Three Wheels, or Two Plus a Sidecar: Still a Motorcycle?

What the Vehicle Code says

Vehicle Code 400 is short:

• A motorcycle is a motor vehicle with a seat or saddle for the rider, designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground.
• A motor vehicle with four wheels on the ground, two of them part of a sidecar, is a motorcycle if it otherwise fits that definition.
• A farm tractor is not a motorcycle, and neither is the slow, enclosed three-wheeler local agencies use for parking enforcement, though that vehicle must meet motorcycle equipment rules.

A trike with a seat or saddle and handlebars fits the definition comfortably. Three-wheelers with car-style cockpits, side-by-side seats and steering wheels are where classification questions arise; confirm with the DMV how yours is registered before you insure it.

Factory trikes and conversions

A trike conversion kit fitted to a two-wheeler changes the machine an insurer is covering: its stability, its weight, its value and its repair costs. Declare the conversion, keep the installer's invoice and photographs, and ask how the conversion is valued. Ask the DMV whether the registration record needs updating after a conversion, so the paperwork describes the vehicle you actually ride.

Passengers and sidecars

California lets a motorcycle carry a passenger only on a fastened rear seat with footrests, or in a sidecar attached to the motorcycle (Vehicle Code 27800). The helmet law in Vehicle Code 27803 covers riders and passengers on the highway. A sidecar or a trike's passenger seat tends to mean regular passengers, and passenger injury coverage on a motorcycle policy may be structured differently from a car policy's. Ask how your policy treats passenger injuries, and choose limits with your usual passenger in mind.

Riders who choose three wheels for a reason

Many riders move to a trike or a sidecar rig because of balance, strength or mobility limits, and some add hand controls, reverse gears or other adaptations. Declare every adaptation like any other custom equipment, keep the installer's paperwork, and ask how it is valued; adapted controls can be expensive to replace. Size matters too: a trike may not fit a standard garage, and a machine parked outside faces more theft and weather exposure.

What about this vehicle can matter to an insurer

• Type and performance. A heavy touring trike and a sport bike with a sidecar are different risks.
• Damageability and repairability. A sidecar body, its mounts and the extra wheel are more parts to damage, and fewer shops work on rigs.
• Theft deterrents. A trike is harder to lift into a van than a solo bike, but it still needs locking and secure parking.

What to check before buying

1. Confirm how the vehicle is titled and registered, and which license class the DMV requires for it.
2. Get the conversion or sidecar documentation, including who did the work.
3. Look up open recalls on the VIN of the base motorcycle.
4. Quote it as it actually is, with the passenger arrangement you plan to use.

What varies by insurance company

Whether a company writes trikes and sidecar rigs, how it values conversions, and how it handles passenger injury coverage all vary between insurers.

Insuring the car as well as the trike? Start with a quote here.