Wednesday 22nd August 2012

PH2: The Spyder Club

Times are tough, but there is an alternative option to buying a new bike...

---

With the current economic climate making things tight, owning a sports bike or even buying a new one is a pretty big decision to make. Not only is there the initial financial outlay, there is insurance, tax, depreciation, tyres, MOT, servicing... it all adds up. But there is another option and PH2 decided to put it to the test - the Spyder Club.

What is it?

The club's Bimota DB4 gets an outing

The Spyder Club is run by husband and wife team Mark and Lizzi Smith-Young and is essentially a premium bike rental club. The actual ins and outs are pretty complicated but in essence you 'buy' days, points and miles per annum and put these towards 'renting' bikes on a three day basis. Some bikes cost less in points than others, weekends are more expensive in points than weekdays and covering big miles will also affect your points balance.

The basic package is £950 for 10 days, but as well as getting a bike that also includes insurance, tax, servicing and even delivery. So, unlike owning your own bike, that's all you pay. The club will drop the bike off at your house or office then it is yours to mess around on until they collect it again at the arranged return date.

What bikes are on offer? We aren't talking rusty old crappers here - currently the club has a Panigale, Norton, Diavel, Bimota, Daytona 675 and 848 to name a few and there are more on the way. The bikes are continually updated to keep them in line with the latest on the market.

What's it like?

Mark and Lizzi run the club

PH2 decided to give the club a shot and booked a blast on the Norton Commando 961 Sport. As Mark would be with us for the day, he asked if he could bring along the Bimota DB4 as well. Usually the club simply drop the bike off and leave you to it, but as this was a single day-loan Mark fancied a day out on the bikes.

Arriving in a white transit van, the bikes emerge clean and ready to go with the Bimota looking virtually brand new. It may not be the latest bike out there, but with around 200 ever made is pretty rare.

Mark tells me one of the ideas of the club is to give normal people a 'journalist experience'. I admit I'm pretty lucky to do the job I do and while I'm used to chopping and changing between bikes when out testing, not many people are able to - which is another bonus of the club. You can play on a brand new Panigale, show off to your mates for a few days, then chop it in and next week ride an R1 or Diavel.

PH2 sampled the Norton Commando

According to Mark most of the club's members already own bikes, generally BMW tourers. This surprised me as I expected most members to be non-bike owners, however Mark says that many of them use the club to test bikes they probably won't own, such as the Panigale, while keeping their day to day machine in the garage. They are basically enthusiasts who just want to experience as many new bikes as they can - and who can blame them for that?

 

What's the catch?
Before meeting the guys from the Spyder Club I had kind of written it off as a slightly silly idea - why not just buy a bike? Having seen the set-up and chatted with Mark and Lizzi about how their members use it I now see the sense.

The minimum package of £950 for ten days works out at around £100 a day to play on some great bikes with all your costs covered. To be fair, if you booked only the Panigale this would probably work out as nearer seven days due to the way the points system works, however that isn't bad when you consider how much you throw away a year on insurance, tax, MOT and servicing when you own a bike.

Bimota a rare machine

I've got a garage full of bikes I never use as I don't want to take them out in the rain and one that I hack around on whatever the weather. Working out how much my bikes cost me a year to simply sit in the garage taxed, tested and ready to go on that sunny day isn't far shy of £950 - and for that amount I could have ten unforgettable days on some seriously exotic machine without having to worry about anything apart from fuel and being home when Mark arrives to take it back again! In that context the Spyder Club certainly looks appealing.

 

For info on the Spyder Club go to their website. There are some terms and conditions, including an age range of 25-70 and a maximum limit of six points on your licence.

[slevin911]

950 quid!! are they mad,what A waste of money if you done this 3 or 4 times A year you could buy A pretty good bike.

[CliveM]

Not a waste of money at all - it won't work for lots of people but for some it'll be perfect.
I've done the same things with cars and that made perfect sense.
Off to look at the website and see how far they deliver.....

[arollingstone]

id actually be pretty interested..
have a sneaky peak at the site now

[Pothole]

Total waste for me. Once I've done my brakes this weekend my total costs for a year will be well shy of £950 and I get to ride mine whenever I want!

Looking at used prices in the classifieds I'm not looking at much, if any, depreciation, either.

[MrC986]

I will put my hand up & say it is well worth the money....I was a member early in the clubs inception & can truly say that being able to ride some truly expensive bikes fresh onto the market for the basic subscription is well worth the money - dont knock it till you truly understand what bikes they also have access to and the wider bike club benefits. It also allows you to decide whether you want an out & out racer, cafe racer or cruiser etc before you spend big £s in the dealer & find you really didnt know.

I was previously paying £600 per year insurance plus servicing and wear and tear on the superbikes I owned. IMHO just under £1k for the starting membership is great value & you dont have to clean them before you return them unless you have OCD like I do.

They also do foreign trips as well as UK tours & the only reason I didnt renew FWIW is that I bought a sports car & SWMBO said "you can't do both"....when the opportunity arises, I will rejoin. They must be doing something right as they established the club at the start of the recession & going from strength to strength

[ProSportPaul]

Slevin911 & Pothole,

I don't think you've understood the proposition. It's not £950 per go but that amount for your annual membership with opportunities to ride many of the latest and best superbikes. Yes, your 10 year old bike may not depreciate much but this year's models certainly will, so the opportunity to ride the best bikes available today without the high cost of ownership makes the membership fee a bargain.

