I saw lots of these little trikes on the Greek island of
Mykonos last week. They are a tilting three wheeler that hinge behind the rider
to allow it to bank over while the rear wheels stay on the ground. They have a
goods platform at the rear and are used for deliveries to shops &
restaurants in Mykonos town which has a warren of very narrow streets.
Unusually for a Honda it has a two stroke engine.
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| The lever below the clocks locks the "hinge" when parked. |
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| The Gyro in its natural habitat |
Several models of the Gyro have been made starting in 1982
and is still going today. It's mostly Japan market only and I've never seen one
anywhere else so it's a mystery how so many got to Mykonos.
The Gyro is not a unique concept, of course. It was patented
by an English engineering company G.L.Wallis & Son and sold by BSA as the
Ariel 3 in 1970. It was not a success and proved to be a nail in the coffin of
BSA. The design was later licensed to Honda.
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| Ariel 3 |
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| This trike has a home-made feel about it - I think it
started life as a Chinese scooter. |
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| Heavier goods in the town were moved by an old Mazda three
wheeler. |
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| In Corfu this battered Yamaha step-thru is used by a parcel
delivery company and has a tea chest sized top box |
Not come across that particular machine before. Isn't it strange how some places seem to have loads of one type of vehicle? Last time I was in France there were loads of those Piaggio scooters with two wheels at the front. In Italy most deliveries seem to get done in a Piaggio Ape van, and when I was in Thailand years ago they'd strap homemade sidecars to almost anything, including 50cc mopeds before loading them down with more stuff than I'd feel comfortable with in my car.
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