What is the future of 3 wheelers?

[clong]

Every time I drive out to the desert to go camp and I get along side a truck or trailer with a 3 wheeler or two in the back it always makes me smile. Over the years, these occurrences are happening less and less. In 1987 when I was 13, the government and the media put halt to production, but it is so cool that people like us are keeping the passion alive. My concern is how long can we keep it alive. Every time I search ebay for parts I hear about another trike getting torn down. I guess we need to sacrifice a few to keep a few, but it hurts me to hear of a guy tearing a perfectly good trike down for money on ebay. No matter what the cause of a 3 wheeler’s demise, we have to keep these machines around forever, especially the rare ones. Be good to your trike. Have fun, but take care of it. It’s an era and a piece of history we have to try and hold onto as long as possible. My question is how many years do you think it will be till there is pretty much nothing left 3 wheeler related? What trike do you think will be the last one standing. My guess is the 1983 -85 200X. Not because I own one, but because they sold so many of them and parts are everywhere. Just my guess, but keep your machine alive and preserve it the best you can.

[250rAL]

Another thing to dwell on is where would trikes be today without the internet? Imagine no eBay, no forums... How about all the companies that couldn't survive doing business without the internet? Guess it's a good thing Mr. Quale invented it.

[trikerider2oo7]

i think that trikes will live for a long time still...you can still buy parts for most of them and when i get enough money, im going to start a business that makes 3 wheelers

[mymint87]

you need to only look in the imperial sand dunes to see their future

their "outlaw" past has blossomed into what i can best discribe as "sand hells angels" a handful of people have turned them into lbc's (low budget choppers) and those few guys parade them around like a bunch bad arses

they putt them around to peoples cheers and clicks of cameras, getting more airtime and publicity than this web page

i see this "LBC" phenom growing to sissy bars and manufactorer mods with custom paint jobs and am thinking of doing one myself

thats where its going and it isnt coming back so move on..... :( :( :(

three wheeler will always be popular with young beginning riders or as a poor mans quad. but if you think that they'll go back to production, your wrong.

you might see some kind of chinese prison labor pocket trike or something but thats it :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

the great thing is that they will always hold their place as the birth of atv's or quads and thats why i like them..the original atv was an atc :D :D :D

[threewheelin-feelin]

i think that trikes will live for a long time still...you can still buy parts for most of them and when i get enough money, im going to start a business that makes 3 wheelers
sure you are lol well dont think about how many have been parted out they are ogan donors. think about all the bikes that have been restored and saved. i believe i saw some were that there is soposed to be close to 200,000 left that pretty good when you think they havent been sold new since 87. but would be nice is to open up some dealers around the country buying trikes restoring them and putting them in a show room for ppl to buy. i think that would be cool you would feel like your back in the 80's going into a dealer looking for a new 3wheeler and of corse they would look new hehehe. that what you should do trike rider open up a couple hundred of those around the country.

[threewheelin-feelin]

is it true they are still manufactured and sold new in russia?

[dirtface]

I really can't see the value of them going down any in the future. Especially the two-strokes, seeing how they are only making them for a couple more years. I can remember back in the late 80's and 90's when you could pick up a nice liquid 250r or 350x for no more than $1000.00. Most are now almost hitting $2000.00 or better. Just a little food for thought!!!

[84250r]

I really can't see the value of them going down any in the future. Especially the two-strokes, seeing how they are only making them for a couple more years. I can remember back in the late 80's and 90's when you could pick up a nice liquid 250r or 350x for no more than $1000.00. Most are now almost hitting $2000.00 or better. Just a little food for thought!!!


I think thats good that there value is going up!

[hondaATCman]

but would be nice is to open up some dealers around the country buying trikes restoring them and putting them in a show room for ppl to buy. i think that would be cool you would feel like your back in the 80's going into a dealer looking for a new 3wheeler and of corse they would look new hehehe. that what you should do trike rider open up a couple hundred of those around the country.

