To no one in particular ....
[B]… [/B]reading through posts both here and on other web sites, I see a lot of people writing who view trikes as a last ditch option to stay in the wind. I'm often sad for them, not a big sad though.. I've ridden motorcycles since about 1972 when I got my first Norton. [B]Bikes are fun.[/B] My [B]first trike[/B] that I saw was a VW based conversion and [B]it looked like great fun too,[/B] that was in the '70s.
Over the years, trikes just seemed to catch my interest. I joined GWRRA in 1996, started with a chapter in '97, soon there were several trikes in the chapter where there once were only bikes. Great friend and CD was a Lehman dealer but soon there MTs & CSCs too. On our rides, they had at least as much fun as bike riders it seemed. They didn't slow the rides, and then when rain hit, when the roads got wet, I found I was some envious even. Only difference I saw was they just did not invite lane splitting at stop lights, and that was [B]A-OK[/B] by me.
My first trial ride of a trike was at CSC's grand opening in Colleen, Virginia early '00s. It had no additional rake and I didn't like it so much. It just wasn't as much fun as I anticipated, more like work. Soon though after being offered a great deal, we bought "our trike" but I still favored the bike for our rides, then soon after I tried a friends trike with a rake kit. [B]WOW[/B]. Within a week, I had a rake kit delivered ([COLOR=#b22222][I]$800 in '04[/I][/COLOR]) and a couple days later, I had her done. From then on, seldom did "we" ride the bike. I still enjoyed the bike, it was a sweet ride, well cared for, we just always seemed to pull the trike out for "our" rides but if I left here alone, I often took the bike to keep up skills & save some miles on the trike. It was nice having the choice to make from 2004-2019, I rode the bike often to work part time, etc but finally I decided to let the bike go … and I am [B]perfectly OK [/B]with that.
Now I have to remind myself that I no longer need to think about the bike, it's storage, etc. I can concentrate on the trike. I have more room in my basement shop too, no worries of accidently hitting or brushing the bike. Instead of "[I]do we ride or drive and if we ride, is it trike or bike?", [/I]it's just "[I]do we trike or drive ?[/I]" now. No serious worries about rounding a curve and hitting a squirrel while heeled over in a right hander and feeling the front tire slipping out from under the front end & thinking it was gonna spill us into an oncoming lane in front of a truck. No serious worries as approaching wet stop bars.
[B]Yep[/B], always did like trikes.
Changing my mind, MAYBE :-)
I joined this forum a while ago when the itch to ride came back after recovering from a stroke . I was paralyzed from the waist down for a while and have fought my way back , and continue to do my PT .
I have friends who have trikes and they say they wish they had moved to them sooner , now that they have them.
So , I screwed up the courage and went to my local HD store to see if I could maybe get back to riding. The people there were very nice and answered my questions . Then we went to try getting on and off , I need to walk with a cane and cannot walk very far. The place was huge , but we finally got to the trikes.. I wanted to try a Freewheeler , so the first test was would my cane fit in the trunk, It did .
Next came the getting on and off . It was evident that I needed to practice this . Decided to go another route.
I had a great time with Vespa and Lambretta scooters in my youth , so I started looking around at them. Found a dealer not too far away , scheduled a test ride . Had no trouble since it's a step through design, decided this was a way forward.
Ended up buying one elsewhere, and have had some fun this past summer and fall. It's a GTS 300 ( 278cc) motor, twist and go no shifting . Will easily do 65-70 mph if you want it to do that. But it really does best on secondary roads to be honest.
The problem comes in when I need to stop. My left leg is my weakest so I was depending on my right leg to put my foot down . This was ok for a while , but now the right leg has become somewhat unreliable.
I'm 75 and have tasted asphalt before and I doubt they have improved the flavor so crashing even at a stop is not good.
To bring this story to a close , I am now re-thinking this trike issue and am pretty sure I can handle getting on and off with a little practice.
A riding friend knows of a Gold Wing trike locally and is getting me in touch with the owner ( his trike is for sale).
So maybe it will be the answer , for me to get back to riding.
It's truly the only thing I have ever enjoyed as a hobby and lifestyle.