By Peter Eland
Revised 10.11.97
A few glaring errors corrected 23.4.98, after the Russians sent me the latest spec. I'll need to do a major rewrite soon.
Here's a report about the AS Engineering S-327 trike I got at end 96. Be aware that new versions may differ...I've heard that since my machine, they've made the frame 0.5kg lighter, and offer an powder-coated finish.... 
I've had plenty of people asking questions seriously about the machine, so I thought this report would be a good way of sparing my patience and time by answering them in advance in written form, and so is longer and more detailed than I first intended.
This text is the 'second edition' revised 11.97, after my first tour (to Norway) with the trike, and it also incorporates the answers to several queries which I've answered since first posting it. So forgive a bit of disjointed text where I've pasted these bits in!
I've used it so far mostly for commuting the ten-minute ride to work (busy city roads) whenever it's wet or freezing (normally I use my upright because of the traffic), the 20-minute ride to the supermarket (almost all off-street cyclepath) and for the occasional weekend longer ride (mostly out north-east of York looking for hills), and rode it over to the '97 'not Cyclefest' in Lancaster (110 hilly miles!). I also took it on the BCQ Week in France where it got a taste of hillier country and some longer rides (up to around 100km/60miles) and some hot weather. Finally, I took it touring (full camping gear) in Norway Summer '97.
I've used it in all weathers save snow, and about a third of my journeys so far have been at night. I guess the only time I don't use it is when I'd have to leave it somewhere really unsafe, like the centre of town. I do leave it locked up outside the out-of-town supermarket, no problem as yet.
First, declarations of interest. AS Engineering is a customer of my employers Open Road, publishers of Encycleopedia, of which I am managing editor. I am also managing editor of Bike Culture Quarterly, which takes no ads but has featured these trikes (long before I thought of getting one!) See BCQ 9 centrefold. They are featured in Encycleopedia 4, page 86, and I wrote the text, as I did for every other product in the book. 
I have no financial interest in AS Engineering (except wanting them to stick around to supply spares in due course!). I've agreed that they can give my name to people who are seriously interested in trying it out, but I'm definitely NOT their agent or representing them in any way.
I chose the S-327 having seen and tried a whole lot of recumbents (and other things!) both at events, shows, and when they come to us at Open Road for photography and video filming. I wanted a trike for everyday use and touring, and this is the one I chose. It's not a freebie test bike, it's paid for.
All these comments are my own personal opinion. If any other publication would like to use them, go ahead, but I'd like a copy. I have pictures.
Practical Stuff
The designer-builder Alexey Solovjov and his business partner Yuri Karasjov both speak English. They've been joined in late 97 by Sergey who is helping with production, and (as at Nov 97) working on the new seat. They're all former aircraft engineers who used to work at the Illushin aircraft factory in Moscow, and that's where the trikes are built. They now have a UK forwarding address via TNT couriers, which is apparently more reliable than the Russian post:
A.S. Engineering, c/o TNT Mailfast, MOW/MOW/10012/14, PO Box 66, Houndslow TW5 9RT, UK.
Fax them in Russia (seems to work OK most of the time) Fax 007 095 430 3897
Their email address ykpro@aha.ru is now up and running. Response can be erratic so be patient.
Their leaflets, as of 10.97, showed a trike equipped with really poor quality components (all that was available in Russia for the photo-shoot, I guess) - including some fine retro white-wall tyres. Don't let that put you off. 
Matti Airas in Finland is an enthusiastic customer, and has set up a website for them, in need of some updating (like this report, it doesn't reflect their latest (1998) developments.):
http://www.hut.fi/~mairas/recumbents/S327/
The new Russian seat is now available, so I'm told. Pics at: http://www.crossroads.net/misc/seat.gif
Mark and John Salman from Holland used to be distributors for Germany, Benelux and Holland, but have now stopped due to work pressure. So all enquiries to Russia. They fitted a seat of their making on mine, which I might refer to later.
Construction 
Generally, I'm very impressed by the standard of engineering. I like the proportions and the design (I guess that's really why I went for this trike). I haven't yet weighed the complete machine, but Mark Salman says his (which was pretty minimalist) was 17.5kg. I've lifted it and a modern Burrows Windcheetah one after the other, and I'd guess the Russian job is maybe a couple of kilos heavier (complete - and I haven't used the lightest components around). So that makes it 17-18kg or so (with reasonably fat tyres etc, and my homemade carrier rack, and a mirror).
