Their proposal may seem like an oxymoron, but the Quebec
firm CMI-Cectek suggests that including four wheels in Transport Canada’s
description of motorcycles makes all-round sense.
The company wants to bring out a four-wheeled "motorcycle"
for road use, but Transport Canada’s definition of motorcycles does not allow
four wheels.
"We are asking that the definition of motorcycle in
Section 2 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulation be amended to include
four-wheel motorcycles," said Hélène Binet, vice-president of CMI-Cectek.
"We made this formal request to the government in July 2009." But
Transport Canada seems not to like the idea.
In fact, the Quebec company accuses Transport Canada of
distorting their request by proposing two options: creating a new class of
motor vehicle for the road, which would result in different standards being
applied to the vehicle than are currently used for motorcycles; and classifying
this vehicle as an ATV, which is not allowed on most Canadian roads.
"Our four-wheel motorcycle is not an ATV, or a golf cart,
or a low-speed vehicle. It’s a motorcycle! It travels on public roads in Europe and is perfectly safe. Do Europeans care less
about safety than Canadians? Let Canadians choose," Binet
said.
The CMI-Cectek four-wheeler, the "500EFI Quadrift," is powered by a liquid-cooled,
fuel-injected 500 cc motor, uses an automatic transmission, and can reach 130
km/h.
Transport Canada has opened a public consultation about this, but it closes
on June 11. CMI-Cectek wants the public to get involved. "We have only 30 days
to persuade Transport Canada of our case. We
will accordingly be very grateful if you make your comments known to Transport Canada as soon as possible in its period of
consultations on this regulatory question."
Want to help stir the waters? Go to cectekcanada.com/en/vote.html to vote for four-wheels-as-motorcycle, or to cectekcanada to see more about this vehicle.
ATV = ‘QUAD’ the way I always hear friends calling them anyways.
Lets leave it at Motorcycle, Trike, and Quad. Then decide if we think it’s safe enough for our roads.
ATV, UTV, HTV(highway terrain vehicle) simple logic
Caterham Super 7 link:
http://super7cars.com/
To all the people who want to have this included as a motorcycle, you must now logically include the Caterham Super 7 as a motorcycle, after all, it’s powered by a GSX 1300R Hayabusa engine. Next step, the Mazda Miata is a motorcycle? Wake up, fools!
Find it here, starting on page 40.
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2010/2010-05-08/pdf/g1-14419.pdf
I never realized this Gazette existed. A bit of an eye opener to see what your government is involved in, on a daily basis. You can almost see our tax dollars burned through by the wheelbarrow load . :p
On a semi-related tangent… I suspect many of the atv accidents are due to the 4 stroke engine. It has more rotating inertia than a 2 stroke which makes it nosedive. More can of worms… could this be why there are more motox injuries now, or is it just increased reporting by the internet.
…which is to say that this is not a motorcycle.
it is quite clearly a thinly disguised toaster oven/riding mower.
Looks dangerous,
But imagine the looks on peoples face when they first layed eyes on the first motorcycle.
Motor+cycle=motorcycle
therefore, if it is motorized and rides like a cycle (MP3 included), to me it is a motorcycle.
Everyone slams the Government for imposing controls on how we live and play. Now people want controls to prevent something they don’t like. You can’t have it both ways.
Let them market this vehicle, but call it something other than a motorcycle. Don’t stifle innovation, and let the market decide what’s right. Maybe 5 wheels is the answer.
2 wheels = Motorcycle. 3+ wheels = (creative name here) And lump the BRP Spyder in with it. But what is the Piaggio MP3? It opens another can of worms too. If this is legal, what about the next lawn-tractor for the road.
Here is the link to the government website calling for opinions on 4 wheel motorcycles. http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2010/2010-05-08/html/notice-avis-eng.html#d101
My opinion is no atvs on the street, but YES! to the Yamaha Tesseract.
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/prototype-spy-concept/Yamaha-2007-Tesseract.htm
The nose of it looks like a lawn tractor.
I think it would be nice to expand upon what is allowed on our roads. Artic Cat ATV’s sell thier’s with signal lights on them for other markets, just no switches for us. I’ve driven them on the road in Mexico with no problems and they have, ahum, different driving styles down there. An add-on to the license, proper gear, tires and lighting and Bob’s your uncle. In rural and northern areas where everybody has a quad it would possibly be a big advantage. Everybody dodges down the road on them anyway, make it legal. I would love to see this happen. Polaris, Cat, Yamaha, Honda, would soon follow.
I’ve “test ridden” 4 of these from four different manufacturers in the last few years. They’re all similar in a number o ways:
1) They always show up in the spring, close to show season.
2) Whomever is selling them is always nattering on about how ubiquitous they are in Europe, as if they’re one of every 5 vehicles on the road over there.
3) In looks, ride, comfort, dynamics, every measure you can apply, they are roadgoing ATVs.
Wouldn’t buy one at gunpoint.
By what possible “we’re French so we expect special treatment” definition do these twits think this is NOT an ATV?
Maybe a road going ATV but an ATV for sure.
It’s what an ATV would look like if the “Pimp my Ride” dunderheads got ahold of one.
This is not a motorcycle. By Saying it is then were opening a can of worms on safety issues. CMI-Cectek obviously cant pass this off as a car because it doesn’t meet any of the basic crash requirements. Transport Canada already has screwed up with electric cars, low speed electric scooters even licensing for scooters and mopeds. We dont need to add another 4 wheel monstrosity to the roads
How can that thing be considered a motorcycle? Three wheels is a stretch, but four?
Nice machine though, whatever it ends up being.