Motorcycles(3 Wheelers)

Taiwanese never throw anything out, especially something that is useful. So old motorcycles are kept working longer before their perishable date. In all the photos below I asked the owner how old their machine was. Almost all of them couldn't even give a good age, maybe 30 maybe 40 years old.

I like these tricycle/motorcyles that have kept on running:

The image above seems like an overload for a 100cc motorcycle but if you're not moving fast, on the flat roads of Tainan they seem to do the job. With all the
moving parts exposed, they are just easier to fix. And there are junk yards with spare parts everywhere. Check out the small manual transmission, one guy said it was made by Michelin, but he might have been confused with the tire manufacturer.

I especially like the transversally mounted engines, you start out your life looking one way and at the end of your life you're looking 90 degrees to the side.

Many of them are mobile food vendors so they make two trips a day, one in the morning and one back home at night.

This guy has an offset mounted engine with a chain drive to the rear axle, take those curves slowly!!!! Notice the elaborate anti-theft devices.

This guy even got a new paint job so you know the owner is expecting some more years of service. And it has been accessorized.

Here's another of those Kawasakis used on a threewheeler, checkout the heavy-duty manual transmission connected to the transversally mounted engine.

My brother-in-law in KaoHsiung tells the story that about 40 years ago, Honda and Suzuki were selling 50cc motorcycles in Taiwan. Kawasaki leapfrogged the competition coming out with a 125cc model. They got the reputation of putting out strong engines.(2.5X ccs!). That they are still in use 40 years later is the legacy of the leap in technology. Even now when a good scooter is 150ccs, the legacy of the Kawasakis lives on!