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GUIDO on marketing courage...
I’m not sure whether to feel sorry for the maker of any new design who brings it market before anyone else does. On one hand they get the kudos for being the first kid on the block with the new toy. Though this can easily backfire – you could be seen as the only idiot who thought it was a good idea.
Both Piaggio and BRP (or Can-Am) have found themselves in this at times unenviable situation.
I’ve had the good fortune to ride most variations on motorcycle-related three-wheelers, including a Harley Servicar, assorted VW-powered trikes, a range of sidecars, plus of course the Piaggio MP3 and Can-Am Spyder.
Of those, sidecar outfits are by far the most difficult to ride at any speed, requiring a fairly high degree of skill to control as the velocities rise. It’s largely because they’re asymmetric and mostly custom built. So no two behave the same and even an individual chair will handle very differently in left and right corners, plus at low and high speeds. And they’re famous for jumping on their pilots if you’re foolish or unlucky enough to lose control.
Of course I own one, but am now in a very small minority as they seem to have fallen out of favour over the last decade, with their place being largely taken up by trikes. The VW-powered variants are far less intimidating than an outfit to handle at normal speeds, but the skill requirements go up exponentially if you’re courageous enough to start exploring the true handling limits.
They’re great fun, so long as you don’t mind being the centre of attention where-ever you go – the effect of riding a brightly-painted trike (is there any other sort?) is pretty much the same as that as the apocryphal circus coming to town and parading through the streets. Trike/garishly decorated circus elephant – it all has much the same effect on the public.
And the Can-Am? It’s much easier than a sidecar or standard trike, though I daresay a car person is going to get their head around it just as quickly as a motorcycle person – perhaps quicker. The front end is car-like in its behaviour and I really can’t see why it shouldn’t be permitted on an auto license, perhaps with a little extra training and the accompanying endorsement.
The way the electronics are set up, you can’t easily slide the thing or get up to any other high-risk shenanigans – it simply won’t let you. So while this may frustrate the lunatics among us, it does potentially broaden the audience for the toy. I reckon its biggest problem is the fact it’s working in a market sector of one. Like the MP3 Piaggio (which at least has a few variants to give it some perceived market ‘weight’) it’s pretty much out there on its own. This means that BRP alone is responsible for getting the idea out there, promoting three-wheelers, and convincing would-be punters that, if they take the plunge, they won’t be alone.
To BRP’s credit, it’s giving the idea a fair old shake, with traveling road shows, roadside assistance and the like, though I suspect it has an uphill battle. For a start, the vast majority of its potential audience – car drivers – are cut off unless they’re prepared to get a bike licence and then wait through the probationary period.
Even the MP3 has a model you can ride on a learner permit.
There is an important bright spot here: BRP and Piaggio have between them succeeded in ‘softening up’ our notoriously rigid Australian Design Rule approval system. So hopefully we’ll continue to see interesting kit like these making it to our shores.
It seems I’m not the only one who reckons three-wheelers should get a bit of a break. The infamous Bertrand “Le Frog” Cadart, Mayor of Bicheno in Tas and all you can see from the roof of his house, is keen to host a special rally or event for three-wheelers down his neck of the woods. At the moment he’s applying for funding and keeping the municipal fingers crossed.
Let’s hope he succeeds…
(August 2009 update – dealers love the Can Am and report selling strong numbers…GA)
(Motorcycle Trader mag, 219)
You’re always welcome to get in touch (and send counsellors) via the palatial MT offices at locked bag 12, Oakleigh 3166; Or on the wire at guy.allen@traderclassifieds.com.au.
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