Trike Question

[lawman 101]

I have an 05 Ultra I am considering triking out. I have a Police EG coming in about two weeks that I will use for one up but I'm looking for a trike for two up. I would like to keep the Ultra but I'm afraid it will be underpowered once triked..I guess I will sell it and go with a Wing but I really hate to do that..Just wondering if anyone has any experience with a Harley Trike and if they were disappointed with the power..I don't really need to go fast as my wife will be on with me whenever I'm on the trike but I do need to be able to ride on freeways and use it for cross country..Your camments are appreciated.. Our combined weight is 350 pounds. I don't really want to have to spend another $3000.00 just to add small amount of power..Guess I'll hold my nose and get the Honda..Someone please talk me out of it..

[YankeeBob]

I think $3000 will get you a FAIR amount of power. If you are going to spend that kind of money to make a trike, why not go the extra for more horses. Honda trike??? Shame on you for mentioning that here (just kidding).

Good luck

YB

Walt (EGUC3 here) has an '03 Ultra trike. He's very happy with it. I'm sure he'll be glad to share some insights.

Harris

[EGUC3]

Lawman, I sent you a way, way to long email.

Ride Safe.
Walt

[petelogan]

I don't know anything about it, but have been thinking that a trike may come into the picture at some time in the future.

I'm not quite sure I understand why a trike should be noticeably different in a straight line than a two wheeler ?

Surely it's more or less just a rear axle swap, a diff, and an extra wheel ?

That's no more extra weight than My wife (at least ) so I can't really see why it would have that much impact on straight line performance.

Is this just me being stupid (as usual ) ?

[Street Glyde]

G'day all,

EGUC3 your trike set up looks sensational. We've had a recent addition to the family so I'have been looking a either a sidecar or trike set up that will provide room for three.

The trike kits out here in Australia are limited and sometimes don't look up to scratch. What and who did you use to trike out the EG??

Was it an expensive project??

Cheers

SG

[EGUC3]

Originally Posted by Street Glyde

G'day all,

EGUC3 your trike set up looks sensational. We've had a recent addition to the family so I'have been looking a either a sidecar or trike set up that will provide room for three.

The trike kits out here in Australia are limited and sometimes don't look up to scratch. What and who did you use to trike out the EG??

Was it an expensive project??

Cheers

SG

Thanks for your kind words about the scooter. Yup, it was expensive. Bike was a used 2003 FLHTCUI Anniversary Edition with 900 miles on it. I payed original list price. Trike was a kit from a company called Motor Trike. They have a website at http:www.motortrike.com. You can pay about what you want, but the least expensive kit was about $8,000, then you have to build it yourself, or pay the dealer. I think it was about 4 days labor. Mine was built by an authorized Motor Trike Dealer, Jim Bailey Harley-Davidson in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Had some initial mechanical problems with the Trike part of the conversion, but Motor Trike fixed them and 23,000 miles later runs great and I love it. You can get conversions for several H-D models, the one I now lust after is a V-Rod Trike. VVrooooooom.

I don't think the motorcycle conversion trikes will handle three people, so you may have to go the side-car route. A couple of companies make "built from scratch" trikes that are usually V-8 powered, but personally, I do not like the looks of them, but some of them would hold three people. I have never driven a side car, but the dealer said, in his opinion, the Trike was a more stable ride. Hope this long rant helps.

Ride Safe.
Walt

[WideOne]

can i ask why you want to convert to a trike?

[newultraclassic]

While it's true that the Honda 1800 has a lot of power and also a reverse, both of which make it popular for trike service, they do have some problems.

AFAIK, they have been plagued with cracks in the aluminum frames pretty much in all years. That would make me think twice about doing a trike job on one of them, let alone buying one for solo use. The pictures of the cracks have been all over the internet and also Honda did institute a recall which was pretty much a bandaid to weld the ones that they found cracked with TIG. The originals are MIG welded robotically on the assembly line.

I think a T.C. with a 95 inch engine and a mild cam would be a pretty good trike machine. Bear in mnd that you are adding about 250 to 300 # and also the gearing will be somewhat lower.

I've ridden several trikes and they do handle differently but, kept to a decent speed, they handle pretty well with the understanding that there are limits on cornering, much like a sidecar.

The only deficits with a Harley would be the lack of a reverse gear and also air-cooling with a greater load imposed. It's possible that some of the companies may have a reverse but I'm not sure. I know that there are aftermarket reverse gears as add-ons for HD transmissions but they are pretty expensive, too.

In the years to come, some of us may be getting a little older and getting a trike is one way to stay "in the wind". I would think that they would be a fun project in any case.

As to cost, it was mentioned above that Motor Trike is about $8,000 for the kit, exclusive of labor, and I checked on Lehman at the Laughlin show a couple of years ago and they are about $10,000 for a Harley Trike, plus labor. That makes any of them a pricey deal for sure so you would really have to be sure that this is the way you want to go.

I also think that doing a trike would void any warranty that you might have on either a Goldwing or a Harley so that could be a big consideration unless the bike to be utilized were out of warranty.

My 2 centavos.

[EGUC3]

[/quote]I also think that doing a trike would void any warranty that you might have on either a Goldwing or a Harley so that could be a big consideration unless the bike to be utilized were out of warranty.

