-coast road trip takes a bit of doing.

I also thought of involving bikers who have become disabled due to a biking accident. I’m in discussions with a few people about that and I’m not sure if that will happen or not. It would be great if we can create some awareness around that – it would go hand-in-hand with my involvement with Think Bike.

How I got involved with Can-Am Spyders

I’ve been testing bikes for about two years now and writing for various publications. I focus on the suitability of a particular bike for women riders, whether a beginner or for those who want to change or upgrade. My passion for bikes took me away from home often enough for my husband to buy a Can-Am Spyder, having fallen in love with it ever since he saw a picture of it on the internet. I then met the head of the importers of the bikes who casually asked me one day if I didn’t want to promote the Spyders on a part-time basis.

How lucky can a girl get? Being paid to do what she loves to do – too many people can only dream of that kind of luck.

It has been quite hard work, organising dealer days where the Can-Am products are promoted but focussing on the Spyders; getting the database of owners together; organising events etc. But the effort has paid off. Sales of the RSes are picking up to such an extent that I’m starting to panic about running out of stock for the sale and road show (more about that later).

I’ve managed to “convert” many female partners who were dead set against the bike idea, but after taking them for a ride around the block, they are the ones eager to sign on the dotted line! Most of them agree that a three-wheeler “feels” much safer than a two-wheeler.