Source: MotorcyclistOnline.com
The Tampa Trike in a nutshell: a trike that leans with the steering stability of a car. But without wishbone suspension. It’s all thanks to US patents 11,753,105 and 11,279,430, which we’re including with every image, just in case. (Eric Rea/Tampa Trike/)Trike, roadster, Slingshot, Spyder—whatever you call them, the three-wheeled vehicle category has exploded in popularity over the last 10 years or more. It’s not hard to understand why. A vibrant community of riders (or drivers) have begotten a scene and culture based on endless customization and style options, plus the sheer fun of open-air riding on a relatively stable platform.This vibrant scene is great, but for one man and his company, it’s an opportunity for a different vision of what trikes could be. The Tampa Trike concept takes current three-wheel orthodoxy and thinking and stands it on its head. Basically, it’s an attempt to have the best of both riding and driving worlds.The intentionally naked Tampa Trike. Tandem passenger seating is incorporated into the design, allowing both rider and passenger to lean and pivot into turns. US patents 11,753,105 and 11,279,430. (Eric Rea/Tampa Trike/)First, a little Trike 101. There are two distinct design types. A “Delta” layout has one wheel in front, two in back. A “Tadpole” layout uses two wheels in front. Additionally, a trike can actively lean (or tilt or roll) on a longitudinal midplane axis into turns, like the Yamaha Niken and Piaggio MP3. Or like a car, they can use a so-called rigid with wishbone-type suspensions, like the Polaris Slingshot and Can-Am Spyder. The former uses a “free to castor” system to lean into turns, which is basically a parallelogram in the steering assembly allowing a telescopic fork to remain equally compressed while turning, allowing both rider and chassis to countersteer, or lean.Building on all the above 101, the Tampa Trike does use traditional Ackermann steering geometry. What’s that? It’s basically why the front tires on your car point in different directions when turned. They’re traveling different-sized paths, so the steering linkage lets the inside tire travel a smaller circumference with the outer traveling a larger one.Although this is the second Tampa Trike prototype, production models will feature twin shocks. Note the lack of wishbone suspension, with traditional Ackermann steering geometry linkage. US patents 11,753,105 and 11,279,430. (Eric Rea/Tampa Trike/)Here’s where the Tampa Trike gets interesting. In layman’s terms, a Can-Am Spyder rider can only shift their own weight in turns, while the chassis applies centrifugal force to the outside of tires, like a car. Slingshot riders are strapped into a car seat and can’t shift rider weight at all. Like its trike brethren, the Tampa Trike’s rigid front frame and non-wishbone suspension use squared-off car tires, offering a bigger contact patch than motorcycle tires. But it allows both rider and cockpit to lean, or countersteer, just like a motorcycle or bicycle. A Tampa Trike rider gets the best of both worlds, as far as cornering grip and user experience.In broad terms, Tampa Trike founder Eric Rea’s ambition is clear. “I would like to be remembered for showing the world how to make something fun to drive daily.”Rea delights in challenging conventional thinking. What does he think about traditional wishbone suspension?“For some reason, designers think a mechanical relationship between steering angle and lean angle is possible in normal and performance driving. But every corner at various speeds will have different functional requirements. To me, a mechanical relationship is impossible.”Rear view of the second Tampa Trike prototype. Judging by the rear tire, testing is biased toward left-hand turns. Perhaps from extensive oval track testing? US patents 11,753,105 and 11,279,430. (Eric Rea/Tampa Trike/)To that end, the Tampa Trike employs an independent, “plunger-style” suspension for the front wheels. They use the term “Upright Shock Tube Channel,” and to be fair, it’s integrated with the wheel assembly, not the frame. But it’s a classic idea, reborn with modern materials and thinking. Fun fact: There’s no decided term for this type of suspension. Readers, feel free to suggest one.How does it feel over potholes or in fast turns? “It is the same as most cars. The production design has a dual shock setup.”Rea says it would never be stable using wishbone suspension. “When one tries to employ an active-leaning system with the wishbone setup, the geometry of all the pivot positions will change. In a nutshell, the vehicle will be unpredictable in its travel direction.”Details of the Tampa Trike during mock-up design phase. Note the active tilting worm gear, allowing rider (and passenger) chassis to lean into turns. Also note the wheel-mounted “plunger-style” suspension. US patents 11,753,105 and 11,279,430. (Eric Rea/Tampa Trike/)Cornering ability was pretty much dialed in from the start. What about going in a straight line?“If the lean control was too sensitive, every bump, dip, and all other possibilities it would think ‘OK, we must be cornering, let’s lean.’ It took years to get the code and electrical devices working right. This was 75 to 85.5 percent of the work. Then one day came, and it was on rails.”While Rea likes modern inline-four powertrains, a simple 250cc Ninja parallel-twin engine works great with the 840-pound curb weight. Said prototype gets up to 70 mpg. In all, three models are planned. The Triger 250 features the aforementioned Ninja 250 mill, while the Tango 750 has a 750cc Kawasaki ZR-7 engine. The Trike Royale 1400 will be a street-legal model with a full fairing plus a larger engine to be determined at a later date. Rea claims to have Isle of Man TT test ambitions for this model, so stay tuned.Interestingly, Tampa Trike also offers one-off patent licenses for those interested in using the platform for their own build. For budding LEV enthusiasts, the Tampa Trike platform could be ripe for electrification.Looks fun, doesn’t it? A Tampa Trike prototype undergoing testing in Florida. Motor unknown, but three variants are planned: 250cc, 750cc, and 1,400cc engines are on tap for future production models. US patents 11,753,105 and 11,279,430. (Eric Rea/Tampa Trike/)The novel engineering of the Tampa bike is paired with an equally novel marketing strategy. Rea stresses the Tampa Trike is not a kit vehicle. Polaris and Can-Am can keep their neon kits, stereo systems, and custom livery. The Tampa Trike’s naked design and simplicity are part of an overall vision to produce an affordable, functional, and efficient commuter that’s an honest alternative to cars. And it does what no other trike currently does—autonomously and actively lean into turns. It may be born from altruistic ambitions, but it’s also supposed to be fun.As of press time, an MSRP is not set, but Rea is aiming for $10,000–$15,000 for the Triger 250 model. Work continues on finalizing production processes. Many of us have “built” or customized a bike, in the singular sense. But producing one in numbers is a whole other matter. A production schedule hasn’t been finalized, but work is ongoing.The Tampa Trike is one man’s quest to build a better mousetrap. The history of two- or three-wheeled vehicles is partly defined by the struggle to keep the biggest contact patch possible on pavement. Eric Rea’s Tampa Trike concept is an ambitious solution. But to use a tech bro term, the concept has a certain “stickiness.”
