The one I see the wheels are spaced too close for it to function as a way to keep your bike upright when stopped. They’re maybe about 4 or 5 inches apart at most (about 1 standard scooter tire).
The tricycle with 2 rear wheels are intended to keep the bike upright when stopped, which is why disabled rider use them as they can’t put their feet down (kinda hard when they don’t have feet).
I suspect the most common reason is that they are (in some countries at least) classified as a vehicle for which you require a car drivers license. So lazy aspiring new riders can skip the training and test, jump straight on and ride away
I think you need to put your foot down as the swivel is not locked, it will just start falling to one side. But its’ more stable at low speeds. You see many as follow motorbikes at cycle races in Europe now.
I’ve recently seen trikes used by the cops in HK. They are useful when you’re constantly stopping and going, as you don’t need to put your foot down to stabilize them.
Also, the gap between the two front wheels “allows air to move through the vehicle rather than around it, reducing drag and frontal resistance. This means less effort is required of the engine and motors to power this scooter.” (Source)
A motorcycle (motorbike , bike , or, if three-wheeled, a trike ) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat.
A non-motor-powered one wouldn’t be a bicycle though, and I suppose by extension a a powered one wouldn’t be a motorbike or a bike. But “motorcycle” itself doesn’t specify whether there are two or three wheels.
I wonder how significant that effect really is, or if it’s just marketing blurb. Just looking at the thing, it seems like having two wheels, their enclosures, and the solid bit in between would be less aerodynamic than having only one wheel (simply because of the much greater area and all the flat and hollowed-out bits), irrespective of what the airflow is doing in between the wheels.
I suppose it might have other benefits like allowing smaller front wheels for a given size/weight/cc, along with the stability as you say, but the front doesn’t “look” that aerodynamic in itself.
The V-Duct is a patent granted (UK & USA) and pending (Europe & Japan) proven technology that reduces the motorcycle’s aerodynamic drag by 69% (in its most extreme form). (Source)
Thanks, I was just looking at it too. Ah, that wasn’t obvious from the photo, and “V-Duct” seems to be a new trademarked name/concept they’ve just patented.
Still, even with that, I’m having a bit of a hard time seeing how it’d fully compensate for the larger area of two wheels. They claim a CO2 reduction of 50% than “an equivalent performance motorcycle”, so maybe the devil is in the details (i.e., what they’re comparing it to, for the big bikes intended for this application of emergency services use).
Looks like they’ve also implemented this system in two-wheeled motorcycles as well: