Yikes! Trikes!

[skibum69]

I agree with the sidecar mod.

[Lee]

Trikes are inherently unstable at speed as in if you cranked the bars you are very likely to flip the machine. The other thing the educated person mentioned was that the front brake on a trike ended up being very much overloaded which makes sense if you look at the weight of a trike coming down on it. I'm just regurgitating a bunch of stuff I heard on a podcast, I don't claim to know anything but I can look at a trike and see where the centre of gravity is and relate it to where the supposed control is in the front wheel and I can see the recipe for disaster.

I know they flip easy but did not know what stack meant.

[skibum69]

stack: slang for crashing

[brownie0486]

stack: slang for crashing

Learn something new every day,

[PGlaves]

stack: slang for crashing

I think it originated on the quarter-mile dirt tracks of yore, where in fact sometimes crashed cars wound up stacked one or more upon another.

[Lee]

stack: slang for crashing

Never heard that one.

[GTRider]

Never heard that one.

Go to any Iowa sprint car track on a summer weekend night and you’ll see it demonstrated, live!


Vest,
DeVern

[Lee]

Go to any Iowa sprint car track on a summer weekend night and you’ll see it demonstrated, live!


Vest,
DeVern

Went to Knoxville once and that was a blast.

[crna59]

Trikes are inherently unstable at speed as in if you cranked the bars you are very likely to flip the machine. The other thing the educated person mentioned was that the front brake on a trike ended up being very much overloaded which makes sense if you look at the weight of a trike coming down on it.

As a 3-wheel Instructor, we hear about these things all the time. Yes, a trike, because of the un-sprung weight, you do have about 70% of the stopping power in the REAR ... as opposed to a two-wheeler.

Then we have to talk about "steering reversion". This happens when a trike or side-car gets up on two wheels. Then it "reverts" back to using counter steering. Most folks that have little to no two wheel experience know nothing about this. This is why a high percentage of accidents happen on trikes/side cars. We teach this and let the student experience this in our S/TEP classes.

Me, because of the safety features, also have a Can-am.

[Omega Man]

There is a lot of technology in the Can-Am. I was behind one on a corner and the Can-Am was traveling fast enough to raise a wheel. As soon as the wheel broke traction, it set itself down.
Pretty cool to watch in real time.
OM

[akbeemer]

I have five friends that ride a Spyder or Ryker. Three (2 men, 1 woman) are older and long time riders who gave up two wheels for the normal age and health related issues and now ride Spyders. Each of them describes riding the Spyder as just "better than not riding at all", but it doesn't get their blood up like riding a motorcycle did. The other two are middle age women who ride Rykers and had no significant motorcycle experience before getting getting the Can Ams; they love them. So I guess one's perspective on riding a motorcycle plays a big role in whether riding a Can Am will meet your needs. One of the guys who rides a Spyder is a retired auto mechanic and 30 year professor of auto tech at a community college. He had to replace the fuel pump which required a level of disassembly that was scary. He got it done, but a less experienced person would be less likely to be successful. A bit later he started having other issues that took him a month to finally diagnose as a leaking vacuum hose. When I say diagnose I mean he began disassembling the machine until he finally saw a dry rotted hose buried deep in the engine. He replaced all of the hoses and it runs fine now. There is no way to know how much those two jobs would cost at a dealer, but given the amount of labor it takes to just get access to problems I think the price would be staggering. And if the dealer struggles to diagnose the issue and starts trying fixes that are not needed it could be much worse, Out in this part of the world Can Am dealers that will work on Spyders are few and very far between. I have a six year old Can Am ATV and it is superb. It is our work horse and does jobs like plowing snow, pulling trailers to spray for weeds, grading our gravel driveway and general hauling. It has not given us one bit of trouble and the routine maintenance tasks are not particularly difficult. I also had a Ski Doo snow machine that I think was the best one I ever had. Can Am and Ski Doo are both part of Bombardier. I say that to point out that I have a high regard for Bombardier products, just not the Spyder.

