How to Ride A Motorcycle Trike
Article by Bob Witte of Hudson, Florida.

Wisdom For Newbies From Others Who’ve Been There Already
Preface: I don’t claim any real originality in this presen tation. After all is said and done, it really is just common sense stuff and some good thoughts from all over. As the Bible says in Proverbs 11:14 “…In the multitude of counselors, there is safety.”
Therefore, as a public service, when I was at the n ow defunct The Trinity Trike, Mfg I pulled this information together by gleaning from p ersonal experiences, conversations with other trikers, YouTube.com and various internet sit es, rider forums, answers to FAQ’s and reading stuff long enough ago, I can’t possibly rem ember where it came from. Accordingly, what I have in here is advice, opinions and experie nces, not absolutes. Not everything will apply to everybody, but I’m sharing what I have app lied to my own riding experience and therefore, can recommend it (otherwise why would I have bothered to type all of this in the first place!!) Anyhow, here we go…
For novices (aka “Newbies”) learning to ride a moto rcycle trike is not as easy as it looks, even for the seasoned motorcyclist (perhaps even mo re so for you regular bikers!). Here are some pointers to either get you going as a triker o r hopefully to help you be a better triker even if you’ve been triking awhile already!
- The typical trike handlebars and control arrangemen t is of course, exactly the same as on a motorcycle (well, Doh!) However, the steering with those handlebars is different and you need to get used to it. I would have you b egin driving the trike in an empty parking lot and leave the trike in first gear , steer it around the lot and do some figure-8’s. Get used to the long arm push/pulls to turn. Odd as it may seem, it might help you in this most important exercise by leaving your left hand in your back pocket so you can get a better “feel” for it!
- You steer a trike very much like a car. You will find it eas iest to use a push/pull steering technique. That is, when you want to turn right, pull the right grip toward you while pushing the left grip away from you. Simi larly, for a left turn, pull the left grip toward you while pushing the right grip away f rom you. This technique is especially useful making turns in the famous twisti es we all love. You will find it much easier and more natural to lead with a pull on the grip on a hard turn rather than using a push on the grip — which is what your two wheeling “muscle memory” will want to do.
- You really need to spend some significant time gett ing familiar with the differences in steering and how evasive maneuvers are executed. A couple of hours rather than a few minutes is preferred. Your mind will keep tell ing you that you are on a bike, which for steering is no longer true. You must trai n yourself to steer the vehicle, not countersteer . Throwing your weight around will only wear out th e seat of your pants, it will do little or nothing to steer the trike pro perly. In other words when on a trike, your knee dragging days are over!
- Watch where you are going (not where you want to go !). If you were trained properly for motorcycle riding, you were taught tha t looking where you want go is half of getting there upright (again because of lea ning & counter steering). This is something you will need to “unlearn” or at least no t using it as you did on two wheels. What is true for two wheeling in that rega rd is no longer true for triking. Where you are steering is where you are going regardless of where you are looking! The cage advice is sage advice – “Keep your eyes on the road!!”
- You should drive the trike in traffic lanes positio ned much like you would a car. Riding through long sweeper curves will be easy. Do ing the twisties will take new techniques and a bit more muscle (but still can be loads of fun!). Again, since you can’t shift weight and cannot lean when taking curv es, the best advice is to slow down before getting into all curves and then halfway through, apply a bit of p ower on your way out. Stay towards the “tight side” (i. e., on the inside track) and keep that front wheel in the middle of your lane as much as possible. Remember to point the front wheel in the direction you want to turn ( again, I can’t say it enough, there is no counter steering!).
- If you think you will be able to reach out and touc h something to one side or the other, you’re too close to whatever it is! Your wi dth is greater than before so watch out for curbs, toll booths, gas pump barrier poles, etc. Hint – add a pair of those one inch convex mirrors so you can see the outer edge o f the fenders. Oh yeah, you are not going to fall over, so don’t put your feet down when you stop!
- Because of the natural physics involved with a thre e wheeled vehicle, when you hit a pothole or bump with one of your rear wheels, the b ars will react with a bit of a “snap.” Less so for the independent rear suspension systems, but it is a bit more noticeable on the straight axles. Don’t worry, this is completely normal so anticipate it. Also, if you take both your hands off the bars when going down the road on any number of trikes, the front end may start a slight “wobble” as well. (But then you shouldn’t be doing “no hands” riding in any case – ever!!) Hang on to the bars, and there shouldn’t be any wobble to worry about!
- Speaking of wobbles, don’t ignore your tires as a c ontributory source. If you’ve just triked a ride you have had for awhile, consider fir st a re-balancing of the front or better yet, a replacing and balancing of the front tire. New tires are great even on a two wheeler, and work wonders for the newly triked. And don’t neglect the rear tires either – they need to be well balanced at all times , and rotated as well.
- Don’t worry about the normally modest decrease in g as mileage. You now carry more weight, have bigger wheels (not to mention having a n extra one) and need more energy to overcome the inertia of the extra mass. There can be two “air brakes” right behind you, (aka “fenders”) or worse yet, perhaps a full body blocking the flow.
