Newbie in Eastern NC

[Calman]

Howdy Y'all,

I'm old to 3-wheeling but not the trike kind of 3-wheeling. But that's changing shortly. Currently have a Royal Enfield Classic Bullet 500 with a sidecar but have a Motortrike Honda Shadow Aero 750 being built as we "speak". Will be picking it up at the factory in Troup, TX the end of July.

I'll be trailering it back to the home "forty" here in Pamlico County of eastern NC. Since I'm also taking a kayak with me you can bet I'll be stopping along the way - Biloxi for one to paddle. And, of course, I'll pull the trike off the trailer to get some "break-in" miles on it at every stop; mostly in Biloxi since my BIL has a H-D EG and will want to go riding.

To paraphrase my kayak sign off:

Any day on the road (water) is a great day!

Cal

[Nana]

Hi Cal, and welcome to TrikeTalk! So you are going from a sidecar to a trike! Then the trike steering should be a piece of cake for you! Can't wait to see pictures of your new baby, so take a lot of them and share them with us here. You will find Trike Talk to be a great family to be a part of.

[Ozarkryder]

Hey Calman- welcome to 3 wheel "tri-track" world! (as opposed to the "dual-track" you get with a sidecar rig)

As Nana said, the steering should be a piece of cake, but, as one that has been there, (had a hack on the Harley before the wife got our 1st trike 15 years ago) there will be a bit of a change.

Steer straight when accelerating or braking. Those that have never piloted a hack wouldn't know that the sidecar will drag the rig toward it when pulling away from a stop, and push the rig to the left (in the USA) when braking. After a while it is second nature to steer to compensate for the push or pull effect. It took me quite a while to get out of the habit.

Turns will be equal both right and left. No dragging or skidding going around corners.

For the most part, keep the front wheel down the middle of the lane, not over by the centerline. You'll have a wheel and fender sticking out to your left now. Also watch for stuff to avoid running over on your left, not just to the right any more.

No more lofting the chair , surprising onlookers and freaking out any passengers experiencing that for the first time. (That's one reason my wife got a trike in the first place. :innocent

As Nana said, we like pictures around here - would be interested in pics of the sidecar rig and, of course, your new ride.

Again- welcome!

[Juju]

Good for you, Calman! And welcome aboard here at Trike Talk, the best place in the known universe for trikers to gather and converse.

Where in the world are you planning to paddle in Biloxi? It's become such a gamblers' haven (not for me, but DH goes there occasionally to "contribute," ) it's hard to imagine anyone finding any natural delights there.

Can't wait to see pix of your new ride. Post some of your kayak too!

[John Luciano]

So lets see the Kayak on top of the trike should be a sight. Saw a guy pulling a 12' canoe on a trailer behind his trike ... welcome aboard

[BlueTrinity]

Welcome aboard Cal! You're going have a lot of fun here (and even more riding the trike).

I hate to see you have to trailer that new trike all that distance, so I'll just offer to fly down to TX and pick it up and ride it back to Carolina for you. That way you won't even have to worry about the break-in either.
No?....Oh well....then we'll each just have to enjoy riding our own.

Be safe on your trip and don't forget to send pictures (of the trike...not the trailer and kayak).

[Calman]

I did test drive an 83 Yamaha 1300 trike a couple weeks ago and didn't have any problems guiding it around the curves tho' it didn't have EZ-steer on it. Once you've run over a curb or gas island with your sidecar you learn real quick about watching where the tires on your cycle and hack are at all times.

As far pictures I'll be taking plenty of them. Got a GF who always wants to know what I've seen; whether it hacking or paddling. Speaking of the latter; there is plenty of the Gulf Coast and rivers to paddle in Biloxi as well as what we in NC call swamps. Will be stopping at other places too since I'm retired and on "Cal Time".

John/Blue Trinity: All I got is a couple of "small" kayaks that are longer than my COMPAC 16 sailboat. Both are 17 foot sea kayaks and I'm already trying to figure out how to get a single kayak trailer designed for a bicycle up to trike-specs for the open road. Guess first off I need to get some high speed tires! Huh!

Will be posting pics of the sidecar and my kayaks in the next day or two. If I can't ride with the wind at least I can go with the flow.

Cal

[Ironhorsepilot]

Welcome to the Forum, Calman. Great bunch of people here and lots of good info.

[Gorilla]

Welcome Calman enjoy the company. Ted

[bdn56]

I saw you had a Widow Maker. I had one of those in the mid 70's. My first road bike
It looks like we survived. Welcome to the forum.

[ThirdWheel]

Welcome Calman, I thinks us Tarheels are starting to out number the others, soon we will call it Carolina Trike Talk. :yes:

[Calman]

Only two more weeks and I head for Texas to pick up my new ride. In the interim I finally got around to posting a pix of my current 3-wheeling cycle - a 500cc Royal Enfield Bullet with a sidecar - on my profile.

Wishing all a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July. Damn it - I love this country!

Cal

[5thwheel]

I am looking forward to hearing your first impressions on the difference between your sidecar rig and the trike. DH is adding a sidecar to his bike (should arrive in the next couple of weeks) and he has ridden my trike but neither of us have ridden with a sidecar.
Adventures ahead!

[Calman]

If you've not already discovered it, go Redirecionando .., and read the Kendall Manual on Sidecars. The folks over there are just as friendly as the one's on this site.

Cal