Annie and I are taking a different route. We both now have Ural Gear Ups; the two wheel drive version. I got mine about two years ago and Annie got hers 18 months ago. I really enjoy riding the Ural. We have the benefit of having a friend here that is a long time sidecar rider, 30 year MSF instructor and, although he is not a certified 3 wheel instructor, he took the class offered in Washington State. He has spent a lot of time working with us , both on the range, on streets and in the local trails. They are a hoot to ride and I an seriously considering adding a sidecar to my GSA.

Whatever keeps a person safely on the road is fine with me.

[k1200lt00]

Back in the late 80'S the ATV trike were outlaw. Why people didn't respect them. they were a the market for 20 years no problem. Then they get popular and you get new riders that had no clue that you can get hurt on then if you do not use you head. Now they are gone. Is this going to happen as the road trikes get more popular. As far as sidecars go there is very few compared to ever thing else out there so I think they are safe for now.

[akbeemer]

Back in the late 80'S the ATV trike were outlaw. Why people didn't respect them. they were a the market for 20 years no problem. Then they get popular and you get new riders that had no clue that you can get hurt on then if you do not use you head. Now they are gone. Is this going to happen as the road trikes get more popular. As far as sidecars go there is very few compared to ever thing else out there so I think they are safe for now.

About ten years ago I was in a coffee shop sitting with a friend who is an orthopedic surgeon. A teenager riding an old Honda three wheel ATV pulled up in front of the shop. My friend glanced at the Honda and said, "Those things made me a wealthy man." He went on to say that when he was in private practice years before, hardly a week went by that he didn't see a patient that needed his services after an accident on a three wheel ATV.

[brownie0486]

I have five friends that ride a Spyder or Ryker. Three (2 men, 1 woman) are older and long time riders who gave up two wheels for the normal age and health related issues and now ride Spyders. Each of them describes riding the Spyder as just "better than not riding at all", but it doesn't get their blood up like riding a motorcycle did. The other two are middle age women who ride Rykers and had no significant motorcycle experience before getting getting the Can Ams; they love them. So I guess one's perspective on riding a motorcycle plays a big role in whether riding a Can Am will meet your needs. One of the guys who rides a Spyder is a retired auto mechanic and 30 year professor of auto tech at a community college. He had to replace the fuel pump which required a level of disassembly that was scary. He got it done, but a less experienced person would be less likely to be successful. A bit later he started having other issues that took him a month to finally diagnose as a leaking vacuum hose. When I say diagnose I mean he began disassembling the machine until he finally saw a dry rotted hose buried deep in the engine. He replaced all of the hoses and it runs fine now. There is no way to know how much those two jobs would cost at a dealer, but given the amount of labor it takes to just get access to problems I think the price would be staggering. And if the dealer struggles to diagnose the issue and starts trying fixes that are not needed it could be much worse, Out in this part of the world Can Am dealers that will work on Spyders are few and very far between. I have a six year old Can Am ATV and it is superb. It is our work horse and does jobs like plowing snow, pulling trailers to spray for weeds, grading our gravel driveway and general hauling. It has not given us one bit of trouble and the routine maintenance tasks are not particularly difficult. I also had a Ski Doo snow machine that I think was the best one I ever had. Can Am and Ski Doo are both part of Bombardier. I say that to point out that I have a high regard for Bombardier products, just not the Spyder.

Annie and I are taking a different route. We both now have Ural Gear Ups; the two wheel drive version. I got mine about two years ago and Annie got hers 18 months ago. I really enjoy riding the Ural. We have the benefit of having a friend here that is a long time sidecar rider, 30 year MSF instructor and, although he is not a certified 3 wheel instructor, he took the class offered in Washington State. He has spent a lot of time working with us , both on the range, on streets and in the local trails. They are a hoot to ride and I an seriously considering adding a sidecar to my GSA.

