what will happen when the dinosaurs die off?

it would take 3times as much work to turn a bike into a trike then a quad and it would not be as good (tall narrow frames are not as good as low wide frames)

[TimSr]

Things change, and thats just the way it is. Nobody can freeze time though sometimes we'd like to. When something is no longer produced, it will eventually die out. Thats just logic. No matter how hard we try to "bring back trikes", as long as noone is producing them, our efforts are futile. We can only try to keep them around a little longer. Right after the decree, trikes were dirt cheap and readily available. We've all seen them go from manistream, to uncommon, to being curiosities. As more die, their values go up, and eventually, like a Model A Ford, theyll get to the point that they are more like collector pieces, for shows and parades and less like something you take out and use for its original intended purpose. Maybe we are 20 years away from that, but Ill just continue to ride mine for now, and be thankful to have been active in this sport during the time they were available. I will not begrudge the new products, or blame them for the demise of trikes. I wonder what people will be riding 20 years from now. I doubt it will look a lot like today's best sellers. Will we be riding 2000 model quads and complaining about the new 2022 models, and how theyve ruined the sport? A lot of MX tracks are now running vintage bike classes, 1974 and older. Its fun to watch, and they bring back great memories, but nobody is yelling, "bring back the double shockers! These single shock rear ends suck!" Everything must be put in perspective, and we can appreciate trikes for what they are and what they have been over a pretty good span of my lifetime, and beyond the entire span of many regulars of this site. For this I am thankful, but realistically speaking, trikes are now a lot more curiosity than mainstream, and regretfully a lot more of our history than our future. I will make the best of it, and enjoy mine while it lasts.

while i agree with most of what Tim says i have to disagree about trikes dying off. if you look at the Motorcycle history as a whole you will see trikes have been a part of it since the beginning Honda was just the first to mass produce a off-road version that ended starting a new sport ATVing. even in ATC's heyday hand made trikes were popular. trikes will always be around they may never be mainstream again but they will live on weather it be restorations of mid 80's ATC's or one-off custom jobs.

[OldSchoolin86]

TimSr:
Well said.

As far as a bike costing 3 times as much to convert you couldn't be any more wrong. You wouldn't have to modify the frame and you could make bolt on parts for the rest. Have you ever looked at a kids bike? They aren't exactly that high.

[MR ATC]

but why change swingarm,axel,wheels,brakes,and such in the rear in addition to triple clamps, front wheel,ect. when you can just add a front end to a quad?

[OldSchoolin86]

Just add? There is a little more work involved than just adding a front end. How about redoing the entire front portion of a quad frame and fabricating a place to add that front end?

[TimSr]

Man, you guys are both wrong! If I wanted to make one, Id use one of those Fat cats or Big wheels, and slap a quad rear end from the swingarm back. Them Id put the Bike back end on the quad from the swingarm back, and Id have two three wheelers.

[OldSchoolin86]

You know thats kinda funny. That reverse 3 wheeler would be a good pit bike.

[Jeb]

In the near future, I look forward to building my kids a KX60 or 80 3 wheeler. and possibly a 4 wheel version too.

I think it's awesome to add a 3 wheeler front end to a 4 wheeler. It really wouldn't be all that bad, but it would be allot of work and theres no way in hell it's easier than modifying a dirt bike. I would rather just build a custom frame to bolt all the stock stuff onto. I keep hearing the argument about the dirt bike frames being too tall and narrow. This may be true but most of these new high performance 4 wheelers are pretty damn tall themselves. So if you add a 3 wheeler front end, your still setting tall. Obviously suspension needs to be lowered on both. There's a couple dirt bikes left out there that you sort of set down into instead of on top of that you can get late models and make an awesome 3 wheeler out of because they haven't changed much since the 80s. such as the XR400R or the KX500.

When high performance 3 wheelers weren't available in the early 80's people built them out of motorcycles. As long as their are motorcycles, with a little custom fabrication, or allot, people can do the same thing regardless of the existance of 3 wheelers.

:-D

[ATC crazy]

3 wheeler front to a 4 wheeler body? Have you seen the 87 banshee that was converted to a trike? Its pretty cool and i bet it hauls trailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro Heres a pic.
It was shown in Dirt Wheels about a year ago or so.

[OldSchoolin86]

I'll guarantee that handles like crap. It's longer than an LTD! To do that right you have to do a lot more work than they did. It's still cool though.

