rem said:
Heh heh. We've been friends for 30 years so he will be expecting a certain level of abuse. Actually, I find the Spyders quite fascinating. I've never ridden one, and I'm led to believe that it takes a fair bit of getting used to. I sat on it yesterday and I can certainly see the resemblance to a snowmobile, at least while still.
I test rode one at a demo day last year. My brother is hot-to-trot for one since he's afraid of 2 wheels.
Objectively speaking, compared to the experience of riding 2 wheels I felt it was lacking. You sit more on top and are not as connected to it as you are on a motorcycle. If I wasn't already an avid 2-wheeler I would probably have liked it a lot better.
If you want to talk about pure utility, it has a ton of advantages. You can't drop it, rain is no worry, it has a ton of potential for storage, and you can do awesome burnouts (I tested this) without effort.
There is a market for it out there, it just depends on what you value in your ride.