Others on the cycle holiday were also most impressed, among them Mike Burrows and the people from Ostrad. I have no permission to give direct quotes but in general the reaction was 'how the hell can they afford this level of engineering at that money'. The level of mil-spec aircraft components on this machine would be impossible for a Western manufacturer to match at a non-astronomical price. E.g. I was told that the trade catalogue price for the equivalent wheel bearings they use (two in each wheel) is around 30 GB pounds EACH!
Chassis
The chassis is aluminium, with sections screwed and probably glued to castings (or the 'castings' could well be machined from solid - there's no 'as cast' surfaces to be seen. Square section main beam, seems very rigid and flex-free. Standard bottom-bracket. The cross-tube slides in through some castings on the main frame, then you have to bolt it together - no problem. The castings are massive, but beautifully-machined to remove a whole load of material. Everything slides together perfectly with no play at all. They say that all parts have a 'special galvanic coating' which is what, I guess, makes some of the internal aluminium look yellowish.
All bolts are beautifully lightweight, usually hollow titanium shoulder bolts, with self-locking nuts. Obviously aerospace stuff. Also Ti are the universal joints, splined connector (where the driveshafts plug into the cassette mount assy), various other bits and pieces. All pivot points are equipped with what looks like nylon bushings running against polished stainless steel washers. All in all, I'd say the finish on this machine is up with the very best of them, with fine attention to detail.
To get the wheels off, you need to unscrew the hubcap (1 inch headset spanner), then remove a 25mm external circlip (circlip pliers needed). Then slide the wheel straight off. Takes about 1 minute per wheel or less. I use a brick to support the trike when wheel is off. Reverse the process to get them back on.
Paint
I'm told that proper powdercoatings and generally good paint jobs were not available in Russia when they made mine- in any case, the paint job on the S-327 looks good at first (I got light blue, red is nice too!) with hubs and all painted. However it does chip very easily - my machine has a fair few bits of shiny aluminium showing, but not so bad it looks tatty yet, except where great flakes have come off as I attached a trailer hitch. It also suffers badly on the main chassis where the seat slides back and forth. But there's nothing to rust or corrode.
The Russians apparently now offer powder coating. I've also heard of people thinking about ordering a bare aluminium version, with a view to polishing it up..a long job!..and I haven't heard of anyone actually doing that yet.
Seat
My comments apply to the Challenge seat fitted by Mark Salman (he doesn't do it any more), although the neat 'wedge lock' fitting which secure the seat to the main beam are the same whatever seat you use. An irritation is that the quick-release function is not really much use unless you're prepared to strip the beam of paint as you slide the clamps along. 
The seat itself is like that on many European recumbents, with a cushion over a fibreglass shell. I like the way it lets your shoulders move sideways easily for leaning into bends. The base of the seat has been too narrow for some, especially women, who have tried it - I found a single layer of camping-mat foam under the cushion at that point made all the difference. 
It hasn't been too sweaty so far, even in France where we enjoyed bright sunshine all week. I'd like sometime to try one of the mesh-type seats like the Greenspeed or Trice, to see how those compare.
Mine was mounted for me by Mark Salman, their former agent in Europe (no more!). He basically took the Challenge shell seat, added two sheets of strange alu-carbon composite (about 3mm of alu laminated to 3mm of carbon-fibre, and bonded this to the seat shell with some glass or carbon fibre tape bits. Two 10mm (I think) holes at the bottom accommodate the wedge-locks. On mine the holes 'spread', so there was a bit of 'wobble' side-to-side now. I've glued in some aluminium bushings to cure that. The carbon/alu stuff delaminated, too, and I glued it back up at the same time.
Steering
The steering is very direct, and I like the handlebar position (quite high by your side). No play in the linkage yet - the titanium rod ends look to be of top quality. It's Ackerman but not centre-point. You notice the bump steer and torque steer (about which more later). Turning circle seems pretty small - I can get it round an awkward bend on a (pedestrian!) ramp approaching my supermarket which requires care even on the upright.
I did ask the Russians about centre-point steering. They know all about it, and it's on their list of eventual improvements. To quote Alexei 30.6.97: 'Regarding centre-point steering. We tried to simplify the design as much as possible to reduce costs. Using centre-point steering would involve the complication of too many parts. We are now working on the fully-welded aluminium frame, then maybe we'll work on centre-point steering.'
