You can still drive a three wheeler on a motorcycle licence, the law has never been changed. But if you pass a test in a three wheeler you cannot drive a car or a motorcycle without taking a seperate test in that class of vehicle.
Reliant were driven to the wall when the number of older people with motorcycle only licences diminished to nearly nothing.
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20 years ago my boss who back then was on £50,000 a year drove a Reliant. The reason was she could never pass her driving test, but had passed her bike test. It was fun wrapping it in clingfilm. lifting it over a high kerb so itc couldn't be driven off, standing it on it's end and the day the rear door was struck by a strong wind blowing it off it's hinges had us all wetting ourselves.
Good job she took it in good humour!
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Forget the Robin, get a full licence and then buy a Reliant Scimitar GTE......
Seriously - I once went to a Jasper Carrott show in Croydon Fairfield Halls where he did his usual Reliant gags and some poor guy who had parked his Robin in the forecourt was being laughed at by hundreds of people as he tried to escape after the show... could you take that sort of pressure ?
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I looked into this out of curiosity some years ago as I was sorting out my Morgan three wheeler's registration at a DVLC local office (quite painless).
What's been said before is right, passing your test in a three wheeler entitles you to..... another three wheeler, nothing else. So you would be able to drive one of those blue AC trikes for invalids etc. Why you'd want to is another matter.
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ah but you get to drive one of these....................
www.bondbug.com/
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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If the law has never been changed. My brother many many years ago had a 3 wheel Isetta bubble car which he could drive on a provisional at 16, but as it had a reverse gear he had to be accompanied by someone with a full license. Whereas a friend of his had a 3 wheel Heinkel bubble car which as it had no reverse he could drive on his own at 16 with a provisional.
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Try this website for the most accurate info on th cars, these guys know them inside out.
www.reliant3wheeler.co.uk
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If you are looking to drive at the age of 16 you can buy those little 2 seater diesel things such as the ligier that are classed as quadracycles. I'm fairly sure they can be driven at 16.
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Hilarious thing is that has anyone checked out the used value of these stupid cars?
Check Autotrader, the going rate for a P reg one - yes, thats 10 years old, is between £3000 and £4000!
If you want a V reg one, you need to find £6000 to £7000!
Who buys these, and why?
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2 cylinder 500cc diesel little shoebox type thing or a half decent 5 series? Hmmmmm let me think!
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Well you can drive them on a B1 license and they return some incredible economy figures, but at the cost of comfort and driver enjoyment.
The Reliant Rialto for instance is nearly as economical
( an easy 70 mpg, some record figures in excess of 90mpg in the right state of tune ) and strange though it may seem, far more mainstream in the way they drive and reliability, so even I dont quite understand the attraction of these french oddities. The Reliant is far more direct to drive in much the same way as the Mini, if not having the same level of handling.
The Reliant specialist I used to use for my Rialto sold these silly little cars and he said he would rather have a Reliant but they just dont sell them new any more and it was the next best thing. People do buy them AND the latest ones are actually far more modern and civilised than those of the age you are talking of.
As far as the prices go, it works much like the Reliants - dealers hold the prices up as do private sellers and they dont depreicate very much so once you pay out the initial outlay, theres not much loss and you can usually get your money back. Its a very specialist market so not as competitive as mainstream cars, but theres plenty of buyers out there and their sale is expanding strangely.
Thats why its hard to compare them to mainstream cars because most Reliant or Microcar owners ive come across just wont buy anything else.
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It's easy to scoff at Reliants now, but back in the hayday of the company during the seventies they were selling 13000 cars a year. True, they didn't handle but back then not much did. They had enough performance not to be embarrassing and they did not suffer from a lack of street cred because among the working population of the time more people were without cars than had them, so anything with a roof and an engine gave you a bit of status. Not much, but nobody laughed.
Looking back it was about the mid-eighties onwards, when the 'Yuppie' phenomenum began that car snobbery suddenly took hold among the population at large. Overnight you were socially dead if you didn't have an XR3i or whatever, and Skoda jokes became compulsory for anyone who wanted to make it as a comedian. The poor old three wheeler became a no-no, and it was only a diminishing band of pensioners who did not want the hassle of upgrading from a bike licence who bought them. I still hold fond memories of my Regal. Cheap, easy to fix and a godsend to a former biker in those days of commuting before global warming made the winters less severe. And no bit of skirt ever hesitated over the offer of a lift home, either.