In addition, Spyder Club run well organised continental trips and I've enjoyed the ones I've been on immensely. I strongly recommend you take a closer look.

Paul

[ellisd82]

£950 for 10 days...really? I probably spend £300 a year on my bike. Tyres every 2 years or so @ £200. I use it for 365 days. Can see the appeal, riding new bikes, but I like looking for bikes in classifieds, buying them, selling them, buying a new one.
The main thing with this is the weather. Would they be able to drop the bike off within an hour. I sometimes look outside and think, yeah, I am going for a ride.
If I had the money I would keep my bike and maybe do this. 10 Saturdays our for £950, suppose it is cheaper than renting a new bike. Still not for me.

[Pothole]

ProSportPaul said:

Slevin911 & Pothole,

I don't think you've understood the proposition. It's not £950 per go but that amount for your annual membership with opportunities to ride many of the latest and best superbikes. Yes, your 10 year old bike may not depreciate much but this year's models certainly will, so the opportunity to ride the best bikes available today without the high cost of ownership makes the membership fee a bargain.

In addition, Spyder Club run well organised continental trips and I've enjoyed the ones I've been on immensely. I strongly recommend you take a closer look.

Paul

I don't think you've understood that I don't have "a garage full of bikes I never use as I don't want to take them out in the rain and one that I hack around on whatever the weather." (because that's bloody stupid apart from anything else)

I have a bike. I use it. 'many of the latest and best superbikes' frankly leave me cold. I also don't have a spare £80 a month.

It's not any kind of bargain for me.

[sc0tt]

£1090 for the 10 day package when you take into account where I live.

260 points purchased. £550 for the weekend for a panigale?

You can rent a 1000rr here for £300

http://www.westsussexmotorcyclehire.co.uk/our-bike...

Sounds poor IMO. Infact if you have £500 to rent a panigale for a few days you probably have enough to buy one.

[podman]

Errr....of the new bikes, all bar the Norton maybe you could get a decent test ride on for free..

On yer bike will let you out on either Ducati and ive been out on a variety of Truimphs for half a day a time at the Wellingborough dealership..

I still wish them well thou, if you have the £££ to hand, its up to you how you eish to spend it.

[Biker's Nemesis]

Thats not a Transit van, looks like a Sprinter too me.

[sc0tt]

Biker's Nemesis said:

Thats not a Transit van, looks like a Sprinter too me.

And a LWB at that!

How much is the sprinter to rent. Everyone knows they are the fastest thing on the road!

[Matbmx1]

i dont think its a bad idea at all.

I dont ride much on the road anymore and the chance to have a go on a panigale etc would be good fun. I only really commute and do trackdays if i didnt ever commute i reckon id do this and save the hassle of having my own road bike..

[Pothole]

You can get a few hours on a demo bike from friendly dealers in any case...

[John D.]

slevin911 said:

950 quid!! are they mad,what A waste of money if you done this 3 or 4 times A year you could buy A pretty good bike.

Its not £950 per day though is it? If you actually read the article it states it works out about £100 per day as long as you don't want the Panigale every time.

Doesn't seem bad to me but can't see it replacing actually keeping a bike of your own in the garage.

[nsleigh]

I have been a member for 3 years. I have done 6 trips with the club (Spain, England, Scotland, Wales) and borrowed bikes for weekends and weekdays and done experience days. I think it is excellent value for money. I don't see it as a replacement for owning a bike, it is a great way to experience lots of different bikes that I would probably never buy myself (although I have bought a couple of bikes after riding them with the Club) and much better than a test ride from a dealer.

Since I joined I have ridden all these bikes: Ducati Multistrada, Ducati Diavel, BMW S100RR, Bimota DB4, Triumph Daytona 675 & 675R, Triumph Streetfighter, Triumph Speed Triple, Norton Commando 961, Aprilia RSV4, Triumph 1050ST, Ducati 848, Ducati Panigale 1199, Yamaha YZF-R1, Husqvarna Nuda R, Ducati Streetfighter 848, Ducati Monster 1100 Evo, Ducati 1198, Moto Guzzi Griso, KTM 1190 RC8, Aprilia Tuono, MV Agusta F4 (I'm sure I have missed something)

Where else would I get to do that!

[HdePelet]

I have been a member of the Spyder club for over a year now and think it is a superb proposition for a variety of riders. As alluded to above, the cost of ownership of a modern sports bike in depreciation alone compensates for the price of membership and there is so much more to the club (for that is part of the fun of it) than just bike hire. I agree that many of the members have other bikes and cars, but there is a special pleasure in enjoying the variety of new bikes on offer, as well as organised tours and ride outs. Safe riding in this slippery summer!

[loudlashadjuster]

I've looked at similar things for cars and the cost has always been astronomical.

With the lower purchase and running costs of bikes, even a Panigale, this makes a lot more sense.

[VidalBaboon]

I am interested, I will try to take a look over the next few days.

[teilo]

I have always had problems deciding which bike I might like to own next and, as a member of Spyder Club, this problem has been solved as I get to ride a variety of the latest bikes without ever buying one. The Husqvarna Nuda R is a great example of a bike I would have never thought I would enjoy so much and Spyder Club provided the opportunity to ride it. It will not be for everyone but for me it works and I always look forward to seeing what is being purchased next.