As it is, it looks like most of the machining on the massive 'castings' is done at two settings, at right angles. I guess Alexei means that once you start involving compound non-orthogonal angles etc the machining setup gets more time-consuming and difficult. I can imagine that machining just one of these components could take hours as it is (probably CNC machined, but even so...)
Transmission
Transmission to the two front wheels is via a standard-length chain and cassette cluster. Freewheels are in the two front hub-caps. Splined drive-shafts let the universal joints 'float', and the drive shafts run in nylon bushings within the tubular front wheel axles. There is a bit of friction from these bushings, but it's not noticeable when you're riding, only when you turn them by hand. It's all plenty strong. The freewheels are in the 'hub caps'.
The cassette mounts onto standard splines/lockring on an adaptor, which screws onto an alu spindle, which is splined internally. This spindle supported by two large bearings inside the main chassis beam. Two titanium splined axle bits appr 100mm long slide fit into this alu spindle, and are in turn screw-threaded (left-and right-hand as appropriate) into an alu hollow driveshaft. At other end, the Ti U-joints screw into this. Then you screw a polished stainless steel tube onto the otyher end of the U-joint, this is supported in nylon bushings inside the (1") stub axles (the wheel bearings are outside this). Onto the end of this stainless tube is a thread for the toothy bit of the freewheel mechanism. The pawls are in the 'hub caps' which screw into the hubs. 
Make sure you grease all the threads as you put it together, preferably with anti-seize paste. I had an almighty struggle to undo it a while back (to re-tighten the cassette lockring).
I got a seven-speed adaptor, which is what I wanted. Apparently 8-speed are also available, but not as yet 9-speed (as at 11/97), although they might be working on this.
I wasn't too convinced that FWD was a major benefit until the Norway trip, when I encountered occasional gravel roads, laybys, slippery grass on campsites etc. I was loaded with full camping gear (travelling with my girlfriend, who was on an upright, but she got to carry the lighter/bulkier stuff!). My main problem was that I was running slicks at 5 bar or so - I was going mostly on good roads, and these are not the most grippy at the best of times. With some BMX knobblies the off-road bits would have been a lot more comfortable as well as less slip - but not so good on road of course. More about this later under 'Handling'
The only real problem I have had is that one of the bolts which pass through the universal joints ('U-joints' in the USA I think, and Alexei uses 'cardan-joints') fell out. The 'self-locking' nut must have vibrated loose. This let the bolt fall down, and one of the cylindrical bushings which the bolt holds in place fell out and was lost. I didn't lose the drive, so no danger from this at the time. I replaced the bolt with an stainless steel equivalent, and rode the trike round gently for a while, before getting round to making a new bushing from stainless steel on a friend's lathe. Since then, the Russians have sent me replacements gratis.
Brakes
Note 23.4.98. Russians say the design of brakes have been improved/modified. No idea how.
The mechanism of these (which I think is patented) is quite unlike any other hub brake I have seen, and a whole lot simpler. You have a thin cylinder of metal (say 6mm thick, 20mm wide, diameter 70mm, on which are glued the brake pads. There's a sort of wedge-shaped chunk cut out of the cylinder, and a matching wedge is pushed hydraulically into this gap to expand the circumference of the cylinder, so activating the brakes. Maybe you have to see it. Anyway, it's all neatly built into the hub assembly (or swing-arm at the back), and the cable (hose!) routeing is fine.
There is an intrinsic problem, the front brake lever has to move twice as much fluid as the rear brake, because one (standard Magura) lever has to drive two slave-cylinders. So you have to get the setup just right, but then it's very powerful. The brakes are excellent. I can lift the rear wheel anytime, or skid the front ones on dodgy surfaces. Both skid pretty much at the same time, so the front two brakes must be pretty balanced.
There's a small screw adjuster in each of the brakes, so you can set the lever to 'bite' where you like. Filling and setting up is pretty much as in the instructions, but it's helpful to have a second person around to hold things etc while you do it (else you need three hands...!)
