frankenstein trikes

[gerald martin]

I have a 2000 softail standard that I am thinking of converting to a trike with the Frankenstein trike kit. I am retired and in the last two years I have averaged around 30,000 highway miles a year and do all of the maintenance myself. Are there people out there that have travelled a large amount of miles with this kit and if so how has it stood up (any major problems, bearing problems, frame or swing arm failure because of the trike kit ext.) I need this to be fairly trouble free as I am a Canadian but I spend most of my summers travelling through the US and it would be hard to get it back home for repairs. I really like the look of the Frankenstein kit, but if it is not reliable I may have to consider the new freewheeler

[turboman1354]

If I were you I would get the freewheeler and all the warranty you can get and ride the tar out of it

[bustedwing]

Hello Gerald. You certainly don't have many days that you are NOT on your bike do you. Well, I agree. I think the Freewheeler warranty would work out the best for you since you put on so many miles. You definitely need something that you can depend on and if you have a problem you can get it repaired wherever a dealership can get you in.

[gerald martin]

the only thing I don't like with the freewheeler is that it is fuel injected and runs very hot. I had a 2010 tri glide and the heat was unbearable for my wife My softail is carb and runs like a top. I also like the no trunk thing but am interested in the reliability of the Frankenstein Although I have been watching for Frankenstein problems I have not been able to find anyone who has had a problem exept for an alignment problem that was easily remidied

[dirtdobber]

I know some with the Frankenstein kit. Most riders do not do saddle time like you do. None of the ones I know do.
Are you trying to cut costs?
Or, just a different look?

There are several kits for your bike I know can take that kind of riding. It is restricted due to not having experience with them.
If it is looks you can find fenders etc... and not use a body.
As much as you ride I would consider a IRS not a straight axle.

On a second note why not give em a call and discuss it with them. I found them very easy to work with. I do not have a Frankenstein kit. I just know folks with em. The biggest thing I like about em is they are very versatile so you can go many directions on looks.
I do have a mystery kit on a super glide at times. I change it back and forth from 3 wheels to 2 wheels.

Doesn't take long to do on either.
The mystery is a great kit with dependability in mind However it is stiff riding on small bikes but handles like a slot car.

[gerald martin]

I am not trying to cut costs. the reason I like the Frankenstein is I can tinker with it a lot during our cold Canadian winters, change back to two wheels in a matter of hours have a hot rod look, light weight ext. I have looked at the mystery design kit also. the only drawback is the mystery design is either too narrow for a passenger or too wide to fit into my trailer that I will be using in the winter to travel to Arizona for a few months. I need a max of 51 inches wide. If I have to go with the freewheeler I will not be able to tinker much or change to two wheels also I will need a new trailer

[dirtdobber]

That make's sense.
Have you thought about getting a kit without a body and doing it like you want it.
Really on a trike there is very little to do. I can change my mystery from 3 to 2 or 2 to 3 wheels in about 4 hours by myself.
This is after getting experience on doing it.
The heart of a hd trike kit is the swing arm. In most cases you will still use the belt pulley that is being used now.
There just are not much to a hd trike kit on the smaller bikes.

[gerald martin]

That is why I like the Frankenstein kit but I just want to know how reliable the rear end is. Will it cause stress on the softail frame? Will the axle last the test of time, bearings ext

[dirtdobber]

Due to design I doubt you will have any extra stress. They mount by the swing arm.
Check to see what the belt tension is with the kit. This will tell you a lot about the bearings.
It uses 9" Ford Street/Strip Axles
-Sealed Bearings
-5 on 4.5
-6061 T6 Billet Aluminum
-Billet 4 Piston Caliper
-Stainless Steel Rotor
they use factory specs on the rear belt pulley. That tells me the sealed bearings are of good quality.

They are 42 inches wide as where the mystery is 41 inches wide on straight axles.
After looking at the instructions and components It appears to be of a good quality product.
You need to find one so you can see it in person and or talk to owners.

[gerald martin]

I have been looking for them so I can talk to owners but the triking has not really caught on in the Vernon BC area yet so I have only found one it was on a 2006 dyna It was in the shop because the swing arm bearings had gone bad in 6000 miles since installation and needed replacement. I asked the shop to ask the owner to call me so I could inquire if any other damage had been done (cracked transmission where the swing arm goes through ext.) but he would not do so
Mine is a softail so I am thinking the swing arm is sturdier hopefully

[pcombe]

I am not trying to cut costs. the reason I like the Frankenstein is I can tinker with it a lot during our cold Canadian winters, change back to two wheels in a matter of hours have a hot rod look, light weight ext. I have looked at the mystery design kit also. the only drawback is the mystery design is either too narrow for a passenger or too wide to fit into my trailer that I will be using in the winter to travel to Arizona for a few months. I need a max of 51 inches wide. If I have to go with the freewheeler I will not be able to tinker much or change to two wheels also I will need a new trailer

Im confused here so please educate me?
I thought Frankenstein was a regular conversion not a drop unit?
If you do a total conversion on your bike to a trike why would you want to change back and forth?

