While I was looking for automotive structural foam for my car to improve on NVH (noise, vibration and harshness, yep, Japanese cars start to ride harsh after a few years on the road), I came across the Tri-Magnum. A three wheel bike. I wrote about the Acabion a several weeks ago. The Acabion is of course in another league. With a carbon fibre body. and a modified Hamamatsu engine, the Acabion can reach warp speed or exceed the speed of 600 km/h (limited at 450 km/h for road use ). Cost is well, beyond the most of us. Which brings us to the Tri-Magnum, three wheel bike, shown below.
photo from Wikipedia
This is something more down to earth. You can build one yourself. In fact, the site comes with plans you can purchase and download to build your own three wheel bike. Fuel consumption in region of 50 mpg is possible due to the light weight design using foam and fiber glass. The original design used a Kawasaki KZ900 motorcycle striped of the front fork. In its place, the front suspension of a VW Beetle is used to form the chassis! Smart and simple. In case you are in doubt, it is street legal in the United States as three wheelers are classified as motorcycles. As long as you meet the safety requirements of the motorbike, you are ok. Not of sure about other countries though. Some states according to owners require them to wear helmets! Other states require the Tri-Magnum to have a single headlamp (as in a bike)! Rules.
I figured, there are 3 things that stops people from riding motorbikes even though fuel consumption is really cheap. When it is too hot, when it is too cold and when you are involved in a crash. Having an enclosed structure around a bike would solve all three. Why no manufacturer has done this in larger numbers beats me. But I sure would like something similar.
Pros : Good fuel efficiency, personal vehicle, cheap to buy, do your bit for the planet. Cool
Cons : Safety issue with todays huge SUV all round, needs better engineering.
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