That would be sweet!! :D hhhhmmmm...that would be so cool, have like a complete vintage shop. Make resto's just like Mike from vintagemotorsports.net but instead of restoring them for customers, restore and sell just like today's quads. Even have all the old racing suits, helmets, etc. As soon as you walk through the doors you would see a showroom floor full of brand new (basically) three wheelers, just like you were back in the 80's. Man, that would be sooooo nice!! :p I wonder if the CPSC or other part of government would shut you down though??

[threewheelin-feelin]

hondaatcman thats what i ment i wouldnt restor them for costimers. i would buy pos bikes cheap restor them and put them in the show room for sale. make it look just liek a real dealer saling quads heheh but i would restor them for ppl to the only thing i would do different then a dealer would be the wouldnt be brand new.

[Billy Golightly]

Three-wheelers will be around yet for a while to come. I do believe they are gaining a bit of popularity again, even if it is very small. A little bit of momentum usually gets bigger. :)

I think it will be more then 20 years before threewheelers are totally extinct unless something very drastic happens (IE nuclear war :p)

[atcmatt]

Well for what its worth im going to give my .02. In the last few months i have met about a dozen new trike riders in Australia. It could just be me but i think the humble trike is gaining a bit of popularity here in Aus. The same could be said about the scene in america also. Im not sure though since i dont live there. All i can say really is that its most probable that trikes will survive another 20 years at least....

Matt

[TimSr]

Im not very optimistic about the future of trikes as a practical choice of a ride. Ive seen them dwindle over the years, and at large public events there are fewer each year. While the number of trike enthusiasts are growing the number of trikers is shrinking. The main reason is that they are now being recognized for their historical significance as collector pieces than as the choice for people's daily rides. This is why you saw the values bottom out a few years ago, and its been climbing ever since. In the late 80s and early 90s they were a dime a dozen which is why the 3 to 4 conversions had their day back then, and why nobody in their right mind does them today. Along those same lines there are other things to keep in mind. Right now there are two kinds of trikes out there. Originals (or close to it) that have seen more storage than action. Then you have those that are nothing more than a mass of misc parts, and aftermarket parts such as my Z, where the only orginal parts are the front end, and the frame. Which would you thing would be more attractive and valuable to a collector? Everybody likes to beat up on the guys who did 3 to 4 conversions 15 years ago, but I submit that if you find a nice original trike, and put in some other model motor, or other permanent changes you are "destroying" a trike worse than the guy who did the 3 to 4 conversion 15 years ago. Or a guy who finds and original and starts replacing components with aftermarket is hardly "preserving" a trike. Imagine finding a near new 66 Corvette under a tarp in a barn somewhere. Would you rather it be all original or have aftermarket rims, tires, and a custom built "high performance" 1982 motor? If you did find one, and it was cheap, would you use it to drive to work every day? What does all this mean? If you find a nice mint trike, you are best off to keep it that way. "Mint" means original, or in the condition it originally came from the factory. My ALT125 is a good example. I wont be putting any chrome rims, flat track tires, or aftermarket plastric on it, and I wont be parting it out. My TriZ is a different matter. It wouldnt bother me to part it out, because its nothing but a collection of spare parts anyways. My Quad-Z is a unique piece of history, all original and still has the original motor. I wouldnt stick an 86 motor in it if it were given to me. Im not against mods, but I am suggesting that taking an original museum quality trike and modifying it and putting aftermarket stuff on it is essentially detroying it, while respecing the fact that what we mostly deal with here are not originals.

As for the possibility of new trikes in the future, the only prayer of a chance is if small companies similar to Service Honda trying to remake new TRX250r's, would contract someone to make frames and triples for them, and fit them with modern production line quad components and bike forks, and more or less, custom build them. The factories will never MFG them again, because the market simply isnt there. Either way, the idea that they would be cheaper than quads and sell at 1986 prices is ridiculous. If factores built them, they woudl sell higher than current quads because of the much lower volume. If they were pieced together through a place like Service Honda, my guess would be a $10-15,000 price tag, and Ive found that trikers, just like everybody else have few among them willing to put their money where their intentions are.