Mayhap you should ride a trike for a while before you decide to convert?

[gerald martin]

the Frankenstein kit basically is just a matter of changing swing arms. one for the trike and one for the 2 wheeler. the conversion back and forth should only take a few hours after doing it a few times. I had a tri glide at one time the trike is for riding long distances with the wife and the two wheeler is for going by myself. I know that it would be easier to have a trike and a two wheeler but here in BC the insurance is so costly it is not feasible (about $1,500.00 per bike a year)

[dirtdobber]

I also have a roadsmith HTS goldwing as you can see in my sig. My Mystery is a hot rod. i take it to the strip at times but at times I want a hot rod trike.
113ci with 130 hp and 145 tq. When nothing is going on and I'm bored I change it out.

I am kinda confused a little myself.

[buster]

I have a Frankenstein kit on a 1991 FLT. I do not ride the miles you do, but have about 7,000-8,000 miles on it. The rear axle is very high quality with ford internal parts and bearings. Swing arm is a conversion of your swingarm by Frankenstein. Only weakness here is you might want to replace clevblocks with solid aftermarket type bushings. Mine still has stock clevblocks in it. About changing from 3 to 2 wheels in several hours, people that do this must not have raked front tree. You would not be able to ride as 2 wheeler with raked tree used with most trike conversion kits. Anyway, the kit is very healthy. Getting a fix on the road is question. I guess you would have to go to independent bike shop if problem, but all parts are easily obtainable Ford or Harley parts. Wish I could ride as much as you per year.

[kybigmac]

Damn I wouldn't want much ins.at that price.

[dirtdobber]

Good point buster. I forgot about the trees.
The raked trees don't work on a 2 wheel bike. I tried that.

[pcombe]

the Frankenstein kit basically is just a matter of changing swing arms. one for the trike and one for the 2 wheeler. the conversion back and forth should only take a few hours after doing it a few times. I had a tri glide at one time the trike is for riding long distances with the wife and the two wheeler is for going by myself. I know that it would be easier to have a trike and a two wheeler but here in BC the insurance is so costly it is not feasible (about $1,500.00 per bike a year)

Ok, I will accept your explanation.
Yet I question the advisability of switching back and forth?
When I converted my old 1989 tour glide I kept the parts to return it to stock but the amount of work involved would be just as excessive as building my trike to begin with.

Doing the work myself I have about $8,000 into the job and I cant see investing the money only to return to what I left. besides the work involved was allot more than one might think, admittedly it is a more complicated conversion than a Frankenstein.
Even after the conversion process it takes time tweaking everything to get it right? a couple hrs. just may turn into allot more.

A piece of advice?
every time you change swing arms use new bushings, they are a wear part and only run hundred dollars each time you do it.
What will be the extra costs involved in switching tires?
It stands to reason you will buy more of them?

I have seen people on the forum say you cant use the raked triple tree on a stock machine and that just isn't true.
What did we actually do building our choppers years ago? we cut and raked the neck and extended our forks.
it just took a little getting used too is all.
It will make the bike handle differently but it's a learning curve same as conversion
I love my trike and have no intention of getting rid of it.

for pics of my build Google- pcombe/library photobucket.

if you hold the curser over a photo in the build frame an explanation of what im doing will show up.

[gerald martin]

thanks guys I guess I am going to get the Frankenstein kit if you can put 8 or 9 thousand without troubles another 10 or 20 should be ok. I will not be using raked trees as I had a tri glide and a volks trike at one time and have also ridden a Lehman trike without the trees and I did not find the steering that hard once you get used to it

[dirtdobber]

On the smaller bikes the main help it does help with is slow riding with dips or holes in the road. It helps by not jerking as bad.
I rode mine for several months before I added mine.
You should be okay.
Personally I like to be able to change from 2 to 3 or 3 to 2 when I want to.
2 wheels are more fun at the drag strip you know.

Keep us posted.

[stacebg]

"I have seen people on the forum say you cant use the raked triple tree on a stock machine and that just isn't true.
What did we actually do building our choppers years ago? we cut and raked the neck and extended our forks.
it just took a little getting used too is all.
It will make the bike handle differently but it's a learning curve same as conversion"


i wont say it cant be done...but it cant be done safely, depending on the amount of rake in the trees!
raking a frame is NOT the same as raking a set of tree
when the frame is raked the trail is increased which make the turning / steering if you will.. harder
when you rake the trees you decrease the trail... that makes the steering easier...
on a 3 wheeler, trike or sidecar.. stock front end steering will be kinda tough... raking the trees will make it seem like you have power steering now... again depending on how much rake you use
i find if i get my trail down around 1.5 - 2.5 inches works real good,, stock can can be over 6" on some cruisers... with 2" or so a 2 wheeler will be pretty unstable esp at low speed... and can be prone to tank slappers at highway speed...dont ask how i know... and you can lean way over but still go straight.. hope that makes sence

i have found some of the tree manufacturers use a percentage of change an some use how many degrees they change... most wont or cant say what the resulting trail is which, to me, is a more informative number... your results may vary
if you trike to ride a two wheel