An autocycle is not a motorcycle and it’s not a car. 3 wheels, a steering wheel instead of handlebars, 1 or 2 car seats, an enclosed cockpit or not, a high performance engine, a gas pedal, the attocycle may feel like a car more than a motorcycle, but is not required to meet automobile safety standards. As demonstrated by the arrival and interest of several manufacturers from Polaris with the Slingshot to the Campagna T-Rex to Tanom Motors and several more attocycle boutiques, the autocycle seems to attract disparate demographics, from adrenaline junkies to well-to-do baby boomers looking for new thrills with a perceived extra comfort and safety versus riding a motorcycle. These manufacturers, without knowing the potential market size, are all convinced that this type of recreational vehicles could go mainstream
The US NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) regulations classify three-wheeled vehicles as motorcycles which have fewer regulations. But many US states want to classify those as described above as autocycles. To date, 26 states have enacted or are currently developing a classification for those specific setup three-wheeled vehicles. Some want to limit the classification to enclosed vehicles. The legal definition of an autocycle is still confusing.
Under laws in many US states, autocycle owners must take a motorcycle driving test, even though those skills are irrelevant. Other states require helmets to be worn even if the vehicle is enclosed. A couple of states have taken a hard line. Maryland authorities say riders must sit astride their motorcycle, and vehicles that don’t allow that are not street-legal. During this time, manufacturers are very careful in the way they promote their vehicles. For example, Polaris has a Slingshot disclaimer reading that ”the Slingshot is a three-wheel motorcycle, not an automobile. It does not have air bags, and it does not meet automotive safety standards. Three wheel vehicles may handle differently than other vehicles, especially in wet conditions. Always wear helmets and fasten seat belts.” And now these autocycle manufacturers want to market their products in Europe and Asia where the legislation may be even more confusing. To follow…
These 3 wheeled devices sure ain’t motorcycles. The people who drive them ain’t bikers. They are closer to automobiles that you sit in than motorcycles which you straddle. They sure don’t belong taking up spaces that motorcycles use at events. They should be parked with cars and trucks.
These mfrs really must have stones like boulders to commit that kind of money to building vehicles with one main intent-thwarting automotive requirements with non-motorcycles they want to market as motorcycles. Expensive gamble. I’ll go make popcorn…
Create a different category, Trikemobile or something, but I see no relation to motorcycles and should not be classified as such. Having to take a motorcycle driving test for one? What a joke!
Manufacturers like Polaris are not stupid. There is a big market, especially targeting the baby boomers. But how big is this market?
For baby boomers, better than a trike (the lady approved). Just need to have extra money to burn without sacrifying retirement income and savings.
Shhh. Just ignore them. Maybe they’ll go away.
all they need are TWO 30″ wheels on front and 24″ ape hangers then they will appeal to the in vogue crowd
Guys there are lots of buyers for these and to a big manufacturers whats a niche product that gets attention really cost ??
We are the recreation generation so manufactures will make products like these !
If they can sell those “Smart Cars” they can sell these things.
I see-em as more of a Carnival Ride, without the pimply faced kid collecting tickets.
What ya have here is yet another attempt to reduce the degree of difficulty required to participate in the “real deal”….. motorcycling. A strategy increasingly prevalent in our society,
Look around.
Your continually told “we’re all equal”…. And so social engineering is applied to “level life” so that everyone has the same outcome….. all college grads, all homeowners, all financially sound, no more competition differentiating winners from losers, ….etc, etc,…
All that may sound fine and even get some elected on that basis…… Except that every day Reality kicks the shit out-a Utopian day-dreams (like when ya over-cook a corner and realize you really don’t know how to ride a bike).
Seems to me the market for such toys might be so many boomers trying to inject something interesting into, what they now realize, has been a hum-dum life. I’m guessing unless they organize into support groups, they’ll find it more convenient to play video games. There is no easy way to get around “paying your dues.”
Sorry… In horse shoes, hand grenades, and life there are no “do-overs.”
And shooting the messenger changes nothing.
-nicker-
@ Fritz, Smart cars had to pass all the DOT specs for an auto, unlike these things. Absolutely there’s buyers out there for these things, but that isn’t the issue. The issue is whether or not a “not a car or a bike” category can be created that meets a national standard like a car or bike has to. So far it’s all a crapshoot, with the product leading the way and mfrs. hoping they’ll be able to pressure/lobby/ whatever enough to get the laws changed after the fact. Using that theory, VW should ask for a separate category for their diesel cars 😉 I think these things are cool, just would hate to see it all blow up and have the backlash legislation smack all of us with home built, already-titled trikes.
Ever driven one of these? The Slingshot is a ton of fun to drive and can be had for around $25,000.
Many people have no interest in participating in the “real deal” motorcycling because a lot of motorcycle riders are dicks strutting around in a bogus costume and scowling like some kind of tough-guy and that game has no appeal to many.
How many times have I seen on this forum one individual or another dictating what a “real biker” is? To me, a “real biker” sure isn’t somebody who spends his/her time in front of a keyboard deciding whether or not somebody’s choice of ride or accessory or apparel qualifies them for inclusion into the cool kids club.
While certainly these vehicles don’t fit what most would consider a motorcycle, they don’t belong in the category of “car” either. A new category of classification is needed at the Federal level. Allowing 50 states to create 50 different definitions is a recipe for disaster.
I don’t really ride, build, service, or modify these kinds of machines, so I have no dog in the fight. That being said, might be a bit of fun to ride a few minutes, kinda like a roller coaster… after that, not for me at all. Good luck for those who give a crap, I have 2-wheeled fish to fry.