Whatever keeps a person safely on the road is fine with me.

ak, I've considered a Ural Gear Up or a sidecar rig. From what I've read, the newer models are more reliable than their older offerings. What year are your two? And would you trust taking one of yours on a 4-5K mile trip? I'd be be interested in what years yours are, mileage and whether you've had any issues with either.

I looked at one with the second drive wheel at a Phoenix dealer, place I bought my GS from, when I was there considering a Himalayan to jaunt around the Superstitions. I think they look very utilitarian and brutish, in a good way, like my GS. I've thought about getting a dog again and would want to take it on trips, like the guy from Vt. here with his.

On a scale of 1-10, would you take off for the unknown on your Gear Up with full confidence in no mechanical failures? I've held off getting a dog simply because I wouldn't leave it at a kennel while on a 2-3 week trip and I just think it would be an adventure to take my dog with me and head out sharing adventures.

Thanks

[akbeemer]

ak, I've considered a Ural Gear Up or a sidecar rig. From what I've read, the newer models are more reliable than their older offerings. What year are your two? And would you trust taking one of yours on a 4-5K mile trip? I'd be be interested in what years yours are, mileage and whether you've had any issues with either.

I looked at one with the second drive wheel at a Phoenix dealer, place I bought my GS from, when I was there considering a Himalayan to jaunt around the Superstitions. I think they look very utilitarian and brutish, in a good way, like my GS. I've thought about getting a dog again and would want to take it on trips, like the guy from Vt. here with his.

On a scale of 1-10, would you take off for the unknown on your Gear Up with full confidence in no mechanical failures? I've held off getting a dog simply because I wouldn't leave it at a kennel while on a 2-3 week trip and I just think it would be an adventure to take my dog with me and head out sharing adventures.

Thanks

How much time do you have? My Gear Up (2018) will do 70 MPH on a flat road with no head wind. I don’t think cruising above 60 for any extended period is a good idea. Throw in a grade or head wind and the top speed drops accordingly. I rode mine to Coeur D’Alene (320 Miles) and was able to maintain 55-60 except going up Lookout and Fourth Of July passes where 45 in third gear was top speed. I was heavily loaded for camping and it was moderately warm. Annie’s Gear Up (2019) is the first year of a substantial upgrade. New fuel injection, redesigned heads, larger fins on the jugs and some other changes. Hers supposedly has 45 HP compared to my 40 and it seems it does. Her’s can pull away from me on a grade and seems more comfortable cruising at 60-65. Ural has been making steady upgrades over the past several years. You can see their progress over time here: http://www.crawfordsales.info/?page_id=54. The newer the better in my opinion and I suggest not getting the 2 wheel drive version unless you plan to do some serious off-roading or ride in snow. In my two years with my Gear Up I have used 2wheel drive only a handful of times and all were in snow in the Rockies. The 1 wheel drive model is less expensive and is sprung softer (the Gear Up is like a buck-board).

On both of our Urals we had some initial reliability issues. On mine the parking brake cable failed and the ignition switch was replaced in the first 1k miles. I got an O2 sensor fault code but the code cleared and the bike ran well before I installed the new sensor. For the past 4K+ miles it has performed without a hitch. Annie’s speedometer module failed and there was a need to rewire a part of the ignition (her bike was the first year of a new wiring loom). Hers has also been trouble free since those initial faults. All was replaced under warranty. Mine has a 36 month warranty which was extended to 42 due to the pandemic: the normal warranty is 24 months but I got an extra year as a sales promotion. Annie’s warranty is 24 months extended to 30. The choice of dealer is important. There are some well known excellent dealers and some stinkers. I bought from Raceway in Salem, OR. I always deal with the owner, he is exceptionally responsive, helps me diagnose problems via phone or text and sends me warranty parts via express mail. Could not be happier with Raceway. The basic mechanical maintenance on a Ural is very simple. It is essentially like maintaining an airhead but without the carbs to fiddle with.

I would love to be able to take an extended trip in the Ural. Traveling on back roads would be in their sweet spot.