MILWAUKEE — As their knees give out and it gets harder to balance a motorcycle weighing hundreds of pounds, more aging bikers are turning to three-wheelers.
What’s more, trikes have become popular with people who don’t have balance issues but appreciate them for what they are — a practical and sometimes trendsetting alternative to a standard two-wheeler.
“It’s a cool thing now because it’s different,” said Tom Dorcey, an events coordinator for Rob’s Performance Motorsports, a Can-Am Spyder trike dealership in Johnson Creek, Wis.
Sleek and sporty, the Spyder is a three-wheeler from the makers of Ski-Doo snowmobiles that kind of looks like a snowmobile on wheels.
Dorcey, from Janesville, Wis., became a trike rider after he and his wife were in a motorcycle crash 11 years ago. A car pulled in front of them, and they hit it at 50 mph.
“After that, we never really felt comfortable on two wheels,” Dorcey said.
Several manufacturers offer conversion kits that turn two-wheelers into trikes. A Wisconsin dealership, Kool Trikes, does conversions and is launching its own manufacturing system. l
