I did this last year at age 49. Getting the license was easy. Being an expert mountain biker likely helped. The two biggest things to be aware of in my opinion is to favor the rear brake and be aware of the snow plowing/understeer when starting off and turning.

 

I strongly advise anyone who has never riden or a returning rider trike or two wheels to take a MSF BRC (basic rider course) for the road safety awareness training. You don't know what you don't know until you have taken a course. Never had a student, even 30 year riders, who did not say they learned a lot in the class. It's one weekend that may save your and a loved ones life.

 

so I'll clarify:
-rain: not so scary on three wheels
-pea gravel: no concern on three wheels
-stop at stop light: sit still & relax.
-stop on off camber/uphill/downhill turn: stomp rear brake and sit there.
-big pot holes: cant avoid them, just like a car, one of the 3 wheels will hit it.
-rail road track: beat you to death, where a bike can float over them somewhat.
-tight parking lot turns in gravel: just do it.
-backing up in pea gravel: just do it
-backing out of a space: like a car.

all that stuff is tough on a very short person/older/weaker person, the Trike REALLY opens up opportunities to ride, without considering the weather, the route, or the parking spot.

the wife is short, and many of the restaurants down here have pea gravel (cinder?) parking lots, and they are a mess.
so if she parked her two wheeler in pea gravel, she could not back it up, turn sharp or even park without a kickstand pad.

and one guy posted you can't pick a dropped bike up using the normal method if the tires don't catch traction, it just pushes sideways in sand or gravel. so she really did not like to go with a man there to pick the bike up, just in case.

I had rode the trike around town, and all 5 roads out of our town have RR tracks, most are double. at low speeds, it beats you up pretty bad if the tracks are diagonal, because each tire impacts at a diff time, and that's about a dozen impacts if double tracks have wore out transition areas.

finally had enough experience to ride it on the I-95 corridor at speed, and it was really much better than I thought it would be, the impacts of road transitions (height/width/asphalt/concrete) were not that bad, even having the two rear tires on two different surfaces was not as bad as I feared.

IDK,. hope that makes sense?

 

I bought mine brand new this Spring. I rode dirt bikes as a kid, but that was 45 years ago. The trike is different than a motorcycle for sure--see all the comments. My husband, who had never driven a motorcycle, went with the Can-Am. He loves it; so yes, sometimes people buy these with little or no experience. Like anything else, practice makes perfect, and like all motorcycles, keeping your head on a swivel remains vital. You're still on an open vehicle, and the only protection you have against the 19 year old texting is your helmet, jeans, and constant situational awareness. I would tell anyone, even an experienced motorcycle rider, try before you buy. The trikes do feel different than a two-wheeler and I found the differences between the Can-Am and a Harley Trike significant. I have a friend with a GoldWing and a trike kit who swears that's the ONLY trike to ride. I suspect we would see less late model used trikes for sale if people took the time to try a trike class first AND rent a bike before they purchased. I know this--I love my trike; it's a beautiful machine and really fun to tour.

 

One test ride as I way buying it. Never been on one other than the old Honda 3 wheelers back in the early 80's

 

04ctd, "IDK,. hope that makes sense?" Yes, now I understand, thanks.

Jd1a, "the old Honda 3 wheelers back in the early 80's" I rode one of those ATC90 things when they first came out in the early 70's. They had a one-piece rear axle and low-pressure balloon tires, and were bobbling all over the place. Getting them to turn was an, uh, "interesting" task at best; instead of leaning into the corner, you had to lean outward so that the inside tire would slip at the same speed the outside was going, otherwise it just went straight! Almost uncontrollable! Thank goodness these trikes handle nothing like that!

 

Ran the 250R''s, fun in the sand, miserable on mountain trails.

 

We bought ours, and never had been on a bike.
Bought it in March of 2019, and now have put about 1500 miles on it

 

IMHO there are many who have not ridden or studied trikes and trike conversions prior to purchase. That one reason there are so many solid axle trikes on the road! If many that bought the SA's has tested one with Independent Rear Supension prior to buying, pretty sure IRS would have been the choice!

 

I have a 15 TG a couple of years ago bought a 03 Sporty with a DFT kit that had IRS. Really didn't notice much difference. The DFT was a good kit.