In the video for the "Life Rolls On" Chris Reeve chopper, Paul Sr. (of OCC) does say it can be operated by a paraplegic, not quad. But think it wouldn't take much tweaking to make it mostly Quad Friendly (for those who drive already). That long reach forward is one thing most quads couldn't do.
And, yeah... I'd want something a bit better looking, too. I think they could have done more with aesthetics. My parents have (or had?) an old trike with a VW engine in the rear over a and side-by-side seat. I could see that easily adapted! And it looks pretty cool... chopper up front, baby-blue VW in the back. And I have neighbor who's a quad (true C5/6 complete) who has a Honda with a sidecar he can drive from. He bought it for fun when he retired but after some fix-ups and getting itrunning decent, I haven't seen it out in quite a while. I hope he still has it. I'd love to give a try if it's still roadworthy! Cheers! --Tod ---- [email protected] wrote: > Back in 1996 for the Atlanta Para-lympics and the Expo, there was a > manufacturer of a wheelchair accessible side car with ramp and driving > controls > switch from the cycle to the side car. The cycle was impressive and > received a lot of attention by those who attended. > > Best Wishes > > > In a message dated 1/13/2010 2:27:59 P.M. Central Standard Time, > [email protected] writes: > > Greg, > > We were discussing this at work the other day. The show, and the Reeve > Foundation, marketed it as the first chopper built for a quad. First of > all, > I'm sure it's not the first chopper ever adapted for a wheelchair user, > but secondly, it's not really set up for a quad to use. Maybe it's just me, > but when somebody says 'quad' I think of a person, like myself, with > significant loss of function in all four limbs, not a para who can't fully > move > one pinky. That chopper looked like it required full hand-function to > operate. > > This is the same issue I have with "quad" rugby, aka "murderball:" most > of the best players are really paras who have found ways to be classified as > quads. Not taking anything away from them--that's the way it is, and it's > an exciting sport--but, to call some of those guys quads is a real > stretch. The sport was invented to give true quads a competetive outlet, > but > today if you look at the really good teams you'll see that the true quads > are > used mainly as 'blockers' on defense. Again, I don't have a problem with > the sport, it just irks me a bit that it's not really quad rugby. > > Getting back to the chopper, you can see it here [if the link still works]: > _http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid57936435001?bclid=0&bctid=5 > 5589638001_ > (http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid57936435001?bclid=0&bctid=55589638001) > > I agree--it's now a thing of great beauty. Hopefully this is just a > start, and somewhere down the road we'll see some really cool designs. > Happy > riding!! > > Don. > > > > > ____________________________________ > From: Greg <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Wed, January 13, 2010 1:02:52 PM > Subject: [QUAD-L] American Chopper > > > Did you guys see last weeks American Chopper show? > They did a motorcycle / trike for the Chris / Dana Reeve Foundation. The > back folded down and you roll your chair up in. The guy there looked like a > quad, but the chair was made for a para to drive. It was the ugliest thing > they ever made. Just like the big wheelchair companies they put no effort > into looks. It was just metal tubing with fenders and a gas tank. It look > like kids did it. I really thought they would do something cool looking, but > ever since Paul Jr. left they haven’t really made anything very custom > looking. > Greg > >
