Triax Trike Kit

[Capt Chaos]

I purchased a Triax Trike kit for my Kawasaki Nomad. This is one of the "training wheel type of kits" I looked and talked to people about the others, and decided on the Triax. The main reason I choose the Triax was they have 16 inch motorcyle wheels and it makes the Trike look better I think. It is still at the dealers getting the kit installed. I hope to have it back in a couple of weeks and then I will take some pics and do a review on how it rides. Here is the factory site. trans-moto, side-car, sporster, triax trike transformation kit Harley-Davidson My Nomad will look a lot like the blue HD Heritage I hope.

[Nana]

Very cool, Capt. Chaos! Can't wait to see the finished pictures and to hear all the fun you are having with it!

[magusjinx]

Being not too familiar with that setup, is it an outrigger system or does it support the back tire off the road somehow or drive off the rear tire or something else?

[trike lady]

I had done a 'Google' search for the Triax Trike Kit, it looks like a fancy Voyager, hope it is cheaper. There is also the Trigg Trike set up. It is an outrigger wheel set up.
Thank you,
Trike Lady

[Capt Chaos]

Yes it is a outrigger system, just like the Voyager, Tow Pac and Trigg. The shop called my today and said he took it out for a test drive and it was good up to 60mph, no freeways close by. It is costing me $5500 OTD including two tone paint on fenders to match the bike, installation, Quick disconnect system and running lights. The only major problem and the reason I didn't go with the Trigg was on my Nomad the hard bags open from the side, and I was told with the Triax I would still be able to use the original bags. Oops! they only open a few inches, so they are now on ebay and I will be purchasing top opening bags instead. The Shop is working with me on this as they felt bad about the bag situation.

[trike lady]

It's the same with my GL-1500 with Voyager, as the Wing has tilt out lid bags or side cases and you get just enough space to squeeze objects into it. I have managed to get groceries in them, but I mostly keep items that I don't use much in them .
Thank you
Trike Lady

[magusjinx]

Sounds like a good thing .. Just wondering if it effects how the vehicle is registered now that it has more than 2 wheels ...

Forgive my questions ... Just a buncha curiosity ...

[Capt Chaos]

From what I understand, since the extra wheels are removable, it is still a motorcycle with add-ons, at least that is the way my Progressive Agent told me how to insure it. PS. My bags are now up to $405 on ebay

[trike lady]

In Florida my Goldwing is registered as a motorcycle and the Voyager is an add on accessory. The state did allow you to obtain a trike operator's license with outrigger wheels. Now you have to go through a class to get a trike endorsement and they use 250cc bikes with Insta-trike set up. In Florida Progressive covers the Voyager as an accessory.
Thank you,
Trike Lady

[Capt Chaos]

The Dealer just sent me some pics of my Nomad Triax, the only thing that will change from these is the bags have to go and be replaced by a top opening set. As you can see their is no room for the side opening bags to open as the shock tower for the outside tires is right up against them. The bumper which is a $600 option I haven't decided on, I also haven't decided on leather bags or hard bags. I add the pics to my album so I hope I did it correctly

[Nana]

The trike is looking beautiful Capt Chaos! You must be really excited!

[trike lady]

Looks nice I like the spoke wheels; they look less automotive and more motorcycle, very different.
Good luck and enjoy your new trike .
Trike Lady

[Capt Chaos]

Thanks for the comments. I have decided on hard bags for replacing the ones I sold on ebay. They ended up going for $550, the bags I am ordering go for $229 plus $40 for shipping. So now back to the waiting game. I have decided to go with the bumper as with out it a lot of the Triax system shows and stands out. I am hoping I will have my trike within 2 weeks, it seems like I said that before!

[bigjoey38]

Hope you get your bike soon.. I like to compare notes!

[Capt Chaos]

Boy you can say that again, the only reason I have been able to handle the wait, is I had a lower back fusion Feb 1st, and I am now just ready to ride. I have sure missed out on a lot of riding in the last year as I had a early back surgery in Sept. Our best riding weather is Fall, Winter and Spring, night riding only starting in the next couple of weeks.
Ray whom sold be the Triax says it rides like a trike, the only trike experiance I have is riding a 3 wheel ATC out in the desert for years. Don't think it will be the same. That would be like changing from a small dirt bike to my Nomad, I haven't pulled a wheelie yet!

