Celebrating IFRD 2023 on Can-Am’s Three-Wheelers

The International Female Ride Day (IFRD) has become a bit of a holiday for me. Usually my husband and I go for a ride down our favorite coastal roads on our personal motorcycles. Instead of swinging a leg over my 390 Duke or one of the other bikes in the McKnight stable, to celebrate the day I was going to straddle a Can-Am three-wheeler for a media tour around Southern California.

This 153-mile group ride began at Temecula Motorsports on a brisk Saturday morning. While we were making our introductions and getting a walk-around of the Can-Am fleet, the temperatures were starting to rise to a perfect 70 degrees.

Our vehicle choices for the ride included the athletic Ryker Sport and Ryker Rally as well as the Spyder F3, Spyder F3-S Special Series, Spyder RT, and the luxe Spyder RT Sea-to-Sky.

Related: 2019 Can-Am Ryker Rally Review

Raring to go, I claimed the Ryker Sport as my first mode of transport. It was going to take me down the 15 freeway (hello, cruise control) and into the technical and twisty roads that meandered along the southern side of Palomar Mountain.

The twisty routes confirmed I picked the right Can-Am for the job. The torque from the Ryker Sport’s 900cc Rotax three-cylinder engine is ideal for tackling the tight winding roads and makes for fun corner exits. A claimed 58.3 lb.-ft. of torque effectively pulls the three-wheeler out of each turn.

One thing that is apparent is the need to muscle the machine around the turns; more steering effort is required compared to a motorcycle and an aggressive lean toward the inside of the corner is needed to maintain the proper line on tighter turns. The wide, flat handlebar certainly helps with leverage.

I expected the Ryker’s handling to be similar to an ATV and while I definitely think that is an appropriate description, I would take the comparison in a slightly different direction. I would say it’s more akin to a snowmobile, something that both I and Can-Am Global Consumer PR Specialist Jason Abbott agreed on. The front end is very reactive on initial input and then it takes some muscle to keep the three-wheeler turned in the direction of travel, much like pointing front ski runners through the snow (I had some great fun on snowmobiles on a trip in Colorado a number of years ago). The tapered rear end on the Can-Am and the feeling of the rear-wheel drive reminded me very much of Bombardier’s (Can-Am’s parent company) Ski-Doo sleds.

Another interesting characteristic of three-wheelers is that you can get a very good read of the road. You can feel the KYB HPG double-wishbone suspension at the front end working separately to absorb potholes on either the left or right sides of the lane. Camber of the roads is communicated more prominently than if you were riding on a motorcycle as well.

After a photo opportunity in the twisties, we made our way to Lake Henshaw’s scenic overlook for a group picture and then made a short ride over to Josie’s Hideout for a bathroom break. The front parking lot was filled with motorcycles of all makes and models. One gentleman who owned a purple 30-year-old Gold Wing walked up to me and said that he had never seen this many Can-Ams all together like this. I explained that we were all celebrating International Female Ride Day. Later, when we were leaving Josie’s, he filmed our group as we rode out to our next photo location and onward to Julian for lunch.

Barbed-wire rimmed properties with dilapidated barns were scattered throughout the countryside. Black cows sauntered in between oak trees to find their next bite of delectable juicy grass

I began to envy those cows. My stomach was empty. Luckily lunch was only a short distance away. We stopped at Heroes Wood-Fired Pizza in the quaint mountain town of Santa Ysabel where I feasted on a delicious pulled-pork pizza. With our bellies now filled our group was going to continue our ride down the mountain, but not before a vehicle swap took place. I nabbed the top-of-the-line tourer Spyder RT Sea-to-Sky.

Saving the Sea-to-Sky was a wise decision for the post-lunch portion of the ride. First thing that I noticed was how comfortable I was. One of our tour guides commented earlier in the day that you sit more on top of the RT models, rather than in them, and she was absolutely right. The rider sits on a well-cushioned throne of leather replete with comfortable lower back support provided by the passenger seat and is protected from windblast behind a massive electronically adjustable windshield. Heated grips and heated seats are ready at the push of a button.

Related: 2021 Can-Am On-Road Lineup First Look

Snaking roads down from the mountain pines of Julian and into the desert in Banner were easily traversed thanks to the great handling of the up-spec Spyder. Its Dynamic Power Steering (DPS) makes the left-right transitions smoother and easier than the sportier Ryker. The engine’s semi-automatic transmission contributes to a nearly brake-free ride down the mountain—just use the paddle shifter on the left grip’s cluster to drop into second gear and take advantage of the three-cylinder mill’s engine-braking. The Ryker doesn’t have that luxury because of its automatic CVT.

Through the plains near San Felipe and into Warner Springs was where the touring three-wheeler really made an impression. The Spyder’s claimed 115 hp is situated more at the top end of the 1,330cc triple’s powerband, and that power could be utilized across the long straightaways. Cruising while enjoying a country road that slices through the sea of foxtail-covered plains, the azure sky overhead, I found that I was in a touring rider’s heaven and I was one of the lucky riders in paradise.

After a quick fuel-up stop at the Sunshine Summit Market and Gas—a lonely little station off the side of CA-79 in Warner Springs—a fellow motojournalist and I talked about the machines and she reminded me to turn on the radio. While I was waiting for my turn to fill up, I navigated the menu with the controls located on the tank and tuned into K-Earth 101, an FM radio station that plays hits from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. Lo and behold, Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” came from the BRP Audio Premium six-speaker sound system. What a perfect theme song for the day and an impromptu gas station dance party.

Fueling (and dancing) complete, we continued our trek on the 79 past ranch lands where I continued to enjoy the scenery streaming by, head bobbing to the music all the while. We found ourselves back to reality as we combed through the suburban streets of Temecula and back to Temecula Motorsports.

It was a fantastic day of riding with a great group of female riders. That’s the beauty of organized group rides that celebrate International Female Ride Day; you meet new like-minded friends who share your appreciation for the ride. Overall, I enjoyed the ride on the Can-Ams with my fellow female motojournalists. It was a refreshing “going out with the girls” type of ride on machines that deliver a similar but unique experience to that of a motorcycle. The comradery and adventure is very much the same—after all, girls just wanna have fun.

Related: Can-Am Supports This Year’s International Female Ride Day