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The Stallion Trike
From Southwest Trikes
Check out the new stallion Forum
Stalliontrikeforum.com
MSRP
$29,995
By Kirk Johnson
February 2007
The all-new Stallion is finally out.
With 155 HP on three wheels, Is it safe? Is it fun?
About the Trike
Thoroghbred Motorsports, a subsidiary of trike
conversion producer Motor Trike has been working on a trike from
the ground up called the Stallion that was just released. Or
at least a prototype was released to some of the dealers. This
is the one that I got to test drive the other day.
The Stallion has a frame and suspension designed
completely in-house by Motor Trike engineers, powered by a 2.3-liter
Ford four-cylinder engine. The engine produces 155
horsepower and 160 ft-lbs. of torque, according to Motor Trike,
which Thoroughbred says will give the Stallion the power-to-weight
ration of a Mustang GT. Unlike a standard trike conversion, the
Stallion has a Ford 5-speed automatic transmission with reverse
and a steering wheel instead of handlebars.
The "dash" also has air conditioning
and heat for both the front and rear passengers, who ride the Stallion
on tandem leather seats. And if that is not enough, it also
comes with a Sony AM - FM radio, CD stereo player, cup holders,
Ford component gauges, Ford automatic shifter with cruise control
and, of course, one brake pedal and one gas pedal.
The Stallion also has an 9.5-gallon fuel tank, which is much larger
than any motorcycles that I know of. Its Fuel economy will
rival that of some of the hybrid cars with 45-MPG Highway - 35-MPG
City. According to these numbers, the cruise range should
be close to 340 miles with a 2-gallon reserve. Not bad for
a motorcycle.
Stallion Specs
Test Drive
I must admit, I have not spent a lot of time on three wheels. As
far as I am concerned, anything with wheels is fun to me. I
am not a diehard 2-wheel advocate. But don’t get me
wrong, I love 2 wheels and have owned a motorcycle every day of
my life from the day I turned 16 and love it. I think this
is the second 3-wheel motorcycle or motorized trike that I have
been on. The other trike I rode was a conversion that Jim
put together from Southwest Trikes.
After you read the above description, you may wonder, is this really
a motorcycle. How can it be a motorcycle with air conditioning,
a steering wheel with a turning signal on the tree, Ford gauges
and auto shifter lever? There is no doubt that a lot of die hard
bikers are going to complain about this as an invasion to their
hard core wind in the face thunder producing two wheel creations. But
not to worry, this is not the crowd that the Stallion is after.
When I first climbed aboard the Stallion, I noticed all of these
funny things not normally associated with a motorcycle. After
I started it up and pulled the shift lever down to Drive and grabbed
the steering wheel to take off, I had that funny feeling that I
forgot to fasten my seatbelt. Weird! Not sure what
to expect, I took off heading south on Cave Creek road for the
photo shoot.
From the very first stoplight and left turn across Cave Creek,
I knew we would be friends. In fact, turning was very easy. You
do not have to move handlebars way over to the right to make a
left turn. Just turn the wheel and go. Yes, you push
on a foot pedal, better known as the accelerator. No twisting
the grip. How weird is that. I could not believe how
stable the trike was on the turn. Having the engine low and
forward between your legs with the transmission below you gives
the stallion a very stable ride. This is a very solid configuration. The
wide tires on the rear and the extended front end make this as
stable as a car. I really don’t think you can bring
a wheel up on a turn. It feels so solid that I think it
would slide it like a big wheel. You know, one of those little
three wheel toys that kids used to have. How fun would that
be?
Now I must admit, after about 3 minutes on the Stallion, when I
came to an intersection to turn, I felt that I needed to use hand
signals. I hardly ever use the turn signals on my ride. So
I stuck out my hand and then realized that I might look a little
foolish. After all, there is a turn signal lever on the tree
that I can use. Having that impulse, should confirm that
the feel of riding the Stallion was still quite a lot like riding
a motorcycle. After all, it is a classified as a motorcycle.
Turning again was a gas. Flat, easy and solid. It
did not feel like it was being pushed around the corner. It
was more like a go-kart. You do not have the feeling that
you need to get around the corner before you punch the gas pedal. Its
response was great and fast. You can hear the
roar of the engine and with the 4.11 rear-end the Stallion just
screams. It goes through all five gears and sounds
like an expensive sports car.
I did notice that there is only a selection for 1, 2 and drive. It
has a 5 speed. It feels more like a 4 speed with an overdrive. That
needs to be changed. If you are cruising at say 45 – 50
all is well. If you want to accelerate, it downshifts. It
seems like it is downshifting all the time. I am sure it
has nothing to do with my driving habits, right?! If you
were not playing with it, and you were just cruising down the road,
it would not be shifting all the time.
I never got a chance to play with it on the 101, but did spend
enough time in it to know that it would be a great cruiser. With
the extended mileage range and ability to carry more than half
of everything that I own, I know you could disappear for a long
time and not have a care in the world. Although it would
be hard to blend in to the scenery and go anonymously. Every
stoplight that I stopped at, I got thumbs up or asked a lot of
questions. Not only is this a sharp looker but no one has
ever seen one before. I would imagine that a lot of people
thought it was come kind of sports car. It kind of looks
like one, it handles like one and sounds like one.
Summary
One of the most fun rides that I have had in a long time. This
is the luxury model and sport model all in one. It handles
more like a sports car than a trike. It is very stable and
solid. 155 hp moves it down the road with authority and I
love the sports car sound that comes from the engine and exhaust. If
you do not like shifting or holding up a big bike, this is a must
to check out.
I am very nimble and getting in and out was easy for me. But
I can see that this might be a problem for some people. The
transmission needs at least an overdrive lockout or more gear selections
to keep it from shifting all the time. Aside from that,
this is really a great ride. Be looking around for the new
Stallion. I am sure it will be very popular.
Ride safe
Kirk
www.phoenixbikers.com
www.motorcycletestdrive.com |
