Harley-Davidson developing corner-carving trike


Harley-Davidson introduced its first official trike in years earlier in 2008 and now looks to flip things around a bit with a new reverse-trike that leans into corners. Rumors indicate that the huge American Motor Company will bring the corner carving trike in concept form to a motorcycle show set to take place next month in Cologne, Germany. If that debut indeed takes place, the machine is likely to be powered by the liquid-cooled Revolution V-Twin engine from the Rod series as opposed to the 45-degree air-cooled mill powering most of its bikes. We've known that the company has been working on this design for the past few years, filing patent drawings way back in 2006. The market is definitely ready for it now that Piaggio and Can Am have toed the waters. We look forward to seeing just how accurate these rumors prove to be next month.
tires Source: Auto Blog

 

that would be pretty nice for those who can't ride due to some injury of some kind. Beats the conventional trike!

 

i like the can am trike, in sat on it almost test road it but the line was too long. here in cali you don't need a motorcycle license to drive one either. we'll see what harley can do i guess

 

damn, thatd be nasty... something that would gather a crowd at a beach/show.

 

not that i am an engineer but I don't think that will work very well around a corner.

 

+1 to that.... think about how a bike turns.... the wheel leans, but the forks are also turned, that would be like trying to lean the wheel without turning the forks.... unless there is still a pivot point in the steering stem like on a typical bike.... on a car, the front wheels obviously turn, but what alot dont realize is that they are at different angles... so when you turn the inside wheel makes a smaller circle on the ground compared to the outside wheel, so therefore it has to be at a different angle compared to the outside... not seeing how that would work here... it would be alot more practical to make the rear the two wheels... it wouldnt have to turn, they tires would just have ot lean and thats not that hard.... this.... i dont know...

 

What about the radius of the tires? As you roll over to the edge of the tire it wants to scribe a circle, kinda like an egg rolling accross a table top. The Piaggo MP3 uses a two wheel lean system much like the one above and it will carve through corners like a regular bike with the added benefit of three stability at a stop. I think it even has a button that will lock the suspension so the rider could lift both feet of the ground and the scooter won't tip over.

 

as ugly as any harley and with that horrible air cooled dinosaur for a motor it will be crap

 

that design is out already. also they got one bike with 2 close front tires and back tires that let you lean like that also.

 

The orginal post suggests that they will be using the liquid cooled revolution engine, maybe becuase all the hardware required for the suspension disrupts airflow to the point that an aircooled engine wouldn't work as well. Also, a liquid cooled engine should be able to produce a bit more horsepower, which is need to overcome the additional unsprung weight and rolling resistance of the dual wheel front end.