[Capt Chaos]

For those of you who have been following my Triax saga, here is the latest update. The top openning bags that I had the dealer order have arrived, and have been installed. The dealer says they are pretty flimsy, I guess you get what you pay for, they were around $230 plus shipping. He is going to send me pictures of them installed later on today. He says the silver is not a good match for my grey and dark red two tone paint. He thinks they will look good painted all Grey, exact match to the bike gray. I am having trouble imanginning that. I think they will have to be Red. Anyone like to comment? You will have to go into my album and imangine they bags either grey or red as they are.

[Simdog]

Capt Chaos,

I wish I had read this post before you sold your bags. When I bought my used voyager kit for my nomad, I had the same problem. The company that sells voyager (MTC) has sets of hinges that you replace to allow you to be able to open the bags differently ... more of a slide off to the side as opposed to opening outward. They charge $100.00 for the hinges, but refund the $100.00 when you send your old hinges back to them. They do this for customers buying other items ... not sure what they would charge if that's all you were buying. Anyway, I was able to keep and use my existing nomad bags.

Sorry for not getting to you in time ...

[Capt Chaos]

I have added three pictures to my album of the new hardbags that we just installed. The painter and the dealer says paint them the gray color that's on the bike. I say they have to be painted the red that's on the bike. Any opinions. I wish I had know about the hinges, except if you look at the shock tower on the kit, I don't even know if they could have open sideways.

[Nana]

I would probably vote for the red more than the gray... Just my thought.

[trike lady]

I'm with Nana on this one, I say red too.

[Simdog]

If this attachment works, here is a crude, quick, mockup of what your bike might look like with the red bags. I'm not an artist, but I am a visual person, and I like to see something before I put the money on the table. Based on the mockup, I say go for the red color with silver trim.

[spiritdream]

I have to agree - red.

[Bob Witte]

Originally Posted by Capt Chaos

<snip>....The top opening bags that I had the dealer order have arrived, and have been installed. The dealer says they are pretty flimsy, I guess you get what you pay for, they were around $230 plus shipping. /<snip>

Firstly, I too would vote for red bags.

Next, I have trick that might help you stiffen up the cheap plastic. If it were me, I would "sandwich" a layer of fiberglass mat between two layers of Durabak, ( Durabak Company Truck Bed Coatings. ) one of the best truck-bed-in-a-can products.

The idea is to use the Durabak as though it were fiberglass resin. The reason I would use the Durabak rather than resin itself is that the Durabak has super adhesion to any surface and a lifelong "give" to it. I put this stuff in my engine compartment in my VW Thing 9 years ago and it still looks like new when I hose it out!! I've had zero lift off in any spot whatsoever. In addition, the granuals in it will better anchor the fiberglass mat.

I'd pre-cut the mat as much as possible to cover the bigger areas in solid sheets and have a bunch of 1"-2" strips to overlap the joints & curves you have in the cases. Remove all hardware and after cleaning the plastic with an appropiate solvent, lay down a good layer of the Durabak. Then press in the fiberglass mat sheets you've prepared, dabbing it in with brushfuls of the Durabak using the same kind of technique as fiberglassing. After it sets up, I'd do one final, sealing layer.

With this you get extra strength and a nice, built in "rubberized" cushion your junk can rattle around in!

One other thing I might do as well, depending upon the mounts. I'd JB Weld large stainless fender washers over each and every hole before doing the Durabak layer and depending up how they would actually look, perhaps a mating washer on the outside as well. It'll give you some extra strength.

Good luck!

Bob Witte
The Trinity Trike

[bigjoey38]

Red!!!

[Capt Chaos]

The bags have been removed and sent to the painter as a rush job. They say I might have them back by the end of next week. They say the red is a 3 step process, since it is metal flake. All I know is the paint job is twice as much as the bags cost.

[trike lady]

But it will look nice and it will be worth it.

[Capt Chaos]

Thanks Bob for the info, I will try and do that whenever I get a chance. I still don't have my trike and I'm starting to get a little worried. We are heading for our summer home in the Arizona White Mountains next week, and I sure hope to have the trike by then. There is excellant riding and the temps are in the 70's and 80' this time of year. Wish me luck, that I will pick it up by this weekend.
Capt out

[Capt Chaos]

The Trike is now home with me. I have done limited riding because it is very hard to steer. Will be trying some different settings to see if that helps. No one makes a ez steer for my year and make of bike 2000 Kawasaki Nomad 1500 Nomad Fi. I just remember one thing I did to the bike which may be contributing to the steering problem, I changed handle bars, from stock to a much narrower buckhorn style. Not nearly as much leverage anymore. Going to take it for a ride through some twisties this am and see what happens.

[Bob Witte]

Sadly you've bumped into one of the serious flaws the "outrigger" solutions can have. Are we sure that your installation is straight & true to specs? Also discussed elsewhere on the TT forum, have you checked out the potential Steerite solution by checking Triple Tree Conversions With Steerite website?

From the pics you have posted thus far, the bars you have should give you good leverage, but you are thinking correctly, wider would be better by a long shot.

Bob Witte
The Trinity Trike

[Capt Chaos]

Bob Thanks for the link, sounds like this may be a solution, I have already emailed them. My ride through the Saguaro National Park was interesting, I had a couple of curves I really had to muscle thru, I think I even lifted the opposite wheel one time, didn't like the feel at all. At least now I have a baseline to go off of.

[Bob Witte]

Originally Posted by Capt Chaos

Bob Thanks for the link, sounds like this may be a solution, I have already emailed them. My ride through the Saguaro National Park was interesting, I had a couple of curves I really had to muscle thru, I think I even lifted the opposite wheel one time, didn't like the feel at all. At least now I have a baseline to go off of.

By the way, although I haven't done business with them myself, I've spoken to several folks that are familar with this outfit and they have a very good reputation. It appears to be a small, family operation -- my favorite kind!

Bob Witte
The Trinity Trike

[Capt Chaos]

I heard back from the Steerite people today, I was given a lengthy answer to my questions I am going to post here. Very interest but dissapointing.

Hi Larry: Thank you for contacting us. The Triax Trike Kit, like the Voyager and Tow Pak system, is indeed an innovative approach to triking and the very nature of the principle behind these systems relies on a certain amount of wheel travel at these additional wheels to compensate for variable terrain etc. and enable the bikes rear wheel to continue to do its job properly. Two things have always made us hesitate supplying customers with these conversions;
One - the obvious possibility that your trike conversion can be easily removed, suggests that the bike can indeed be operated as a solo machine. When we modify triple trees we remove approximately 65% of the original trail value (caster) to attain the light, yet controlled power steering effect that we are so famous for with our Steerite modification. To use our modified trees on a solo bike would court disaster, as insufficient trail induces high speed wobbles, removes most of the cycles sense of direction and generally feels very discomforting (read – weird). Any modified trees that reduce trail must only be used with more than two wheels (not single track).

Two - if the trike conversion remains always on the bike, the donor motorcycle, for the most part, must not be allowed to move independently from the supporting wheels. If this does occur, then the steering head of the donor motorcycle can also lean from side to side emulating it's origins as a solo bike and therefore, tends to have the traits mentioned in the first paragraph. The end result is not as disastrous as in the first notation, but allows the trike as a unit to feel insecure in it's sense of direction (tracking is destabilized) yet the steering will be substantially easier than the unmodified trees. So you see the Steerite modification will greatly improve the steering department as far as effort is concerned, but with these trike conversions, along the lines of and including yours, the end result trades off some stability.

We have done hundreds of triple trees for customers with sidecars or conventional full trike conversions throughout the world with 100% satisfaction and because of our extensive expertise in this area, knowing how these (4 wheel) systems work, we simply cannot supply you with our Steerite modification. This has been our policy regarding these particular innovative trike conversions. Excuse us if we have expressed ourselves somewhat overdetaily, but every industry has a 'gray' area and we feel it only fair to address the questions and concerns correctly. This attitude to doing business this way has made us a world leader in this field and sorry we can't help you but hope this info helps to explain why.


Kind regards,

Donna M. Smith
Kamloops, BC
Canada

Tel : (250) 573-2364
Fax : (250) 573-2365

[Bob Witte]

Disappointing yes, but very classy nonetheless. That was a $500 worth of free consulting!! They certainly rank high with me!

Bob Witte
The Trinity Trike

[Nana]

I agree with Bob...... That was a VERY nice response from them! We appreciate you sharing it all with us too. It will answer questions for a lot of people here.

[Capt Chaos]

Yes they did take a lot of time to explain things, I replied back to them with a question about EZ Steer that alot of the outrigger bikes use, here is their response.

Hi Larry: Our modification is basically taking your triple tree and modifying it by cutting, moving sections, filling and rewelding; whereas the EZ Steer is a billet replacement triple tree, doing the same function; reducing the stock trail. If they (Champion) knew their product was going on a non-traditional trike, they probably wouldn't (or shouldn't) have sold them. Once a bike has been triked (three wheels only) it's pretty safe to say that it's never going back to a solo; so the modification will do the job, handle correctly and be great to ride. But because a bike with the 'add on' wheels still has the rear wheel in place, it can still lean slightly, between the outrigger wheels, so in cornering, the bike could lift one of the outrigger wheels and cause the bike to go in the opposite direction and that's a diaster waiting to happen. We don't want to be liable in the event that something went wrong and would strongly urge you not to go with any form of modified steering on this type of 'non-traditional' trike. The people that make these types of trike kits should be aware of this, if they have done their homework, they should be able to advise their customers that it is not a safe undertaking to change the steering.

Kind regards,
Donna M. Smith
Kamloops, BC
Canada
If I ever get a real trike, I will use these people

[tmigala]

I think the proper action would be to leave well enough alone. Enjoy the ride. When you can then upgrade to a complete trike with a raked fork.

[Capt Chaos]

Completed pictures of my Triax Nomad are now posted in my albums. I took it for a ride thru some twistes and she did pretty good.

[Capt Chaos]

Hello, I guess it is time to wrap up my Triax saga, I have posted bits and pieces in several different threads, and now I can't fine the one I am looking for. So hear goes nothing. On my third ride with the Triax kit, I left my gloves on the passenger seat, when I was going about 30 -35 mph, I remembered and reached back to see if they had fallen of yet. All of a sudden the handle bars started whipping back and forth to the point I almost lost control. After experimenting with air pressures and reading from the TT in regards to this problem, I decided to first tighten the steering down and to add a MPA. Of course they don't make it in my size, 150/80/16 so I went with a Bridgestone Battlax BT45V Sport Touring rear tire, mounted on the front backwords. Well... that took care of at least 90% of the problem!!! I rode it home through Tucson Mountain Park with lots of twisties going the speed limit and had a very injoyable ride. Something I couldn't say last week no matter how slow I went.
Remember
Ride Safe, Always

[Nana]

Great report, Capt Chaos! All your adventures will make things easier for the next new member! Appreciate you sharing the solution

[John Luciano]

That front tire (actually rear tire on the front) makes a whole lot of difference.

[tmigala]

Originally Posted by Capt Chaos

Hello, I guess it is time to wrap up my Triax saga, I have posted bits and pieces in several different threads, and now I can't fine the one I am looking for. So hear goes nothing. On my third ride with the Triax kit, I left my gloves on the passenger seat, when I was going about 30 -35 mph, I remembered and reached back to see if they had fallen of yet. All of a sudden the handle bars started whipping back and forth to the point I almost lost control. After experimenting with air pressures and reading from the TT in regards to this problem, I decided to first tighten the steering down and to add a MPA. Of course they don't make it in my size, 150/80/16 so I went with a Bridgestone Battlax BT45V Sport Touring rear tire, mounted on the front backwords. Well... that took care of at least 90% of the problem!!! I rode it home through Tucson Mountain Park with lots of twisties going the speed limit and had a very injoyable ride. Something I couldn't say last week no matter how slow I went.
Remember
Ride Safe, Always

Congrats on the success.