Rodent, you will be glad to hear that nicker has surpassed you and he is the most ignorant, insensitive , and uninformed of all the posters on this blog.
Slingshot – Call it whatever you will, but this ‘thing’ is an absolute blast to ride/drive. I have had the opportunity to boil the tires off a few and it even made my normally stoical face grin. It has a rabid following already and most dealers have them sold before they hit the door. Grab a demo ride ASAP, hit the Traction Control button to off and dump the clutch about 5K…
I gauge the interest/success by how fast and how much support comes from the aftermarket; I learned that during the Kings Mountain era of Indian where there was about 3 aftermarket items produced. Check out this link for a sample of what is already available for a vehicle that is barely a year old: http://www.slingmods.com/
I will never have one in my garage, but am happy to see happy people putting their phone down for a moment and enjoying some wind. I for one find it pleasant when in the proximity of enthusiasts. I have grown too old and too wise to hang with haters.
RE:
“…people have no interest in participating in the “real deal” motorcycling…”
Well, that’s exactly why our insurance rates are through the roof and increasingly restrictive laws are moving in on us. The “real deal” is a person committed to fully understand motorcycling in all its facets….. They understand how to minimize their risk and how to maximize their experience over a life time commitment to an activity that will positively influence every aspect of their lives.
Certainly there are those “… who have no interest…” and that’s to be expected. They typically buy in, purchase some products, loose interest, and sell out. They comprise the bulk of the “industry” market.
In between there are some who don’t want to do the work, but still want to be “included” in what has historically been an “exclusive club.” And there in lies the confusion. Real motorcycling is “exclusive” in that not everyone will develop the skills and mindset it takes to fully participate,….. to be “included.”
There is no “… cool kids club…” There are simply those who know who they are, who know what they are doing, and who know how their actions effect their contemporaries. In that context its a binary proposition…. you either are or you aren’t…..
RE:
“… one individual or another dictating what a “real biker” is? …”
Pick who you are and live with it.
-nicker-
Is this argument about slaves and slave owners being taxed?
@Mike Greenwald, I think so.
At first, I thought it was a penis comparison.
Personally, if our insurance rates are through the roof , it’s more because of increasingly distracted drivers keep knocking riders off.
So if you take up more than one parking space I will see you Thursday night at the Sonic, not at the Sunday swap.
If you cannot avoid a single pothole on a country mile I will see you on the interstate not on the twisties.
I bought a Chrysler SRT for 25 and change pushing 600 horse fully streetable. It’s a whole bucket of fun too and makes me grin. The difference between it and a Slingshot is that this is the last time I am going to talk about a car on a motorcycle forum. I wish the same could he said about Slingshots whatever they are.
I don’t plan on giving up my two wheelers anytime soon, but if something happens and I could no longer stay-up on two wheels I would go with this over a trike. No offense to trikers, they are just not my thing.
Cycle cars have been around since the early 1900s, with the Morgan Aero being the most recognizable of them. Back in the early 80s, H-D bought a company called TRI-Hawk, and put their blessing on these vehicles. Google cycle cars and learn. There are many, many brands and much history associated with these, and Wisconsin already has and has had a definition for them, Type 2 Motorcycle…
Yep, they have been around forever
But now there seems to be a proliferation of them.
Guess what? I agree with nicker & some of the others.
I test drove a Slingshot (keyword here is DROVE)
It’s not a bike, it’s not a trike, it is a CAR !!!!
Cars do not get you entry into the motorcycle world !
if I had all the $$$ in the world or hit the lottery
Yeah, it would be fun to have one to tool around on on a sunny day
But i’d rather have 2 wheels & a bike vs. a car ….
And if I couldn’t ride 2 wheels anymore,
i’d get one of the new Can-Am Spyders before a Slingshot
I’m one of the unlucky ones that can only afford 1 at a time.
LOL !!!!
I believe, because I have tried it, showing a picture of a slingshot and a motorcycle together and then asking a person which one is the motorcycle. so far no one has picked the slingshot! The only reason it exists is because states are classifying them as a motorcycle and this allows them not to have to deal with all the vehicle safety requirements! I’m all for the slingshot drivers forming their own clubs and having as much fun as possible. But they are not motorcycles!
Looks like a blast to ride/drive. If I could afford one, I’d buy one of the high performance versions before the feds and the states suck the life out of them, if not regulate them out of existence entirely.
Ever driven one of these? The Slingshot is a ton of fun to drive and can be had for around $25,000. –
At 10K on ebay in a few years……………..they will best 10k toy on the market especially if u can use it 12 months of year 🙂
Mike,
RE:
“…an argument about slaves and slave owners…”
???
-No-
Simply a continuing effort to preserving motorcycling as one of the last bastions of “the rugged individual” spirit…. As opposed to the mindless prattle of the “me-too” mommy-state denizens who know increasingly less about what it takes to navigate a lifetime successfully….. 🙁
-nicker-
Put a pisto holder in the fairing and get the NRA to involve itself as an identified 2nd Amendment issue!
A REAL motorcycle is American-made; Harley, Indian, custom chopper shop, etc. Beyond that: it’s ALL fair play. If some greaseball on a Ninja is gonna talk $hit to me because I’m on (or in, depending on your POV) a “real” bike, cuz I’m having WAY MORE FUN than him on my Polaris Slingshot, he can either come back when he’s ridin’ an HD Heritage Soft tail Classic, Indian Legend, or some totally unique, 1-of-a-kind custom chopper that ACTUALLY makes me jealous, or he can shut the “F” up, cuz a Slingshot w/ a chick grabbing your gearshift is INFINITLY more fun fun than some tramp-stamped skank clutching on for dear life while do “endo’s”. I’m sorry, the truth hurts
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