[/quote]

When I talked with the H-D Dealer that built my Trike Dec., 2003), he indicated no problems with the warranty. It still stood. About the only thing in the rear end of the Trike that could fail is the . . . well, the rear end. The Motor Trike guaranty that I have is 3 years or 60,000 miles. I am not sure that is the current one, but it seemed pretty reasonable to me. I am knocking on wood like mad, because I have not had the occasion to "test" the guaranty, nor the extended warranty that I have on the bike.

Ride Safe.
Walt

[AK Roadking]

Originally Posted by newultraclassic

While it's true that the Honda 1800 has a lot of power and also a reverse, both of which make it popular for trike service, they do have some problems.

AFAIK, they have been plagued with cracks in the aluminum frames pretty much in all years. That would make me think twice about doing a trike job on one of them, let alone buying one for solo use. The pictures of the cracks have been all over the internet and also Honda did institute a recall which was pretty much a bandaid to weld the ones that they found cracked with TIG. The originals are MIG welded robotically on the assembly line.

I think a T.C. with a 95 inch engine and a mild cam would be a pretty good trike machine. Bear in mnd that you are adding about 250 to 300 # and also the gearing will be somewhat lower.

I've ridden several trikes and they do handle differently but, kept to a decent speed, they handle pretty well with the understanding that there are limits on cornering, much like a sidecar.

The only deficits with a Harley would be the lack of a reverse gear and also air-cooling with a greater load imposed. It's possible that some of the companies may have a reverse but I'm not sure. I know that there are aftermarket reverse gears as add-ons for HD transmissions but they are pretty expensive, too.

In the years to come, some of us may be getting a little older and getting a trike is one way to stay "in the wind". I would think that they would be a fun project in any case.

As to cost, it was mentioned above that Motor Trike is about $8,000 for the kit, exclusive of labor, and I checked on Lehman at the Laughlin show a couple of years ago and they are about $10,000 for a Harley Trike, plus labor. That makes any of them a pricey deal for sure so you would really have to be sure that this is the way you want to go.

I also think that doing a trike would void any warranty that you might have on either a Goldwing or a Harley so that could be a big consideration unless the bike to be utilized were out of warranty.

My 2 centavos.

New U C, your are correct on most of what you've said in your post. However, there is a very good reverse kit available from Champion Sidecar. It is a gear drive unit that installs right on the transmission. Again you are correct, it is very expensive,$1200 bucks. If I had it to do over again, I would not get reverse. Wife very seldom uses it. The trike pushes backwards very easily. Easier than a bike since you don't have to worry about balancing it.

Concerning warranty. If the kit is installed by an authorized dealership, there are no voided warranty issues. I confirmed that and received confirmation in writing from HD prior to having my wife's built.

Her Fatboy w/95" kit does awesome as a trike. Plenty of power. She can keep up with anyone she rides with. Easily out runs my stock 88" RKC. Steering is a little heavy in the turns, but that can be taking care of by installing raked triple trees. Again, kind of spendy, another 1200 bucks. I took the cheap and easy way out and installed a wider set of bars with more pull back. This gives a greater mechanical advantage in the steering. Her trike is a real head turner. She took 1st place in the Alaska Motorcycle show last year. It runs great sounds great, rides great and looks fantastic.

[screwball]

I'm 60, diabetic with RA. A trike is in my future. Lots of folks make fine conversions. Before you make a decision, get on the web and take a look. Lehman, MotorTrike, California Side Car, Mystery Design, DFT, etc. For my money I really like the DTF. Most everyone else uses a rebuilt Ford 10 inch rear end. DFT uses an independant suspension of their design. So does Mystery, but they are real pricy.

A 'wing' conversion has more power, but so does a stock 'wing'. You can't really compare an 1800cc 6 cylinder with a 1460 V twin. No matter what kind of mufflers you put on that wing, it ain't gonna sound like a Harley!

Good Luck!

[jkane]

Seems we just had this discussion somewhere in these forums! Anyhow, my wife got her Dyna triked in 2005. She loves it. Not quite as heavy as an ultra, but the same engine basiclly. I am over 300 lbs myself, and it rides just fine with both of us on it. I took it out on my own when it was first done to put it though it's paces. It does top out at just over 80 MPh or so. Actually with a 30 MPH head wind on the freeway, I had a hard time keeping it over 75 MPH. But that's plenty fast enough.

She's ridden it on quite a few group rides this year. Never had a problem keeping up. Only time she fell behind was on the most curvy roads where she just didn't feel comfortable taking them fast. Not that it couldn't (I took it on those same roads to see how it handled), just that she was new to it, and didn't want to roll it over in the first month!

Her's is a Lehman. I looked at all the different places that trike, and they had what seemed to me to be the best. But to each his/her own! There are two basic concepts. Fixed and independent suspension. The fixed suspension will jiggle side to side under 25 MPH, but handles much better at speeds above 40. While the independent suspension will ride great under 25 MPH, it feels a little soft while doing curves above 40. For me, the firmer feel at higher speeds was prefered. Again, to each his/her own!

Go for the Ultra trike. Don't bother with the YellowWinger. You'll be happy with the Ultra. The reverse is not a problem. Since they balance on 3 wheels, you simply get off and push it backwards easily. Really, you'll love the Ultra as a trike.