With the trend developed by the Piaggio MP3 and Gilera Fuoco three wheelers, there is another speculated rummage into this wave of interest being planned by the French scooter importer Sidam; which plans to try its luck with a new bike that alters the concept backwards.
The ‘Xnovo’ gives the tilting triangle wheelbase concept a less fun, more utilitarian application than its Italian forebears - this time instead of putting the two wheels at the front where they are actually useful in traction and stability context, they’ll be at the rear of the vehicle, since it’s easier and cheaper to put those wheels out back - acting like a mini-minivan with huge carrying capacity, a hard roof, windscreen and twin driven rear wheels each on its own swingarm.
The Xnovo seems to be more or less handled like a horse and carriage; may deal with larger luggage loads than a regular scoot, and the possibility that, because the twin rear wheels don’t have to handle steering duties, they might be cheaper to build than the twin front brigade. The luggage angle is definitely a big part of the concept for Sidam, with some advance sketches looking almost like a cross between a minivan and a Thai tuk-tuk.
There are three categories of scooters that the inventor plans to bring down on the drawing board; a fully petrol version fitted with a 500cc Piaggio engine, a hybrid version with a 200cc petrol engine and electric backup, and a fully electric version with brushless motors mounted to each rear hub.
The anticipations for a market launch seem to happen sometime later in 2008, with a projected price of around €8000 for the 500cc.
Source: TheBikerGene via SameerKumar