I tried a whole load of other machines on that French holiday, and I havet to say that in my biased opinion these are the best brakes I tried (but nobody not on an upright had disk brakes...). They also saved me on a steep gravelly and potholed descent at around 45km/h or 30mph when we came round a corner to see a tractor hedge-trimming and filling the road ahead. A friend on an upright had to dive (at speed!) off the road round the side and almost into a ditch, I just squeezed the brakes and stopped well clear. 
In Norway, the brakes got pretty hot on some of the long descents, and I thought it prudent (and sociable) to stop about as often as my companion on her upright, as she was concerned at the heat of her rims...and did indeed get a blowout puncture at one point (luckily, somewhere safe!). They didn't noticeably fade as they got hot. 
Incidentally, when I was filling the brakes, I found that a vacuum cleaner is ideal for getting rid of the brake dust.
I don't much like the cheapest (plastic) Magura levers which I got - should have got metal-levered ones really and hang the expense. Much nicer feel.
My trike had M5 screw fittings for Magura - the makers are now using the up-to-date M6. All the Magura bits you need are standard and you should be able to get them from most any competent mountain-bike shop.
I don't use the parking brakes they supplied - metal hoops which hook over the levers. They require the brake levers to be too close to the handlebar for my taste (and I have big hands). I use O-rings instead, stretching them over the levers.

Equipment
I didn't pay market prices for some items as they were Open Road property.
Gears
I used a Mountain-Drive bottom-bracket gearbox from Florian Schlumpf, (standard-length) Sachs silver chain, Ultegra bar-end shifters, Shimano Interglide 7-speed 11-28 cassette, short-cage Shimano racing changer. 
I've never had any problems with the derailleur hitting the ground. This surprised me. But unless you ride off-road on rutted paths, it doesn't seem to be a problem...maybe because the derailleur is right between the front wheels. Sometimes I go very slow over the curbs at the side of the road etc because i'm still owrried about it - but it's easy to lean forward a bit and to look at how close the derailleur is to the ground.
Mark Salman used a long-cage derailleur on his demo machine, and didn't mention any problems. 
The derailleur is mounted on a sort of aluminium carrier, which clamps around the cross-beam, so would be replaceable if it got damaged. In fact, I used one of those aluminium break-away bolts for the derailleur pivot so that the derailleur should break away without damaging even this carrier, if it did hit something.
The Mountain Drive is nice, because having no front changer and lever meant that I could stick a mirror in the end of the RHS handlebar instead of a shifter, and by getting rid of a cable it keeps things neat and clean, and saves some weight. Also I get a good range of gears (something like 13" to 84") with the 46 ring - low gear is 2.5 times below direct drive. A bit low sometimes, but I like to spin, and often carry full bags, and it lets me stay in the direct-drive on the MD except on serious hills. I might put a 10T lockring sprocket on to raise it a bit, eventually.
The shifting on the MD is quite nice, even on the early prototype I've been using (a test sample sent for the very first Encycleopedia 93/4 -the maker Florian Schlumpf schlumpf_ing@bluewin.ch  www.schlumpf.ch tells me they use a different mechanism now). SPD sandals are not ideal, though, and I sometimes reach forward and shift by hand when wearing these, whihc is almost all the time as they are my only shoes which fit the pedals on the trike.
The MD just slips into the BB shell, then you tighten up with a lockring. No problem. There's also a reaction arm which I rigged up with a rubber 'bumper' to bear against the frame. Heavier than a normal BB etc, but I don't really think there's much in it when you take into account the weight savings in changer etc. Ian Sims says the MD weighs less overall I think. Use any cranks. Schlumpf now does an option where he provides the cranks, with a sort of lever-arrangement instead of the simple button on axle-end - this might be good - I sometimes catch my (big!) feet on the button, and bent it once (bent it back with pliers and works fine!). The gears were also a little noisy at first, less noticeable now.
When going in low gear at high torque, you can see the reaction arm squashing the rubber, there can be a lot of force. No sign of any wear yet - the sealing is impressive, with a big O-ring keeping the whole thing sealed.
To be honest, I'd probably not have gone out and bought this, I used it because it was available. Having used it though, I'd much rather keep it than have to go back to a 3-ring setup.
Florian Schlumpf is a really nice guy and his English is excellent, BTW.
It performed fine in Norway, whan I was often grinding up hills in very low gear for hours on end. On another ride though before that, I did get some knee pain through my laziness in not changing down on the MD, just trying to power up hils in direct drive. This wouldn't have happened with a normal triple.
