Motorized tricycles

Motorized tricycles

Some tricycles are powered with motors, typically gasoline engines. Depending on the design of design of the vehicle, motorized trikes may be categorized as motorcycles or motor scooters. The main difference between a motorcyle trike and a scooter trike is that motorcycles are sat on in a “saddle”-style seating (as with a horse), with the legs apart, and motorcyles have manual transmissions. Scooters have a “step-through” seating style, in which the driver sits on a more chair-like seat, with the legs together; as well, scooters have automatic transmissions. While laypersons often associate the engine size as a dividing line between motorcyles and scooters, since a typical scooter has a small 50 cc engine, engine size is not one of the dividing lines, because some scooters such as the Bergmann have 600 cc engines.

Motorcycles with sidecars are not usually considered tricycles. It can be harder to categorize three wheeled automobiles. While some early prototype automobiles were steam tricycles, 1930s and 1940s-era three-wheeled cars such as Morgan Motor Company cars are often classified as cars rather than motorcycles.