[NICKG]

Another thing to dwell on is where would trikes be today without the internet? Imagine no eBay, no forums... How about all the companies that couldn't survive doing business without the internet? Guess it's a good thing Mr. Quale invented it.
ah...you mean Al Gore

[Howdy]

TimSr makes some very valid points. To me the future of 3wheeler / 3wheeling will all depend on how we move into the future. If we sit on our butt and do nothing then 3 Wheelers won't last very long. How ever if we work together ( like this and other web sites ) to promote 3 Wheelers then the future looks better ( I didn't say great ). To keep 3 Wheelers / 3wheeling going we need to get more people actively promoting them in the proper ways. Races, gatherings, riding, ect.

Basically the more each and everyone of US promote 3 wheelers in good ways then our chances of keeping them around are better. 1 or 2 people can't do this on their own. We need everyone to get involved.

A good example of this is the Amphicar. The Amphicar was built in Germany from 1961 to 1968. Total production was 3,878 vehicles. The Amphicar is the only civilian amphibious passenger automobile ever to be mass produced. 3,046 Amphicars were imported into the United States between 1961 and 1967. http://www.amphicar.com/.

Did these cars die off? Some did, but quite a few die hards have been fixing these back up and having fun with them. I know this for a fact because every year they come here to Celina for their International Amphicar Owners Club Swim In.
http://www.amphicar.net/amphi/celina01.html

If these people can keep their mission growing, then with a little work from all of us we can keep 3wheeler & 3wheeling alive for many years to come.

Just my 2 cents.
Howdy

[trikerider2oo7]

you make a good point howdy...

we need to get more people into trikes and try to bring more trikes to life

[AZ250R]

Trikes are always gonna be a NICH ATV @ this point in time. Think of it like this: We're the Arena Football of the offroad world!?!? & some of you will say Arena Football??? Exactly, we exist but in a very suttle way. Hey my trike is irreplaceable to me and I'll most likely never give it up either, so as long as I'm still kick'n my 250R will be too :cool:

As for hand'n a noobie a trike... NOT! I believe the Quad is the only safe way to introduce young'ns into this sport. Sorry to say but trike riders are a breed apart for sure. The few, the proud, tha ATC'eRs!!! :beer

[trikerider2oo7]

if we dont introduce trikes to kids how are we going to keep the threewheelers alive??

[AZ250R]

if we dont introduce trikes to kids how are we going to keep the threewheelers alive??

Once someone learns how to handle a quad, I'd say even more like MASTERS a quad, then let them try a trike. Make that a Well Suspended, lower powered one @ that.

There's no need for any small kids, like the sub 75 pounders, to all start off with an ATC 70!?!?! Hell those R 4 us adults to mod & get all goofy on now days anyway. :Bounce

It takes someone "a little OFF" to handle 3 wheels, & that's us. :beer Kids these days have the choice, so start them off whith the most stable platform IMO. Then let them decide later...

Virtualy everyone I've ever let ride my R whipe'd it out, & that my friend just ain't cool anymore. If it weren't for other people, my Trike would be imaculate :Evil

[Howdy]

As for hand'n a noobie a trike... NOT! I believe the Quad is the only safe way to introduce young'ns into this sport. Sorry to say but trike riders are a breed apart for sure. The few, the proud, tha ATC'eRs!!! :beer

I'm sorry but I totally disagree here, without newbie's trikes are sure to die off. Think about this: We were all newbies at one point in time. I won't hesitate to show another person how to ride a trike safely. The key is to Teach them the right way.
Howdy

[clong]

We do need youngsters to keep it alive, but we must show them how to respect a 3 wheeler.

[Billy Golightly]

A person can learn to ride on a trike first, but they have to respect it and they have to not get the big head and go hauling ass on it after they've been riding 30 minutes.

