Newbie from Ohio

[DragonSlayer129]

Hi all!

As the title says I'm a newbie to the trike world (hopefully soon) but have been riding bikes of some sort for over 35 years. Yes I'm not as good as I once was (as the song goes) but I still do like to ride as well as the wife. We have had a list of bikes since we started dating almost 10 years ago now starting with my cbr600 that I've logged over 68K miles on (that was pre-wife) and then moved on to a vtx1300r (wife didn't like the seat on that one). A few years ago we got ourselves a valkyrie interstate that was loaded with everything honda threw at them in '01......along with a LOT of aftermarket kury chrome goodies. Problem is that I really never felt that comfortable on the valkyrie with the 2 of us on it since I am vertically challenged at 5'6" and the valk is a heavy bike.

Which leads us to looking for a trike. Friends of ours have a '14 tri-glide and love it but I've been looking at the 1800 wings. Preferably a '06 model or newer with all the goodies (heated seats and grips as well as navi). Are the options as important and the trike kit that is installed on the bike? Maybe but what I'm looking for in a trike is a IRS kit (like the CSC or Roadsmith kits) as I like the stretched wheelbase and hopefully better ride for the wife. Of course at least a 4.5-6 degree rake on the forks as well.

Have I missed anything or is there something I should really look at before throwing down the $$$$ on a trike?

[Catfish]

Hello Brian and welcome to Trike Talk from Illinois.

BTW, sounds like you pretty much know what you want and the Wing is a great choice with the IRS for a smoother ride.

[Gorilla]

welcome aboard. suggestion take a weekend trip to Daytona in October for Biketoberfest and go look at all the wing conversions. Most of those are at the speedway venue.

[Ed Hobgood]

Welcome to Trike Talk from Missouri. Good luck with your trike hunt, there are several good trike out there.

[tbear]

I live in Mich. I do know that Ohio has alot of Harley dealerships. That would be a plus. If you have a Honda dealership by you and they would take care of your Bike for you (trike) then go for the Independent suspension. i KNOW how the roads can be in Ohio. If you plan on going long distance. Harley dealerships are everywhere.................

[DragonSlayer129]

Lucky for us we have both HD and Honda dealers within 10 miles of the house. There are several other dealers for both brands that are located less than an hour from us as well. I don't think finding a dealer to service a trike for us no matter which brand it ends up being will be an issue.

We aren't retired yet but do plan on taking a few trips with the trike....once we get one. We like the smokys and that area a lot and would love to take a bike instead of the usual car/truck we have been traveling across the country in. Went to ND and then onto SD back in June.....took the wife's Acura RDX. Would have loved to been on a bike once we hit Sturgis and the surrounding area but I'm afraid the ride from Ohio to SD would be a long and boring one.

[Gorilla]

Lucky for us we have both HD and Honda dealers within 10 miles of the house. There are several other dealers for both brands that are located less than an hour from us as well. I don't think finding a dealer to service a trike for us no matter which brand it ends up being will be an issue.

We aren't retired yet but do plan on taking a few trips with the trike....once we get one. We like the smokys and that area a lot and would love to take a bike instead of the usual car/truck we have been traveling across the country in. Went to ND and then onto SD back in June.....took the wife's Acura RDX. Would have loved to been on a bike once we hit Sturgis and the surrounding area but I'm afraid the ride from Ohio to SD would be a long and boring one.

Those areas are great rides on a trike. Been there 3 times on ours

[Rod69]

Welcome from Southeastern Illinois.

[kybigmac]

Welcome from Ky!

Don't forget about the Hannigan kit ,it's one of the best on the market!