- Remember, trikes are somewhat sensitive to air pres sure in the rear tires. Unlike cars and SUV’s, running your rear tires a bit under inflated will usually enhance the handling and ride. Because those auto tires you pu t on are only carrying a fraction of what they were designed for, a few pounds of under inflation won’t affect the tire wear much, if at all. Also note that the trike wil l pull toward the tire with a lower PSI. This is another good reason to check your tir e pressure frequently. Also you can use this to your advantage especially if you ri de a lot of roadways that have pronounced “crowns” on them that are always pulling you to the side (especially true in the northern states). Try taking a couple of po unds out of your left rear tire to compensate, but keep in mind you will now pull to t he left a bit on the good flat roads! But then, nuthin’s ever easy! The best solution is to move to Florida where most all our roads tend to be nice and flat, and vi rtually pot hole free!!
- My experience is that the PSI for automotive tires in the back should be in the low 20’s and the motorcycle wheel in front in the low t o mid 30’s for the small to mid size bikes upwards to 38-42 PSI for the Wings and big tw in super cruisers. Suspensions, passenger loads, etc., will of course affect those numbers. Trial and error will modify them to your needs, but these are all good starting points. In any case, you should not run your front tire’s pressure greater than 5% over the max rating.
- With apologies to Darth Vader, before leaving tires behind, a word about the “darkside” tires. (going to the darkside means usi ng a regular car tire on a motorcycle.) Of course, most every trike conversion in the USA has “darkside” tires on the rear wheels, but an increasing number are doing it for the fronts as well. The thinking seems to be that the front tire is no long er “rolling” on the sidewalls in the twisties and normal curves, so there’s no particula r advantage to the motorcycle specific tire designs. And as is well known, the b ike tires wear out in a small fraction of the time compared to any plain Jane car tire! T hose wanting to research this themselves should Google it using “motorcycle dark side” as your keyword search. I understand also that at least one major bike tire m aker is considering manufacturing a flatter profile tire for the front of trikes.
- As we all know, tires and suspensions combinations are quite variable, so experimentation will almost always be needed. One handy test is to put a line of chalk across the tire tread and drive down the driv eway. If the chalk is worn evenly all the way across, you at least have the right pre ssure for full contact of the tread on the pavement.
- Tight turns or decreasing radius turns on entrance and exit ramps and in parking lots are more noticeable on trikes. These are best nego tiated with a steady pressure and whenever you can, under a slight acceleration (to avoid crashing into walls & park ed cars!!). Again, this slight additional effort is c aused by the nature of the “resistance” between the center front wheel and the two wheels i n the back that is more or less common to all trikes.
- Unless you have one of the Burgman or Honda Silverw ing “super scooter” trikes, stiff joints, bad knees and just plain old age cont ribute to making it increasingly difficult to “throw a leg” over your steadfast moun t! There is a particularly good way to safely and more easily mount a trike that you li kely didn’t realize. Look over the steps shown in the YouTube video (LINK) for a n easy sequence of moves.
- The passenger can use a similar approach when they get on, but generally it is easier for them to hang on to a rear sissy bar or travel t runk, especially if there’s a driver’s backrest in the way.
- Also here’s a final comment for the aging “Boomers” with bad knees. If your weaker knee doesn’t like the left side approach shown in t he video, it is “reversible” by mounting the bike from the right side. After all, your trike isn’t a horse so there are no “rules” that dictate you should only mount from the left side. Besides, the horse really didn’t care and you no longer have to deal w ith a left side kick stand lean which kind of forced a left side mounting. I think it came from something about Middle Age knight’s swords getting in the way of mo unting their steeds from the right side! Since then, it has been carried on for “no reason, just policy!”
Some Final Warnings!
- Once again, do not assume that since you’ve been riding motorcycles for decades, that you already know how to ride a trike. You may find yourself in the ditch because your “muscle memory” will cause you to do the wrong things!! Caution and moderation will greatly assist you in being a safe triker.
- As I said before, trikes tend to be more sensitive to the “road crown” than motorcycles. That crown is built into many roadway s so water will run off to the side. On your two wheeler, it is barely noticeable, but on a trike, the vehicle will want to pull down towards the shoulder. Some roads crown more than others (rural two lanes for example) and this can be disconcerting to newbies. If your trike runs straight and true on a flat surface, just plan on s teering slightly to the left when on the “overly crowned” roads. You’ll get used to steering to compensate and after a while it will be second nature.
- Finally, enjoy riding your trike but if you’re shy or just don’t like talking to strangers, I would think twice about getting one in the first place. Riding a trike will draw people of all kinds over to you like a magnet. If you are single and interested in dating, then you can be well on your way to making new friends!
Enjoy!

Bob Witte
The Ghost Of Trinity Trike (Past)
Editor note: If you’re interested in learning more about Bob’s trike pictured at the top, check out the featured build article.