Handeling corners & curves?

[earlyriser4444]

The independent rear suspension (IRS) helps on my MotorTrike equipped 2005 Goldwing with a 2010 kit.....rake kit installed. I keep up with them all accept the crotch rockets who are dumb enough to try and go faster than I can.
I am 76, so age does NOT matter.

[drjoelo]

OK, here goes. I've read all the posts and I agree with most of them. John Luciano seems to have all the bases covered. Now it's my turn. I recently purchased a 2002 Gold Wing Trike with a Hannigan kit. Previously I had a 1991 Gold Wing Trike with a solid rear axel. I rode that trike for a few years. I felt it was time to upgrade to Independent suspension. The club I belong to had a rally this past week in Springfield, Mo. Two of the club members are extremely aggressive riders that everyone respects and do not dare challenge them on any type of road. I wanted to know if my choice of trike kit was the right choice so I decided to challenge them. I was quite surprised I was able to keep up with them and at times I had to apply my brakes to avoid hitting one of them. After the twisty ride came to an end, quotes from both riders went like this...."I WAS BLOWN AWAY".....I KEPT LOOKING IN MY MIRROR THAT DAMN WHITE TRIKE WAS STILL THERE". Needless to say I was very pleased with the performance of the trike and my over coming the fear of a couple of curves I thought I wouldn't be able to negotiate....whew!!! Also I wanted to mention I have the Michelin Pilot rear tire (reversed) on the front. I have 15,000 miles on the tire and it still looks almost new. And lastly....I'm 78 years old and still going strong.

Dr. Joe

[meredog]

Staying up with the two wheelers was the reason I went with the Solid Rear axle. I have a Champion kit on my 2007 Honda VTX 1800. Love it and I DO stay up with the two wheelers....regardless of what they are on.......and I am 68 years old.

My only comparison is with a friends 2011 tri glide that i put several hundred miles on while in tx this past winter----
The VTX 1800 Champion was MUCH better handling all the way thru than his TRI Glide.
I would give the quality of the tri glide"s chromed parts a better mark than the HONDA, he also gets better mileage than my VTX

[skuuter]

I have no problem keeping up with Other Trikes and Cruisers on my 2010 Gold Wing 1800 Motor Trike IRS, and occasionally give a Sport Bike a run with a poor rider at the controls. Having ridden many, many Trikes and several different Brands, I still prefer IRS over Solid.....just a Personal Preference.....

[Barnaclebill]

It's so good to read so many posts from the "older" riders! There is a lot of experience there! I, too, am 78, can't believe it at times, although the body tells me so, so many times! I ride a Goldwing GL 1500 trike with a mixed bunch of riders on everything, from 750's, to 1600 Valkyries. I'm the only Trike-rider, and you can only find out about the "art of cornering" by riding! In the early days I was often riding the outside 'gutter' the only thing keeping me on the road being the curbing! I've learnt how to handle the curves now, and can ride through them with the best of the bunch of solos! Understand how your bike reacts and take it easy to begin with, you'll be 'tops' in no time!

[earlyriser4444]

I have a 2005 GL1800 with a MotorTrike IRS. ONLY the crotch rockets can out run me in the curves and I ride with another two-wheeler GL, a Kawa 2000 and a big Harley.

[OldBold]

I strongly believe every rider has to be comfortable with his approach to any aspect of triking. While you have a lot more control than with a 2-wheeler, you are still flying down the road on a rocket with nothing more holding you down but your weight, hands and legs. Personally, I like to push things a bit--but not too much! While leaning doesn't have the same effect as on a 2-wheeler, the fact is you can dramatically change your center of gravity.

The aquashields help with this technique because you can place the entire area of your feet on a solid surface. I can take curves on my MotorTrike conversion much faster than the 2-wheel Harley dressers. I can actually get the rear wheel on the outside of the curve about 2 inches off the ground. At that point, I am not in danger of tipping over, but I do not have enough strength to turn hard enough into the curve to counteract the centrifugal force, so that's my limit.

As for cornering, I like to spin the back end around on the country blacktops. There are different effects depending on how hot it is and if there's any sand or gravel, which tends to accumulate at the intersections, but again, I have no desire to push it to the point where I would "spin out". I'm not sure you could safely do either of these maneuvers with an independent suspension (I have the 2005 conversion, which has a straight axle). Some of my riding buddies, most of whom have Harleys, are amused by what I do, some are amazed and others are frightened, but I feel comfortable with sticking to my limits and not doing anything I can't handle.

[Jim Smyth]

I picked up a 2002 GW Lehman trike last month. This is my first trike and 11th bike overall. Most of my bikes have been sport bikes and this is the first road sofa for me. Gotta say it does drive a lot different initially than my sport bikes and all the pro's and con's have already been discussed in detail. I like the stability (my balance isn't that good any more) of the trike and lets me keep riding.

A few weeks back I went for a ride with 3 other friends that were all on sport bikes. Here is Wisconsin they are building a lot of roundabouts. After a good day of riding we were all kinda hotdogging back home and going through a 2 lane roundabout I took it a little too fast on the outside of another buddy of mine. I am not sure how high my inside tire came off the ground (probably only a few inches) but I found out right there the back axle isn't posi which is a good thing. As soon as the tire came off the ground the bike RPM's went high which made me immediately release the throttle. It didnt matter anyway because the bike didnt accelerate since the tire that was off the ground just spun faster till it re-contacted the ground again with a slight chirp.

