Trikes

[overherebc]

What are the rules/legalities of these in Thailand?

[guzzi850m2]

I think they are only allowed for handicapped persons but don't know the exact rules.

[SpaceKadet]

I was interested in the rules as well, as I wanted to build a Harley trike. Somebody asked that question in Phuket Gazette many years (15?) ago. The answer from the chief of the police was that they are illegal. The LTD has provisions only for 2 wheel (motorcycle) and 4 wheel (car), 3 wheel is only an exception for TukTuks. So that would also mean that all those 3 wheel food-carts attached to bikes, are totally illegal. Also, the side cars for motor bikes sit in a legal limbo. The Tiger motorcycles, a Thai manufacturer had a big issue making legal sidecars for their mopeds. I think they ended having to apply for two registrations, one for the bike and separate for the sidecar. It has been discussed here on Thai Visa so you might want to search.

 

Unless, of course, the magic happened and the rules have changed.

[jackdd]

3 hours ago, SpaceKadet said:

 So that would also mean that all those 3 wheel food-carts attached to bikes, are totally illegal. Also, the side cars for motor bikes sit in a legal limbo. The Tiger motorcycles, a Thai manufacturer had a big issue making legal sidecars for their mopeds. I think they ended having to apply for two registrations, one for the bike and separate for the sidecar. It has been discussed here on Thai Visa so you might want to search. 

  

Unless, of course, the magic happened and the rules have changed.

The Thai Vehicle Act, which is from 1979, says that a motorcycle might have a sidecar with an extra wheel, so a regular sidecar is no problem, and the food carts probably also fall under this definition.

 

A trike like as shown in the picture would only be legal if you could register it as a Tuk Tuk (i don't know if this is possible), which does then of course require a Tuk Tuk driving license

[SpaceKadet]

I stand corrected. But still, it is documented here on TV, and I have seen first hand Tiger Motorcycles bikes that had additional license plate for the sidecar, and the company  went through a lot of hassle to make that happen. And this was a Thai owned bike manufacturer.... According to this all those three wheel food carts should have a separate license, right?

 

But we can agree that a trike like the OP wants is definitely a nogo, unless registered as a TukTuk  and as I understand it needs special permits, and farangs are not on the list.

[overherebc]

10 hours ago, SpaceKadet said:

I stand corrected. But still, it is documented here on TV, and I have seen first hand Tiger Motorcycles bikes that had additional license plate for the sidecar, and the company  went through a lot of hassle to make that happen. And this was a Thai owned bike manufacturer.... According to this all those three wheel food carts should have a separate license, right?

 

But we can agree that a trike like the OP wants is definitely a nogo, unless registered as a TukTuk  and as I understand it needs special permits, and farangs are not on the list.

Always disliked the nogo make.

Maybe sidecar is the way togo.

Edited June 30, 2018 by overherebc

[Briggsy]

22 hours ago, jackdd said:

The Thai Vehicle Act, which is from 1979, says that a motorcycle might have a sidecar with an extra wheel, so a regular sidecar is no problem, and the food carts probably also fall under this definition.

Thanks for the info.

 

I would personally be surprised if 10% of owners of modified sidecar bikes (food vendors, etc) even bothered to try to get the modification passed by the Land Transport Dept. and entered in the green book.

 

I would personally be surprised if 10% of those that tried succeeded.

 

So, I would be personally be surprised if 1% of the sidecars in Thailand are legal, very surprised.

 

I think the vehicle in the original post has a higher chance simply on the grounds of safety and roadworthiness. The proof of the pudding would be to take it along to the local Land Transport Office and try and get it registered or the rear axle modification registered in the green book.

[canthai55]

OP - you ever rode a trike ?

Drive might be a better description

Edited July 1, 2018 by canthai55

[overherebc]

2 hours ago, canthai55 said:

OP - you ever rode a trike ?

Drive might be a better description

Yes.

[impulse]

If scooters are legally limited to 2 wheels, how does Yamaha sell the TriCity?

 

Honda's also got the Gyro, but I think the 50cc engine is what makes that one non-street legal.  Though I see quite a few of them (and modified 3 wheelers similar to the OP) bopping around Chinatown.

 

Just a thought to ponder...  Before giving up on a good idea.

Edited July 1, 2018 by impulse

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

If scooters are legally limited to 2 wheels, how does Yamaha sell the TriCity?