Pedals
I've been using Bebop pedals - I like them, with their free float. They go a bit stiff on the float if not regularly greased, and also if the cleat gets muddy. The cleat protrudes a bit from SPD sandals, and finally wore down entirely in Norway from too much walking. I've since made replacements in stainless steel.
The pedals themselves spin nicely, well sealed, very small and light, showing no real wear as yet. 
Carrier rack
I made my own from stainless-steel M6 studding. I also use a Klik-fix barbag behind the seat,with the mounting attached to the bit of old handlebar which holds the flag, and to which I also mount the lights.
The carrier is built to fit a set of Carradice panniers which I have, and won't really fit anything else. You get two rear carriers, the bar bag, and then for additional capacity (liek in Norway) you can strap to cylindrical-like bags just under the seat (I used caving tackle bags, but would recommend something totally waterproof instead...maybe something like the Ortleib bags?). I strapped these on with bungees at first, but found that after a few hours they hurt my bum where they passed over the seat base. So I changed to using a webbing strap, tensioned with bungees.

I put the heavy and non-water-sensitive stuff in these, so ended up with probably a lower centre of gravity than without luggage. The CoG is also fairly well forward with this arrangement, which helps a lot with stability (if you put a lot of weight over the single rear wheel, that's a Bad Thing).
It does look like the seat is taking a lot of strain when you support all these bags etc offit, but it didn't show any real signs of strain...the wedge locks which hold it on have quite thick steel axles (6mm?) which look pretty strong...
AS Engineering also make a carrier out of stainless-steel tube. Looks good and solid in the pictures, but I've never seen one in the metal. They quote a 40kg carrying capacity. Presume they will do the same for the new seat.
Lighting and reflectives
There's a dynamo bracket on the trike (back wheel) but I use my own rechargeable system. I have lights positioned above my head, with two Vistalite LEDs facing back, and one dynamo halogen light forwards, also a caving headlamp which either mounts next to the dynamo-light or on my helmet. 3W bulbs in both front lights, and that's enough for riding unlit tracks. I also have a flashing white Vistalite to mark out the front of the trike (there's a bracket provided on the 'front changer post'.
The mast is mounted to the trike on an old section of handlebar secured to the seat via an old D-lock mount. Looks better than it sounds! A water-bottle battery pack attaches to the mast.
I've been using 20" (406) Monte-Carlo tyres from Vredestein. The reflective side-walls are surprisingly effective even after exposure to wet roads and mud. I also use a (flexi) tent pole for a flag mast, have a bright 'streamer' at the top, and reflective material on the mast. Never had any problems being seen at night.
Handling
Steering is generally very direct, you can flick it around pretty well. You do notice the torque steer. When you start off or change gear abruptly, one of the freewheels in the front hubs almost always engages first, so there is noticeable torque steer trying to twist the steering. For about the first month riding in traffic, this was occasionally worrying as it jerked the steering. Now, I anticipate it and ease into gear, and it's not a concern. You get plenty of leverage on the bars, so control it easily. In the wet, this effect is reduced, as wheels slip and even things out instead of affecting the steering so much.
Going on the level, or uphill, you can go hands-off. The torque through the front wheels seems to stabilise the steering, especially uphill, and going up anything steep the steering is considerably 'stiffer' as you overcome the torque. Stiff, but predictable, with a strong self-centring action. I often ride along with one hand on the bars, one resting on my lap. And it's nice to climb with hands folded on your lap, or reading a map or whatever. Leading rides in France, I was going along most of the time with a map in one hand. I found this wonderful for route-finding, even compared to a well-mounted map in a handlebar bag.
This hands-off ability probably comes from the stiffness in the steering linkage, which I'm sure is deliberate. Many trikes seek to minimise steering friction, and have feather-light steering. This has its advantages, but I really do like being able to point the trike where I want it to go, then take both hands off for a few seconds...and it steers perfectly easily when you need to make a proper turn. They've achieved this with a fine fit of stainless steel/Ti bolts against nylon in the pivots...This feature is also probably beneficial in reducing the effects of torque steer.
It's easy to get the inside front wheel to slip in corners, and this can limit the acceleration you get, especially in the wet. As you increase the sharpness of turn, you get a 'pulsing' effect because the universal joints are not constant-velocity. Turning circle is tight - they say 2m radius. 
