A Vogue lot of fun

I’ve grown accustomed to locals raising an eyebrow as they pass me on the road. It comes with the territory when you belong to that small legion of bike riders who wear helmets. Today, however, I’m attracting the full double-eyebrow reaction.
This time, however, it’s not the helmet causing the stares – and more than a few smirks – but, rather, my mode of transport.
I’m test-driving one of Raro Cars’ three-wheeler Vogues but, even though I have 150cc of Chinese technology between my legs, my fellow travellers are demonstrating a distinct lack of respect.
Maybe it’s the bike’s double-wheeled back end. Maybe it’s the grape-on-acid colour scheme (it was either that or the solar-flare yellow version), or the fact that, unaccustomed as I am to the heft and width of the handlebars, my steering probably appears as graceful as someone wrestling a shopping trolley through Foodland.
Despite the grins of derision that follow me, I’m still having fun in the sun – I’ll give the Vogue credit for that. As well, there is a sense of stability provided by those tandem rear wheels that I don’t always feel aboard my usual ride, a 100cc Yamaha Crypton.
According to Raro Cars sales marketing manager Donal Campbell, I have to be careful that confidence doesn’t lead to cockiness.
“There’s quite a bit you need to know in terms of operating these bikes,” he says. “People have the perception that, because they’re on three wheels, they’re an easy bike to ride. But, in fact, they’re not.”
There is definitely a learning curve to mastering the Vogue, not the least of which involves parking. Easy-peasy, right? Uh, no.
“When you hop off the bike, you must pull the parking brake,” Campbell advises. “Otherwise the bike will topple over. When the parking brake is off, you get a sideways motion on the bike itself, which is what you need when you’re riding around corners, because bikes need to dip from side to side.”
If these trikes look familiar, it’s because Raro Cars actually introduced them to the island a year ago. At that time, however, they came with a top that included a windscreen and wiper. But what looked like a pimped-out golf cart did not prove popular with visitors, not the least because the sloping roof line made riding pinion a cramping experience.
The newest incarnation of the Vogue is topless, a move Campbell says, “was done in terms of visual appeal for visitors”.
The fact that the island is currently lousy with tourists has also prompted the Vogue roll-out. But even with the candy-coated colours and the opportunity the trikes provide to flaunt one’s quirky individuality, they have proven a tricky rental to date.
“It’s a bit like a moth to a flame,” Campbell says. “A lot of people flutter around it, but no one takes the punt to take it for a ride.”
Needless to say, once you do decide to Vogue, you will definitely turn heads. Of that, I can assure you.
“Everybody is always looking at you,” Campbell says. “If you want to be seen around town, ride one of these. Seriously.”

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