Three-Wheel Trike Motorcycle Coloring Page with PDF

Motorcycle Trike: History & Fun Facts

Delivery Trikes Before Touring Trikes

Three-wheeled motorcycles are not a new idea at all. Small delivery trikes with a cargo box over two rear wheels rolled through city streets in the early 1900s, carrying bread, milk, and mail long before anyone rode a trike purely for fun. Those early machines used a single front wheel for steering and a wide, stable rear axle that could carry far more weight than a two-wheeled motorcycle without tipping over.

Postal services and small businesses in Europe and the United States kept using three-wheeled delivery machines well into the mid-1900s, prizing the extra cargo space and the fact that a trike could sit upright at a stop without a rider putting a foot down.

Converting Two Wheels Into Three

By the 1970s and 1980s, small conversion companies began bolting a two-wheel rear axle kit onto standard touring motorcycles, turning a regular cruiser into a stable three-wheeled trike. Riders who wanted extra confidence at stoplights, or who could no longer easily balance a leaning two-wheeler, found the swap let them keep riding a familiar-looking machine.

These early conversion trikes kept the front end of the donor motorcycle almost untouched, so the headlight, fuel tank, and handlebars still looked like a normal cruiser even though the back end had grown a second wheel.

Factory Trikes Join the Lineup

Major motorcycle makers began selling trikes straight from the factory in the late 2000s, building the wide rear axle and matching bodywork into the frame from the start instead of leaving it to aftermarket shops. That factory approach let engineers widen the rear track, add a reverse gear for easier parking, and shape one smooth fender that covers both rear wheels in a single continuous curve, just like the fender drawn on this page.

A small trunk box mounted between the two rear wheels became a signature trike feature, giving long-distance riders lockable storage that a two-wheeled cruiser's saddlebags cannot match in size.

Why Three Wheels Changes the Ride

A trike does not lean into corners the way a two-wheeled motorcycle does, since the wide rear track keeps both rear wheels planted on the pavement through every turn. Riders steer a trike more like a car, turning the front wheel while the whole machine stays upright, which is exactly why so many riders switch to a trike as they get older.

That stability comes with a wider footprint, so trikes need extra room to turn and park compared to a standard two-wheeled cruiser, a trade a lot of long-haul riders are happy to make for never having to hold a heavy bike upright at a stop.

Trike Rallies and Clubs

Dedicated trike rallies and owner clubs have grown across the country, with riders gathering for group rides where balance is no longer a factor and conversation can continue rider to rider at a stoplight. Custom painters now treat the wide rear fender as a canvas of its own, since a trike offers far more flat surface area to decorate than a narrow motorcycle fender ever could.