Lesson learned on my part and if I do this again I will be leaning into the turn for sure and maybe taking it a tad slower.

[Motogordo]

I have a 2005 GL1800 with a MotorTrike IRS. ONLY the crotch rockets can out run me in the curves and I ride with another two-wheeler GL, a Kawa 2000 and a big Harley.

9/5/12
I also just purchased a 2005 GL1800 trike with the Lehman Monarch II. I don't fly around corners at all. I don't like living on the edge. LOL. I just put on a Bridgestone Exedra Radial tire on front. I hear more stories about bias ply vs. radial.
Gordon
p.s. The cycle mechanic sugggested 36 front/ 26 rear.

[rmrc51]

9/5/12
I also just purchased a 2005 GL1800 trike with the Lehman Monarch II. I don't fly around corners at all. I don't like living on the edge. LOL. I just put on a Bridgestone Exedra Radial tire on front. I hear more stories about bias ply vs. radial.
Gordon
p.s. The cycle mechanic sugggested 36 front/ 26 rear.

You and I are very close in equipment and practice. I just recently bought a 2005 GL1800 with a Roadsmith conversion. And I also don't like living on the edge or fly around corners, lol.

[jcolson]

I was turning left in a corner over a brigde around the chicago area when I hit an expandsion hump. My front end wanted to go straight. That's not a good feeling at 55-65mph. Thought I was going to hit the cement guard rail. You would get that on 2whs.

[rmrc51]

I was turning left in a corner over a bridge around the Chicago area when I hit an expansion hump. My front end wanted to go straight. That's not a good feeling at 55-65mph. Thought I was going to hit the cement guard rail. You would get that on 2whs.

That's just another example why I always watch my speed and tend to ride with the slower flow of traffic.

[Chazzman]

My rule of thumb is give it 1,000 miles. Don't be discouraged before that. Some catch on in way less time. Seems the less you rode before the trike the easier it is to learn to ride a trike. If you were not an aggressive 2 wheeler u will still be able to be an aggressive 3 wheeler. I have a DVD of a 2 wheeler trying to keep up with a trike on the Dragon and he didn't do too good. Scraped pegs all the way threw it.

John can you post that video here I would love to see it. Also check out Yellow Wolf rides the Dragon on u tube. Not a Trike but a 2 wheel GL1800.

[John Luciano]

I do not know if I can post it! I have it now on a DVD. I guess I will have to post it to Utube 1st then render it to this forum . I can try. Give me a few days to try it.

[americanbadass]

There was a guy in our local MC that could actually run at the front of the pack, and led many rides on his trike. None of us could touch him through the twisties on two wheels. He rode a Yamaha Royal Star, with a Hannigan conversion. He was the best triker I have ever witnessed, but he passed away about a month ago. RIP Neil!

[maestro319]

I was on a ride last year and came into a curve just a little too fast. The outside wheel of my trike came off the ground and the bike did a little "dance" on the gravel right toward the guardrail. Luckily, I have NO IDEA HOW, I managed to "dance" away from the rail and stop. In looking at the left hand curve it appears the road is banked TOWARD the guardrail to right. Not a good situation, especially for a relatively inexperienced rider.

[americanbadass]

I was on a ride last year and came into a curve just a little too fast. The outside wheel of my trike came off the ground and the bike did a little "dance" on the gravel right toward the guardrail. Luckily, I have NO IDEA HOW, I managed to "dance" away from the rail and stop. In looking at the left hand curve it appears the road is banked TOWARD the guardrail to right. Not a good situation, especially for a relatively inexperienced rider.

...hope you had an extra pair of undies with ya!

[Motogordo]

You and I are very close in equipment and practice. I just recently bought a 2005 GL1800 with a Roadsmith conversion. And I also don't like living on the edge or fly around corners, lol.

Oct.7, 2012
I have changed my tire pressures yesterday. 41/22
The ride is very good at these pressures.

Motogordo

[leo3wheel]

Great!

[Rosy]

I just spoke to Janice and asked her about leaning in curves and she said she doesn't lean at all. I have a Hannigan with IRS so in a turn both wheels are on the ground. I have heard that some solid axle trikes will "lift" a rear tire in turns, is this true?
Would anybody know if a radial tire will out perform a bias belted tire in the corners? Does a radial tire flex more than a bias belted tire in a corner?
I have taken 90 deg. corners on my trike and I use the in-out method when going in and it seems to work very well. I try and use the in-out method from the days I ran stock cars to take the corners and make the transition from corner to corner easier and smoother.
Like the "pros" said, don't hurry when you start riding a trike. Get use to the machine and all the new things about it before you start push the envelope.
Try different methods to see if you feel more comfortable with one than another, or to see which method gives you a better result.
Just because one driver does it this way, doesn't mean it will be better for you. Trike setup, tires, tire pressure, trike weight, power, and your strength will determine how you handle your trike.
Good luck.

Regards,

Rosy
From NH