 

Honda's also got the Gyro, but I think the 50cc engine is what makes that one non-street legal.  Though I see quite a few of them (and modified 3 wheelers similar to the OP) bopping around Chinatown.

 

Just a thought to ponder...  Before giving up on a good idea.

These 3 would cause some head scratching at DLT I reckon.

[SpaceKadet]

19 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Thanks for the info.

 

I would personally be surprised if 10% of owners of modified sidecar bikes (food vendors, etc) even bothered to try to get the modification passed by the Land Transport Dept. and entered in the green book.

 

I would personally be surprised if 10% of those that tried succeeded.

 

So, I would be personally be surprised if 1% of the sidecars in Thailand are legal, very surprised.

 

I think the vehicle in the original post has a higher chance simply on the grounds of safety and roadworthiness. The proof of the pudding would be to take it along to the local Land Transport Office and try and get it registered or the rear axle modification registered in the green book.

How many trikes have you seen in Thailand? I have none that had a registration plate. I have seen some local builds though. Thais love to modify their bikes, but they don't even bother to register them, and ride/drive them on back roads. And as we all know; What locals get away with, us Falang don't...

[SpaceKadet]

6 hours ago, overherebc said:

These 3 would cause some head scratching at DLT I reckon.

Really cool pics! The first one looks like Honda Goldwing toy, the second like something that came out of Russia, but the third is my absolute favorite. I'm a hardcore Harley man, but that Goldwing with sidecar and a trailer would look great on me. Imagine the amount of beer you could bring with you to the next beach BBQ party!!!!

[ChouDoufu]

there are a few of these running as taxis in bangkhla (chachoengsa):

[overherebc]

32 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

Really cool pics! The first one looks like Honda Goldwing toy, the second like something that came out of Russia, but the third is my absolute favorite. I'm a hardcore Harley man, but that Goldwing with sidecar and a trailer would look great on me. Imagine the amount of beer you could bring with you to the next beach BBQ party!!!!

Yep, leave wife at home, take your dog with you to the beach and enjoy the day without earache.

???

[overherebc]

51 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

Really cool pics! The first one looks like Honda Goldwing toy, the second like something that came out of Russia, but the third is my absolute favorite. I'm a hardcore Harley man, but that Goldwing with sidecar and a trailer would look great on me. Imagine the amount of beer you could bring with you to the next beach BBQ party!!!!

I think the one with twin sidecars is german and the sidecars are made by a company called Steib.

[ChouDoufu]

not a trike, driven locally..

[overherebc]

22 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

not a trike, driven locally..

In all honesty at my age and with leg problems that would be perfect.

[SpaceKadet]

1 hour ago, overherebc said:

Yep, leave wife at home, take your dog with you to the beach and enjoy the day without earache.

???

LOL! No space for the dogs, but a case of beer, sausages, and my three granddaughters.... Wife stays at home..:)

 

[overherebc]

2 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

LOL! No space for the dogs, but a case of beer, sausages, and my three granddaughters.... Wife stays at home..:)

 

I'd take the dog to guard my sausages.

????

[SpaceKadet]

Wouldn't trust mine to do that! I would just go hungry and very drunk...

[overherebc]

17 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

Wouldn't trust mine to do that! I would just go hungry and very drunk...

Not a problem. Mine will drive me home.

[thaiguzzi]

Trikes.

Hideous things.

Only test rode one, in the mid 80's - short wheelbase Kawasaki Z1000 - was told it handled well. Went straight on at the first sharp L/H corner...

I understand and appreciate that the contraptions are useful vehicles for invalids and cripples. But any normal able bodied person that would want to own and ride one of these things want their head looking at.

Hideous inventions.

Sidecars - that's another ball game - fantastic inventions and brilliant fun.

Three wheelers a la Morgan - again a quality set of wheels and handle impressively.

[Ks45672]

11 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Trikes.

Hideous things.

Only test rode one, in the mid 80's - short wheelbase Kawasaki Z1000 - was told it handled well. Went straight on at the first sharp L/H corner...

I understand and appreciate that the contraptions are useful vehicles for invalids and cripples. But any normal able bodied person that would want to own and ride one of these things want their head looking at.

Hideous inventions.

Sidecars - that's another ball game - fantastic inventions and brilliant fun.

Three wheelers a la Morgan - again a quality set of wheels and handle impressively.

I raced a Thai guy on a can am spyder one night through bkk and those things are not slow

 

Haven't seen one since so I guess they're prohibitively expensive for most thais

[SpaceKadet]

Well, not surprised, thaiguzzi. That's what you get for riding Kawasaki. Next time try this. It's manufactured by the Harley company and cheaper than CVO Electra.