Those were the days!
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Reliant Robin
Robin Reliant
I've never understood why anyone should get so overly pedantic as to which way around it is written?
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No of course not Dave Dynamic.
ANd is it a Vectra Vauxhall you have....
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ANd is it a Vectra Vauxhall you have....
When I had my mk1 Astra, mk2 & mk3 Cavaliers (yes more than one each) the badges on the back were in fact that way around. I believe Ford, to name but a few, also used to put the model before the make as well on the bootlid / tailgate.
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>>also used to put the model before the make as well on the bootlid / tailgate.>>
But generally accepted practice is that the first name is the marque and the second name the model (+ Mark version if appropriate).
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>>I've never understood why anyone should get so overly pedantic as to which way around it is written???
Nor can Saxo Citroen, Transit Ford, Accord Honda, Laguna Renault, Octavia Skoda et al owners either...:-)
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"Who buys these, and why?"
Hmm, I think the only reason for buying a Reliant Robin is to turn it into something like ebay item no. 320039155438 - now that would be a lot more fun than the Trotter company fleet.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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>>overly pedantic as to which way around it is written?
Overly pedantic ? In the Backroom ???
Say it ain't so !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next you'll be saying there are killjoys overly occupied with everybody else's life in the Backroom..
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I do hope you've still managed not to have a cig recently. They're bad for you.
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Over two years now.
Previously 50 cigarettes per day for 30 years. Now, just misery. Healthy misery, but still misery. Oh how I miss a cigarette. And how much those around me miss the calming effect a cigarette used to have upon me.
Most stupid mistake of my life ? Starting to smoke.
Second most stupid mistake fo my life ? Giving up.
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You're using the wrong psychological approach, Mark. You should learn to pity those of us who still have the need to light up rather than envy us. I used that approach when I gave up and it worked.
Unfortunately, as I discovered after two fag-free years, you are just one away from starting all over again.
Time for one now, as it happens.
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I don't entirely remember why I gave up, I do know that the village pub and alcohol were involved. I carried on the attempt to give up because I felt it was a good/healthy/cool idea. I carried on further because I'll be damned if I'll be beaten, least of all by a drug. To have one cigarette would make all the suffering an utter waste of time. And I do hate wasting my time. If I ever have even one drag, then all of that time will have been wasted, the fight will be over and there will be no reason not to have a second one - at least not until the cough comes back and I start disliking it again.
But really, the one reason I still don't smoke and will continue to not to smoke ? Because I said I wouldn't. And I meant it.
I just never promised to be a nice, even-tempered or calm non-smoker.
I will never give up smoking again. If I ever have another cigarette I will smoke for the rest of my life.
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I do like a bit of topic drift.
When I was a child nearly all adults chainsmoked. As a result I hated cigarettes and came to them by a roundabout route - don't ask because I won't say - when I was over 20. In the nineteen-sixties I worked for some time with and in the tobacco industry. The free cigarettes saved me money.
My mother and youngest sister both died young of lung cancer, and two of my mother's sibling's died of it in their 70s. My father died in his mid-seventies of a heart condition my doctor sister claims was smoking-related.
I have given up smoking five times, trying all kinds of expedients. Nothing seemed to work permanently until I discovered: SNUFF! You feed your nicotine addiction, and indeed maintain it, but without punishing your breathing equipment with toxic combustion products.
Of course it makes you toffee-nosed and you get through a lot of hankies. But it works. My doctor is intrigued. He says it isn't ideal but it's definitely an improvement on smoking.
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I do like a bit of topic drift.....
And if someone could now drift the topic back to motoring perhaps?
DD.
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Almost impossible to take snuff while driving DD. Should have added that perhaps.
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>>And if someone could now drift the topic back to motoring perhaps?
I smoke with a cigarette in my left hand. Therefore driving at home in the US was always more comfortable than in the UK since I could hold it in my left hand without snapping it everytime I changed gear and could readily flick the ash out of the window. And don't tell me flicking ash out of the window is antisocial, if I'd cared about such things then I wouldn't have been smoking at all, now would I!
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I'm ambidexterous with my cigarettes. When I was instructing and the pupil was a smoker I used to have the occassional one, which meant the ash had to be flicked through the nearside window. I could quite easily switch to the other hand when I was driving myself.