[AZ250R]

I'm sorry but I totally disagree here, without newbie's trikes are sure to die off. Think about this: We were all newbies at one point in time. I won't hesitate to show another person how to ride a trike safely. The key is to Teach them the right way.
Howdy

I didn't have a choice, there were only bikes & trikes when I started around 82 or so. & I don't care how much you think you're gonna teach a 3 year old "the right way or respect" for that matter? Their tinny kids for God's sake & they're gonna wreck & get all mischivious no matter what you do. At least on 4 wheels they've gota chance to get over all this with less pain and or injury.

The trike has an inherently engineered FLAW from the get go & you still want the little ones to chance everything on it? I say let em peddle a trike, then ride a quad, and as they mature / gain weight / confidence & ability / then let them decide between stability & the everpresent "tip'R" :D

I have no problems with NOT wanting the 3Wheel'd era to DIE OUT, & I'm do'n my part by still trike'n (almost gave it up a couple years back). However, trikes R NOT the wave of the future & I still want a few quads in my lifetime as they allow for a "different ride" every now & then :Evil

[deathman53]

I know I'll have my trikes for along time, I don't have any plans of getting rid of them, I plan on buying more. I really don't want a quad, but I can't go alot of places with it, thats why I'm building a 88r. my friends think I'm gonna ride the quad over the trike(they are very wrong). If I ever have a kid, he/she will get a atc70 for the 5th birthday.

[threewheelin-feelin]

I'm sorry but I totally disagree here, without newbie's trikes are sure to die off. Think about this: We were all newbies at one point in time. I won't hesitate to show another person how to ride a trike safely. The key is to Teach them the right way.
Howdy
I AGREE 100% my little cousin is a girl and she is i think 9 lol and her first bike is a atc70. i think ever one should ride trikes newbies and veterans. i will always ride them i started out riding them. as for the fact that there is no market for new trikes i say there is look at how many are being sold and purchased every day on ebay the trading post and atv traders. i believe they would sell fine if brought back on the market maybe not as good as quads to begin with but they would come around. howdy is right we need to get off are butts get 3wwstickers get tf t shirt advertise trike as best we can i purchased a tf t shirt {still waiting on it}lol but i did ithink we all should.

[MX125dude]

Hey Dirtface, what do you meen 2 strokes will only be around a little longer?

[atcmatt]

If you dont start youngins out on trikes they will just get the wrong view of them and just continue to ride quads. I know if i ever have kids i will introduce them to all machines. I will definately be giving them the experience of riding a trike. There is nothing like that feeling. No quad will ever replace that. I just fixed that 1973 atc70 for the kid who owns it, he is 6 and hes a good size for it. He has ridden my bigred before, with me behind him ofcourse and i daresay he is a good rider, although i wouldnt let him ride it by himself, its just to big. Now he has his 70 going he can ride that with us. He is good on that old 70 but at times he goes too fast, i told him all the tricks like not putting your foot down etc. He put his foot down once and i had a go at him, he never did it again. I seriously think its best to start out the youngins on the trike first. They just need to be taught how to respect the machine and to take it easy.

Matt

[dirtface]

I am being told that the last year they are to produce two-strokes is around 2006. Alot of places have already switched over to 4-stroke boat motors, too.

[threewheelin-feelin]

well duh now they have the 250f's and the 450f's and there running with the 2strokes. i guess they think they dont need 2strokes anymore.

[250rAL]

ah...you mean Al Gore


Whoops, I knew it was one of those second-fiddles!

[vartiak15]

what we need to do is buy all them parts on ebay that people parted out there trike and rebuild the trike with all there parts. that is what is killing them, there are always a 200x or 2 being parted on ebay. we need to just start from scratch and build a bike from the frame up all parts off eaby and what not, i no i will only be ridding and buying trikes and thats what my kids will have when i have kids. its jsut trikes kick ass and we need to keep them around for ever!

[Howdy]

I didn't have a choice, there were only bikes & trikes when I started around 82 or so. & I don't care how much you think you're gonna teach a 3 year old "the right way or respect" for that matter? Their tinny kids for God's sake & they're gonna wreck & get all mischivious no matter what you do. At least on 4 wheels they've gota chance to get over all this with less pain and or injury.

