Those Dangerous Trike ATVs Are Coming Back But As Fully Electric Models, Broken Bones Are Certain

Like lawn darts, trike ATVs were outlawed, banned, and sent to the underworld after sending countless kids to the ER. Mini RCR out of Arizona, however, wants to bring them back with an all-new EV.

Photo by: Mini RCR

By: Jonathon Klein

Jan 29, at 8:53am ET

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While reducing one's risk and liability tend to be good throughout history, I do sometimes wonder if we've gone too far? What's life without risk? What's life without taking chances? What's life when you no longer push yourself to the very edge of the cliff, only to return triumphantly? I'll tell you what I think, and that's that it's no longer a life worth living.

I have something wrong with me, however. Clearly. I like taking chances. I like risk. So much so, I have "Risk Happy" literally tattooed on my hand. So my take on risk might not be that of everyone else's, nor many lawyers or ER doctors, the latter of which will likely not be stoked about the latest news out of Arizona.

Do you recall the Honda and Yamaha trikes of the late 1980s? Do you recall how they were banned? How parents' groups fought tooth and nail to keep them out of their children's hands? And how they're no longer offered from the main manufacturers, instead being relegated to one-off builds on YouTube and collector's collections?

Well, that all might be changing thanks to Mini RCR, a small powersports company that's aiming to bring back the notorious trike configuration, complete with a fully-electric powertrain for the 21st century.

Mini RCR T3 Shreddy

Photo by: Mini RCR

The Mini RCR T3 is based on the company's two-wheeled F2 electric pit bike, but with three wheels, obviously. It's American made in Phoenix, Arizona, and sports a 750-watt electric motor that's supposedly good for about 4 hours of run-time, and a top speed of...only 20mph. That may sound pretty slow, and it is, but when you consider that the old Honda ATCs went way faster, but also broke a lot of bones, I get why Mini RCR wouldn't want you doing a buck sixty on one of its T3s.

According to the company, the T3 brings "back the classic design in a way that nobody else can. Bring back the feelings from your past and do it with style." Likewise, there are a handful of different riding modes, capable of fast charging, a bunch of accessories, can still pull wheelies, even with such a low top speed, and features a belt drive for quieter operation. There's also six different colorways you can choose from.

Now here's where it gets a little odd, as it's classified as a Class-2 e-bike, not a motorcycle or trike, which means it can technically be operated on a number of e-bike designated trails. The company's own site states, "Ride anywhere, anytime. No registration, insurance or licensing required. This classification means you can ride anywhere an E-Bike can go like sidewalks, streets, trails and public spaces."

I don't know about you, but I feel like that's a recipe for disaster, especially among communities, as you're more likely to have kids riding these, and taking them onto e-bike trails will mean conflict among those with traditional e-bikes like those from Scott or Specialized. Folks are going to get into fights, especially if you've got kids being kids, and adults being adults stuck in their ways.

What do you think?

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Personally, I'd just save these machines for the desert or trails, and not even go near a bike trail.

They aren't super expensive, though, as Mini RCR's T3 starts at $6,599 and goes up another $300 if you want the carbon fiber fender option in pink. Do I wish they'd go a little faster for that price? Yeah, I do. But given how easy it is to tune EVs these days, and the massive tuning aftermarket that can reprogram ECUs, I doubt it'd be that hard to take them from "Man, are these pretty slow," to, "Hello, ER, I'm gonna need an ambulance here."