Tell us about your ride: Matilda the freedom trike

LACONIA — “This is my freedom trike,” said Susan Bailey of Maine as she displayed her custom ride at the High Octane Saloon. “She got the name Matilda 'cause she's built like a World War II tank.” The vehicle features a dark pink paint job, seating for three, and massive faux-crystal handle on the shifter. Almost every aspect of the vehicle, from the engine to the body, is custom built.

“It's a '69 Volkswagen with a Honda 500 550 front end,” Bailey explained. “I've been riding her 10 years now, three engines in her.”

Bailey, her friends and professional mechanics have all contributed to Matilda's unique build, which is a combination of vintage parts, exposed mechanisms, and purple personality.

“I worked on the engine, a friend of mine got the seats put in,” Bailey said. “I try to keep her as raw as possible. My new mechanic decided to change my dual exhaust to a single. That's going to get changed. I like my dual exhaust sounds a lot better. This sounds like a Volkswagen Bug and it's not.”

The front tank is purely decorative. The real gas tank sits behind a rear bench seat upcycled from a school bus. The driver's seat is from a 1940 bread truck. And the engine sits totally exposed on the rear.

Bailey's love of motorcycles, particularly trikes, started in her childhood. She's also attended Laconia Motorcycle Week off and on since the 1970s.

“When I was eight years old, I lived in Massachusetts,” Bailey recalled. “The Hell's Angels had a clubhouse three houses down from me. One day they all came riding in, must've been 100 or so, and the last one was a trike, and I told myself, 'one day I'm going to have one'.”

Bailey grew up and raised a large family, always keeping her dream of trike ownership in the back of her mind. “I paid my dues, had seven children, they're all happy-go-lucky, now this is my turn,” Bailey said, seated on Matilda. “This is what I do now. I go all over the place, usually about 10,00 miles a year or season.”

In addition to the style points and increased passenger capacity, the trike also offers a little bit of extra safety for riders like Bailey. “I used to have two wheels, but then as age gets upon you, its harder to lift the bike,” Bailey explained. “Now I don't have to worry about coming to a stop sign or hitting sand and sliding out. A lot more security now.”

The larger size of trikes also increases Bailey's visibility on the highway. With Matilda's extra bulk, she's particularity hard to miss, but her unique design also causes a little bit of extra rubbernecking. “The biggest problem I have is people video taping when I'm on the road, coming around me,” Bailey said. “That's a little frightening. It becomes dangerous because they get too close, but any place I go, people love her, we have a great time.”