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Am I alone in thinking this is a very bad idea?

I think there should be like an "Alternative Vehicle" classification or something but I do not think riding one of these trikes should get you your motorcycle license. This thread is based on an ad I saw on TV last night that specifically said "You can now take your motorcycle license test on a Can-Am Spyder".

This is really bad because now anyone can go out and buy a 2 wheeled motorcycle just because they can ride around a tricycle? I think this is going to make fatality and crash stats for motorcycles go all whacky.

Brackstone wrote:

This is really bad because now anyone can go out and buy a 2 wheeled motorcycle just because they can ride around a tricycle? I think this is going to make fatality and crash stats for motorcycles go all whacky.

The motorcyle licensing is a complete joke anyways in the US. Anyone can get a motorcyle license in the US. You literally have to be unskilled beyond comprehension to fail the joke of a motorcyle riding test in the US.

Just because you can doesn't mean that everyone will. I don't think we're going to see a huge increase in crash/fatality stats.

Yes, I think there should be an "Alternative Vehicle" class for licensing, but until the US lawmakers as a whole can get past the whole outlaw biker/hooligan image that most of them seem to have, we're stuck with people who wish we'd just go away making the laws that govern our riding. Maybe when they can accept us as taxpayers, voters, and law abiding citizens we can talk about more responsible licensing here in the US.

Anyone can already go out and buy a 2-wheeled motorcycle, and lack of a license doesn't stop anyone from riding. It'll still come down to the individual rider, Brackstone. Some will get licensed on a Spyder and go from that directly to a liter bike and wrap it around a tree or go flying off the side of a canyon. Many, I think, will realize that a Spyder and a 2-wheeled motorcycle are drastically different in many aspects and will approach them as such. The only difference now is that they actually have to learn to keep a motorcycle upright all the way to the tree or canyon in order to get a license.

jaskc78 wrote:Some will get licensed on a Spyder and go from that directly to a liter bike and wrap it around a tree or go flying off the side of a canyon.

I don't see how anyone is going to go buy a $20K+ three wheeler to take a riding test, then get rid of it to buy a liter bike.

Good sir, this just proves you know nothing of the crazies around here. I know one guy never had a license and hes totaled 6 bikes on the street and still rides. He tells everyone else they don't know how to ride. To most of the fools I know everything is about finding a way AROUND the legality and this would fit right into their ill-conceived plans of negating every possible rule. The worst part is two people i know have been stopped on more than one occasion each, never having valid tags or any license at all. They have never had to do more than get a friend with a truck come pick up the bike. I have been pulled over 3 times and issued warnings for doing 2 mph over the speed limit on my shadow. When I know I wasn't speeding I knew the cops where there as it is a know speed trap. Another thing to consider here is that the licensing aspect of getting on a motorcycle has nothing to do with the person riding. My sister lives out in the country and every year there are 3-5 on average that just run off the road into a field near her. I have seen a couple of them do it. One told me the wind did it, another said they must have bad tires. I doubt if anyone ever said I WAS GOING TO FAST. I agree that at the very least a class should be mandatory and easily available in all locations, however its not going to make the squid think any differently.

There are still many of us riding around here in Ohio that never took the MSF course or any other formal training for riding. I never heard of MSF until I had been riding several years back in the 80's. A friend of mine took the state test for a M endorsement on a 250cc scooter and then traded it on a CM400 to ride. At that point he could have walked in and bought a 1000cc supersport and rode away on it as far as the law goes, or at least tried to.

agraebner wrote:To most of the fools I know everything is about finding a way AROUND the legality and this would fit right into their ill-conceived plans of negating every possible rule.

There is already a "loop hole" that is much easier to exploit than buying a $20K trike. In the US, one can pass the test on a 50cc automatic scooter, then go and buy a Ducati Streetfighter. Let's face it, just about anyone that can ride a bicycle could pass the US motorcycle licensing test on a 50cc scooter the first time they ever hop on it. And that is the root of the problem, the US licensing requirement and the testing. From what I recall, it jokingly consisted of doing a serpentine around cones that are almost set far enough apart that a Hummer could slalom around it. A figure eight and a u-turn in a area the size of the Grand Canyon. Ok I'm exaggerating here but you get the point. The fact remains the test is a complete joke and anyone who cannot pass it with flying colors have no business being on two wheels.

The addition of the Can Am to the list of eligible testing vehicle which already includes a 50cc scooter is hardly anything to be concerned about. In fact, I would even argue that in some ways, it would take more skill to operate the Can Am over a 50cc automatic scooter.

It's going to vary from state to state...in CA you don't even need a motorcycle license to operate a Spyder, just a class C driver's license. Same with a Piaggio MP3.

Neither would be ideal for trying to take the DMV test anyway, because those wheels would never stay within the 6 inch (I'm guessing the width...it looks really narrow) keyhole turning test...

HYPERR wrote:In fact, I would even argue that in some ways, it would take more skill to operate the Can Am over a 50cc automatic scooter.

Years ago I snuck onto the NJ DMV testing range on a Sunday for practice (illegal, btw), and it seemed tiny to me with very tight turns. Spyders aren't small, they might have some issues getting around those turns?

HYPERR wrote: In the US, one can pass the test on a 50cc automatic scooter, then go and buy a Ducati Streetfighter. Let's face it, just about anyone that can ride a bicycle could pass the US motorcycle licensing test on a 50cc scooter automatic

Incredible. That is so hard for me to imagine. In Japan, the test has to be taken on the bike provided by the driving school. It is chosen to be suitable as a representative engine power within the tiered system of the cc range you are trying for.
The same bike you use on all your manadatory 30 road classes which have to be paid up front and you cannot take the test without them. Some have to take another 30 classes..and then the 30 lectures (safety, rules and law)with video you have to take too. Wow, it is very different in the US.