david@tekid.UUCP (05/24/83)
I am interested in some alternative forms of transportation, one of them being low cost highway travel. Some of the requirements for my use would be high mpg, low cost to build, reliability, and comfortable in the rain since I live in Portland, Oregon. Some vehicles fitting this description have recently been in some magazines. One is the Popular Mechanics Tri-Magnum. This uses a motorcycle drivetrain mated to a VW torsion bar front end to make a three wheeled rig. They used a Kawasaki 900cc bike for the power and listed 50 mpg with 0-60 mph at 9.5 seconds. The body was a home built fiberglass over polyethylene foam single unit. The looks were impressive, the performance great, but 50 mpg is a little low for me. Another possible is the rig from Litestar. This is an elongated motorcycle, tandem seating for two, with outriggers on either side. Only one outrigger touches at any one time so this is considered a 3 wheeler too. This rig resembles a plane fuselage and is very aerodynamic. They advertise 75 mpg and 0-60 at 9.5 with their standard 250cc engine. The body is again fiberglass over foam but the total vehicle weight is only around 700 lbs. You can buy these new for around 4000 bucks. The last type I saw on an episode of Ripleys Believe it or Not. I think it was called the Lean Machine and GM developed it. This rig had seating for one, one front and two closely spaced rear wheels, with a fiberglass enclosure. The unique feature about this vehicle was the ability of the front end cockpit assembly to lean into corners while the two rear wheels remained on the pavement. Now get this, advertised mpg was 200 at 100mph. Low cost transportation could really save me some bucks and a home built kit could be the answer. The big advantage of the three wheelers is the gov't regards them as motorcycles and hence they don't have to meet passenger car regulations. If anyone else has info or is interested in this sort of thing please mail me or post to the net. These could be really fun, attention getting, good performing vehicles. Dave Hayes teklabs!tekid!david