Motorized Steampunk Tricycle

Motor trikes are attractive for those with mobility or balance problems, for carrying multiple passengers on a motorcycle license (since January 2013 in Great Britain a full car license is required for ANY trike), or to avoid helmet use regulations. These machines are generally custom-built and often finished to a very high standard. A common arrangement is to fit chopper-style ("ape hanger") front forks to a VW Beetle engine and transaxle, popular because it is largely self-contained on a single subframe. Similarly, the engine, transmission and rear wheel may be taken from a large motorcycle as a single unit, and used in the construction of a tadpole trike.
Mass-manufactured motor tricycles include the Piaggio MP3; the Piaggio Ape (Italian for Bee) delivery trike (delta); the Harley-Davidson Tri Glide Ultra Classic; the Bombardier Recreational Products Can-Am Spyder (tadpole); the T-Rex reverse trike; trikes used by municipal authorities in the USA; and, historically, vehicles such as the Scammell Scarab railway dray, a common sight around post-war British railway stations.
According to Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament, motor tricycles are in category L5e.