Hannigan trike conversion

[Tonyd]

OK....Im not slamming anyone BUT.....I needed work done to my Hannigan kit..on a 2003 Road King...The dealer that installed it is 150 miles away...and I wouldnt let him touch my bike again for reasons I wont get into...So I wanted to change my belt and sproket...I call Hannigan and asked if I could get a service or installation book....my indy wanted one to do the work...Man at Han. says no such book exist...so I ask how do the dealers know what to do....he says factory trained all by memory NO BOOKS...Wow I hope your installer has a good memory...no torque specs!!! what bolt goes where..Hmmmm as I remember!!!!!.....Yea....so he says they call for information...then the reason he gives me is "we dont want some untrained guy putting together a Trike tha goes 70mph down the highway"....guess he means everyone is an idiot except his mech's...Then he says anyone can tell what to take apppart and put back, didnt you ever do that..I say yea but it didnt go 70mph down the highway....SO I say beware of your installer and make sure they are close by cause if any thing happens you wont know what to do.... Makes me think are they affraid of something that could go wrong..Hmmmmmm

Tony

[tis]

Tony: I know what your saying as far as manuals go, when I was going to put a Champion Trike on my Ultra, the manuals & info for the installation were available to download on-line, also for installing the Champion reverse kit. Plus I talked to Ted (Tmilga) who had gone through the installation, already. I had downloaded everything and was within a week of ordering everything , when a Hannigan kit came back into play. I went with the Hannigan and also found out that no manuals were available, but the factory would talk you through problem area's. I don't know who the person was you talked to, but Jim Gooch is very helpful & knowledgable. I would advise you though that before any Warranty work is performed by your dealer that they get a Authorization from Hannigan. Back to the manuals, I've contacted other Hannigan dealers and they say the same thing that they don't have manuals to copy for you. So everytime I have to adjust something I would call the factory. It's wierd to do it that way, but they do make a excellent kit, I love the Look & Ride....hope you registered your Hannigan kit in the Poll...hope this info helped you out.

[tfdeputydawg]

Hannigan is one of many that absolutely refuses to sell a kit to anyone but one of their dealers, who has been factory trained.
There are no installation manuals!
There are also no known problems, that I am aware of w/Hannigan conversions except some concerns over the operation of the aux fuel tank system on a few units.
I visited and toured the factory in Murray, Ky. Was impressed w/the production of the units and the quality of the operations.
I would recommend a Hannigan to anyone with no reservations what so ever.

[Gorilla]

tis did you do the conversion yourself?

[Tonyd]

Thanks Tis.....It was my Indy that wanted the manual to work on it
Tony

[tfdeputydawg]

Thanks Tis.....It was my Indy that wanted the manual to work on it
Tony

What "work" does it need?
There are 3 grease fittings that need a "shot" about every 6months and fluid change in the differential about once a year.

[tfdeputydawg]

tis did you do the conversion yourself?

Hannigans can only be sold/installed at authorized Hannigan dealers and installers must be factory trained.

[tis]

Ted: P.M. your phone # to me & when's a good time to call, I lost your # Thanks Dave (Tis)

[1550vt]

I am not beating on your kits guys, but when I purchase something....I want it to be mine and I want the instructions that come with it. The only thing I never received instructions for, or a service manual on when I got it was my wife. I want to know what I have, where everything is, how I can get to if if I need to and what to do with it when I get to it. I am not "renting" my trike....I own it!

I have a Lehman Kit, but highly dislike the feeling of loftiness they portray and I'll not have another one. The Champion folks are great. I don't have a Champion kit, but if I were to get another one....it would be a Champion. Like Tis said....you can go to their website and download anything you need and I don't even own one.

Nothing for sale is so special to me that I will purchase if from somebody that thinks I am too stupid to work on it. I am familiar with the Hannigan. I had a friend kit one and the dealer was almost 260-miles away. I went over with him to pick it up after the build and test-rode it. No doubt is is one of the most comfortable and luggage friendly kits out there, but the third time he had to haul it back over there to have something done was the last time he brought it back home. He sold it.

[Gorilla]

VT I'm with you. My only exception has been the Stallion because that is the only thing that MJ would get on. Because of it's Ford drive train though I work around alot of otherwise unknowns. TBMS has been great about sending parts and telling how to change them out if I needed. So far just the brake switch. I wish they would put out a manual.

[1550vt]

I am sure some of it really has to do with the fact the manufacturers don't want a novice, or in inexperienced owner of their product putting themselves at risk...and I can understand that. I also truly believe it is designed to force the consumer back to the manufacturer for commercial purposes, Harley has done this for years. It really could be that their particular product is too complicated. I know the Hannigan installer (which in this case was a Harley Dealership) told us that it was a 14-hour shop job just to replace a belt. You do the math at the conservative labor rate of $100/hour plus and decide if you really can afford this or not.

If I owned a space shuttle or a jet-liner I could understand, but us motorcycle guys love to tinker with our stuff and most of us won't own something we can't work on. I have rarely been off on a long trip and not have at least one problem of some sort that required a roadside or motel parking lot repair on one or more bikes/trikes in the group. I do not want to have to try and run-down a specialist a thousand miles away on the phone to figure out how to fix it.

[rog1215]

Dave, been building and riding for 32 years now and when i got my first bike in 1978 it was a spotster, as you can tell by the date this was one of their "trouble years". i left the dealership at 4.00 pm and rode all night by 7:00 am i was back in their parking lot with a main bearing knock that jarred your brain.
Ever since that day i have delved into the bikes head first and came from somebody who could not tell the differnce in wrench sizes to a rider who has homebuilt from the flywheels up many a harley.
With me it was economics at first, i rode my bike and it was my sole transportation for many years. I could not afford to take it to a shop!
Now it has turned into the joy and sometimes frustration of "Fixing & creating". it is my nature.
You are absolutly correct in how the engineers have worked very hard at making their products completly owner repair unfriendly.
I am a gunsmith by trade and i realize that not everybody has the desire or skill to even want to try to work on their bikes, but it still bugs me the way the "stealerships" rake people over the coals for even simple repairs.

OK i will step down from my soapbox now! Thanks for letting me vent
Rog

[1550vt]

I don't think you're on a soap-box. That's the way many of us bikers were raised. We bought them and fixed them. Now they all try to throw curves at every opportunity.....like rotating the bolt holes on the 2001 transmission case by 1/4 inch so the 99 and 2000 inner primaries won't fit. You never know when you will find where they moved a screw or mounting hole from model year to model year.

I just wish I had gunsmith skills like you and a good lathe. I would probably just put the lathe in my bedroom.