Three-wheeled scooter?

**Pogo2** · 10th May 2007, 21:23

Was riding past Red Baron the other day and saw a 3 wheeled scoot out the front. Two wheels on the front -looked like a quad bike. Was black and looked new. Anyone have any ideas as to what it is? Might have to go and have a look out of curiosity

**Hitcher** · 10th May 2007, 21:37

It will be one of these.

http://www.gizmag.com/go/5644/

**Big Dave** · 10th May 2007, 22:34

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205079

**Pogo2** · 11th May 2007, 20:24

Yep .. that the one I saw. Any idea on price - bet it is not cheap!

**Big Dave** · 11th May 2007, 20:53

Originally Posted by Pogo2

Yep .. that the one I saw. Any idea on price - bet it is not cheap!

Bike mart lists the Rrp @ $12,300.

**Pogo2** · 20th May 2007, 20:49

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Bike mart lists the Rrp @ $12,300.

Must be good to justify that price.

Thanks for the info BD.

**DesmoJohnny** · 20th May 2007, 21:25

Wait until Gilera bring out a 500 version - Fire

The styling of their's is a little more 'off the wall' kind of ATVish ??
Still pricey for a scooter though.

MD · 5th July 2007, 19:06

Well finally I can post in the scooter forum. Hi everybody.
Motorad Wgtn let me loose on their demo MP3 250cc 3 wheeler.
You can count the times I've ridden a scooter on one hand but I always love em.

So, what did I think. Putting aside that $12,300 is a ridiculous price for a work commuter, I can see where the money went in terms of R&D and quality of build. Top notch switchgear and controls and displays - rev counter, speedo and plenty of warning lights to entertain you at the lights. Easy to read, good fuel guage.
Clever things I noticed;- Numero uno has to be the two front wheels. more on that later.
- The key fob has central locking to open the rear boot lid and/or the seat
to give access to a reasonably sized long run storage space
-clear lens cover (trendy today...maybe out of fashion tomorrow)
The ride
Took me a few minutes to believe that it would in fact lean into a corner. But it does and leans a fair way over. Bear in mind, most of my ride was on wet roads but it was drying in places. This was probably the best way to experience the 3 wheel benefit. I can't imagine any 2 wheeler rider daring to lean as much in wet & cold conditions. And you feel safer using a little brake around bends in the wet (and in the dry I assume). I tried braking really hard and the back wheel locked up and this was a revelation in the wonders of the 2 wheels up front. Where a 2 wheeler would scare a rider if the rear end was fish tailing but on this baby it was just a hoot, knowing that the chances of a tip off were halved.
It has a thumb switch on the right that is easy to push without looking for it. It locks the front wheels in position so they can't tilt. The ideal being this acts as a stand if you are parking it up - it also has a rear centrestand. But the main use is when you come to a red light you simply lock the wheels and don't bother putting a foot on the ground to support the bike at a standstill.
A loud single beep lets you know they are locked. Then as you twist the throttle it automatically unlocks with 2 loud beeps to let you know you are back in rider control/lean mode. I must confess I was a bit shakely doing this, especially when you take off, you can fall a bit to a side and have to correct your line. But a few days around the city streets would make an expert out of any owner.
Certainly the extra wheel doubles the contact patch up front so your chances of a front wheel slide are halved and this is felt through the ride by extra confidence. I got a buzz deliberately riding one wheel over wet steel manhole covers etc, where a 2 wheeler would have been close to dumping you, this thing just flys over it like nothing happened! That safety factor alone may tempt people scared of 2 wheeled bikes onto a scooter
Attention grabber!

This thing attracts stares and admiring nods from bystanders, other drivers, construction workers..... I have never had so many people stop walking and stare and tap their friends and point..look at that! Be prepared to be oggled all the time.
I saw 100kph a few times around Shelly Bay without much trouble. No red line so I don't know where it runs out of steam, although it was starting to slow in acceleration at that point. Still it could hold its head high in motorway traffic.
As expected it does not turn as quick or as easily as scooters, so I guess if you play duck and dive and squeeze around traffic jams this would be a bit of hard work. I did a couple of u-turns and it still had a fairly tight turning circle, but nothing on a 2 wheel scooter.
Worth a test ride for the peculiarity factor and public attention.

**Pogo2** · 5th July 2007, 19:51

Thanks for the review. Sounds good, but for 12.5K I think I would put it towards something alot better - like your F800. Do you know if they have sold any of these?

Cheers

Mark

MD · 5th July 2007, 20:29

Originally Posted by Pogo2

Thanks for the review. Sounds good, but for 12.5K I think I would put it towards something alot better - like your F800. Do you know if they have sold any of these?

Cheers

Mark

That is the $12000 question. No, Motorad only received the one in stock and it's a demo. I took cell ph pics but they are too blurry to bother posting up. Smart looking machine though and not wide as some might suspect.
With Vespas at $5000+ and other scoots at $2000 new, it is going to be a hard road finding a buyer.

**kaz** · 6th July 2007, 15:57

Originally Posted by MD

That is the $12000 question. No, Motorad only received the one in stock and it's a demo. I took cell ph pics but they are too blurry to bother posting up. Smart looking machine though and not wide as some might suspect. With Vespas at $5000+ and other scoots at $2000 new, it is going to be a hard road finding a buyer.

Thanks for the review, MD. I saw it at Motorad the other day and did a double-take, wondering how on earth it worked. Thanks to you I am now curious to take it for a spin too. I'm waiting on a Gilera Runner though - potentially the answer to my What-Next-Scooter dreams.

**Pogo2** · 6th July 2007, 19:17

Originally Posted by kaz

Thanks for the review, MD. I saw it at Motorad the other day and did a double-take, wondering how on earth it worked. Thanks to you I am now curious to take it for a spin too. I'm waiting on a Gilera Runner though - potentially the answer to my What-Next-Scooter dreams.

Yes you do do a double take when you see it in the flesh! Still looking for the best scoot I see.

If I had a wad of cash I'd be looking at the Runner too - very stylish (purist will of course disagree!). I would be really be deciding between the Runner and the Suzuki Burgman.

Have fun choosing - frustrating isn't it!

**Street Gerbil** · 6th July 2007, 22:07

I've seen one downtown. Looks weird.

**JeremyW** · 6th July 2007, 22:37

I think they are an amazing piece of engineering, although I still struggle with the motive for them. You do get some very odd looks when riding them... like the gentleman who almost crashed his Aston Martin looking, no staring, at me

After managing to lock the keys under the seat I got quite intimate with one to get the boot open and the front end is complex but everything seems to have a place and make sense. The build quality is also impressive.

There has been a lot of interest in these in Auckland, you'd be very surprised at how many have gone out the door