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| Handling Part 1 - First Impressions As soon as I got on to the trike I knew that it was for me. I've ridden a motorcycle in the past and I knew that trikes feel and handle very differently. You don't balance the same way as on a motorcycle, and the trike feels the camber and ups and downs of the road surface in a very different way too. My reverse trike feel more like an ATV, and the riding technique takes a while to get used to. I had read some comments on the internet about poor handling of the MC-95. Sometime in 2010 (I believe) the manufacturers changed the suspension system and added a torsion bar, and carried out some other modifications. If you are thinking about purchasing a used MC-95 you had better make sure that it has been fully upgraded. It didn't take me long to get used to basic handling of the trike. It takes a little while to get used to the different feeling as the trike and rider don't move together in the way you do on a two-wheel motorcycle. Keeping the weight off the handlebars seems to be the way to go. The trike is stable in a straight line and mine seems even better when going faster. Getting used to the engine noise with the automatic transmission may have you thinking that you need to change gear, but I soon got used to it. The exhaust noise is pleasant but not loud. My trike seems to be very stable and I can throw it into tight turns without feeling that I'm going to roll over. I did several hours, over a few days, of slow maneuvers around plastic one gallon water jugs, used as cones to practice for the three-wheel motorcycle test, I set up in layouts similar to those used in the licensing test. In Iowa, they use maneuvering on a parking lot, instead of a road test, and they set up the course differently for the three-wheel motorcycles compared to the two wheel test. I did most of the lot testing at around 10-20mph putting about 30 miles on the clock over a few evenings. I was initially misled by the outer speed scale on the speedometer, but eventually realized that it was reading in Km/hr. The inner scale was for mph. The trike handled really well, but the suspension was rock hard. Also, the handlebar mirrors were next to useless. I could hardly see anything past my arms. I decided to move the mirrors out onto the front bodywork, which worked out perfectly. I can now see everything behind me easily. After I took my test and was free to use the roads I went for a 92 mile ride, over the local back roads and hills. I've seen figures stating 2%, two degree and 30% for the trikes hill climbing ability. I can say that it does not have any problems going up and down hills that any worse that my car (low powered Hyundai Accent) would normally handle. I'm impressed with the hill climbing performance. I live and ride in the Midwest Council Bluffs, IA and Omaha, NE areas, and although we are generally flatland we do have hills around us and through Omaha. I have no worries about taking on all the local hills. I took my wife Anne out too for a 30 mile ride. I could not feel any difference in the performance, Anne weighs around !30lb and I'm around 175lb. The hard rear suspension was bone jarring if we went over a pothole or a change in the road surface. I backed the rear shock adjuster down to its softest setting and the ride was much more comfortable. I added a GPS to the handlebars so that I could check the actual speed against the speedometer. The speedometer read accurately up to 40mph, then over-read indicating 50mph when I was actually doing 42-43mph. Once I achieved 50mph on the GPS the speedometer became accurate again, This may only be happening on my trike but it may be worth checking your speedo against a GPS. I'm still running the engine in, so I can't report on the top speed, but the speedometer has the red line starting at about 62mph. Online figures suggest 68mph is the top speed so I'll have to check that when I can fully rev the engine. So far, I have nothing but good things to say about the trike. It started every time very easily. Just a slight turn of the throttle and it fires right up. I've not done any accurate testing of the fuel burn but I got a rough 60m/gal on my 92 mile run. The trike really is a eye catcher. Everywhere I go people look at it and ask questions. Children wave and get excited. Bikers also seem to like it. Some ask if it is a Can Am and so I have to say that it is not, but that it is great fun! My next project will be to add a rear saddlebag on the left side and maybe a tank bag. I'm looking forward to many hours of fun outings on the lesser used roads. I'm not intending any Interstate riding as I don't think that the trike is powerful enough to handle the high speed madness, and there are lots of quieter options to make use of.
For more early impressiond go to Handling and Control Part 2 |
