Though trikes seem to take the worst of both worlds, once on board it's hard to remain sceptical, writes Geoff Hill
As a chap well used to two wheels, even if I still haven't quite mastered the art of not falling off, I have from time to time come around a corner and found proceeding in the other direction a convoy representing The Brotherhood of the Third Wheel.
As the name suggests, these are bikers who, like Billy Connolly, prefer to take their pleasure in a tricyclic manner which ensures that they can hurtle down the highway on a car licence and without a helmet, in the safe and secure knowledge that unless they nod off and fall over a cliff, they will keep the shiny side up until the cows come home.
I have, like most motorcyclists, wondered out loud from time to time what the point of trikes was, since they seemed to have the disadvantages of both bikes and cars without any of the advantages.
From bikes, they took the fact that if it rained, you got soaked, and if it was cold, your extremities turned blue and fell off.
From cars, the width and the comparative lack of acceleration meant that overtaking was far more difficult than on a bike.
Still, there had to be some attraction, otherwise people wouldn't buy them, especially since they usually cost an arm and both legs. So, there was only one way to find out, which is why on a damp morning last week I found myself talking to a man called David Browne.
Not the man who makes tractors, but the one who imports Boom trikes from Germany to his business at Straid, near Bally clare in Co Antrim.
One of these was the bright yellow monster he was standing beside: the Fighter F11, all £35,000 worth of it, powered by a two-litre Ford Mondeo engine fed through a four-speed automatic gearbox and connected to the road by the tyres off a Ferrari.
As for the controls, even an idiot could understand them: the gears were a standard automatic car shift on the dummy fuel tank, the throttle was a regular bike twist grip on the right, and the brake was a hefty foot pedal on the right.
Settle yourself into the comfy laid-back seat, stick your pillion, if you have one, in the matching berth behind, and turn the ignition key to unleash a hefty growl from somewhere back.
I twisted the equally hefty throttle, which after a couple of days would give you a forearm the size of Popeye's, and headed off down the road with all the alacrity of a slug on valium.
I think it was about then that I noticed that the handbrake was still on. Just before I noticed in the mirror that the left wheel was about half an inch from the kerb.
Ah yes, now I remembered: David had mentioned not to forget that while it looked like I had a bike in front of me, I had something the width of a car behind me, and not to try squeezing through spaces which would tear both wheels off and leave me with the world's most expensive unicycle.
Soon enough, I had got used to all this, and was zooming around like a pro, gathering admiring glances from everyone who passed - the Fighter is a stunning looking piece of kit and it makes everyone who sees it a happier person, which can't be a bad thing.
As for the performance, it'll never beat a Ducati away from the lights or on the open road, but then, this is a mode of transport which isn't about blistering acceleration, but about cruising around with the wind in your hair and the sunlight dancing off the smiles of everyone you pass.
If you're a very rich exhibitionist anarchist, or Billly Connolly, look no further.
TEST BIKE: BOOM FIGHTER F11 2.0
Engine: 1997cc, power output (Kw/Bhp) 103.8/140
Top speed: 120-125mph
Fuel consumption: 35mpg,
Dimensions: length (Ft/in) 12' 4", width 77ins, height 52ins
Weight: dry weight - 1350lbs, max weight - 1900lbs
Max load: 550lbs
Max towing capacity: 630lbs
Gears: four forward, one reverse, automatic gearbox.
Test bike supplied was £35,000, supplied by David Browne of Straid, Ballyclare, Co Antrim
www.boom-trikesireland.com