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Are Stallions Safe?
Are Stallions Safe?
I wanted to give my opinion on the safety of a Stallion. I would invite other Stallion owners to chime in with their experiences.
I believe most if not all trikes are safer than motorcycles due to the additional wheel. Without motion, or a third load bearing device (i.e. kickstand or leg) all two wheel motorcycles will fall and subject themselves to damage. Even with motion, loss of traction of one wheel usually results in a fall and the amount of damage to motorcycle and driver depends on the velocity, density / abrasive qualities of the surface they come into contact with, along with a host of other mathematical calculations, and fortuitous luck or bad luck.
I have ridden motorcycles, and in my opinion it is not a question of if you will drop your bike, it is a question of when. You must constantly be on guard, and it is a stress that is not present when riding a trike. I am sure you can test this for yourself, just ask all your friends that own motorcycles how many times they dropped, or laid down their motorcycle. Than compare it to the amount of times a triker rolls their rig.
This is not to say that motorcycles do not have an advantage in other areas, such as an ability to lean into turns, and some sport bikes can even take turns faster, or transverse uneven rugged terrain. There are pros and cons to everything.
When it comes to Trikes, I believe Stallions are one of the safer trikes
I am not aware of any safety data that compares trikes to motorcycles. If you are able to find any I would appreciate it. I believe all trikes are safer, and the insurance companies are able to charge us the same premium as our two wheeled brethren claiming they have no data to use to provide a discount. The arguments I have heard from some insurance companies allude to a common theme that crash data just lists the vehicle as a motorcycle, whether it is two or three wheels. I believe this is a weak argument, considering over 70% of all motorcycle crashes are one vehicle, they involve only the motorcycle. The insurance companies will have to face this issue in an honest manner during the next few years with the manufacture of whole trikes like the Stallion, T-Rex, V-13R, and the new Harley Davidson trike. These vehicles can be tracked and used as a comparison for claims against other two wheeled motorcycles.
Although I do not believe we have any T-Rex or V-13R members, I do believe they are comparable or they may even excel above the Stallion in safety as well as price point. The T-Rex has a full roll bar cage, and I have seen videos of insane driving in an attempt to prove its safety. The V-13R is just being introduced, and I do not believe there is enough information to form an opinion at this time.
Let’s compare Stallion’s to other traditional trikes:
By traditional trikes I am talking about two wheeled motorcycles that are converted to trikes. Similar to the discussion above, I am just listing the pros and cons of safety, traditional trikes have pros over the Stallion's cons in safety or other areas, and I invite your comments in response.
Stallions Safety Pros:
1. Low center of gravity:
Stallions sit low to the ground. Take a look at the race car design when you lift the body off and you will see most of the steel frame just inches above the pavement. Wheelies are out of the question with the Stallion. With 155 h.p. the distribution of the weight makes wheelies impossible. When driving, you have to work hard to get one rear wheel to come off the ground, most of my attempts only resulted in chirps when taking banked sharp turns at high speeds. I was impressed when I hit patches of gravel in turns with little or no loss of traction.
2. Super wide car tires:
There is no way around not seeing the amount of square inches of rubber sit on the ground. The Stallion comes stock with supper wide car tires in the rear, and a front tire that is just as wide as any dark sider’s rear car tire I have ever seen on a Gold Wing.
3. Good Daytime Visibility:
The Stallion’s size exceeds most traditional trikes, and comes standard with driving lights. Stallions are larger than a Smart Car, and are easy to see. They may not have as much chrome as a traditional trike, but I would argue the unique large profile of the Stallion makes it easier to see during the day.
4. Wedge like form / Wedge Metal frame:
The wedge design of the Stallion may allow it to be deflected off objects instead of crashing into them. This grazing will dissipate energy in a crash, reducing the amount of impact force. The Wedge design is not just in the exterior fiberglass, it extends into the sturdy metal tube frame. The wedge form is not a guarantee that a frontal crash like a tee bone will be avoided, but it means a higher percentage of crashes can be reduced due to the higher probability of deflecting he direction of the Stallion due to it’s shape, and the fact that the front wheel is not the first thing to come into contact in a crash.
The heavy duty wedge metal frame also provide a substantial amount of protection from objects that extend into the ground like polls, trees, guard rails. In these situations it will be more likely that an off center hit will cause the Stallion to glance off the object instead of immediately stopping it. In a crash the key is to dissipate energy as slowly as possible.
5. Heavy fiberglass body:
As stated in the last section, the key to reduce injury is to dissipate energy. The 2008 and some 2009 Stallions have a heavy hand laid fiberglass body. This body can provide a substantial amount of protection during a crash, or from road debris or other road hazards. The newer 2009 Stallions have a lighter plastic body that will also provide protection to the rider.
6. Larger Body:
The large overall size of the Stallion provides a greater visibility than a motorcycle, and some smaller trikes, but it may be comparable to larger trikes that are in the same class. During the daytime, this large size leads to greater visibility, and at night the large car tail lights also work well. The large rear trunk, and all the metal under the body provide good protection from a rear end collision. A seat back is standard on the Stallion, and it will provide more protection by keeping the drive in control of the trike after impact. Side impact protection may vary depending on the height of the object or vehicle that is impacted. The lower the better on the side of the Stallion, with object that are at ground level being the best.
7. Lights:
The lights on the Stallion will offer protection in the form of visibility. The driving lights work in concert with the headlight to allow oncoming motorists to quickly identify you as a vehicle, day or night. The large car tail lights are bright and easily seen. The front headlights may be comparable to other trikes, and some custom trikes that are chock full of lights and LED’s may even surpass the stock Stallion in this area.
8. Braking:
Although the Stallion does not have anti-lock brakes, it does have four oversized disk brakes. The Stallion can stop on a dime. The large oversized tires provide a lot of traction during braking, and if you lock up the brakes it does not drift to one side, it keeps a straight line. Abrupt emergency braking on a two wheeled motorcycle is challenging, and can be disastrous for the novices. I cannot compare braking on other trikes, but most motorcycles that have been converted to trikes are utilizing the front braking system that was designed for a lighter motorcycle.
Traditional Trike Pros:
I cannot write this article without acknowledging traditional trikes have a higher seating position that allows them to see further ahead or over smaller vehicles. I also cannot leave out the fact that most traditional trikes have chrome, some of them have lots of chrome. Chrome has sparkle on sunny days, and that sparkle gets you noticed. There are too many different styles of traditional trikes to be able to make a definitive list of other good safety features they may have. Honda recently came out with an air bag for the Gold Wings, and many manufactures have anti-lock brakes. Finally, traditional trikes are often decked out with aftermarket lighting which increases visibility at night time.
Conclusion:
I have listed out some of the reasons I believe the Stallions are safer than motorcycles and even some traditional trikes, but the largest factor of safety resides in the rider and the drivers of the vehicles that surround you every day. No matter how safe you drive, you are at the mercy of the other drivers on the road. Please don’t confuse my intention of illustrating the safety aspects that I see on the Stallion with a belief that it is better than a traditional trike or motorcycle. Each and every vehicle has pros and cons, and some are a better fit than others. The key is to understand the pros and cons to decide which one is right for you. No matter what you drive, drive safe and enjoy the ride!
