Why Not A Motor Trike?

[PeaceBlondie]

Designing a motor vehicle usually requires someone (or ten engineers) with the equivalent of an MS in automotive engineering, and cubic money. Suspension bits are as weird and as difficult for me to understand, as female gynecological bits. Physics is a foreign language.

Anybody who's so concerned about cornering safety, but doesn't want to wear a helmet, needs to walk. Walk everywhere; don't even trust a songtaew. Even trains crash into rivers in Southeast Asia.

My best student didn't die merely because he was on a motorcycle, stopped at a light, with two more students on board. He died because he fell from a height of 5.9 feet, at a dead stop. A dead stop.

[solent01]

Not all trikes are slow. You could try a Carver

Here's a link to a similar topic some months ago.

trikes and quads

My brother sent me a DVD with a serious of Top Gear on it, it featured the Carver, looks amasing

Sol

[meowchawpnom]

Japhrodisiac,

So you think a sidecar would make a more stable bike? I read that they also have stability problems; would be interested in hearing from someone who has actually driven one.

i asked someone about that recently, and he said he did not think that sidecars exist in Vietnam. But I just googled it and saw something about a guy in Hanoi who restores Minsks or Urals or something, and can do sidecars.

[jdinasia]

see post 61

[meowchawpnom]

Some trike pictures people have posted are much bigger, with wider rear wheels, than your typical home-made Vietnamese trikes. Here's a typical trike conversion seen on a Saigon street.

Not very jazzy, I'll admit. But I was just thinking...Vespas, with that wide rear end, almost look like they have two wheels in the back. Maybe buying a Vespa and putting two wheels back there...people might hardly even notice that it's a trike???

Whaddya think?

From my internet research, what someone posted earlier about Vietnam now allowing imports of used cars with no duties does not seem to be true, they ARE charging duties.

But someone told me today that used cars are not that expensive in VN, maybe 4 or 5 thousand dollars for a used Toyota...

But I wonder if all that will change when Vietnam joins the World Trade Organization, supposed to happen later this year. I think that involves abolishing a lot of import duties...

[jdinasia]

read post 61!

[jbowman1993]

I applaud all of you adventurerous motercycle and motor trike riders! Out there every day, working hard to prove Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection correct again and again. I salute you!

[Japhrodisiac]

Japhrodisiac,

So you think a sidecar would make a more stable bike? I read that they also have stability problems; would be interested in hearing from someone who has actually driven one.

i asked someone about that recently, and he said he did not think that sidecars exist in Vietnam. But I just googled it and saw something about a guy in Hanoi who restores Minsks or Urals or something, and can do sidecars.

Stability, what is it? Are you talking about straight line stability, cornering stability, resistance to turning etc? You really, and I mean really, need to have a much better understanding of vehicle dynamics in order to ask the questions that you are asking of us and make some sense of the answers. Most posters (myself included) are too lazy to go too in depth with someone who has such a little understanding of the way vehicles work. No one really wants to see you get hurt, and you make a lot of assumptions about vehicle handling based on a simple look at its layout. In terms of straight line stability for instance, a motorcycle is one of the most stable vehicles on the road. Once underway, the wheels act as a gyroscope which want to stay straight in line and straight up and down.

As far as cornering goes, you are opening a huge can of worms, and the correct responses to your questions would take hours and pages of typing. Vehicle dynamics is the subjest of thousands of engineering papers ( have a look at the SAE website) , but really, you seem to think that stability is a resistance to falling over. Really, it is the tendency for an object to stay in its pointed direction, which cars, bikes, trikes all seem to do rather well at. In terms of cornering, a compromise must be made between a vehicle that will change direction quickly, but maintain composure once steering movement is initiated (ie won't wander all over the place at the slightest input) The center of gravity (CG) of a vehicle changes drastically when braking and cornering, and in some cases the CG actually moves beyond the physical dimensions of the vehicle (as in the case with many trikes).

With regard to sidecars, I was refferring to the simple type that you see in SE asia all over the place, a honda 125cc motorbike with a metal industrial type frame and wheel to one side that forms a carrier. These are generally welded up and fabricated locally, and their handling characteristics depends on who built them, how much they know about sidecards, mechanics etc. Even a commercially available sidecar rig is very sensitive to installation, GC, Toe is, alignment etc. You can go from a very easy, predictable vehicle to a death chair in just a few mm of wrong adjustment. Also, the thing about sidecars is that they have different handling characteristics in left or right turns. If your car is on the right, it will be difficult to turn right, will want to swivel around a verticle axis of the car wheel, and on left turns will often lift the car up off the ground, having a completetly different handling feel.

