Any Trike Riders?

[Harry]

Still looking for information about trikes if any riders visit here.

[Red Rider]

Yepper there are a few of us here but not too many. What kind of info can I provide?

[Harry]

Hi Red. Looking for info to help me decide what brand to go with. What kit do you have? How did you decide on that one? What are some of the good and bad points of yours? Things like that. Thanks Harry

[R J]

I have 2 Trikes but probably not what you are looking for or information about.

1987 Cobra Trike, and a 1944 Harley ServiCar

http://vrcc.photostash.com/vrcc_173/Dads_Toys.jpg


But, shoot away on the questions, I'll help if possible.

[DonB]

I find that info on trikes is a bit sparse. The link below shows the ones I have found and posted. Hope it helps.

http://www.ohiobikers.com/trikes/index.htm

[Cruisin Dave]

We ride a trike, but it's a V8 Boss Hoss, not a conversion. However, we have test-ridden a number of Valkyrie and Goldwing trikes...Lehman, Ultimate and Motor Trike. We liked the Motor Trike the best.

Try these links for more experienced folks:
http://www.trikes.org/trikes.shtml
http://sig.gwrra.org/trike/
http://www.btw-trikers.org/home/home.html

Our trike:
http://www.kustomkruzr.com/images/tLF3a.jpg

[Red Rider]

I choose the Motor Trike kit for my 2000 Valk I/S. There were several factors that I looked at before I made a decission as to which kit to buy.

The first factor was that the kit had to fit the Valk. That narrowed the choices down some at the start.

Next I looked at the differences between the Indepenant Suspension that soem kits use verses the solid axle type like Motor Trike. The independant suspenssion provides a little smoother rider than the solid axle. However, it also allows the trike to lean more in right curves where as the solid does not allow any if much at all lean.

I also took into account that the solid axle like Motor Trike uses is actually a Ford 7.5 inch rear end that has been cut down to fit under the bike and to offset the drive housing to get it closely aligned to the honda drive shaft. This means that all the parts with the exception of the axles are standard off the shelf parts that I can get from any parts store. The independant suspenssion had parts that I had to go back to the maker of the kit to buy. This fact alone pushed me more toward the Motor Trike kit than anything else that was currently on the market.

There was a slight draw back to the Motor Trike kit say over the Cal. Side Car kit. Motor Trike uses drum brakes vice disk brakes that some of the other kit makers use. The disk brakes do seem to offer a little better stopping power that drum do. In trying the differences out it was noticable but I felt that I could live with the drum given the fact that my shoes are off the shelf and the drums can be turned at any brake shop. I do find that if I ride hard and have to do a bit of hard braking that I have to adjust the brakes a little more often that Motor Trike says. I can in fact lock up the rear wheels if need be.

Another important factor was what the kit looked like on the bike. Motor Trike actually had pictures available showing what the Valk looked like with their kit installed. The wife and I both liked the lines of their kit better than the others. Most of the other kits (including Gold Wing kit) looked like a big box sitting behind the bike. The Motor Trike kit has nice round fenders and an over all style that compliments the natural lines of the Valk. You can view plenty of pics of my Valk both before and after triking on my web site. http://home.mchsi.com/~powen20041/

I will also say that price was not a major factor in making my mind up. Once it became apparent that I had to either give up riding or go with a trike I just made my mind up that I was riding no matter what it cost.

If you have never drove a trike before then I will say that it takes a little bit of time to get use to driving a bike verses riding. It took me about 100 miles of side road and then finally some major road riding to get the handle of steering the trike verses leaning a bike. What I tell people is to find someone in their local area that has a trike and get them to give them a ride and then maybe let you do some parking lot stuff on your own to see what you think. If you can find a couple people that have the different kits then that is even better as it will give you the chance to compare the rides.

Be prepared to spend $10K to do the conversion. That will most likely be more than you need but I did mind all the way I wanted it at the start. My conversion with Paint and $900 in labor was $8500.00. I added trunk carpet, trailer hitch, lighted mud flaps, upgrade rims, etc. The only option I did not buy was a matching from tire rim.

Please feel free to ask any question and I'll do my best to provide an answer.

[RayO]

Well Harry, Red Rider pretty well said what I was going to. I was a Motor Trike dealer for a while, owned 4 for myself, 2 Valks and 2 Goldwings, and I really liked them all. I now have a Cobra (Ecstasy) and love the V-8 power and the automatic trans, but since you are triking your 1800, I'd say ride all the brands you can, then decide. If you will be on a lot of rough roads, the independents suspension can be a plus, but otherwise I'd stick with Motor Trike. Disc brakes are now available for all models, but come standard on the 1800 kit, they call it the Spyder. Workmanship and quality of paint etc are top notch and there are so many dealers scattered all over the country to help you if you do have a problem. That is another drawback to some of the other brands. One other point, check on your insurance to see which brands they cover. I found a couple that won't cover most brands of trikes, but seems like they all do Motor Trike and Lehman. Good luck, you will love the trike when it's done!! Ray

[Red Rider]

RAYO brings out an excellent point about the insurance. I plum forgot to mention that. I use Bikeline (Markel) and when we triked the Valk our insurance payment actually went down even though coverage went up! I had the wife call them and make sure I got the right coverage and bill when it came. The folks at Bikeline said they consider a trike safer than a regular bike and therefore had lower rates.

[Triker Jack]

Harry and Dorothy I build trikes ,CSC,CHAMPION,AND THE ST18 BY THE TRIKE SHOP. Just what kind of info do you want. email me and I will try to help you!! Triker Jack