 

[thaiguzzi]

38 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

Well, not surprised, thaiguzzi. That's what you get for riding Kawasaki. Next time try this. It's manufactured by the Harley company and cheaper than CVO Electra.

 

No, the Kawasaki Z1000 was a custom built short wheelbase trike with a rigid rear end designed to handle and go fast. It went fast but it did not handle.

The cargo ship above in that pic I would imagine is even slower than a stock (2 wheel) Harley and probably also does not handle.

Hideous.

Edit,

 I see it has boot space for a wheelchair or leg crutches, hence I stand by my earlier comment.

Edited July 2, 2018 by thaiguzzi

[SpaceKadet]

No, the boot is for the beer. It has a diff rear axle and 1755cc engine. As with all detuned Harley V twins it can easily be upgraded to 2 litre 150RWHP with monstrous torque. From your comments I can see that you never even sat on a Harley, but you handle would indicate that you have a V twin bike, so you should know what to expect from a large displacement V twin engine.

 

[thaiguzzi]

On 7/2/2018 at 5:04 PM, SpaceKadet said:

No, the boot is for the beer. It has a diff rear axle and 1755cc engine. As with all detuned Harley V twins it can easily be upgraded to 2 litre 150RWHP with monstrous torque. From your comments I can see that you never even sat on a Harley, but you handle would indicate that you have a V twin bike, so you should know what to expect from a large displacement V twin engine.

 

Ever heard of power to weight ratio?

No thought not. So what does that HD trike weigh? And what does a 1.7 litre HD knock out?

FYI,

i have worked on and built Harleys and Harley engines for over 20 years. I still have a draw of specialist HD tooling. I can build and true cranks. I can tune HD's for HP, torque and handling.

I've ridden more Harleys than you have had hot dinners, due to me owning a workshop in the UK for 15 years that specialized in OHV classic bikes. So i rode a lot of customers bikes.

I owned a very non std '89 FXR for several years.

*****************

By the way - "upgrade easily to 2000cc and 150 RWHP". The term "easily" is not what i would use. I'd suggest the term "a huge handful of Dollars and somebody proficient in building very  high maintenance OHV twins"....

*****************
And you were saying?

 

[SpaceKadet]

How do you know how many hot dinners I had, or for that matter how many Harleys or other bikes that I have owned and what I have done to them. You don't know shit about me. 

 

I am sad to say that it's just people like you and your other pals  that keep me away from the bike forum on TV.. So much vitriol! If you don't like trikes that don't bother commenting. Nobody is interested in your opinions. All bikers have different preferences. Some even like those crotch rockets. It's up to them, I will not comment negatively on anybody who rides on 2 wheels (or 3 for that matter if it's on a big bike), and I will ride with anybody, anytime, and anywhere. Just for the fun of it.

And lets talk about this thing being fast. After all it's 90 kph speed limit here, and I already have a couple of speed tickets for my car. What is the point of having a bike that thrives at 200 and tops over 300+ kph? Is it really that bad to take it easy and ride comfortably and in style, and with a case of beer and BBQ and sausages in the back?

 

I have to tell you to wake up and smell the oil! Nobody fiddles with the carb jetting and port polishing any more. You can have a crated engine delivered, just slot it in the frame. Either Harley SE120R of 120cid or Jim's tuned 131cid. Sure it costs, but if you have an "Aston Martin", then you can splash out a bit. Or if you can't afford it, well, it's your loss, not mine. Or just get yourself an electronic gadget that will plug into your bikes ECU and your laptop. Dead easy to tune, and much cleaner on the hands.

 

As a matter of info to you, a stock Harley 107cid will knock out just over 110 lb-ft of torque at 3000 RPM and just over 80 rear wheel HP. Enough to move the 1000lb of the trike at a very good pace. Tonnes of torque and even HP! That is more power to weight ratio than my 3.2l turbo charged Ranger, and that thing really moves. And since you are such a guru mechanic and such an outstanding expert on anything Harley related, you should know that HP is just James Watts wet dream and only torque matters on any rotary engine. Right?

 

I really hope I don't have to post the video of Hido on his 70HP rat Harley chopper just smoking a 180HP Fireblade.....

[canthai55]

6 hours ago, SpaceKadet said:

  only torque matters on any rotary engine.

Drive a Mazda ?

Reciprocating engine