I guess I'm a motorcycle guy

[MDLNB]

Some states say "motorcycle" and some define it different. No big deal.

I am also a Harley guy. I still have my last Harley and it is listed in the classified since I can no longer be that "Harley Guy" anymore. I loved two wheels and knowing that I was losing my physical ability to ride a two wheeler safely with my wife on it, I started looking years ago at going three wheels. I ruled out the typical trike as being unsafe on curves and corners. I did not like the Can Am reverse trike, mainly for the bulk. Sure, it was nice on the highway, but so is a convertible Mustang or Camaro. I still yearned for that great two wheel feeling of open air riding, practically free of being boxed in a rolling cage. Shoot, I had a Road King and a Softail Harley and didn't like the RK because of the bulky feeling, even though it was more comfortable on the highway. I was about to give up riding when I discovered the Ryker. It looked just like the reverse trike that I wanted to create with a Sportster that I had started modifying into a reverse trike. By the way, Harley has a nice looking reverse trike patent that they are not yet producing. I watched a lot of YouTube videos of guys test riding a Ryker and giggling like school girls and decided to see what it was all about. I went to one dealer and they did not have one to test ride. I went to another that let me test ride a Ryker and I immediately saw why those guys were reduced to smiles and giggles. It was great, and I did not even take it on a highway to open it up. I told my wife and she talked me into buying one. Due to my senior age and physical limitations now, I have not taken my wife on a ride on my Harley for many years. She is excited that she will now be able to ride with me. She wanted me to get a spider but I didn't care for them. Not that there was anything wrong with them, other than the price being more than I wanted to spend and the size and bulk of them. My friend has one and I will probably join him on rides. Just my preference, that's all.
My daughter and her family came to visit me recently and they spent much of one day (at least until it got dark) on the Ryker. They love it and they are motorcycle riders. I see a purchase in their near future.
I am currently personalizing my Ryker and also adding a passenger backrest. I also plan to make a removable luggage rack that can be interchanged with the passenger seat. I have just received a new fender to replace the partial fender that came stock with the Rally and I plan to install that just as soon as I receive my new torque wrench. I already have the socket and a 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch adapter. Sorry, I digress.
I loved my two wheelers. I have owned Honda's, Kick start Royal Endfields and several Harleys, but have to put them in the past with regret. My new thing is my three wheel Ryker machine. I think that I will be able to operate the Ryker as long as I can operate a four wheel cage. After that, I will be operating a wheel chair or they will be shoveling dirt in my face. I intend to move always forward.

[Highwayman2013]

I ride both. My wife has a 2016 F3L, I have a 2014 Suzuki 650 V Strom and I just traded my 2010 Kawasaki Voyager for a Ryker Rally.

[KyBill]

The Ryker IS a motor cycle. Motor? Check. Cycle? Check. The term doesn't refer to the number of wheels.
But that said, it's more like riding a go-kart with a handlebar. Way fun.

Actually, by definition a motorcycle (which is one word) has 2 wheels.

Call me old fashioned, I just look at the Oxford dictionary, or even Mirriam Websters.

(Though many states regulate trikes as motorcycles)

[CaptainHolly]

The Ryker IS a motor cycle.

By your definition, these are also motorcycles: (I don't think so.)

[KC61]

Let me rephrase my original post, I'm a 2 wheel guy but still have my Ryker Rally. It's a fun machine but not near as fun as a 138 hp Sport Tourer with a 6 speed. The Ryker to me is borderline boring. Maybe all trikes are that way, this is my first.

[Curlytops]

As a recent spyder rider I have too agree with KC61... im on 3 wheels for health reasons, but my heart belongs on 2... even though id struggle with a 2 wheeler im on the lookout for one to tinker with and restore.. bottom line is they are more fun and once a biker always a biker.. but age health and common sense wont see me selling my spyder… unless it starts giving me problems.... then I may go to 2 wheels at the back!

[Zoot]

By your definition, these are also motorcycles: (I don't think so.)

In fact, Henry Ford's first car (1896!) was called a Quadricycle. Since it had a motor, it could be termed a "motorcycle". But now we're into the weeds.

[Wildrice]

I sold my 2 wheel bikes. I preferred them on everything except the 2-3 mph parking lot turning. I have vertigo & balance above 5 mph is no problem--I began to tip over in parking lot maneuvering--thus I bought the F3's. I also love a riding vehicle with a reverse & with saddlebags & frunk I can hold more groceries than my 2014 Street Glide. Now I'm considering adding a GSXR- 750 which weighs 400 lbs to my garage--very light weight with lots of power.

[MDLNB]

"The first commercial design for a self-propelled cycle was a three-wheel design called the Butler Petrol Cycle, conceived of Edward Butler in England in 1884.[8] He exhibited his plans for the vehicle at the Stanley Cycle Show in London in 1884. The vehicle was built by the Merryweather Fire Engine company in Greenwich, in 1888.[9]

The Butler Petrol Cycle was a three-wheeled vehicle, with the rear wheel directly driven by a 5⁄8 hp (0.47 kW), 40 cc (2.4 cu in) displacement, 2 1⁄4 in × 5 in (57 mm × 127 mm) bore × stroke, flat twin four-stroke engine (with magneto ignition replaced by coil and battery) equipped with rotary valves and a float-fed carburettor (five years before Maybach) and Ackermann steering, all of which were state of the art at the time. Starting was by compressed air. The engine was liquid-cooled, with a radiator over the rear driving wheel. Speed was controlled by means of a throttle valve lever. No braking system was fitted; the vehicle was stopped by raising and lowering the rear driving wheel using a foot-operated lever; the weight of the machine was then borne by two small castor wheels. The driver was seated between the front wheels. It wasn't, however, a success, as Butler failed to find sufficient financial backing.[10]"

"A motorcycle, often called a bike, motorbike, or cycle, is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle."

Florida defines motorcycle as:
"A vehicle with two or three wheels, a seat or saddle, and an engine of 51cc or more is generally considered a motorcycle. To operate a motorcycle on the road, you need both a driver's license as well as a motorcycle endorsement, and Florida law requires you to wear eye protection."

Apparently 47 states require a motorcycle license to operate a Trike. Guess they consider a trike to be a motorcycle.

[OregonLAN]

Regardless what you want to label them, 3 wheeled and 2 wheeled vehicles share very little in common when it comes to riding characteristics. Most states require a motorcycle endorsement for 3 wheeled vehicles simply because they don't have the allocated resources to offer a dedicated class for both.