Stallion vs. Goldwing Trike

[Tater]

I'm very seriously considering a trike for next year. Can anyone give me the pros and cons of a Stallion versus a Goldwing trike? Which is easier to steer? Which has more towing capacity? Any feedback is helpful.
Thanks,
Carol

[Gorilla]

Tater, My wife has a Stallion and my daughter has a 97 GL1500 Wing with a California Side Car conversion. I have extensively riden both of them. They are 2 VERY DIFFERENT ANIMALS. My wife would not get on a bike, trike etc, until she found the Stallion 2 years ago when it was just a little more than a dream. We ordered her one and waited 18 months to get it. She absolutely loves her Stallion. Since she picked it up March 9th she has put 7k miles on it. What she likes about it that lets her enjoy it, is a little bit of body work around her and she feels a little more secure because of it. The automatic with a normal reverse for her is great. She likes the steering wheel, but that would not have been a deal breaker if it had a set of handle bars. It drives like a trike. You have to get the hang of the cross winds etc. It steers very easy. With the 2300 cc Ford engine it will tow just about anything. The limiting factor for towing for the Stallion will be the attachment to the frame. It is very well built so within reason I would not hesitate to attach most any load. I have riden with her as a passanger besides her with me and it is comfortable in both positions. Being a new product you will have to add alot of your own accessories. They are coming though.

The Goldwing is a fine trike. It also has reverse but it is an electric motor so you want to be careful with it. Towing is limited. A normal motorcycle type trailer is not a problem, but any thing above that would be something to think about. The Goldwing is a very establish brand and has just about anything available for it from multiple sources. The ride is very good but does verify depending on the conversion used. I believe the Stallion is more powerful. The Wing steers very well when it has an ez-steer installed. I have not riden one without ez-steer though. The Wing and the Stallion both streer close to the same as far as the effort required.

The bottom line is the Stallion is a ground up build as a trike. There are no compromises made to make it a trike. If you get a chance just take a look at the triple trees to see the quality in the build. The frame is just as well built. It is very well put together and is a dream to ride. The down side is that it is new and add ons are going to be slow coming or you have to make the adaptions yourself.

The Wing is an established bike and the brand conversion will make a difference in ride. Both will tow well. If you are a traditional type person you might look more towards the Wing. If you are a little bit outgoing, like attention and answering alot of questions the Stallion is a very good choice. For my wife the illusion of the body work is the deciding factor.

I hope this helps some what. I love them both, but I am building my own Harley Road Glide with a Champion conversion for myself. It will be my version of a SCREAMING EAGLE trike. Ted

[katfish16]

tmigala, very good advice. Thanks for taking the time to explain everything so well.

[Fortsand]

I have been riding a Gold Wing 1800 since they came out in 2001.
I did not want to trike this bike it being an '01. The problem in triking a new bike is, the original Honda warranty is void once you trike it. The trike builder will warranty their work for three years in most cases, but if something happens to the drive train, then you are left holding the bag. The drive train on the 1800 is very reliable and one seldom hears of problems.
I read two 1800 boards every day and there is a run of '06's and/or
'07's with soft shifter forks. The forks bend then the bike jumps out of gear. To repair this requires removal of the engine.
I believe that the Gold Wing is just more difficult to service. Take the air cleaner change. This is a 12K item and the entire top shelter has to come up to do this. The valves have to be checked every 32K.
When a tire change is done, you may get a tire that causes wobble.
Tire mileage is also significantly less than the Stallion.
After considering all the issues, it appears to me that the Stallion is the way to go.

[Ozarkryder]

At the risk of raising the ire of Stallion owners, (no ire raising intended, I would love to have a Stallion in the garage) The Wing is first and foremost a motorcycle. It just has an extra wheel in the back. The Stallion is more of a car with a wheel missing in the front. Car engine, steering wheel, foot throttle, etc.
As tmigala explained in his most excellent post, they are very different animals. On the wing you are a triker and a motorcyclist, and on the Stallion, as on a VW based trike, you are a triker, period. The VW trikes are accepted into the motorcycle world, I think because you sit on it, not in it. At the rallies I have attended where there has been a Stallion the jury is still out on if it is a motorcycle or not, state laws in your area notwithstanding. To me, it's a trike and it's cool.

[Ozarkryder]

Oh, and Fortsand mentions the difficulty of service on the 1800 Wing.
That's one of the reasons we have a GW1500.

[John Luciano]

I agree with Ozarkryder. I also agree with the other poster. I would not hesitate to purchase the Stallion. Main reason I love the attention. I agree it is more of a car than a bike. I don't know how difficult it would be to get use to the brake with left foot , gas with right. I think I would have to drive one to decide. I like the protection from elements. Heat would be nice. Towing with the wing. I have the 1500 and tow 500# . The 1500 will need a gear drop on a long up hill ( for power) or down hill grade ( aid in braking ). other than that it is not noticeable. The wing is almost bulletproof so repairs thru dealers is not a big issue. Any choice you make you will love.

