Redneckhana has put together a charming little Youtube clip of the Yamaha YTM from the mid 1980s in all of its glory; trailing, jumping popping wheelies and doing donuts. There's even some bonus humor at the very end:

ATV Video: Big Pimping Trike Style - ATVConnection.com

 

Great video.

 

Doesn't matter if a 2/4 cycle machine has 2, 3, or 4 wheels, they are all dangerous to a certain extent. What matters most to determine what is safe/unsafe is who is sitting on the seat. I had a Kawasaki 200 ATC in my teen years and never had a mishap because I knew my limitations (it being the only ATC with a differential didn't hurt either). Still irks me when I hear people say they are so dangerous.

 

I guess they thought they were so dangerous at the time that manufacturers basically were forced to quit building them. 4 wheeled machines proved to be more stable anyway. But yes, you can easily flip them if you ride over your head and a quad that weighs more than twice as much will hurt more when it lands on top of you. I never owned anything with 3 wheels myself. I've rode them a few times and I'll stick with 4 wheels myself.

 

No question they are more dangerous/unbalanced. From what I can understand a business/dealership can't even sell them used (has to be a person to person sale) and getting insurance on one is tough too.

 

They're a bit of a niche market anymore. They're still out there. I wouldn't mind having one if I could get it cheap just for the heck of it. When people buy old atvs, they usually don't have insurance anyway so I wouldn't even bother.

 

I still have the 83 185atc my dad bought me new. It has been a load of fun and I hope to keep on with it.

 

depending on the model, they can be more unbalanced, but even contemporary quads wern't a whole lot better. The biggest problem was the same problem that plagues quads today. that problem is the piece that connects the handlebars to the seat, known as the rider. too many stupid people did stuff like ride under the influence of Alcohol or drugs, not wear a helmet, show off with stunts, ride on public highways, etc. I read through all 6,000 CPSC reports, (1980s-2006, 3 wheeled ATVS) and only ONE could be reasonably attributed to the machine and not human stupidity, ( YamahaTri-Moto 225 DX, drive shaft fell off and "pole vaulted" machine) and even that one has a possibility of being due to improper maintenance, this includes the ones in the 2006 edition of the reports that were filed after the "Ban" , which only meant that the manufacturers (Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Polaris) could not import/manufacture new 3 wheelers in the USA, effective until 1997.

Existing machines, and smaller manufacturers are/were not affected, although the others that did closed up or made quads anyways due to their profitability.



Also, the ATC shown in the infamous CBS news cast, as found in a later investigation, was modified to make it crash the way it did.