STURGIS, S.D. – It takes only a brief drive through the streets of Sturgis during the 2026 motorcycle rally to realize that three-wheeled cycles have become a hot new trend in the biker world.
Motorcycles with three wheels instead of two can readily be seen driving in traffic, parked amid the rows of bikes on Main Street or displayed at temporary sales and rental lots that pop up during the Sturgis rally that attracts more than 500,000 bikers to South Dakota each August.
The key innovations of three-wheelers are greater stability while driving or stopped, increased visibility for users and among other motorists, more spacious rider and passenger seating and expanded cargo space. The three-wheelers are also more adaptive for riders with physical limitations or disabilities.
But while they are by design more stable than two-wheelers, they also carry navigation challenges that can increase loss of control or rollover risk in some travel situations, namely while turning, navigating curves or steering at high speeds.
“The people who are moving to a three-wheeled machine do need to realize that it takes a lot more strength to steer,” said Gina Suelflow, a certified cycle trainer with the South Dakota Safety Council. “They’re fun, but they just need to be navigated correctly.”.
According to a 2025 blog post by Street Iron Gear, a national apparel company, three-wheelers require a “stability trade off” when compared to two-wheelers.
“Because the body of the bike does not lean, the rider has to actively resist the forces trying to pull them off the seat. This can require surprising upper body strength and can feel unstable in sharp turns, sometimes even lifting an inside wheel if pushed too hard,” the post said.
The risks associated with driving a three-wheel motorcycle – or any cycle for that matter – were made tragically clear in an Aug. 1 accident that killed a Sioux Falls woman who was riding on a 2025 Can-Am Spyder RT three-wheeled cycle.
Dawn Hillman, 67, was killed in the single-vehicle accident that happened around 11 a.m. on South Rochford Road about 5 miles west of Rochford in the northern Black Hills, according to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.
The driver of the three-wheeled cycle, Randall Lee Hillman, 72, of Sioux Falls, failed to negotiate a curve and left the road, causing the vehicle to roll, the state said. He was taken to a Rapid City hospital with serious injuries.
Three-wheeled cycles fall largely into two main categories – those with two wheels in the rear and one in front, and those with two wheels in front and one in back. In both cases, navigation and turning is done via the front wheel or wheels.
Three-wheeled cycle sales are on the rise across the U.S. and are expected to continue to climb over the next decade, according to Future Market Insights, a financial research firm. Overall sales were $1.9 billion in 2020, rose to $2.7 billion in 2025 and could reach $5.5 billion by 2035, an industry analysis showed.
Safety data is hard to come by because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lumps crash and fatality data on three-wheelers into the same category as two-wheeled cycles, which still dominate the market.
Bob Walker of upstate New York rode his 2010 Harley-Davidson Tri Glide three-wheeler 1,900 miles to attend the 2026 Sturgis rally.
Walker, 83, said he rode three-wheeled cycles for decades but transitioned to the trike when his knees got weak.
“You’ve got to watch every corner around here,” he said. “And you have to be careful no matter what you ride.”
Craig Hillman and his wife, Sue, trailered a three-wheeler for him and a two-wheeler for her from their home in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to attend the 2026 Sturgis rally.
Craig shifted to his 2024 Can-Am Spyder with two wheels in front for greater stability.
“I’m full of medical hardware,” he said.
The Hillmans — no relation to the Sioux Falls couple involved in the Aug. 1 fatal wreck — appreciate that their Spyder has a reverse gear, can tow a small trailer and has greater stability and storage space than a traditional two-wheeled cycle.
“It’s very user-friendly and easy to drive,” he said. “But you cannot take corners fast, you just can’t.”
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