[Mattel]

You may also want to see the "Considering a Stallion" Thread on the Stallions main section. This thread covers much of these issues in great detail. I am not sure how to link to to that thread from hear, if someone can do that and let me know how to do it for the future it would simplify the reading of this topic.

[Tater]

Thanks for all the great advice. Maintenance was another concern. I have been reading all the repair/maintenance posts and it seems like a problem that I will have is no Stallion dealer in MO to do any work that I would need. Honda dealers are everywhere. Even so, my biggest reason for getting a trike is long trips with a dog and a trailer. I'm thinking a Stallion may still be my best bet. Thanks everyone.

[Mattel]

Tater,
I have been speaking with the owner of TBMS and he was saying that he hopes to have stallion service at any Ford service center in the USA. I am not sure how close he is to that but he was hoping to have it by the new year. I hope that helps. The official word will need to come from TBMS (of course!)

As a side note, I put my stallion through it's paces running it hard in the NC mountains from one side of the state on the VA line to the other side on the TENN. line. I was not disappointed. I was running the curves at full speed, and it did not tip or pull. I had a hard time riding with other bikes today because they kept decelerating into the turns and accelerating out of them, and I wanted to keep a constant speed as it stuck to the road very well. My Harley friends were scraping pegs and I was not even pushing it in the turns. When I was off on my own I was happy to see how much traction I was getting in all sorts of banked turns and crowned roads. I hit a lot of gravel with no slippage, something that would have caused me much grief in my 2 wheeling days.

[Tater]

Excellent news! There's a local Ford dealer right here in the small town I live in and even if I have to drive a couple of hours to Kansas City to get service I'd still be happy. <br />
<br />
Since you are "in the know" with the owner, any idea what their plans are for next year's model? Any changes or additions?

[CRBandit]

Being able to get our Stallions serviced at any Ford dealership would be TERRIFIC news! That would certainly make getting service while traveling to just about anywhere a breeze. I sure hope this does get done and isn't just a rumor. Please keep us all apprised as this moves forward.

Wayne

[Papa Zook]

I'm glad Jeff decided to let the cat out of the bag. This has been in the works since before the Stallions were rolled out, but we (dealers) were told not to repeat this until it was ready to happen. We were told it would be a done deal by about January `09 since it would take that long to get most of the Ford Dealers up to speed. I know that T.M.S. has a full time Ford Dealer Trainer on the road going from dealer to dealer. He drives a new Ford Dually and pulls a `35 trailer with a new Stallion and sleeping quarters inside. This is a VERY good thing.

[cjmitch]

The problem in triking a new bike is, the original Honda warranty is void once you trike it.

This is just not true...
Honda will STIll cover items, that are NOT trike related.

[CAS]

IMO, you are kidding yourself about the warranty. When you trike a wing, it could potentially effect the cracked frames and transmission issues. It will not take Honda very long to stop accepting warranty work on triked wings after the new design comes out in 2011 from Japan and replacement parts become scarce.

[Silver Eagle]

I've had both a GL1800 Goldwing/Hannigan trike and now a Stallion. As they have stated before they are different machines. Last Saturday we hit a large deer with our Stallion. We came out okay and our Stallion suffered damage to the hood, hood hinges, & right side panel. If we had been on a Goldwing trike we would have suffered major injuries and a totaled Goldwing as the deers hind quarters came around and hit the right side of our Stallion. Just imagine being on a regular trike and the deer hitting your right side. The Stallion really protected us in this accident. Now we are taking it to TMS on Monday for repairs and having to rely on our VTX until it is repaired.

[Gorilla]

Thank GOD you guys are all right. I'm glad I bought the Stallion for my wife, she feels much better in it for the very reasons you state helped protect you. Deer do a lot of damage when hit. Again it's easier to repair the trike then you, glad you came out okay.

[Nana]

AMEN to Ted's statement! As one who tangled with a big deer when on two wheels some years ago, I firmly believe in guardian angels!! You've got much to be thankful for, and we are glad you are ok.

[ben721364]

Carol,<br />
You really need to, in my opinion, prepare yourself a short list of trikes with the features that are important to you and then test ride them. We all have opinions but yours is the only one than counts! The Goldwing, K1200LT and Stallion are all capable touring platforms but they have unique differences that make them better suited for different tasks. Properly set-up all handle well and are capable of towing cargo trailers without problems.<br />
<br />
As the three platforms are different, so are the trike kits available for the Goldwing and the K LT (Hannigan only). There are differences in driveline (live v. IRS), wheel base, trunk capacity, availability of aux. fuel capacity, appearance, etc. All have their supporters as well as detractors.<br />
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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Tater</strong>
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<div class="message">I'm very seriously considering a trike for next year. Can anyone give me the pros and cons of a Stallion versus a Goldwing trike? Which is easier to steer?

Which has more towing capacity? Any feedback is helpful.<br />
Thanks,<br />
Carol</div>

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