The first recumbent I tried was a SWB at a LBS and they took me across the street to a small parking lot to give it a test. Needless to say, it didn't go well being so twitchy and not having enough space to actually get going to keep upright. To make it worse, there were 3 middle school boys sitting on their bikes watching me and I thought, "Go away kids, you bother me!"
A couple of weeks later a different LBS had their annual bike sale at our civic center and it was in a very large and open room. I tried out a black Easyracer EZ Sport and immediately rode it around and around that big room. I bought it on the spot for $800 and they had their bike mechanics there to set up any bike that was purchased. I rode it home and 16 years later I am still riding that same bike. I finally had the chain replaced this past summer but other than routine maintenance it has been a great bike. This summer I bought another EZ Sport on Craigslist for $130--same year as mine only red but with a lot fewer miles on it. I live car free using my bent to get wherever I need to go and to haul whatever I need to haul. But after all of these years I still don't get tired of people calling out to me as I ride past, "Cool bike!" or "I love your bike!"