Grip overall has been pretty good - I've not had any problems on hills yet, and am looking forward to trying it on snow. You can spin both front wheels when accelerating hard - but I'm running slicks at 6 bar, and I'm also tall (6'2" or 188cm) so slide the seat right back so that more of my weight is over the rear wheel. I don't really think that having FWD is particularly better than RWD in terms of grip, at least in normal conditions. I've tried a little scrambling around on a muddy BMX course (testing out the Mountain Drive!) and I guess I got further than I would with just one wheel drive. I also took the trike a few times along forest tracks and unsurfaced roads etc - two wheel drive definitely helped here, and the rear suspension was also useful. 
The Norway trip has changed my mind a bit about the value of front wheel drive - I didn't think before that it was much of a benefit. But while road surfaces were generally good, very often you'd pull off onto a gravel layby, or just be manouvering round a campsite or something, and the FWD was excellent for getting me through such stuff. On steep gravel it's still not as good as an upright, but I'm convinced it would have been a real hassle if I'd just had RWD and had to get off and push all the time. With FWD also (and freewheels instead of differentials) you can get one wheel driving on the side of the road, which often gives more traction (being grassy/clear of gravel).  
Of course the downside is the extra count of non-standard parts, should anything go wrong with the transmission (it didn't!). 
If you corner fast (especially in the wet), the trike just scrubs out into a wider curve. You can lean right into the curve - the handlebars let you support yourself, so there's no worry about falling off...you get a facefull of spray if you do this in the wet. 
Going fast/downhill is no problem, but like most trikes it starts to get a bit hairy above about 45 km/h - you need a very light hand on the steering - slight movements can create disconcertingly large side-forces! I've been up to just under 80km/h on one downhill.
Braking hard (front wheels) on a downhill curve increases the understeer, like on all trikes. Back brake has less effect. 
Comfort is pretty good - rear suspension takes out the worst of the bumps - squeaks sometimes, cured by applying grease! Handlebars by your side are well-positioned - no wrist strain. The seat angle is just right for me - fairly upright. 
Only real problem riding this to work is that you can't get through gaps in traffic like you do on a bike. Still use cycle paths no problem. 
Overall, riding this trike is unlike any other trike I've tried - the torque steer gives it a 'feel' very different from any of the RWD trikes (and I've tried most of them, briefly at least). You have to sort of coordinate your steering and your power input from the legs - and you get plenty of feedback. Handling that is what makes riding this such fun I guess. When you're freewheeling, though, it's much like any of the others. 
How would I describe the trike? I'd say it's like a fast tourer - enjoyable to ride fast, but not a racer by any means. And when I loaded it up with camping gear for Norway, it still handled much the same - no flex of rear end that I could detect. It's a practical machine for everyday riding or for tours, but I still reckon I go faster on my old upright. I've geared it very low (86" top, 13" bottom) which reflects my use of it - inner-city commuting where speeds don't get too fast, and loaded tours (I was crawling up some of the mountains at 4km/h or less!)
Delivery and spares
My trike was delivered in a wooden packing crate which had clearly come all the way from Russia (from the stickers) and it fitted on a London Tube train and National Express coach no problem... it included an English instruction book (a bit brief sometimes) and a toolkit including a gizmo for mounting the wheels on a standard wheel-building stand. You'll need a pair of circlip (snap-ring) pliers to get the hubs off the kingpin assembly - it all came ready-assembled. Also provided an instruction book, tools for brake disassembly and a tool to mount wheels in a normal wheel-building stand.
So you need to complete the frameset: tyres, tubes, rims, spokes, BB, crankset, pedals, chain, cassette (7/8sp spline provided), shifters, derraileurs, Magura brake levers, hoses, brake hose end fittings (all standard Magura), handlebar grips
A lot of people have said that I must be worried about getting spares from Russia. I'm not really, for a few reasons:
First, I'm an engineer by training, and I'm pretty confident I could make or get made locally simple spares I need. In fact, I like making little bits and pieces occasionally, and now have a metal lathe and other tools, which let me make small items. And I've still got my old mountain-bike as a backup, if the trike is out of action for a while.
Second, I've found the people at AS Engineering good people to do business with. Alexei and Yuri have been in touch regularly, they seem very keen for feedback on the design. It's also a good sign that they take communication with their Western customers so seriously. I suspect that getting TNT to provide a forwarding address, and getting on e-mail are both not particularly cheap or easy in Russia. I'd be a lot more worried if I was hearing silence.
