why are 3 wheels better than 4?

[pistonhead72]

I'm new to 3 wheeling, just picked up my first trike recently - an '85 250SX. I was looking for a quad, but found this SX on craigslist the next town over from me. It's in good shape and I got it for only $600. I remember these things when they first came out, (I'm 36). When I found this and the other 3 wheeler sites, I was surprised at how many people are still into these things. Just wondering why you guys prefer trikes over quads.

[Hoosier_Daddy]

You have to have skill to properly ride a 3 wheeler at it best and people take pride in that. Quads are great and fun to but you basucally just sit there are turn around corners. We can do that in our cars. lol:naughty:

[Frankencelery]

I originally got into them because they're comparatively cheap, but I agree. Riding one of these big modern quads reminds me of how pilots describe flying a jumbo jet....it's all done with electronics. I'm not a pro rider by any means, but you can really *feel* the trail when riding a trike. I rode my buddy's Honda Whatever 500, and it was like driving a jeep or something. Also, trikes are SO light. If you tip one over or get it stuck, it's easy for one guy to get it turned over or unstuck. Try that with a 500cc quad without a winch.

[beets442]

There's a certain type of person that wants to ride a 3 wheeler. The kind that doesn't like being told what to do, but just doing it and their fun to ride!

[threewheelin-feelin]

[QUOTE=beets442;711935 The kind that doesn't like being told what to do,[/QUOTE]

man what a rebel lol just messing with ya man i feel the same way about mine...i love the looks i get and the things people say when im at the local riding spot there were guys riding 500 predators and 450's and they wouldnt touch my 350x just look at it and said wow you really can ride that bike lol

[1upfront]

I'm new to 3 wheeling, just picked up my first trike recently - an '85 250SX. I was looking for a quad, but found this SX on craigslist the next town over from me. It's in good shape and I got it for only $600. I remember these things when they first came out, (I'm 36). When I found this and the other 3 wheeler sites, I was surprised at how many people are still into these things. Just wondering why you guys prefer trikes over quads.

Less trailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro to deal with lol

[smvorndran]

I love how easy these things wheelie. I can ride a wheelie forever on these things without even trying. You're all correct. It takes skill to ride one of these. It's cheap fun, and easy to maintain (4 stroke, enough said.)

smvorndran

[Brad200X]

The only thing 3 wheelers don't have over them 4 wheeled things is parts availability. Yeah they're lighter, faster, and simpler, but the big thing for me is that there's no false sense of security. The second you mount a trike, you know it commands respect. Nothing like on a quad, where you just kinda sit on it and that's it.

[pistonhead72]

I love how easy these things wheelie. I can ride a wheelie forever on these things without even trying. You're all correct. It takes skill to ride one of these. It's cheap fun, and easy to maintain (4 stroke, enough said.)

smvorndran

Did it take you a long time to learn how to "hold" a wheelie? Trying to find the "balance point" has been really hard for me, I've flipped mine over backwards twice already since I got it! Bent the rear brake lever on one, put a small crack in the rear fender on the other. Man, that f#@!in' pissed me off! I think I'm gonna have to get aftermarket fenders and save the originals before I f#@! them up anymore! Or, find a rear fender that's already trashed and use that when I wanna practice wheelies.

[NINJA]

I prefer trikes because it's the first thing I learned to ride and they remind me off being a kid. To me personally, they have always been the most fun to ride also, compared to dirtbikes, motorcycles, side by sides, and four wheelers. I've owned all different types of machines through the years and still do, but I always keep a trike around. Also, I think the sport trikes look way cooler than any four wheeler ever will.

[Shawn72]

I prefer them because I'm a hard headed asshole that refuses to conform to the "Safer" mode. And because I grew up with them and know how to ride them. The fun factor is better!!

[BigRed_Ryno]

Why are 3 wheelers better than 4?


Golf buggy- (http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii436/hondaforeman500s/SNC10503.jpg)


It wouldn't happen on a trike :lol: :lol:

[clutchcargo]

I agree with these guys. First off, I grew up on them, so it's kind of like re-living my youth. You are also riding something unique that people are afraid of. They're light and easy to load and get yourself unstuck and you can throw it around.
It reminds me when I had my stand-up jet ski and the new sit down models came along. Suddenly, every idiot can get on the water and ride without any skill. Quads are similar. Nothing against the quads, I would like to get one someday also, but haven't come across one that "I have to have" yet.

[Taiser]

Same here, grew up on them, had a YTM200EK (Big Yellow) and an original 185. Always drooled at the 85+ Big Reds and pumper 250r's, now I finally got what I want. I like the quads too, use em a lot at work but I don't have interest in buying one, I think they are boring, slow, don't go worth crap in the thick bush (hard to maneuver), especially here, and generally less fun overall.

[rdlsz24]

I like them because their cheap and I love vintage Honda stuff.

Rob

[aaron7]

Weight, maneuverability, badassness.

[SeaBass8]

+1 for growing up on a three wheeler. My first motorized vehicle was a 1984 Tri-moto 125. Thats was the first off road bike I learned to ride.

