If you’re thinking of buying a trike, then the following is a useful starting point. This article covers the basics of trike ownership and is aimed at those looking to purchase a machine in the UK.

The first thing that you may not know about trikes is that they can be powered by either a car engine or a motorcycle engine. Which engine is providing the power will influence the weight of the vehicle and its performance.

When you come to buy a machine, you’ll need to consider what you are legally qualified to ride. If in doubt, check with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

The weight of the machine will also make a difference to the testing standards that are applied. Once again, you need to check the legal status of your vehicle to make sure that you have a valid MOT certificate at all times. One question that confuses a lot of people is the issue of helmets. In the UK, at the time of writing, it is not a legal obligation to wear a helmet when wearing a motorized trike.

You will find that some police officers are unsure of this, mainly because seeing a trike on the road is still relatively rare. Many trike owners do decide to wear a helmet, finding that it offers protection from dirt, the weather and any other debris. The choice is yours, although it is certainly the case that there are some excellent trike designs available.

The question of seat belts is far less obvious. The decision on whether or not you have to wear seat belts is down to the weight and age of your vehicle.

At the time of writing, this means that you do have to wear a seatbelt if your trike has an unladen weight of more than 410kg and was first used on or after 1 January 1965. Similarly, you would also need a seatbelt if your vehicle has an unladen weight of more than 255kg and was first used on or after 1 September 1970.

Aerodynamics is one of the leading factors in vehicle performance. Car racing has focused on this aspect ever since the 60s, when the first inverted wings were installed on formula cars. In time, the development of aerodynamic devices grew stronger, often borrowing ideas and solutions form the flight industry. By improving aerodynamics, engineers saw faster lap times and more driver control over the car, both at high and low speeds. The final element that contributes to improved handling and grip is the downforce – using the underbody of the vehicle to facilitate airflow and “stick” the car to the tarmac.

Since the introduction of aerodynamics, automotive engineers used the distribution of downforce as the major decisive factor in car performance. Because of aerodynamic advancements, some racing cars reach cornering speeds of 4 G (four times the acceleration of gravity). The same factors that apply to racing cars also stand true for street legal vehicles. The shape of the car, the airflow created by accessories and car parts, the effect of the rear wing spoiler or frontal spoilers – all these contribute to the aerodynamic level of the car. For improved downforce, you can try several solutions, such as installing a well calibrated rear wing or lowering your car’s suspensions.

Modern cars are always tested from an aero dynamical point of view. Wind tunnels are used on car prototypes to see what each segment of the car does to airflow, and other tools such as computational aerodynamics and aerodynamic design and optimization are employed in order to find the best airflow solutions. The concept of body streamlining appeared after Chevrolet-Chaparral implemented some groundbreaking airflow elements in their Can-Am cars. The rear axel of the car had a wing attached to two struts and the wing was adjustable at pit stops to tune the car for the best efficiency. The idea became very popular in a short while, and other aero dynamical improvements were soon to follow. Lateral sealing skirts were later developed and formula racers ended up reaching speeds of 1.7 G. Lotus introduced the ground effect car – the bottom part of the vehicle was shaped in such a way that the volume of downforce provided was much greater than with previous models.