Funny lookng bike

[TroyV]

http://reversetrike.com/home.html

I've been seeing these more and more during my commutes.. I've been seeing them on I93 and I95 in and around the Stoneham/Woburn area. The ones I see definitely are the size of normal bikes and have mass plates on them, everyone is doing double takes after seeing them....myself included.

[breakaway500]

Yea,trikes are all the rage lately.There is a Can-am dealer next town over so I have been seeing a lot of these Spyders.I even went to one of their open house events and rode one. Slower and more clumsy than a bike with no weather protection to speak of.If you ask me,it's an answer to a question no one asked

[ctkag]

There's a dealer here on the Enfield CT, Longmeadow MA line that sells the Can-Ams. I suppose they're good for people who don't want to balance on two wheels. Don't seem to offer any other advantage like more storage/carrying capacity, which might make them more useful.

[breakaway500]

One of the best aspects of motorcycles is how narrow they are.They fit into places cars can't go.

You loose all that with a trike.

No more lane splitting.

Takes up three times the space in the garage.

33% more tires to replace.

..and they're just plain goofy looking.

Well,I suppose..if some people are worried about falling over when they stop...or forgetting to use the kickstand, they are just what the world needs. 40 years riding two wheels has made me quite biased.

[nhsilversti]

wouldnt it be 50% more tires.

[breakaway500]

Yea, you're right.I was thinking if you had three and needed one...
but it should be if you had two and added one.
Still an odd kind of vehicle.

The only trike I ever lusted for was the Servi-car:

[ctkag]

But see - that trike makes sense. It has all that storage capacity between the rear wheels. The Can-Am doesn't.

[breakaway500]

The difference is the Harley was built in a time when practicality was a priority.

It's not much fun to drive...very s-l-o-w. Top speed of about 50mph.

[DanDarcy]

Having been a motorcycle dealer for over 35 years, I think most 3 wheeled bikes combine the worst of the motorcycle and auto world. Your stuck out in the weather but it's not fun to drive (no leaning into the corners). You might as well buy a Miata and have some weather protection and the same fuel milage .

[rajito]

Dan, your scooters look like they'd be more fun to ride than the 3-wheelers. Three wheelers in India are a whole lot more fun and dangerous though

http://rickshawchallenge.com/wp-content ... 1c8b_o.jpg

Raj

[breakaway500]

Hmm...what class would those run in?

[TroyV]

Leaving the proper space for hybrid cars, hydrogen fuel cell, and other alternative fuel vehicles, I'm guessing those would be in ST8 or ST9

[DanB]

Here's the electric 3-wheel prototype we demonstrated at Eicma in Milan last November.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl= ... a=N&tab=iv#
It rides pretty much like a normal 2-wheeler at speed, but you can lock the front end to keep it from leaning at <3mph and maneuver (including reverse!) without putting your feet down.
You also get the benefit of two contact patches up front, so at speed and leaned over you can traverse small areas of low grip (like a patch of dirt/sand or a painted stripe on the road in teh wet) without fear of total traction loss.

[rajito]

Wow, that's awesome. The front wheels are like a skier's legs when turning.



Sorry, the image is a Vespa MP3 but it's a similar concept.

And of course, it's only a matter of time before some asshat figures out how to drift it:


Damn Subaru drivers.
Raj

[DanB]

We have a couple of those Piaggio's here. They basically have two complete single-sided trailing-link front suspensions mounted on giant bearings at the ends of two MASSIVE parallelogrammed aluminum beams. The system works very smoothly, but there is a big weight penalty. 502 lb., 250cc!