Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: Thinking of A trike, trike, 3W

Question
Hello! I was curious about buying a trike (Such as a HD) and was curious as to the differences in handling. I am a long time rider (20+ years) and have always driven large touring bikes. What I am most curious about is turning and stability. I have heard about problems with Motorcycle sidecars and was curious if the problems were the same.

Thanks in advance

Answer
There are some general differences you should be aware of, but with your experience, none of these issues should be too much for you to handle:

Trikes and Sidecars
They're heaver so it takes more braking effort to stop
Much more weight on the rear, so the rear brakes are more effective
They do not accelerate as quickly
All turning is done by pointing the front wheel in the direction you want to go (steer the rig)
They take more upper-body strength and force to turn
You lean inside the turns with upper body (this keeps the inside wheel on the ground)
You cannot go as fast around corners
They take up more space on the road (wider)
You can lock up the brakes and skid and the rigs will not tip over as easilyy as on two wheels

Sidecars
When stopping, the weight of the sidecar pushes the whole rig to the left
When accelerating, the weight of the sidecar drags the whole rig to the right
It's very easy to fly the car (lift the sidecar/wheel) on right turns -- so you have to lean to the inside
Once you fly the car, you go back to steering like a two-wheeled motorcycle until that wheel is back on the ground

Hope that helps. Happy shopping!

Pat