Part of me likes it, but whenever I see that type of vehicle (Polaris, trikes etc) I can't help thinking that they're too compromised, with none of the advantages of a bike.
I guess that depends on what you consider the advantages of a bike to be?. If it is to cut between lanes of stationary traffic, then obviously you won't be able to do that on a trike. But if it is to experience the feeling of being exposed, the wind rushing past, the heightened sensation of speed, then there are no real drawbacks. Plus the fact that there is no possibility of dropping it(!), and the fact that your passenger alongside not behind you.
I'm also guessing that this type of machine is going to have great appeal to bikers who, for whatever reason (accident, illness), can no longer use a motorbike.
Looking at the Jay Leno clip, there was mention of the Can Am Spyder, and while i have seen one or two in the past, i'd kind of forgotten about them, so visited their website. Particularly impressed by the Ryker, it has a real pugnacious look about it and prices start under £9k. No, with 47bhp it is not going to be that fast compared to the likes of the Vanderhall, or possibly even the Slingshot, but it only weighs around 280kg, so i'm sure it would be plenty fast enough for me!.
uk.brp.com/on-road/
Edited by badbusdriver on 02/09/2019 at 11:01
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One of the members of our Brittany bike club had a test ride out on a Can-Am Spyder from a dealer, and said it was like driving a ride-on lawn mower!
The nearest Polaris Slingshot dealer to me is Caen which is about 300 km away so that's not on.
I would like to see a video of this Vanderhall on a track to see what happens handling wise when it's being seriously abused to the point of chronic understeer and what happens next!
I have seen a test video of the Ryker and it can be two-wheeled easily before the stability control cuts the power - scary!
Edited by focussed on 02/09/2019 at 11:32
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One of the members of our Brittany bike club had a test ride out on a Can-Am Spyder from a dealer, and said it was like driving a ride-on lawn mower!
Yeah, i guess i'm not too surprised by this, a biker not being impressed. A biker, especially a long term, or dedicated biker, is probably not going to take to something like the Can Am, or any of the other 3 wheeled options. But from my point of view, as a 'non-biker', it offers most of the appeal of a motorbike with the added (aforementioned) benefit of not being able to drop it. Obviously on the Can Am, your passenger will be behind you, just like a 2 wheeled bike. As for caning it on a track, or on the road, that isn't something i would do, so not really a concern how it behaves in the extreme.
Just watched a YouTube video from a guy who bought a Can Am Spyder and was offering up his opinons after a year with it. He absolutely loves it and has no regrets whatsoever. Different strokes for different folks, etc, etc!.
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The accepted wisdom on the Can-Am Spyder is that car drivers love them as a sort of safe way into "biking" if that makes sense, but serious bikers don't take to them.
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Owen Greenwood did the original development work on FWD three wheelers in the 1960's!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpeCfkniFz0
That may well be the case, but FWD 3 wheelers had been around a long time by the 60's. There was a very interesting article in the June edition of The Automobile, on the development of the BSA 3 wheeler. This went on sale in 1929.
www.bsafwdc.org/bsapic/011-zal.jpg
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I saw a BSA competing at the Curborough sprint circuit. It fell over gently on a tight corner, despite having a chunk of metal ballast, in a large toolbox?, between the front wheels. Its centre of gravity looked a bit higher than a Morgan 3 wheeler.
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I saw a BSA competing at the Curborough sprint circuit. It fell over gently on a tight corner, despite having a chunk of metal ballast, in a large toolbox?, between the front wheels. Its centre of gravity looked a bit higher than a Morgan 3 wheeler.
Yeah, reading the article, it does seem that , despite the extra stability usually afforded by 2 wheelers having two at the front, the BSA wasn't that stable!. In fact in the letters page in the following months The Autocar, there is a letter from someone who's friend asked him to deliver a BSA from Manchester to Norwich. During the course of the trip, the car spun round and tipped over!. The car was duly pushed back onto its wheels and carried on with no further incident!.
Put me in mind of a story i heard from a guy i worked with many years ago. he had been a travelling salesman, and had been on a road somewhere North of Inverness, following a Reliant Robin, on a very windy day. At one particularly exposed place, the Reliant was simply blown off the road and ended up on its roof in a field!. A few cars stopped to help, they got the elderly driver out, who says, "Its always doing that on windy days!". Between them, they then got the car back on its wheels and on the road, whereupon the driver carried on!.
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I remember back when i went through a phase of being interested in kit cars, being intrigued by a single seat 3 wheeler based on the (series one) Renault 5. Called the Free Spirit, it had a rather different look to the (2CV based) Lomax 223 which clearly took insperation from the Morgan.
Here is the Kindred Spirit,
farm5.staticflickr.com/4030/4579809134_fe7e6ac75c_...g
And the Lomax,
4.bp.blogspot.com/-2hLciTKL43A/UmdiRFQJl1I/AAAAAAA...g
I also vaguely remember a partcularly bizarre Mini based kit car with 3 wheels. I have tried to find pics to no avail, and i can't remember what it was called, but i do remember you sat astride it like a motorbike (and yes, i think it had handlebars)!. Anyone shed any light on what it is i'm trying to remember?
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I also vaguely remember a partcularly bizarre Mini based kit car with 3 wheels. I have tried to find pics to no avail, and i can't remember what it was called, but i do remember you sat astride it like a motorbike (and yes, i think it had handlebars)!. Anyone shed any light on what it is i'm trying to remember?
Found it myself, it was caled the Stimson Scorcher(!), but it did have a steering wheel. Mental looking thing, with a tuned 1275 engine this would probably be terrifying!. Wonder how many they sold?
i.pinimg.com/originals/1e/ab/c8/1eabc8b476174814ce...g
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