About 1,500 enthusiasts of Spyders, a popular brand of three-wheeled motorcycles, are gathering for a rally Thursday and Friday in Durango.

The trike-bikers have been trickling in this week for the BRP/Can-Am Spyder rally based at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Company representatives were busy Wednesday setting up gear fittings, demo rides and more at the fairgrounds.

The Spyder rally came to Durango for the first and most recent time in 2012, said Grace Sheperd, who handles group business for the Durango Area Tourism Office.

“They just loved it so much they voted to come back,” Sheperd said. Some Spyder riders are camping, but many are filling up local hotels and motels, she said.

The Spyder enthusiasts will hold an event Friday evening in front of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot. Main Avenue and Fifth Street in that area will be closed to through traffic during the event.

The Spyder is manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products, a company based in Quebec, Canada. BRP also manufactures Sea-Doo watercraft, and Lynx and Ski-Doo snowmobiles.

The event comes as summer tourism ramps up. One advantage of the Spyder rally is the riders tend to get out and about, patronizing a variety of businesses, said Shepherd.

“They have been an amazing group in the past,” said Anne Klein, a Durango public-relations consultant.

cslothower@durangoherald.com