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Carver One from the back seat and the front
Some folks asked me to post about how the Carver handles, so here's my long-winded attempt!
Back seat
Well, the first thing I'd like to point out about the Carver is that, even in the back seat, it's a lot of fun. It's a little bit like being in an amusement park ride. It's really snug back there and, although you realize that you're probably safe, you can't help but wonder ... . As soon as you build up some trust, though, every turn makes you want to smile or even laugh out loud.
If you're a big person and/or not very flexible, the back seat experience will be a little cramped and claustrophobic. Straight in front of you is the driver's head, so you have to lean left or right to see where you're going. The side windows are great for straight stretches, but when you're "carving", you mostly see only the road or the sky.If you take the roof off, though, it feels very much like being on the back seat of a motorcycle.
I took a friend of mine (about 6'2") for an hour-long ride and, when he got out, he walked around kind of like John Wayne until the legs finally straightened out again.
Front seat
In the front seat, if you ignore the leaning, the Carver really drives like a small car. There's a five-speed & reverse stick, clutch/brake/gas pedals on the floor, a defroster/heater, a steering wheel, power windows, cup-holder and a radio with four speakers (the radio costs extra).
Sitting in the front seat doesn't have the size/flexibility limitations of the back seat, but the handbrake is kind of awkward to reach, since it's located on the floor about half-way between your butt and the gas pedal.
My first few minutes driving a Carver were very wobbly. Out of reflex, I kept trying to compensate for the falling sensation.
The manual says you should lightly grip the steering wheel, but I was white-knuckled for the whole first ride.
It wasn't because of the lack of power steering, it was just because I got so unnerved by the instant response of the trike that I constantly worried about leaning too quickly or too low on the turns. There are lights and sounds to indicate how far you're leaning, by the way, but I was too busy looking at the road to notice the lights and I don't remember hearing any sounds except for my own heart pounding in my ears. :eek:
Now-a-days, I lightly grip the steering wheel and rely on the beeping sound.
Sliding
If you ignore the last and loudest warning sounds (fourth red light), either the front wheel or the back wheels will begin to slide. For front wheel slippage, just letting off the gas a little seems to be all that's needed.
Back wheel slippage is a little scarier to me. The problem is that, if you aggressively counter-steer the Carver on a back wheel slide (as I would do in a car), the cabin will right itself, bringing the center of gravity up high and possibly even over the outside tire. Depending on how big or long the slide is, this could cause you to roll over. So, the manual says to let off the gas and "gently" counter-steer. I understand that letting off the gas in a curve will cause the back wheels to steer slightly to accomodate the speed change, but I have no idea what they mean by "gentle" counter-steering.
So far, I have only managed to slide the back wheels once by taking a turn too sharply with high RPMs in second gear. Since I was unsure about "gentle" counter-steering, I just let off the gas and waited for the Carver to sort the situation out by itself.
Sure enough, the back wheels adjusted their turning angle slightly and I was back in control almost instantly. I suppose if that wasn't enough, I would have felt compelled to add some "gentle" counter-steering.
Anyway, long curves at high speeds and short curves at low speeds are just awesome in the Carver. It's surprisingly easy to adjust the speed and cornering so as to get the most lean out of the curve without risking a slide.