All the ashtrays in my cars have remained clean and unused, unlike that of a girlfriend years ago who had to remove the ashtray to empty it and spent about ten minutes trying to prise out a solid block of compressed butts out with a screwdriver. Considering how fastidious women are about cleanliness, it always surprises me how the interior of their cars are like pigstys.
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I have, more than once, had a cigarette in my mouth because both hands were needed, turned to glance out of a [sadly closed] driver's window and flattened the cigarette against my nose causing various hot bits to drop in my lap, and my face to be splattered with hot ash.
You'd be amazed how rarely I have been accused of being cool.
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>>You'd be amazed how rarely I have been accused of being cool.<<
I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't.
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By the way, while I think about it, DVD is owed some thanks - overdue thanks at that. A couple of times when the going was tough, he timed the odd comment or the occasional bit of post really rather well. And there were occasions where the thought of facing DVD to tell him I'd had a fag was enough of a sobering thought to stop me having one.
So thanks DVD. Thanks a lot.
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You'd be amazed how rarely I have been accused of being cool.
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Ah FMR, the crotch on fire while negotiating a wet busy junction at 90mph scenario... gives the passengers a giggle though once they've changed their underwear...
For a time in the sixties I smoked panatella type thin cigars. In those days you could smoke on the tube. Imagine my chagrin one day when a phalanx of passengers rushed into the carriage cutting off my newly lit stogie at its root...
Smoking is anti-social - smells nasty to the uninitiated, makes a mess - but having done it for many years I wouldn't dream of asking anyone not to smoke, except in a disabled submarine with only two hours' worth of oxygen left in it... I despise rbid anti-smokers almost as much as I despise people who want to be noticed by alleging that their religions have been insulted, instead of leaving the scolding to the All-Powerful...
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>>who want to be noticed by alleging that their religions have been insulted, instead of leaving the scolding to the All-Powerful...
Lud, sometimes you talk some rubbish, but that is an outstanding comment which I shall no doubt repeat. Its sufficiently good that I may claim it as my own, so let me apologise in advance for such brazen and calculated plagiarism, no doubt sacrilege to on of your [prior?] profession..
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>>except in a disabled submarine with only two hours' worth of oxygen left in it.<<
You have no idea how many times I've been in that nightmare scenario. Not pleasant I can tell you.
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Adam a submarine is a marine underwater craft not a an American Sandwich shop. What's this country come to ?
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But why do people think one talks rubbish? Bit of overstatement here and there to keep the argument going or because it's late at night and one has gargled freely, but rubbish? Moi?
Of course when it's written down no one can hear the range of satirical accents in which it presents itself, this kind of virtual discourse...
FMR: Don't think the Sincerest Form of Flattery will save you. You may well be hearing from my lawyers!
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30 a day since 1969 I gave up in April 2005. No idea why, cant remember the logic used to stop. I just did.
Its been tough about once a month, when a sudden urge waves over me. Glad I did, as its now becoming impossible to smoke without being outcast as a social pervert and forced to endulge by the bins round the back of the pup/resturant/cafe/wherever. I often wonder I i could smoke just one and still stop for another 18 months.
Motoring
I was a right handed smoker. The smoke ash and butts* went out the window which was always open a crack. I got the suction/noise ratio down to a fine art in every car. I could flick ash at the window from 12 inches away and get it sucked out through tthe crack. In fact the goona ashtray never got used once, despite over a year of smoking in it.
And no, I cared not about bikers behind. I did check if there was any there usually, but sometimes didnt. Hey ho. its not going to keep me awake at night.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Funny though isn't it how some people can just give up and others can't.
One of my mates used to smoke a fair bit and then one day just said to me "Adam - I'm going to quit." And he did - just like that. No patches, no gum - nothing.
A mate at Uni used to try and give up all the time but got really bad shakes and turned white if he didn't smoke every hour or so.
I enjoy the occasional cigar on very special occasions but I don't think I'd ever smoke one in an ordinary circumstance. (Nor would I want to). But when it's a mate's 21st or something, none of us give it a second thought.
Motoring .
I found a Cuban cigar in my car a while ago. No idea how it got there.
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"I found a Cuban cigar in my car a while ago. No idea how it got there."
Havana? I'm sure she was nice. Good thing you've got a Focus and not a Reliant Robin.
Seriously, if they really do command those prices, there is a danger of the Robin becoming a classic - there will be someone restoring one and writing it up in Practical Classics.
And I think they had quarter-lights - not just for the smokers but a very efficient form opf ventilation that no heating / aircon system has ever really matched.
