Calstock Bike Show 09

Although the weather was much kinder to us this year, I missed most of the Calstock Bike Show for 2009. But I was running late for the right reasons - I'd been in my garage-cum-studio making a Vintage Thing come back to life. More of that some other time.

Anyway, when I pitched up in Calstock the party was in full swing - it was just that most of the bikes had gone home. It was starting to get dark,too.

So I had a look around and it struck me how many trikes there were.

I am ambivalent about motorcycle-derived trikes. They have all the disadvantages of cars and bikes with few of the advantages. I firmly believe that dynamically the single wheel should be at the back and the centre of gravity as low as possible.

These convictions don't stop me liking these oddities, though.

Take this example, frinstance. It's a yellow shaft drive XS Yamaha with an axle across its behind but it's one of those vehicular contrivances that reveal more the more you look.

I fell into conversation with a couple of blokes who knew the owner. Apparently, he was disabled but had fitted an air shifter.

He'd also cunningly fashioned a reverse gear, using a starter motor from a fork lift truck no less. This drove the propshaft via a chain and was tucked right down low. It didn't look very big and it has occurred to me how this installation could be adapted to bike engined cars. The only problem was that it needed another 12V battery to power it but these were mounted down low, too, on either side of the rear axle.

This was just one of many trikes at the show. Some were your rat-trike car-engined survival beastie, clearly inspired by Mad Max and none the worse for that. Others looked like high buck conversions. Some of these lean in corners and I find myself liking these more.

But by then my camera batteries had given out.

But if they allow someone to experience the sensations of motorcycling despite having a physical disability, then trikes have to be a Good Thing. I hope disabled pilots didn't gain their disability through a motorcycling accident but, if they have, then I take my metaphorical hat off to them for not letting this pout them off entirely.

And you don't need to wear a crash helmet to drive one (although I reckon I'd feel happier in a bone dome)