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Trillium
Registered Member

Date Joined Aug 2009
Total Posts : 15

Posted 8/13/2009 10:37 PM (GMT -8)

So, Triumph Guy...what's a trike? And, why hasn't Andy mentioned it? C'mon...must be a tricycle...Tell me about it? Listen...I don't usually care what folks say, but I can't have them fallin all over themselves on the xpway and fallin on me!

Nite...My eyes are bloodshot with all of my new m/c friends help. These folks are great...and so are you cause you mentioned a trike and no one else did!

A bientot!

Richard47
Registered Member

Date Joined Sep 2004
Total Posts : 4097

Posted 8/14/2009 1:04 AM (GMT -8)

I wasn't suggesting you get a 125 with the intention of keeping it long term, Trillium, and a 125 doesn't have enough power to cope with the freeway. Get one and learn to ride so you don't have to think about how to control a bike and how to handle it on the road. Then, when you get a larger bike, you only have to deal with learning to cope with the extra weight. Learning how the controls work, how to balance, riding skills AND dealing with a heavy bike can be a lot to manage all at once. Some riders manage OK it's true, but they will be younger and stronger and even then they may take longer to get comfortable with the bike. It doesn't have to be a 125, just as long as it is as light as possible.

Toilet Brush Dog Owner

Andy VH
Forum Moderator

Date Joined Apr 2005
Total Posts : 4052

Posted 8/14/2009 3:55 AM (GMT -8)

Trillium, there are a variety of trikes on the market there days, marketed to the riders who have balance issues with a motorcycle. The trikes are not cheap at all, but they are a real alternative.

Training, the best safety and performance "equipment" you can get!

Get MSF trained, check out: http://www.msf-usa.org

Well Enuff
--- Regaining my sanity --- one ride at time

Date Joined Jul 2006
Total Posts : 1363

Posted 8/14/2009 4:21 AM (GMT -8)

Trillium said...

ello Friends...

Oh, here is a question for everyone, and I prob already know the ans. Can I pack as I travel from GA across the country? I know it's ok in FL, and not NY, but what about the other states. Didn't the feds pass a law that we could pack in the Natl Pks...or was that just GA? So, what am I going to have with me on my m/c for protection?

You need to get specific, informed knowledge on this. Contact South River Gun Club in Conyers, 770-756-3752. Try to have Jack Feldman get in touch with you. He and I carry everyday, AND he is a motorcycle rider. He could help you out and suggest any training that may be of help to you.

If you want more info about this, I'd suggest you start a thread in the Around the Campfire forum since this is sort of non-motorcycle discussion.

www.southrivergunclub.com

edited to clickify link.

Post Edited (Well Enuff) : 8/14/2009 3:39:20 PM GMT

Casper
The teddy bear of doom,,,

Date Joined Sep 2006
Total Posts : 2758

Posted 8/14/2009 6:31 AM (GMT -8)

Here's a clickable link to the carry info: www.southrivergunclub.com

And here's some trikes:

Proving the skeptics right since 1967.

Trillium
Registered Member

Date Joined Aug 2009
Total Posts : 15

Posted 8/15/2009 8:33 PM (GMT -8)

Thanks Casper for the photos of the trykes. They are cute. I love the blue color on that first one, but it kinda...sorta looks like something I would ride in the supermarket

...not to be too funny. I know...I need to first learn how to ride safely with the MSF course and then pick a bike. I also have learned from this forum that I should not worry about group riding or clubs yet...learn how to ride safely. Thanks to all. I will even though my cousins laughed today and suggested I ride a moped!

But...I do believe that a lot of the motorists out there are out to injure cyclists.

GeoffG
Harley Ninja!

Date Joined Jun 2003
Total Posts : 9359

Posted 8/16/2009 10:59 AM (GMT -8)

My take on trikes: their ONLY advantage is that they won't fall over when stopped. Beyond that, well, I'd rather have a small convertible (like my '78 Triumph Spitfire) than any trike--it has all the open-air feel of a trike, will out-handle most of them, but it has a roof available if it rains!

