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Three-wheeled boomboxes in Harvard Square

Big trikes

Gedalia Pasternak took a gander at the latest in wheeled transportation in Harvard Square last night:

Interesting rides in Harv sq, including rap videos playing on side of trikes.

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Comments

The great thing about these vehicles is that they are classified as motorcycles, so can be very green - light weight and fuel efficient. They don't have nearly as many regulatory burdens as 4 wheeled motor vehicles.

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http://www.spyder.brp.com/

These are heavily modified versions of those, if I'm not mistaken.

I think they're awful but some people love 'em. I say if you're gonna buy a motorcycle buy a motorcycle...

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originally made under name of T-Rex and used a Kawasaki ZX14 powertrain I think. , now made by Campagna Motors in Quebec.

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with about 200hp is more interesting than a 1L V-twin and 100hp! With only that much power, more weight and cost, a motorcycle is definitely better. I'm just saying that laws allow for more interesting 3 wheel motor vehicles than 4 wheeled ones. You may have to build your own, though.

I've never owned a trike, just a learner bike, then 1000cc Ninja and Honda 900rr. I miss having a bike, but not having to be on high alert every second and the closed in feeling of a helmet. I don't have that with a Miata. For people in late 40s and over, risks of concentration lapses and riding go up.

The teen and young adult market has confidence, but often short on cash. An older market with more cash and less confidence seems the target for trikes. Now they seem to want to reach lower age brackets with tarted up styling. More show than go.

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The brp is ridden on top of the engine.

Those things have a much longer wheelbase, driver seated low, engine and transmission behind the driver. Like what an Ariel Atom might be with one rear wheel and bodywork allowing use in bad weather. The whole thing could be quite stable if the chassis could rotate for negative camber in turns given the very low CG.

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I have no opinion on these, but some mid-life-crisis who works near my office has this crazy, three-wheeled motorcycle thing, with the two wheels in the front. It looks RIDICULOUS. I'm willing to bet that he didn't really feel comfortable riding a true motorcycle, and this was some compromise he made with his ego. Either that, or his wife wouldn't let him get a motorcycle, and this was the only alternative he could negotiate.

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age might be a factor. Over the years, reflexes get slower, reaction times longer, balance gets worse, and the ability to do all of this while managing a heavy motorcycle just goes away. Veterans with missing limbs sometimes favor these vehicles, but most of them are so expensive. The current list price for a new T-Rex is more than $50,000.00.

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I ride my motorbike all over New England, commute on it year round and love it. Still, I think a Piaggio MP3 looks like an awful lot of fun!

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Wow , has Harvard Square come a long way from the Wursthaus , the old Sarge would have had those things on the hook!

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My father used to go there when he was a student. Border is an improvement. I miss the Tasty, mostly for the hours and ambiance.

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A lot of changes there , dude , Elsie's is gone , good sandwiches fast and reasonably priced. Harvard square hasn't been the same since they changed the name of Boylston street.

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Troot. Harvard Square is mostly just a mall now, with the exception of La Flamme, Million Year Picnic and one or two other places. Very little of the good old days survives.

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What prohibition can buy.

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The economy is back friends. Conspicuous consumption trike style.

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Keep those as far away from me as possible.

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Why?

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They would be deadly in a pedestrian collision and depending on the angle of impact could skewer someone in a car too. Those trikes don't have to meet the current car safety regulations which forbid designs which can impale people in collisions. Compare the design of these things to Apteras and you'll see the difference.

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Now if you said it was because they were in poor taste, tacky, ostentatious... i mean they play a rap video on a screen on the side of them... then you would have a more valid point.

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You do realize that Kathode drives everywhere, even in the city, doesn't want to be responsible for anything and fears the boogyman behind every street sign - so I really doubt walking safety is the issue.

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And noisy audio systems.

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Leaf blowers are noisy, too.

You can go elsewhere and stay away from them, you know.

How do you know they are noisy? Just looking at them?

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