The trike has an inherently engineered FLAW from the get go & you still want the little ones to chance everything on it? I say let em peddle a trike, then ride a quad, and as they mature / gain weight / confidence & ability / then let them decide between stability & the everpresent "tip'R" :D

I have no problems with NOT wanting the 3Wheel'd era to DIE OUT, & I'm do'n my part by still trike'n (almost gave it up a couple years back). However, trikes R NOT the wave of the future & I still want a few quads in my lifetime as they allow for a "different ride" every now & then :Evil

I know of at least 5 kids under 5 that started out on 3wheelers. One kid is one heck of a rider now. I'm talking about TimJr ( Tim Sr's son ). My memory is faiiling me here but I think he is now 10 or 11. This kid can out ride a lot of people. I was told he started on a TriZinger. I am sure he wasn't just given the machine and told to go have fun. I am 100% sure TimSr showed him the proper way to ride. I have rode with TimJr and I can tell you that he can ride just about any machine he gets on.
I have taught my kids the same way. While my kids don't quite get to ride as much as TimSr or TimJr does, they are learning very well. Quads? Over the past few years I have bought a lot of machines ( We buy and sell them ). We have bought a few smaller quads during this time. My kids are the ones to test ride these before they are sold. These kids have had the option of trading in their atc70 for a small quad. I told them I would do it straight up ( even trade ). The one quad even had suspention. Time after time they have turned down this option. At 4 years old my youngest boy told me he liked the way his 3 wheeler handled better than the quad. Anthony ( 7 years old ) has rode a Raptor 80. he said it was cool and a nice ride, but he wouldn't trade his ATC70 for it. Brain washing? Naa, I think he just knows what he likes. I know in the next couple years we will be upgrading the atc70's to ATC90-110's. The way they handle the 70's now tells me they will do good on a bigger one.

Sure they can get hurt on a 3wheeler. But then again they can get hurt just walking out the back yard. Quad = more stable? yes, they are more stable. Everyone needs to realize that accidents do happen. If my boy was to crash and have a machine roll on top of him, I would want him to have done this on a lighter machine ( small 3 wheeler ). And yes Anthony has wrecked while riding. In fact he was hurt the worst while riding a quad. It rolled over ( upside down ) on top of him. Thankfully it wasn't that bad of crash. But it was scary.

Teach them young and they will remember. They will also learn to ride with respect and have the skills to back it up.
Howdy

[kryppy]

Every time I drive out to the desert to go camp and I get along side a truck or trailer with a 3 wheeler or two in the back it always makes me smile. Over the years, these occurrences are happening less and less. In 1987 when I was 13, the government and the media put halt to production, but it is so cool that people like us are keeping the passion alive. My concern is how long can we keep it alive. Every time I search ebay for parts I hear about another trike getting torn down. I guess we need to sacrifice a few to keep a few, but it hurts me to hear of a guy tearing a perfectly good trike down for money on ebay. No matter what the cause of a 3 wheeler’s demise, we have to keep these machines around forever, especially the rare ones. Be good to your trike. Have fun, but take care of it. It’s an era and a piece of history we have to try and hold onto as long as possible. My question is how many years do you think it will be till there is pretty much nothing left 3 wheeler related? What trike do you think will be the last one standing. My guess is the 1983 -85 200X. Not because I own one, but because they sold so many of them and parts are everywhere. Just my guess, but keep your machine alive and preserve it the best you can.



Soon enough, wrecked quads will be a dime a dozen and we can start building 3 wheel shees. :)

Enough ATC's exist that they will be around forever.
People will be pulling out "new" old ones from garages for the next 100 years.
Lets not forget about the trade school's full of brand new engines from the stop of production deal.

[vartiak15]

"Lets not forget about the trade school's full of brand new engines from the stop of production deal."

where are these trade schools so i can get a brand new motor?

