Oh, the difference a wheel makes.
The 1-liter Smart Fortwo is licensed as an automobile. A similar 1.4-liter Campagna T-Rex (packing a Kawasaki ZX-14 engine — think Ninja — good for zero to 60 in less than 4 seconds) is a motorcycle.
The Fortwo rides on four wheels; the T-Rex, along with electrics such as the Zap Xebra, TriFun, Corbin Sparrow and others, rides on three.
Buy one of the latter and license and insure it as a cycle. Oh, license yourself as a cycle rider too.
The two-seat three-wheelers are enclosed and have a steering wheel. You hit the accelerator, brakes and clutch with your feet, just like any car. There are no hand controls. Nothing that makes them a cycle, except a U.S. Department of Transportation classification followed by Illinois and other states.
Northbrook resident Erwin Gugolz had no intention of taking the Illinois motorcycle safety course or using a motorcycle for the license test when he bought his Xebra two years ago.
“The Zap is a small truck I use for business,” Gugolz said. “I’ve put on 6,500 miles making short trips around Northbrook, hauling lumber and dirt. I take my two kayaks to the lagoon with the Xebra. Who hauls lumber and dirt and kayaks with a motorcycle?”
To be legal, though, he called the Department of Motor Vehicles in Vernon Hills about taking a test. “The man said, ‘If you bring it in, we’ll see what we can do.'”
“There are ways to tailor the motorcycle test to accommodate three-wheel vehicles like the Zap Xebra,” said Secretary of State spokesman Henry Haupt.
As Gugolz found out. “They used a newer version of the trike test for me. Everyone was watching and laughing, of course! The Xebra barely made it through the cones. Then I had to stand outside and push the car like a motorcycle! That got an even bigger laugh. But the man passed me. He said, ‘That must be OK.'”
The issue rarely came up 10 short years ago. Who drove three-wheelers then besides the occasional hobbyist with a 1950s Messerschmitt KR-201 or a prewar Morgan trike?
With widely fluctuating gas prices and a renewed emphasis on protecting the environment, three-wheelers have boomed in the last five years. Zap and T-Rex are being joined by three-wheelers from Myers Motors, Wildfire Motors, Aptera Motors, Can-Am and Sun Trike.
All are street legal, a designation that varies by state but generally means a vehicle comes with a title and includes headlights, turn signals and rearview mirrors.
All get superior ratings for fuel efficiency. Zap products and the Myers Motors NmG are plug-in rechargeables. The others range from 35 to more than 100 miles per gallon.
Wheaton resident Mike Oury is driving his third T-Rex in 10 years. Good thing the longtime cyclist had the “M” endorsement on his driver’s license because he doubts a T-Rex could make it through state testing lanes.
“I don’t know how that would work,” he said. “The T-Rex is 81 inches wide and sits 3 inches off the ground. It wouldn’t fit.”
He admits he gets stopped.
“On the highway, it’s usually state troopers that want to have a closer look at the T-Rex. They’re great. They love it,” Oury said. “But I’ve also been stopped in Wheaton for not wearing a seat belt. I explained the T-Rex is a motorcycle and not a car, and you don’t wear a seat belt on a motorcycle.
“I think the officer understood me. He let me go, anyway.”
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Running the numbers
Smart Fortwo
1-liter, 70-h.p., 12-valve, 3-cylinder
5-speed manual transmission
Wheelbase: 73.5 inches
Length: 106.1 inches
Width: 61.38 inches
Height: 60.71 inches
Curb weight: 1,808 pounds
Top speed: 90 m.p.h.
0 – 60: 12.8 seconds
33 m.p.g. city / 41 highway
Base price: $11,990
Campagna T-Rex
1.4-liter, 197-h.p., 16-valve 4-cylinder
6-speed sequential transmission
Wheelbase: 90 inches
Length: 138 inches
Width: 78 inches
Height: 42 inches
Dry weight: 1,040 pounds
35 m.p.g. city/ highway (estimate)
0-60: 3.92 seconds
Top speed: 144 m.p.h.
Base price: $49,995
