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Anyone with any experience here? Pros and cons of a trike?
I am signing up for a course (MSF) when time permits, but never having ridden a bike before I came across an interesting fact in my online research into bike riding. And that is in my state (Cali) if a person is licensed to drive a passenger car, a person is licensed to ride / drive / operate a trike. The trike is registered as a motorcycle, and insured the same. And all laws and privilages apply such as carpool lanes, parking spots, etc. But its legal to ride with a good 'ol Class C (passenger car) license.
Looks like I can get one of these for under $3,000 and get started right away, being I have been licensed to ride one for years!!
What should I know about riding a trike? I am sure all the safety precautions and road awareness applies as usual, so a classroom safety course is desirable. But otherwise what am I to expect of the riding experience and skill level required?
I mean this is exciting news to me. I am licensed to ride one, so should I just go out and get one?
Well, you have to actually STEER a trike (unlike a motorcycle). They also require more room in corners so you don't want to be riding side-by-side with a motorcycle around corners. You will need to corner slower (body english doesn't work) since they can flop over and eject you.
Hmm. I've never been a fan of the "delta" style (one wheel in front, two in back).
The rake and trail geometry of a motorcycle is made for handling like a single track vehicle, which turns not by pointing the front wheel in a certain direction but by using the rounded profile of the tires to induce a tendency to travel in a certain arc. The way you use the rounded profile is by leaning, and the way you initiate a lean is by handlebar input, but the steering is called countersteering for a reason.
A four-wheeled vehicle turns in a completely differnet way.
A delta trike tries to turn like a four-wheeled vehicle but with the steering geometry of a motorcycle. And the result is less than graceful. Did you know there was once a ten-year ban on the sale of delta trikes in the US?
I'd be a lot more likely to ride a "tadpole" style trike (two wheels in front, one in rear) such as the T-Rex or Can-Am. These turn like a car with a differential steering rack.
Me, I love being on two wheels. I love the way a motorcycle turns. But I also love things with engines -- ATVs, snowmobiles, PWCs, or bikes. So I wouldn't mind trying out that trike.
Take the course *first* and then see what you think -- that's my advice.
i will be taking my MSF course and considering all my options. i have read some more about trikes verses motorcycles, pro and con since i posted this. it would seem some bike riders don't like trikes and consider them less stable and harder to handle. yet others say thats not true, you just can't operate them like a bike. it seems if you learn how to ride a motorcycle first (like most people) a trike just seems unnecessary. yet older riders and disabled riders switch from two wheels to three, which would seem to suggest they are more stable and easier to handle if ridden and operated carefully
no more weaving in and out of traffic, no more fast, hard cornering, and no more leaning the bike to the ground. it would seem a trike is made for upright, strait line cruising and taking it easy around corners. try doing what you would do on a motorcycle, and you're in for big trouble. so for many motorcyclist it just seems unsafe and not fun because its NOT a two wheeler. but for some riders who are willing to adapt out of necessity, they say its great, stable, and safe when operated like a trike, and not a two wheeler
the bike above is a chinese bike. they seem to be the only country with manufacturers who make factory built / kit trikes. don't look now...but i'm about to make a chinese bike thread!!
For me the only value of a trike? They don't fall over when you forget to put down your stand. Lol
I guess then a trike may have saved me from a very embarrassing moment once a few years back when I was traveling on the NY Thruway....
I pulled up at a toll booth to pay my toll and just happened to put my foot down on the area where cars and trucks had dripped oil, grease, and diesel fuel. The rubbery sole of my boot hit that and I may as well been on ice skates. As my foot went laterally, the bike slowly started towards the ground. I fought it, but couldn't get any traction and the bike ended up on it's side. To add insult to injury, cars behind me began blowing their horns!
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