I ride a motorcycle because I like to lean in the corners. I put up with all the negatives--vulnerability to weather, vulnerability to injury, inability to carry much stuff, necessity to wear a helmet and full gear even in hot weather--simply because I like to lean the bike through the corners. If I can't lean it over, then I'm not gonna ride it (and I feel for you guys who live in flatlands with no curvy roads).

BTW, the top pic in Casper's post is a Piaggio MP3 scooter which, although it does have three wheels, DOES lean into the corners (you can hit a switch on the dash to lock it upright when you come to a stop, though). It may look like something you'd "ride in the supermarket," but it gets good reviews and is apparently quite capable (available in both 250 and 500cc versions, both of which require a regular motorcycle license in most places AFAIK).

Smitty
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 18717

Posted 8/16/2009 12:34 PM (GMT -8)

Mind you the yellow front of one is the Bombardier that has a lot of power & has become the answer to someone that still wants to ride, but has lost his/her trust in riding a m/c. Downfall is they are costly, but being riden by ex-m/c riders to those not m/c riders all over North America. Presently that would be MY choice & know in a year or two I will have to give up riding due to age.

Mind you Honda is experimenting with a trike with two wheels at the front, which is the Morgon 'mod' syle that went over so well with the rich that wanted speed & fun pror to WWII. In those days most had 800cc to price would be the J.A. Prestwich 1000cc V-twin to a few with liquid cooled heads.

Thing with the Honda is that your are into a more inclosed verstion like the costly T-Rex again a trike with ideas taken from the Morgon "Mod".

I feel sure we will see more of the better ones popping up, but again cost will be a factor & servicing another patter plus PARTS plus COST..

Remember all the others on the road are crazy & out to kill you.

Trillium
Registered Member

Date Joined Aug 2009
Total Posts : 15

Posted 8/16/2009 1:10 PM (GMT -8)

Okay, Geoff G...what's with this leanin stuff. Does that mean that you like to tempt "fate"...show your skill by leaning to the left or right where no man or woman would dare to go...unless skillful as all heck? Is that it? I will learn how to do that, too!

Smitty...I looked for that saying from the first posts because it is a killer/diller...I love it cause it is so true...Really. Altho we must think positive while riding...i guess...but just know that you are so right.

"Remember that all others on the road are crazy & out to kill you." Yep they are. All of them...little old ladies in red cars...school bus drivers...cab drivers...UPS...FedEx...RotorRooterMan(sp), and even the postal drivers as they swerve from mailbox to mailbox and around you when you least expect it.

Do I really want to do this? smhair

jon
Registered Member

Date Joined Aug 2004
Total Posts : 4675

Posted 8/16/2009 1:31 PM (GMT -8)

Trillium said...

Do I really want to do this?

like the 'which bike is right for me, which helmet is right for me, what's my favorite food, what kind of clothes fit me best, what's my goal in life, what's the best movie for me, what are my favorite activities', etc., type of questions, the "Do I really want to do this?" question is up to you and only you. Which is why I've always tried to suggest doing the msf course first. if motorcycling is not your thing after the msf course, at least you're only out a couple of hundred dollars (free in some areas? new jersey and a few other states?) and you could even earn an m endorsement out of it whether you choose to pursue motorcycling or not. we're not all the same in terms of opinions, feel, comfort levels, etc., so it's really up to you regardless of what you read or what anyone say.

Trillium
Registered Member

Date Joined Aug 2009
Total Posts : 15

Posted 8/16/2009 1:53 PM (GMT -8)

Thanks, Jon. You said it. Like...my family..cousins and all on yesterday kinda looked at me as if they thought I was nuts wanting to go back to college and take courses...pre-nursing. Yes...I will try cause I really want to do it. So there. Thanks much. Oh, then they had a hoot when I mentioned cycling on a m/c. I just laughed with them and made some jokes. That's me.