I'm about done helping you out on this, but my parting words would be to try out a few types of vehicles in a safe area and decide yourself. I think a car is really the best thing for you to be honest. Good luck

[nikster]

I just read that Harley is going to make trikes. Those are going to be stable!

[qualtrough]

I have read this thread and the OP's previous thread and can't help but think that this is a big pisstake, as the Brits would say. The OP is terribly worried about safety, but won't wear a helmet because it gives him a bad hair day and would cut down on his dating prospects? Oh come on! His obsession with falling off a motor bike despite that being probably the very least safety worry he would experience on a bike seems undiminished despite what legions of experienced riders here have told him. Do I need to mention the harebrained modifications he has proposed as well? Either this is a big joke or the OP is a complete idiot, or both...

[jdinasia]

I rather agree Qual ....

but the other option is that the OP really is just a nervous nelly that is desperately looking for some way to be cool ... be mobile etc etc ....

as he is in Vietnam and none of us know his situation ... we can just TRY and work through this ...

there's just no way that continueing to help with REAL info when the guy just passes over all real info ... is gonna produce any real results

[rcm]

Honestly i thought it was Gary Glitter.....but he is in Jail

Must be somebody else insane .....i don't understand the Op's priorities and i guess i am not alone here. He wants to look good on a "Trike" which as driving it without helmet looks cool and he is much safer as it has an "additional" wheel....

a quote from Forrest Gump "Stupid is as stupid does."

[qualtrough]

Honestly i thought it was Gary Glitter.....but he is in Jail

Must be somebody else insane .....i don't understand the Op's priorities and i guess i am not alone here. He wants to look good on a "Trike" which as driving it without helmet looks cool and he is much safer as it has an "additional" wheel....

Perhaps the jail accomodating Mr. Glitter features Internet access?

[meowchawpnom]

Sorry to revive this topic, but am still pondering this matter. It occurred to me the other day that, whereas a trike is an imperfect solution at best, is there any reason why you couldn't put 4 wheels on a motorbike and maybe have a more stable vehicle?

Is a 4 wheel motorbike considered an ATV? But why couldn't you have one with normal tires for urban use as a safer motorbike alternative?

Pros and cons of this approach?

Are ATVs available in SEA and I wonder if you can customize them so they are for road use, not off-road? Or just have someone put 2 extra wheels on a Honda Dream.

[rcm]

Sorry to revive this topic, but am still pondering this matter. It occurred to me the other day that, whereas a trike is an imperfect solution at best, is there any reason why you couldn't put 4 wheels on a motorbike and maybe have a more stable vehicle?

Is a 4 wheel motorbike considered an ATV? But why couldn't you have one with normal tires for urban use as a safer motorbike alternative?

Pros and cons of this approach?

Are ATVs available in SEA and I wonder if you can customize them so they are for road use, not off-road? Or just have someone put 2 extra wheels on a Honda Dream.

Honestly , a quad or ATV looks way better than a trike...having said that ,it doesn't mean that it gives you a better stability in driving nor does it mean you should drive around without helmet. I recall the helmet was one issue and so was your concern of falling over with a Bike and that was your concern of the dangers on a 2wheel bike .

The best possible solution for not wearing helmet and been seen is a Cabriolet? Since you like it small perhaps a mini? Or some of the Daihatsu's ? If you're willing to spend a bit more a Porsche will do

ATV's i am pretty sure they are available but i assume they are not legally driven here .

i hope that helps,

rcm

[Mugg]

you just gotta deal with it .... athe trade-offs are basically unacceptable. 2 or 4 wheels are your only decent choices .....

I chose 5 wheels and love it...

[Mugg]

you just gotta deal with it .... athe trade-offs are basically unacceptable. 2 or 4 wheels are your only decent choices .....

I chose 5 wheels and love it...

So did she

[submaniac]

She's cute. Almost makes up for the fact that a thread from 2006 was resurrected.

[Mugg]

She's cute. Almost makes up for the fact that a thread from 2006 was resurrected.

It took me that long to make it . You test drive it anytime. (the side car)...

[kartman]

You'll have to be carefull on the bends don't want anything(s) not secured properly flapping about.

[funcat]

...looks like your lady likes to ride in comfort...lots of "leg" room here...

[wandrinstar]

You'll have to be carefull on the bends don't want anything(s) not secured properly flapping about.

Tell us Karty what might be flapping about . Can you post a Pic.

[Mugg]

You'll have to be carefull on the bends don't want anything(s) not secured properly flapping about.

Tell us Karty what might be flapping about . Can you post a Pic.

She has help holding on