TWO WHEELS GOOD, THREE WHEELS BETTER?
Motorcyclists like leaning over in corners, in part because it counteracts all the forces trying to make you go straight – in a car the vehicle always feels like you’re fighting it to turn. A bike, when leaned over, will just keep going around in circles. So will the new Yamaha Tricity 300, a trike that behaves like a scooter.
The available traction of a motorcycle is limited to the very small contact patch of a pair of tyres, so crashes due to a loss of grip, especially in the wet, are common compared to cars. Scooter manufacturers know this and realised the best way to increase grip is with more rubber. Adding a third wheel not only increases the amount of rubber, it also separates the contact patch, increasing stability and grip.
For many people, the danger of two wheels is outweighed by the joy and convenience of two, so that’s why we have three-wheeled leaning scooters.
“BETTER THAN A BUS, CHEAPER THAN A CAR”
Whereas the 847cc Niken competes in the motorcycle sport touring segment, the Tricity competes against all other forms of urban transport. Apart from the multi-wheel Ackerman front end (where the inside wheel doesn’t turn the same amount as the outside, preventing