For me I love to kick out the rear on a turn and nail it. Then catching some air under the front tire.

Not that you cant do that on a four wheeler. Its just how I learned to do it.

[smvorndran]

No, it was easy because most of my trikes have had rear racks. If a wheelie goes wrong, it just stands up on its rack without any damage. No cracked plastic, or anything. The funny thing is, it took me a few years to figure out to tap the rear brake to bring it back down. For the first few years, I'd be hanging off the bars, then fall on the ground, and kick the machine back over before I ruined it with lack of oil. Most times, the carb loses fuel, and it would stall anyways. Once I figured out the rear brake was the key, it was easy to ride a wheelie. If you start going over, lightly tap the brake, and it gets you back into play.

smvorndran



Did it take you a long time to learn how to "hold" a wheelie? Trying to find the "balance point" has been really hard for me, I've flipped mine over backwards twice already since I got it! Bent the rear brake lever on one, put a small crack in the rear fender on the other. Man, that f#@!in' pissed me off! I think I'm gonna have to get aftermarket fenders and save the originals before I f#@! them up anymore! Or, find a rear fender that's already trashed and use that when I wanna practice wheelies.

[topless]

Why 3 instead of 4?
Most of our riding around here is sand, around rivers. I hated sand until I got a 3 wheeler. Bikes are a PITA in soft sand, quads are too heavy. I was amazed with where a 3 wheeler can go. ATC stands for All Terrain Cycle and I just don't think there's a better description for what it is, than that.

[n10sivern]

I grew up riding an abused 1973 atc90 that my older brothers and my dad rode the crap out of. I personally think I've always had trikes is because of the feel. I just now got into the collecting point of trikes but I've always had one for hunting. I can take a trike more places and make sharper turns in the woods. My dad has a Polaris ranger with a full cab and a heater. It's nice but I still prefer my 185s workhorse to go hunting on, even when it frigging freezing outside. With 4 wheelers especially the newer monsters, it feels like you are riding and the bike is in control where with a 3 wheeler, I feel like I'm driving the trike and I'm the one in control rather than just being along for the ride. Oh, and they are classic and not some mainstream recon that a million other people have.

[brapp]

i think the truth of the matter is we have out niche in the atv comunity and were just a bunch og big kids relivign out childhood!

[tri-Z ripper]

Hell yeah josh that is true my first ride on any motorized machine was an 86 350X in 87 i was 7 and my neighbor a girl had a little yamaha breeze automatic quad she quickly became my good friend! well her dad had a crap ton of toys but my favorite of his was the 350X remember when he first brought it home and fired it up! loud and awesome! well soon enough he had taken me for a ride and dropped me off at my doorstep where my mother had a heart attack! gave the neighbor a few nasty words and went home! of course she told him not to take me for any more rides but he did not listen! that is what has made me want a 3 wheeler my whole life love these machines!!

[Merge_88]

I always had and interest in them because I got to see my dad, two uncles, and a friend of the family ride their 86/87 200x when I was growing up. I remember asking dad if i could ride his one day and he said "If you can start it, then you can ride it" I was seven at the time and got the thing running! He held up his end of the deal and since then I have been hooked! I didn't get my own though until two years ago and have been collecting since! I cant wait till my kid wants to ride my 86 200X and I'll tell him/her the same thing my dad did twenty some years ago!

[cajun66]

I'm an old Honda nut and I like off roading...............What else can I say. They're tanks and can be repaired with whatever you find laying around.

[pistonhead72]

Wow, looks like I picked a good topic! Now, if I could only get responses like this to my technical questions! Before I found the craigslist ad and went to look at the SX I bought, I really didn't have much interest in 3 wheelers. But when I saw it, I had to have it! I remember drooling over all the different makes and models in the magazines back in the 80's when I was a kid, hoping one day I could get one. Well, it only took me about 25 years or so, but I finally got one! Better late than never I guess. :lol: I've only owned mine for a little over a month now and I find myself searching craigslist and ebay all the time for more trikes! Man, my wife is gonna have a fit if I bring home another one, (I also have an '84 ATC70 that was converted to a 4 wheeler, that I brought home last November). I really don't even have the $, space or time, but I want more of 'em! There definitely seems to be something about them that's addictive. What have I done?:lol:


747147470874709

[Buster Brown]

That's a great story. You found a sweet SX there! That 70 conversion is very clean as well! Welcome to the family. :beer

[keister]

Awesome maneuverability in the woods, better turning radius, one less tire to push through the snow, lighter = faster, you can cram more of them on in trailer/garage, you need skillz to ride them well, less parts to repair/replace....

Good tip on the wheelies a few posts back, too. Always have your foot over the rear brake pedal before you hoist the front end (especially on a water pumper with a peaky top end).

[bonkers_200s]

Because a quad is just a 3 wheeler with a training wheel, eventually the training wheel comes off and you never look back.

[pistonhead72]

Because a quad is just a 3 wheeler with a training wheel, eventually the training wheel comes off and you never look back.

Hey, where do you ride? I'm not far from you.