Tow Pac Kits

I have a friend who is thinking about a Tow Pac kit for his Gold Wing.
I am just wondering from those who have one, any problems with them?:beerchug:

If u never ride a trike you will not know the real difference . I rode a Voyager for 2 year. One ride around a building at Lake George and I rode home on a REAL trike. when I went to sell it I took it out to test it before the party picked it up and scared myself all over again. JMHO

My friend bought one on Craigslist to try to see if he liked the trike concept. He did, and ended up going with a real trike. He sold the Tow Pac to a guy who is going to use it full-time, and his wife uses one, too. Some people like them. I can't say I did, for a few reasons.

1) - Since there are three rear wheels it seems like you're either running on the right/center wheels or the left/center wheels. No matter how much we adjusted it it didn't feel solid (to me) like a real trike.

2) - His TowPac setup didn't have a rake kit installed and I hated the heavy steering.

3) - It rode very rough compared to his trike.

I have 10,500 miles on my 2009 GL1800 W/Tow-Pac.
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Yes, I would prefer a trike but can't afford it, plus I have been concerned about the warranty.
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1st and foremost, it was designed to be removed if the owner wants to two wheel. If that is the case, then you CANNOT add a rake kit and therefore the steering in TP mode will be difficult. When I installed my TP, I drove it 25 miles so I would know how it feels and be able to give an accurate report to anyone that asked. 4 bad disks in my neck and two in the low back so I must have a bike that holds itself up and is easy to drive. Then I added the rake kit, Roadsmith 5.5. Same 25 miles. What a difference. I also added MBL bar adapters. I can now drive comfortably and safely and enjoy all the mountain roads and highways and byways. I cannot drive my bike in two wheel mode so the rake kit would not be dangerous as it would be for someone trying to drive my bike with the TP kit removed.
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2nd. Getting the TP outrigger wheels aligned with the main tire is key to a good ride. I finally came up with a system to easily make the alignment.
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3rd. I had a trike before this rig and I cannot drive the twisties like I did on the CSC GL1500. I am always having to consider the TP suspension and pressure on the bikes frame. If you want to be agressive in the twisties, then a trike would be the better way to go.
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4th. It takes me 4 hours to remove and reinstall the GL1800 rear wheel. I do not have a platform bike lift. If I did, I would have the one with the cutout for removing the rear wheel. Since I don't, I have to remove the entire TP kit (which includes removing both saddlebags.). I have gone thru 3 different tires in 2 years I have had this rig. The 1st was a Kumho RunFlat. Tire pressure was 32-34. TPMS system complained about low-air. I then tried a Dunlop 251, 200/60R-16. I wore it out in 3K miles. Then went to the Falken ZE912, 195/55R-16. It is working well. car Tires are the only way to go in the rear. You will have the most rubber on the road.

I have ridden my brother-in-laws 4 wheeler. It was scary. i guess that you could get use to it but not if you have ridden a regular trike to begin with.

Boscoporp said:

I have ridden my brother-in-laws 4 wheeler. It was scary. i guess that you could get use to it but not if you have ridden a regular trike to begin with.

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Hear/read this type comment a lot. Had a friend add a TowPac. Very shortly sold it saying it was dangerous.
Done a lot of study on these when deciding what to do.
Convinced a lot has to do with proper installation and adjustments. Still not a comfy feeling as a true trike but acceptable.
Rake kit needed but, then you can not remove the TowPac, EVER unless you remove the rake kit!
Warranty is still a problem unless you remove all the mounting hardware prior to taking the bike to a dealer for work.
If a outrigger is all one can afford and that means one can still ride, I would buy one "in a heart beat" and get used to it.

I put a Tow-pac on my '99 GL1500 last year to see if triking would be the way I wanted to go or not while I salted some cash away. After a year I have decided to go for a full conversion because I can now afford the extra cost. The key to the tow-pac is its installation. I had the local dealer install it because I figured they knew more about it than I did. Like a full conversion the installer is the key. It handles well and except for the issue of a little more steering effort it rides well and while it does not corner as well as a full conversion it can hold its own on most windy roads.

Peter

I had a tow-pac kit on my harley sportster 5 years ago I you have plenty of upper arm strength and don`t mind 1 wheel picking up everytime you go through a curve I Guess that`s ok. But tow pac owners beware. The kit I had broke a bolt on the bottom where it bolts to the frame and threw my wife and i into a grardrail in May of 07.Just glad i wasn`t going very fast. I think the voyager kits are better made and would not recomend the tow pack to anybody. I would consider them unsafe. Just my 2 cents worth. Bruce

Retract-a-trike Honda Gold Wing Stability System

I have been using their.Ghost Wheels for 5 years, or 23k miles, and could not be happier. A trike below 15 mph, a 2 wheeler above.