Third, when I have needed spares so far the service has been prompt and efficient. They use UPS if they need to get something delivered in a hurry, and last time I got my bits within nine days of asking for them.
Parting thoughts
Generally, I love this trike. Then again, like Carl (Etnier) once said, everyone with a new bike has to like it rather than admit to making a mistake...but no, after twelve months or so, I still get a kick from riding this machine.
If you're looking for a trike, I'd say this would be worth serious consideration. You an incredible lot of engineering for your money. I guess that in Western terms, overheads and material costs in Russia are low, and hard currency from Western customers must go a long way. There will be a bit more effort required to sort out delivery and payment etc, I guess, and you don't have the reassurance of a local (national!) manufacturer, but it does seem to be built to last.
Practical considerations like that didn't really matter, though. I had to have one, just because it looked 'right' to me. I think I'd made up my mind even before the test-ride. It really was the looks of the thing that did it. I admire the Greenspeed, Trice, Windcheetah and several others enormously, and have enjoyed riding all of them, but for me none of them had the visual 'I want that bike' appeal of the S-327. Purely a matter of personal aesthetics - many others find the S-327 a monstrous chunky bit of Russian engineering and love one of the others I just mentioned. But for me it looks damn cool and beautifully proportioned and made. 
I had a short test ride, but really, as long as it hadn't handled like a complete pig, I'd have got it anyway because of the 'drool factor'. Money was not a consideration.There was also the appeal of riding something a bit different and 'on the edge' - is it heresy (or a compliment?) to say that Greenspeed, Trice et al have become almost conventional, as recumbent trikes go?
If one of these machines, or one of the new breed now coming on the market, takes your fancy more than the S-327, then go for it. I'm sure many of them actually better than the S-327 in certain respects (and vice versa). And I'm sure you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of most any quality machine on the market today. In bicycle design as in life, there's usually no 'better' or 'worse', just different solutions to different needs,and you risk doing damage/upsetting people if you proclaim value judgements specific to yourself as valid either generally or for someone else in particular. For my particular and personal needs and tastes which include liking riding fast, touring and liking esoteric engineering then I'd say:
Plusses:
Looks, esoteric high-class engineering, fairly upright seat angle and the seat I have is not too sweaty, and lets you lean out easily for corners. Seat height just right for me, as I often ride in traffic. Three wheels same (sensible 406) size, I like the position of the handlebars, seat adjustability for people trying it out (I've given up trying to preserve the paintwork), front-wheel drive has some marginal advantages on poor surfaces. Excellent, well-balanced hydraulic brakes. Tight turning circle, steering is very well-behaved, which allows easy hands-off or one-hand riding. Rear suspension is nice. Can corner as fast as grip allows without tipping, if you lean right out. Manufacturer on email for easy dialogue. 
Minuses
Steering influenced by drive, some bump steer, high non-standard parts count, and complexity of FWD. Not the lightest around (not too bad though). Parts/spares need to come from Russia. Difficulty of attaching conventional cycle trailer hitch (have made my own now, Russians say they are working on a hitch too)). No mudguards available so get well-sprayed in wet (don't know if mudguards really help though). Seat has developed some wobble (now cured), and the seat I have seat is too narrow for many riders, esp. women. Seat adjustment tears up paintwork on boom - paintwork terribly fragile generally (maybe now cured by powdercoating). FWD system means wide chainline, so need long BB axle, so gives large Q-factor. Does not easily dismantle for transport in e.g. trains. Wider track than some trikes, may not pass through doorways/obstructiuons so easily. Needs a few moderately heavy extra tools to be carried along when touring for possible dismantling of wheel/axle/brake assemblies. Nowhere really good to put bottle cages (I should rig up something behind the seat I guess...). No chance of using hub gears.
I'd like to make it clear that my enthusiasm for this machine is purely my private opinion. I'd hate anyone to think I was promoting this trike in any sort of impartial way. I have absolutely no commerical interest in them. In fact, I have some reservations about not buying a UK-made machine and hence not supporting our national industry, instead going for a 'cheap import'. But I guess the Russians have had a tough time the last few years too, and I don't mind supporting anything adding something worthwhile to the variety of HPV life wherever it comes from.