[threewheelin-feelin]

we have had more accedents on the bayou then the 200s the atc70 and the 2 dirtbike combined

[Enigma]

I think we need to teach kids how to ride trikes. A trike was the first thing I eve rode, and as I got older and more experianced I got bigger trikes. I still remember getting a 185s. I was stoked because it had front suspension. I first had a 70, then a 110, then a 185, then 200x and then the big jump a 250r, and tecate. Trikes areall I have ever rode and I feel bettern on them then a quad. I have a 18 month nephew and I drve him around my yard all the time and he LOVES it. I think he wil be a future triker :) :TrikesOwn

[threewheelin-feelin]

I think we need to teach kids how to ride trikes. A trike was the first thing I eve rode, and as I got older and more experianced I got bigger trikes. I still remember getting a 185s. I was stoked because it had front suspension. I first had a 70, then a 110, then a 185, then 200x and then the big jump a 250r, and tecate. Trikes areall I have ever rode and I feel bettern on them then a quad. I have a 18 month nephew and I drve him around my yard all the time and he LOVES it. I think he wil be a future triker :) :TrikesOwn
no he will be a future triker keep him on them hahah

[AZ250R]

Well I still think you're ALL CRAZY...
But my firends think I'm CRAZY to still be riding my trike too!!! :p

Guess everyone's gonna do what they want anyway... right?

Once They All Grow Up and if they wander down this 250R path, however, there is no better handeling machine than THE 250R Quad!!! In stock form or modified to your hearts content it's "THE Ride" for All OUT Handeling, Bar None... well IMO anyway :Evil Another ride with a fate just as similar as our trikes :confused:

[350xsx]

i started on a 110 when i was 4 and rode that fine, this kid i know (basicly my bro) is 3 and has a atc 70 and cruises around on it, he only crashed ounce and learned from his mistakes, and hed still rather ride that then his midwest 50 (quad) and instead of a sweet go-kart his dad built for him, his cousin has a nice atc70 that he rides fine and hes 4, its not in the age its the discipline they learn and they know the consequences,and its not just because there on 4 wheels that theyll be safer, sometimes bein on 3 makes em more cautious, my cousin rode my 110 when she was 8 and 9 all the time perfectly, never crashed or anything, now shes 10 and she hopped on my uncles 80cc moto-4 she rode it for like 2 minutes 2 days ago, and she wound up getting 50 stitches so i dont know what im missing but so far i havent seen age or how many wheels there on acting as a dominant factor in riding

[eh_tee_see]

ah...you mean Al Gore
hahahaha well damn i was gonna say that.

well, fear not, trikes will be produced again, but sadly probably not for another 5 billion years

yes see, when armaggeddon hits us, and life on earth, we may end up with trikes again!!! Yes there will Be the Yalaha Tri-B and The Kewlsliky Detade
and the Johnda 250har, and maybe a Slupooki TriSport 250


shucks just blowing a bit of smoke up everyones arse... just an idea

[threewheelin-feelin]

3wheelers will be produced some day some were some time i know it

[R_Daneel_Olivaw]

It's all up to US.

[firehart]

Hi,
I'm thinking of buying a couple of three wheelers. One is a Honda 200x and the other is a still unidentified Yamaha. The Yamaha has a reverse. They both need a little work but I think the price is right for them. I will gladly accept all the help I can get on locating parts and service.

Wayne

[MTS]

well...i was gona get a 125m mototr to shove in my 90..but this had made me think twice..i think ill just restore the bothe of them :TrikesOwn

[OldSchoolin86]

I think there are a lot of good points here but if you ask me the sport trikes are closer to a dirt bike then a quad. If you can respect a dirt bike you'll be on a good path for respecting trikes. The light front ends and extra balancing they take are great skills you can learn on 2 wheels. That's how I started out and adjusting to a wider rear end(the trikes not mine) was a sinch.

Also, no matter what you start your kids on, they will always respect what thier parents are on. If trikes are in the family they will be interested.

2 cents