Richard47
Registered Member

Date Joined Sep 2004
Total Posts : 4097

Posted 8/16/2009 2:11 PM (GMT -8)

Trillium, you have to lean a motorcycle to get it to go round a corner, no matter how slow you are going. If you don't the centrifugal force will cause the bike to fall outwards. The faster you go the more you have to lean. This is simplifying things somewhat as other factors are involved but is essentially true. It's what many motorcyclists find enjoyable, the application of skill in controlling the bike. If I just had to travel on straight roads I would sooner take the car.

Toilet Brush Dog Owner

Andy VH
Forum Moderator

Date Joined Apr 2005
Total Posts : 4052

Posted 8/16/2009 6:30 PM (GMT -8)

Richard is right on, as usual. A motorcycle MUST lean to manuever through corners and curves. To lean the motorcycle in integral with good control. I recall I had a MSF student years back, a lady probably in her 60's, who would NOT lean the cycle. She simply plodded through the exercises with no leaning at all. I coached her as much as I could, to speed up a bit (integral with stability) and lean the bike (integral with cornering control), but yet she would not do it.

She didn't complete the class with a passing grade, yet her persistance got her through the DMV road test, and she got her license. Later I heard from other friends of hers, that she never exceeded 45mph, and never leaned the bike. I hope for her sake she survived, but she really NEVER should have been on a cycle at all.

Training, the best safety and performance "equipment" you can get!

Get MSF trained, check out: http://www.msf-usa.org

GeoffG
Harley Ninja!

Date Joined Jun 2003
Total Posts : 9359

Posted 8/17/2009 6:48 AM (GMT -8)

Trillium said...
Okay, Geoff G...what's with this leanin stuff. Does that mean that you like to tempt "fate"...show your skill by leaning to the left or right where no man or woman would dare to go...unless skillful as all heck? Is that it? I will learn how to do that, too!

Trillium, as Andy and Richard have said, a motorcycle has to lean in order to corner, just like a bicycle. It feels natural and fun to do, but it is also one thing that some riders have a hard time with.

When you're leaning a motorcycle through a corner, you don't feel like you're leaning to the side, because all your weight is still pressing straight down into the bike. When you drive your car around a corner, you feel a force pushing you (and everything in the car) to the outside of the corner (the so-called "centrifugal force"). The whole car will actually lean a bit to the outside, if you take the corner fast enough--but because it's on 4 wheels, it doesn't fall over. If you tried to corner a bike while keeping it straight up and down, it WOULD fall over to the outside of the turn, because it only has 2 wheels and is not self-balancing. However, when the bike is leaned into the corner, the lean exactly counters the centrifugal force, and the bike goes around the corner without the rider feeling any sideways force.

Like I said, leaning a bike is completely natural, and it is fun. However, it does require that the rider have some faith in their tires, that they'll stick to the road. You don't have to lean a bike much, unless you want to go fast, but you do have to learn how to do it. A common accident among newbies (and some not-so-newbies) is to come up on a corner a bit faster than expected, and then "run wide"--some guys will ride right off the edge of the road--because they don't know how to lean their bike a bit more.

As a beginning rider, and likely on a cruiser type of motorcycle (I get the feeling this is where your interest lies), this isn't something to worry about. You will learn all this stuff in the MSF training course. The important thing is to realize that a motorcycle is a dynamic vehicle, and this is where the attraction lies.

Casper
The teddy bear of doom,,,

Date Joined Sep 2006
Total Posts : 2758

Posted 8/17/2009 7:53 AM (GMT -8)

Trillium said...
Thanks Casper for the photos of the trykes. They are cute. I love the blue color on that first one, but it kinda...sorta looks like something I would ride in the supermarket

Try this one then - it looks cooler in black:

Now these Piaggio trikes lean into the corners like a real bike, but when you stop they don't fall over. You don't even have to put your foot down. Neato,,,

This one's a 500 too. Full-motorcycle size, will do highway speeds. With the auto-transmission and the 3-wheel thing it's way easy to ride. I'd like to try one. turn

I disagree on the "I do believe that a lot of the motorists out there are out to injure cyclists" thing. 26 years on streetbikes, couple hundred K miles under me, and I've never had anybody intentionally try to harm me. I've been cut off, pinched, left-turned, U-turned,,, U name it. But every time, when the person realized what they'd done there was a look of surprise/horror/guilt/shame when they realized what they'd done. People aren't bad, just stupid.