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Avant, the quarter lights were really hand hold points to turn it back on its three wheels after you had tipped it over at the roundabout,
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Avant, the quarter lights were really hand hold points to turn it back on its three wheels after you had tipped it over at the roundabout, ------------------------------ TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Only numpties who get dizzy without a wheel at each corner would do something like that. Real drivers could handle them.
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Only numpties who get dizzy without a wheel at each corner would do something like that. Real drivers could handle them.
People who cant pass a proper driving test are real drivers??
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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All the ashtrays in my cars have remained clean and unused,
Congratulations. Shame about the sides of the roads you were driving down. But hey, you'll probably never see the butts again there, so that's OK.
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Still miss the old quarter-lights - easy to flick ash out. Now I have to have the fan on full blast and the window almost half open to get the air flow...:-)
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In my Defender 90 with the window open 3/4'' the suction is perfect for drawing the smoke from the steering wheel position. I don't chuck dog-ends out of the window though, perhaps riding a motorbike does that to you. They go in the ashtray (except in the summer because opening the air vents somehow allows a draught up under and past the tray and ash goes everywhere). Ive got an optional extra part number 'LR330ml-coke can' for that. Good old Lode Lane engineering.
James.
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Green. I almost wish I smoked now after that description !
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I want to drive in a three-wheeled car, whether it's a Robin, Rialto, or whatever. No intention of riding in anything other than those. I work for a local papershop, delivering papers. Do 4 rounds every morning. Taking hours on my mountain bike. Start at 05:15, finish at 07:30 / 07:45.
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Is it worthwhile paying a massiveley inflated price for a three-wheeler to do a job which I guess is not well paid, when you could do it in a £299 Fiesta/205/Micra, and in the process get a full car licence, which you probably won;t need to upgrade for the rest of your life?
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Remind us why a 3-wheeler is better for you than a car?
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Only wanted a 3-wheeler as have been told I can drive one on a provisional, as they are classed as a bike.
A moped would be ideal, but the mornings have been a bit crappy lately.
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Only wanted a 3-wheeler as have been told I can drive one on a provisional, as they are classed as a bike. A moped would be ideal, but the mornings have been a bit crappy lately.
A three wheeler is classed as a tricyclye, not a motorcycle, and cannot be driven on a provisional licence unless accompanied by a full licence holder who meets the usual qualifying criteria.
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"clean and unused, unlike that of a girlfriend years ago"
Hmm!
Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
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Back to topic!
Many years ago I worked for a then major & well knownf ninance house - (but now only a blue telephone on TV ads.) - selling, (and collecting overdue! ) H.P. mostly for motor vehicles.
This was in the days before credit scoring and personal loans and underwriting credit was "seat of the trouser" stuff. We had local areas where we wouldn't finance a 95% deposit deposit deal for a vicar, but funnily enough the Reliant buyer was the absolute best in keeping up the drip payments and often we used to finance well over "book" - a big no-no then, as we owned the goods as our security until the last instalmement plus OTB was in our hands.
Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
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Sorry for the typos - still can't get to grips with the laptop keyboard!
Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
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Anyone remember the '60's three-wheeler with the Hillman Imp engine in the back? Aluminium body IIRC. Was it a Bond? A friend had one and it accelerated like hell until the steering started going light at 80 mph as the front wheel lifted off.
Another friend had a Bond three-wheeler in the '70's, the one with the motorcycle engine mounted on the front wheel. Convertible too and you could get four in if you were good friends. The party piece was to put it on full lock and spin repeatedly on its axis. Great fun on Hayling Island prom trying to impress the girls. Didn't work mind, but we were only 17 or 18 (at least that's my excuse). The back brakes seized once on the Southampton bypass. No problem! All out, three of us lift the back off the ground, the other crawls underneath and frees off the adjusters so they no longer worked.
He dumped it in the end, a pity because they now fetch good money. Happy Days!
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Bond Bug and the Hayling Island one, Bond Minicar. Friend of mine had one and a horrendous device it was.
The Bug was an attempt to modernize the 3-wheeler. They all used to try to roll and a lot of them soon had scrapes on either side of the nose where it had touched the ground in some underwear-filling moment. One model was supposed to be able to do 90.
No thanks. Morgans are one thing, these devices something else again.
I know one or two people like them and of course they don't misbehave if treated appropriately, plastic doesn't rust and a small, lightweight, necessarily staidly driven car will be extremely economical. I just don't like being obliged to drive staidly even when in a hurry.
