I’m sorry I let myself be talked into a CSC. I rode 250 miles, most of it Mountain twisties, on Saturday. Even with the rake kit, my arms were so tired by the time I got home, that I was wondering how women are able to drive trikes. 110 miles to a tankful. (5.8 gals.) That’s crap.
dont blame the conversion brand... some will say oh u dont need a raked tree w our conversion cuz we build em right... that is the biggest load of horse hockey on the planet... 2 wheel geometry is wrong for 3 wheels no matter if its trike or sidecar.. have a look at sidecars over the pond where there are way more sidecars and hardly any stock front ends... most are center hub steer or leading link ... again the point 2 and 3 wheel geometry... not the same...
for all who say a trike in the twisties is a work out...
there is a big difference in raked trees... not so much about how many degrees said trees are but what the resulting trail is
personally i like about 1.5 - 2.5 again MY preference
another thing... i run a hd front wheel on my v max trike... because i made the raked trees and the harley trees and front end lead to the fastest way to get it done... had a trip coming up.. the tire i had was sorta flat from being on the trike and scalloped bad (never saw this before) and make her go all over the road... and was leaking on the sidewall a little (time for a new one) put on a fairly new tire, not flat across the tread at all, wandering went away.... and not that it was bad before but the newer tire made for way easier steering..
i have a torn rotator and some other issues with my arms dad enough i had to add an arm rest to hold up my right arm.. so no popeye arms or sly upper body here but i dont have to do the elbow in gut and or lock one arm an turn w my body thing like some talk of.. but if that what works for you by all means use it but really shouldnt be necessary ...... i sit normal and do a lot of riding with one hand... obviously twisty roads require both hands...
a 12 or 15k mile yr is not uncommon for me.... mem day weekend i road 575 miles on sunday for lunch with friends... some hiway some back roads... yes i was a little tired but not from "steering" i would be a little tired on 2 wheels too
my 1st harley trike i built had a corvette rear with wide tires... not the best for a trike.. and i left the front end stock, there wasnt time to change it before inspection... 6 men and a boy to turn it... even going slo like 15mph ... raked the trees almost 7 degrees a not perfect still but way better.... didnt bother enough to warrant redoing the trees
bottom line, i have found, most any 3 wheeler should be enjoyable with the right amount of trail..
as for the mpg perhaps one conversion might weigh a little more than the other.. do you have an irs is there any adjustment for toe in? are the tire properly inflated?
i think stock the v max was good for about 30 or 35 mpg now
usually 20 or so on the highway a little better if i stay under 60 or so
might do 25mpg or so putzin around
this is with local CT gas if i go to NJ figure at least 4mpg more ... no clue
i have the throttle / wrist rest no issues in turns probably because i am not fighting that hard...