I purchaserd a Tow-Pac for my Yam Roadstar Silverado, in a-few short words they are the most dangerous thing on the road, and should not have licence to produce these things. NEVER would I recommend this unit to anybody who wants a trike configuration:AGGHH::Crap:

PJS SPAIN said:

I purchaserd a Tow-Pac for my Yam Roadstar Silverado, in a-few short words they are the most dangerous thing on the road, and should not have licence to produce these things. NEVER would I recommend this unit to anybody who wants a trike configuration:AGGHH::Crap:

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I agree with this some states will not allow them on the roads (check your state laws). long before I went to a trike I was hearing bad news about these rigs. Some do well with them but if they were truthfull I am sure a full Trike would be prefered. That is unless you want to switch back to two wheels in that case I would recomend the landing gear over these things.:Trike1:

Also notr that outrigger rigs can be "interesting" ondeeply rutted (worn) asphalt wheb the center tire "loses traction" momentarily-THAT will get your attention!

Tow-Pac = Junk

[FONT=&quot]Tow-Pac manufactures an add on outrigger type set of wheels for motorcycles. They recently announced they now have a kit for the Indian Challenger. I ordered one from them, this is what I learned.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I bought the kit to add extra stability while towing a camping trailer. The plan was once I arrive at my destination I remove the extra wheels and I am back on two wheels to ride the twisties. They claim fifteen minutes to remove, 15 minutes to put back on. That is only if you leave those ugly brackets on your $30,000.00 motorcycle all the time.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Their brackets attach to the saddlebag guard mounts and the passenger foot peg mounts. Once installed you can not remove the upper plastic from the sides of the motorcycle. The left side must be removed to adjust the rear shock and it will certainly need adjustment after the extra wheels are removed. Both sides must be removed to get to the seat bolts. This could be resolved by using larger spacers between the brackets and the attachment points. The only problem is that would widen the overall width ¼ to ½ inch and the lower bracket would no longer fit.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]They assumed you would not have saddle bag guards on a Challenger, guess they didn't look at “Build your bike”. You could put the bag guards on over the brackets if they had been a little more thorough with their design. The bottom attachment point has a big piece of steel in the way. I can grind it off. Altering their bracket voids their warranty.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]They did a good job on the attachment at the passenger's footrest, if you have only pegs. I have floorboards for the passenger. The hex bolt they provided will not work with floorboards.[/FONT]

its4dale said:

[FONT="] The bottom attachment point has a big piece of steel in the way. I can grind it off. Altering their bracket voids their warranty.[/FONT]

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Curious, is that a picture of the finished product on your motorcycle? The welding seems ....very tightly engineered... from what I could see.

We almost bought one of these setups on a Yamaha from a neighbor, the $3500 price tag was appealing. The ride...not so much. Glad we got the Trike we have.

I was wondering about the legality of 'four wheels on a motorcycle' and sniffed around the web to find this, what I see as a good explanation:

I am a representative of Motorcycle Tour Conversions, Inc., maker of the Voyager Convertible Kit.

I am posting on this website to clear up any confusion about our legality.



First of all, we are currently legal in every state of the United States. Even though most motorcycle identification codes read "...three wheels or less in contact with the road...", we are still legal.



Our legality is found in two areas:



First, we are considered a trailer under law. Trailer laws generally read, "a non-motorized vehicle, carrying persons or property, drawn from the motorcycle." We carry persons, the rider (and passenger), and property, the motorcycle. Our unit is non-motorized, and it is drawn from the motorcycle. Clearly legal.



Second, we are legal under the United States Disability Act. This act states that any product or modification that allows people to operate a vehicle or system in a way that makes it safer for the operator and the public is legal. Also, disabilities include both height and strength, which is a major cause for needing extra stability.



We hope NITSA, as well as individual states, will redefine the motorcycle, due to the industry's innovations, however, even if they don't, we are still legal.



If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Charles (MTC, Inc. President) at (815) 434-7900.



Thank you and Have a Great Day!

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source - https://www.venturerider.org/forum/topic/20898-heads-up-pa-riders-with-voyager-trike/

Volkemon said:

Curious, is that a picture of the finished product on your motorcycle? The welding seems ....very tightly engineered... from what I could see.

We almost bought one of these setups on a Yamaha from a neighbor, the $3500 price tag was appealing. The ride...not so much. Glad we got the Trike we have.

I was wondering about the legality of 'four wheels on a motorcycle' and sniffed around the web to find this, what I see as a good explanation:

source - https://www.venturerider.org/forum/topic/20898-heads-up-pa-riders-with-voyager-trike/

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Thats been bashed around forums [Not just Trike-Talk] for years....I don't think anyone with that setup has ever been stoped..:Shrug:....As far as the trailer part...In Jersey a trailer has to be registered and have tags...Again i don't think that's ever been questioned by the police...:Shrug:...

Nope

Definitely nothing we would like.

We knew a couple back in NoDak that had this setup and after she got it all installed, she hated how it rode and handled.