The End of the 3 Wheeler ATV

[bulldog]

Came up in another post and got me to thinking what happened to 3 wheel ATV’s; knew they had to have been banned since nobody makes them anymore.

I guess I was lucky and never got seriously hurt on them, but research shows they were banned for being dangerous. Did anyone else ever ride these and what was your opinion? Is it really fair to blame the vehicle and not the rider?

I feel this 20/20 Episode in 1987 titled “the most dangerous vehicle” lead to the ban in 1988:



More on 1988 ban:
http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-...ety-commission
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2780132

[bulldog]

Part 2 of 20/20 Episode:

[j0ker]

I *L O V E D* my old Honda 250. Wish I had never sold that thing. Wheelies for miles.

[bulldog]

I *L O V E D* my old Honda 250. Wish I had never sold that thing. Wheelies for miles.

The 250R...I never got to try a fast 3 wheeler like that, but my uncle had one modded out that was so fast...we were not allowed to use it. I believe the 250R was one of the fastest 3 wheelers made at that time right?

Like this right? :

[j0ker]

The 250R...I never got to try a fast 3 wheeler like that, but my uncle had one modded out that was so fast...we were not allowed to use it. I believe the 250R was one of the fastest 3 wheelers made at that time right?

Like this right? :

YES! Wow that picture brings back memories!

[#1Townie]

I nicknamed that thing the death machine. lol.

[j0ker]

I nicknamed that thing the death machine. lol.

Good times though, am I right?

[#1Townie]

Good times though, am I right?

oh hell yeah! still not sure how a motorcycle can be too dangerous. I mean... seriously.

[bennice]

I had a few 3 wheelers back in the day. Man, what fun times! Yeah, they were more prone to tipping over in certain situations. God knows I flipped mine over many, many times doing stunts and what not, but I knew exactly where the limits were and always had an escape route to fall or jump away from the machine. I don't think they were any more dangerous than a motorcycle or a 4 wheeler. Probably less so than a 4 wheeler, as those things are/were much heavier and were more utility than sport at the time. I recall a few times hitting bumps like in the video and going over the bars on dirt bikes too.

That Honda 250R was the cream of the crop back then and was almost universally regarded as the baddest machine around, and then they came out with the 350x and took it up a notch. I was only 12-13 back in those days, so the 125's and 225's were the only machines I got to ride but I wanted that 250R like nobody's business!

[Aaron]

I am torn on this one.

On one hand, guns don't kill people, people kill people. Same argument applied here. Who here has never been hurt on a motorcycle? Bicycle? Skateboard? Fuck I hurt myself, regularly might I add, with paper. I can't imagine these being any more dangerous than a typical dirt bike.

However I can see the other side of it as well, where companies shouldn't be allowed to sell something whose design will hurt someone. Car companies spend millions every year on recalls just for this.

Another side note, so these are too dangerous on dirt, but modern street versions are perfectly ok?

[j0ker]

I am torn on this one.

On one hand, guns don't kill people, people kill people. Same argument applied here. Who here has never been hurt on a motorcycle? Bicycle? Skateboard? Fuck I hurt myself, regularly might I add, with paper. I can't imagine these being any more dangerous than a typical dirt bike.

However I can see the other side of it as well, where companies shouldn't be allowed to sell something whose design will hurt someone. Car companies spend millions every year on recalls just for this.

Another side note, so these are too dangerous on dirt, but modern street versions are perfectly ok?

It's all about who is behind the handle bars. I have seen the videos of the 5 year old going 40 feet in the air on a 250 that their idiot parents let them ride. Is that the design of the 3 wheeler or the idiocy of that kids parents? I did wreck pretty badly on my 3 wheeler, but I have wrecked WAY worse on my dirt bike several times over. Making them illegal seems overreaching. All in all, I miss having one of the most fun rides I ever owned.

[bennice]

I think the problem really was with the marketing. IIRC it wasn't till near the end that they actually started pasting relevant safety instructions on them, and they constantly peddled big ATVs as kid machines.

[longrider]

While I agree on the marketing issue that could have been handled just like quads - very strict age guidelines set down by the government. I saw it more as a case of 3 wheelers were very deceptive in that anybody could putt around on one with no skill at all but as soon as you picked up the pace a little you better know what you are doing or you will be tumbling down the road. Motorcycles at least took skill to even ride at all.