Proving the skeptics right since 1967.

Post Edited (Casper) : 8/17/2009 3:59:28 PM GMT

Trillium
Registered Member

Date Joined Aug 2009
Total Posts : 15

Posted 8/17/2009 8:17 PM (GMT -8)

Thanks so much guys for the great lecture/discussion on "leaning." This was a surprise...that it is part of the skill. Yes...I remember leaning on my bicycle...altho long ago. I even remember leaning, bending, slanting my feet on my roller skates when going round corners.

Okay..maybe I am a bit paranoid about drivers out to kill folks on m/c. Perhaps they are just stupid. Hmmmm.

Lately,....at least for the last two nights I have heard a m/c blowin it out somewhere on the backroads near my house...kinda in the distance. It sounds like music to my ears. Have they returned? No...just the locals...i guess. Sounds like the cyclist is riding up and down the same streets...3 am...nobody or a few folks out there.

I must say that I got a laugh at the old lady...like me...who refused to lean. But..hey..got her license and still going 45 mph. What a hoot! God bless her...and me.

Andy VH
Forum Moderator

Date Joined Apr 2005
Total Posts : 4052

Posted 8/18/2009 6:46 AM (GMT -8)

What Caspershows is the Piaggio trike, and it is really cool. It does lean in the turns and it has a lot more spunk and go than your typical scooter. Plus you don't have to balance it at stops. Might be the perfect match for you. I forgot about how much this leaning scooter may be the perfect choice for someone with your desires to ride. Piaggio makes excellant products. Click on this link to see it in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj1irO5UY68

However, when it comes to city riding and traffic, riding a moped, scooter or trike (like the Piaggio) is no less dangerous than a motorcycle. So its best for you to take the MSF course and then decide if its for you. At least the Piaggio has the added traction and stability of the two front wheels. Because something as simple as a patch of sand or slippery lane markings on the road can be enough to cause a crash.

Training, the best safety and performance "equipment" you can get!

Get MSF trained, check out: http://www.msf-usa.org

Post Edited (Andy VH) : 8/18/2009 2:56:15 PM GMT

GeoffG
Harley Ninja!

Date Joined Jun 2003
Total Posts : 9359

Posted 8/18/2009 8:18 AM (GMT -8)

Andy, I watched that video--the MP3 looks like a cool ride! I knew it'd lean into the corners, but seeing it is something else again. If I was looking for a city commuter, I'd definitely want to take a careful look at that thing. I've only ever seen the 250, the 500 definitely looks a bit larger and more like a motorcycle.

melanier3
Registered Member

Date Joined Aug 2009
Total Posts : 1

Posted 8/18/2009 11:52 AM (GMT -8)

Hi Trillium,

I too am a newbie, not just to this board, but as a rider. I am 53 and my husband recently bought me a 2000 Honda Rebel 250. I am fairly short at 5'2" and can flat foot this little bike. It is absolutely perfect for me. I have only practiced a little on our logging roads and plan to take the course next summer. It has all the power I need. Best wishes to both of us!!

melanier3

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iman501
Registered Member

Date Joined Sep 2008
Total Posts : 456

Posted 8/24/2009 7:36 PM (GMT -8)

i agree with the trike idea!, they wouldnt be hard to balance....considering you dont have to, (they may have reverse....i dont even know). also i know they are kinda pricey, but those new can-am spyders (two wheels in the front, and one in the back) are pretty cool lookin, nobody would be laughin at you if you rode one of those, they are new, shiney and, different, i want one i know! :)

bikes dont leak oil, they mark their territory

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