rybo
Tue Jul 3rd, 2007, 11:25 PM
So it's taken me a while to write this and I want to say thanks to the guys and gals at Twin Peaks who made this demo ride possible for me. There are only about 100 of these machines in the world right now and that they had a couple to send out for demos was awesome.
So, starting with a walk around, it looks like nothing you've really ever seen before. It's got three wheels, two in front, one in back. The tires are BIG, stout front suspension and basic controls like a typical motorcycle with one notable exception....there is no front brake lever. The space in front of the right grip is vacant. All of the braking is done with the brake pedal which is where the rear brake is on a typical bike. Clutching and shifting are done in the normal fashion with 5 forward gears and one reverse. Final drive is a belt. It's got some pretty sophisticated elevtronics, like stability control that comes standard. It has a Rotax V-Twin engine that is VERY similar to the one used in Aprilia motorcycles and I have to say it suits this application well.
I got on and noticed right away that there was a lot different about this thing. At slow speeds the steering is VERY heavy, but as you get to anything above about 15 mph that feeling goes away. The front tires being spread apart really means that you ride in the center of the lane like a car. It's really easy to put a wheel over the centerline. Also it makes going around debris in the road challenging because the rear wheel is in a different track than the front two. It took me a little while to get used to the brake arrangement, but the thing REALLY has brakes.
The ridng experience is really difficult to describe. You don't coutersteer or lean, so it's not like a motorcycle. It handles, so it's not like a squishy tired ATV. It's really it's own experience and the closest thing I can think of to describe it is it's like sitting on top of a mini cooper. The thing handles like a lightweight sports car, but is open air like a motorcycle. All in all it was fun, but a very differnt kind of fun. There is a bunch of storage under the "bonnet" and it would be very comfortable two up.
Things I noticed and liked. It was easy to ride. The gearbox, brakes and stability control all worked well and made the thing pretty easy to adapt to. It's got a great engine, and was pretty easy to throw around a corner once I remembered not to counter steer. The brakes are outstanding.
Things I noticed and didn't like or didn't really get used to. The lack of a front brake lever. This is an adaptation thing that I just couldn't really get used to in 40 miles. Same with I tried to put my feet down at stops a few times, again just conditioning. The dash is funky. The tach spins the wrong way and there are two spedometers, one digital in the middle and one analog on the left. I would have rather seen them put the tach where the analog spedometer is and put the digital speedo on the right. The dash is very symetrical as is, but it doesn't need to be.
It was a kick to ride, but I don't think it'e really for me. I like leaning over in the corner and doing the things that motorcycles do. I like picking which brake to use and by how much. Finally I like the compactness of motorcycles, it makes parking and storage easy, where this thing you would need an extra space in the garage for.
All in all it's a neat new option for powersports buyers and may open a whole new segment of customers.
Thanks again to the folks at Twin Peaks for letting me take one for a spin.
Scott
So, starting with a walk around, it looks like nothing you've really ever seen before. It's got three wheels, two in front, one in back. The tires are BIG, stout front suspension and basic controls like a typical motorcycle with one notable exception....there is no front brake lever. The space in front of the right grip is vacant. All of the braking is done with the brake pedal which is where the rear brake is on a typical bike. Clutching and shifting are done in the normal fashion with 5 forward gears and one reverse. Final drive is a belt. It's got some pretty sophisticated elevtronics, like stability control that comes standard. It has a Rotax V-Twin engine that is VERY similar to the one used in Aprilia motorcycles and I have to say it suits this application well.
I got on and noticed right away that there was a lot different about this thing. At slow speeds the steering is VERY heavy, but as you get to anything above about 15 mph that feeling goes away. The front tires being spread apart really means that you ride in the center of the lane like a car. It's really easy to put a wheel over the centerline. Also it makes going around debris in the road challenging because the rear wheel is in a different track than the front two. It took me a little while to get used to the brake arrangement, but the thing REALLY has brakes.
The ridng experience is really difficult to describe. You don't coutersteer or lean, so it's not like a motorcycle. It handles, so it's not like a squishy tired ATV. It's really it's own experience and the closest thing I can think of to describe it is it's like sitting on top of a mini cooper. The thing handles like a lightweight sports car, but is open air like a motorcycle. All in all it was fun, but a very differnt kind of fun. There is a bunch of storage under the "bonnet" and it would be very comfortable two up.
Things I noticed and liked. It was easy to ride. The gearbox, brakes and stability control all worked well and made the thing pretty easy to adapt to. It's got a great engine, and was pretty easy to throw around a corner once I remembered not to counter steer. The brakes are outstanding.
Things I noticed and didn't like or didn't really get used to. The lack of a front brake lever. This is an adaptation thing that I just couldn't really get used to in 40 miles. Same with I tried to put my feet down at stops a few times, again just conditioning. The dash is funky. The tach spins the wrong way and there are two spedometers, one digital in the middle and one analog on the left. I would have rather seen them put the tach where the analog spedometer is and put the digital speedo on the right. The dash is very symetrical as is, but it doesn't need to be.
It was a kick to ride, but I don't think it'e really for me. I like leaning over in the corner and doing the things that motorcycles do. I like picking which brake to use and by how much. Finally I like the compactness of motorcycles, it makes parking and storage easy, where this thing you would need an extra space in the garage for.
All in all it's a neat new option for powersports buyers and may open a whole new segment of customers.
Thanks again to the folks at Twin Peaks for letting me take one for a spin.
Scott