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No, it wasn't a Bug, definitely aluminium body. Maybe my memory will wake up soon.
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To the OP:
Dont buy a cheap Reliant 3-wheeler. Just dont. The good ones cost good money because a bad one will be a money pit if the body is cracked, which does happen if you have a minor shunt.
The only one worth considering is a 1980s Rialto which if you buy right you may get a bargin for £300.
If you buy a good one in the first place, they arent that cheap to insure, but very cheap on fuel, they are so simple you can fix them with a Halfords tool set and parts costs are exceptionally cheap ( try a complete exhaust system inc VAT for £39 as an example ). They are very reliable and the owners club know the cars inside out and there is no question they cannot answer. Also a very friendly bunch with good sense of humour.
Dont buy it if you want a quiet car ( although you can make modifications to help with this if you like ), dont buy it to do long motorway work at 80mph ( it can do that but if a crosswind blows at that speed you will end up in the bushes as it weighs less than half a ton ) and dont buy it if your not prepared to defend it. Dont buy it for reasons surrounding driver licenses.
Do buy one because they basically will last indefinatly as the body is plastic and the chassis is galvanised so theres no deterioration with either, all parts are available, there are plenty of specialists, they return never less than 50mpg unless its leaking fuel, you can modify it alot to improve how it drives and they are actually very engaging to drive, if not sporty as the gearbox is lightening quick, throttle response is instant and the steering is far better than people expect.
Oh and on an MOT note, they dont have to pass an emissions test, which trips up many old cars.
Id just get your license and not try and dodge the issue.
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Heavens above stunorthants, I almost fancy one myself after reading yr post!
There was a plastic 4-wheel small Reliant that would have those virtues without the vices, can't remember its name, quite a delicate plain little thing... I suppose owners hang onto them.
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Reliant Kitten is the one your thinking of.
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The very one bh. Embarrassing name but nice innocent little car.
Seem to remember William Boddy liked it.
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Lud, Im not saying they are for everyone - they arent, but you have to own one day in day out to really understand why anyone wants one.
They may get the mickey taken out of them, but mine cost me a total of 45 quid a month inc servicing, tax, fuel and insurance. Its also not that slow at all - 0-60 of 15 secs compares well in the 1980's and is fatser than some of the 1.0 superminis of same age.
Its really quick off the line so you can actually embarriss people at the lights in town.
Its so funny doing that cos they expect you to crawl along and it gives drivers behind a complex if you bat along at 60 and they cant seem to find enough space to overtake!
I actually miss mine, but then I modified it to make it quieter and more comfortable. Its by far and away the cheapest car to run ive ever owned and it may not be a sportscar, but it has a fun element, much in the same way that Series Land Rovers, Beetles and Morris Minors have. Its not a rational thing to like an of these cars, but it doesnt stop a lot of people doing so.
The Reliant Kitten was based on the Robin and doesnt have the galvanised chassis that the later cars had, but aside from that, its prob more practical than a Robin if you can find one, they even have a separate owners club.
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Back in the 60's when the Reliant was a fairly common sight, we used to get a bit of snow in the winter as well.
Councils didn't bother clearing the back streets and the snow lasted for ages. Four wheeled traffic would form two ruts or tracks in the snow, and some of the displaced snow would form a sort of mountain range between the ruts. Overnight, the snow would freeze. The next day you would see Reliant owners cruising along with the front of the car bobbing up and down on the frozen snow. If you were really lucky, you'd see one with the front wheel and one of the back one's stuck in the same rut.
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interestingly none i once took one of these home when it was snowing (dont ask ,i cant remember why) anyway got to my house ok but couldnt turn off the road as the front wheel couldnt get out of the ruts that 4 wheeled cars had made,not funny at the time as i felt like a peanut on its own in a big monkey shell
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Michaels of Selby still going strong though - been around as long as I can remember. I'm sure they used to advertise spoiler kits for Reliant Robins in the local paper .
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83 replies and you guys can't spot a troll?
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Who cares? It's an interesting and amusing thread.
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eBay item number 300041046534. Go on, you know you want one......
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I think we've just found some Top Gear 'sketch' ideas:
Clarkson in a Reliant Robin. That on its own would be a laugh.
Hammond attempting the (3 wheeler) land speed record in a Robin Reliant.
Or maybe just dropping one from a crane c.f. a caravan.
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