[mymint87]

trying to bring it back to original post....

jenndnn3 your right! your children do sense your passions. i think that my passion for trikes AND their performance will keep em around.

as for the messiah,....... comments dont bother me .....again your passing judgement and questioning someones devotion or knowledge towards 3wheelers
"if ya REALLY want it bad enough"?????

what a freakin JOKE


this post is about a father coming to realize his kids may not like 3wheelers as much as he would like em to. and using his family as an example, questioning if its happing elsewhwere to other people. i want 3wheelers to live on...forever

as for now, my daughters like quads better
that doesnt mean ill sell their motorcycles
that doesn't mean i'll sell their 3 wheelers
it only means(this might be hard to swallow messiah) they like quads better

in no way will i FORCE my kids to ride a trike OR will i grenade ANY of my mint machines.


who knows how my daughters will feel when i complete my 110 project, (full suspension.... this is NOT one i grenaded but i found it out in the elements, suspended in a sort of time capsule... all mod, looks early eighties, awesome engine work and one inch from the scrap heep I'm restoring to make a lil pit trike.) maybe when my girls see it finished they'll say, "Ya know, daddy is right, trike are cool!" Time will tell.......

face it messiah....your posts towards me are driven by ENVY ......





LONG LIVE 3WHEELED SPORT TRIKES!!!!!!!


btw did i mention i bought a 1986 triz 250 to add to my stable?



Edit by HondaATC: Please remember attacking another member of this board is not tollerable. Personal disagreements should be settled via PM or email.

[MR ATC]

you asked a question that i truthfully answered. you wanted to know what would happen when they died out. i simple said they won't die out unless you or anybody lets them. i'm sorry if you didn't like my answere. as far as all you conversion experts go how many of you have actually done any...i was converting bikes to trikes long ago let me tell you from someone thats done them its a pain in the trailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro. and they don't handle as well. cutting away the front of a quad and welding two main tubes and a steering stem is a lot easier then... machining new triple clamps and a caliper bracket to run a trike front end in addition to building a new swingarm to accept a trike/quad rear axel assembly then lets remember we have to modify the subframe to accept the rear fenders but of course you guys no all this because you've all built your own stuff. sorry if this is to harsh but i'm sick of people making comments they have no clue about.
now you guys can bash me all you want but your the ones comming to a site dedicated to keeping trikes alive yet all i've seen since i've been here is about half the people giving in and buying quads. if you like them thats fine but go to a quad site if thats your new cup of tea.
i don't cry i can't get the machine i want. all my life if i wanted something bad enough i went after it and got it. they don't make trikes anymore so f'n what i'll build them myself i'm not about to let popular opinion or some pencil pusher tell me what to do. i like the fact that everyone dislikes them i hate when things become so popular that they are over exposed and people get them just to be popular and with the in crowd.
HI BILLY

Edit by HondaATC: Please remember attacking another member of this board is not tollerable. Personal disagreements should be settled via PM or email.

[Trikeaholic]

oh yea, O.S. I got my son a Tri-Zinger for his second birthday, put him on it, set the limiter really low, let him gas it and go straight line until I got a little worried, and pulled the lanyard out to stall the engine. It has a front suspension, and I dont know how much more effective (if even available) the tiny "suspensions" are on any 50-60cc new chinese golf carts. If it was good enough for a kid in 1985, then its good enough for my boy, for gods sake, he is spoiled rotten already!

[Jeb]

Hey MRATC....Regardless if the quad conversion is better or not, you know it's not just as easy as "weld two downtubes and a steering head".

Even with this quad conversion you still have the triple clamp, front hub, and front brake problem. You have to machine custom triple clamps, modify existing dirt bike clamps, or run 3 wheeler clamps. This includes set up of front brakes and the hub. It's the same problem as a dirtbike conversion with the same solutions. The simplest being build it to where you can just bolt on an existing 3 wheeler front end.

Also, how do you address the problem of the stock quad gas tank, radiator, exhaust, etc?????????? They don't exactly lend themselves to a 3 wheeler frame design?????? That's all got to be mounted up and can't interfere with new "two downtubes and steering head", or the front fork when riding the machine. Plus looks are a big thing, you want it look good too. You've got to get the plastic to look right.

With a bike conversion you've got to worry about the rear axle and sprockets running true. So you build a custom swingarm to accept a quad hub and axle setup. Or perhaps modify an existing one. You of all people should know that it's easier to build a swingarm than worry about all the angles involved in mounting up a steering head which is so critical to the handling of the trike! After the custom swingarm, with the bike you also have the triple clamps/hub/front brakes to address and some bracketry added to the sub frame to support a rear fender. Also lower the suspension. Regardless of handling or which is better, how is that HARDER than a quad to trike conversion???