Price right??

[cnile]

There is a 2006 Suzuki Boulevard C50 with Lehman Trike - tramp model kit installed for $12,500. Its got about 7000 miles on it. I am looking for a trike that my wife and I can ride on together. Do you guys think this is a fair price, and would an 800cc bike be big enough for two people with a combined weight of close to 400 pounds?

 

[Gorilla]

The price sounds okay. The conversion is worth most of that by itself if everything is in good shape. The trike should be okay if you are doing mostly riding below 65 mph. It might be a little down on power on the highway, but if you are the type that isn't looking to be thrown off when you twist the throttle it might be okay. See if they will let you have a good 2 up test ride including some superhighway time.

 

[hitime]

I don't know about your location, but I have seen brand new '08 Tramps for as little as $14K ($13,900 actually). They are a bare-bones trike - pretty small. My wife and I decided we didn't want to ride something that small together - but that's us. On the other hand, I have a Volusia (the bike platform that trike is made from) and I have had no trouble keeping up with any cruiser I have ridden with on any road. Remember way back when they were making those great trikes out of the old Honda 750's? They were the big bikes back then.... I'm just sayin' we might get caught up in the debate about engine size, but most any engine that is 750 cc and above will make a decent trike, IMO, depending on how much you plan on towing and how much time you spend riding superslab in the hill country.

 

[hitime]

Or you could go with a few more miles and check out this one:

Lehman Trikes - Leader of the Three World :: Home

It may have more miles on it, but the accessories are ones you would probably want pretty soon if you bought a stocker. The engines on them are pretty much bullet-proof. Run great for lots and lots of miles. Just gotta check the valve clearance every season - not a big deal if you have any mechanical inclination and a few basic tools.

 

[cnile]

My wife is now saying that we should wait until Spring since we don't have a garage and she wouldn't be riding in the cold weather anyway. Thanks for the responses. At least now I have an idea of how much I will have to spend.

The thing that bothers me the most is that I can't find a trike that I can rent to find out whether or not the wife is really going to enjoy riding. I hate the thought of spending thousands and then she tells me she isn't enjoying herself.

 

[katfish16]

Not sure where U live, but U might check to see if there are any rallies going on that U might go too. Or check and see what trike dealers are within driving distance of ur home. U need to ride as many trikes as U can to find out which one U like the most and to make sure U have a dealer or repair shop in ur area in case U need it.

Good luck...

 

[BlueTrinity]

The thing that bothers me the most is that I can't find a trike that I can rent to find out whether or not the wife is really going to enjoy riding. I hate the thought of spending thousands and then she tells me she isn't enjoying herself.

FWIW - Don't lose too much sleep over that one. If she enjoys riding now, she'll enjoy on a trike (probably even more).

Nearly every triker will tell you that the transition is bigger for the rider than for the passenger. You'll have to change some of the very basic things you do right now, but for the passenger, the only dramatic change is the lack of leaning in the turns and rarely will you hear that as a complaint.

All that said, you still should do the test ride(s) and convince yourselves. You'll quickly find however, that is not whether we should buy a trike, but rather, whether we should buy THIS trike.

As to the waiting until spring, consider this. We are coming into the best season to buy. There will be folks out there wanting to unload their machines so they don't have to store them or they need cash for the upcoming Christmas. At that time of year there is not a glut of buyers, so if you are patient, there will be some tremendous bargains.

If you get lucky and run across that unbelievable bargain, you can always rent a storage unit for a couple of months probably for less tha $100, to keep it in.

On the other hand, as spring approaches, it will become a sellers market as buyers become more anxious and excited about the riding season. Add to that, if the economy keeps improving ( Hey, I'm a Democrat, what can I say?), sellers will find themselves under less pressure to sell and more likely to hold on them for at least one more riding season.

That's my :2cents: worth and you may think evan at that, it's overpriced, but Good Luck with whatever you choose to do and I'll look forward to meeting you on the road.

 

[John Luciano]

Ditto on DAVES message. I have a friend that has a C50 trike . He claims it has more guts than his Kawasaki Voyager had as a trike . Most of my ridding is below 50. Wife was afraid to ride on my 1100 Goldwing (2 Wheeler ) I added the voyager kit and she rode maybe 300 miles a year. Now I have the 1500 DFT trike and she will ride every day if I let her over 3,000 this year. Consider this the C50 has about 65 hp and a HD has about 70HP to 80HP the Wing has 90 to 100 HP. it will not be a DOG fer sure. If the C50 don't have a back rest then the Hitime has is a better deal . Got to have a back rest to have a happy co rider.

 

[spiritdream]

There is a 2006 Suzuki Boulevard C50 with Lehman Trike - tramp model kit installed for $12,500. Its got about 7000 miles on it. I am looking for a trike that my wife and I can ride on together. Do you guys think this is a fair price, and would an 800cc bike be big enough for two people with a combined weight of close to 400 pounds?

Hi there and welcome!! You don't say where you're located or the type of riding you plan, so all I can really give you is my experience and you'll have to adapt to your needs as you care to.

I have a 2007 C50/Tramp, bought new from a dealer here in MA (who has trikes available for test rides, by the way) for @$16k. I spoke to a guy who was selling one at another dealership on consignment - he assured me that he and his wife were both comfortable on it, and both were on the large side (his words, not mine!). Personally I've had no problems keeping up with anyone I needed to, and it's comfortable enough for me, but I think the C90 would be more comfortable for a passenger for any "lengthy" rides.


As far as your other post about renting trikes - again, you don't say where you're located, but here's what I was able to find:

CA, NV, UT - Eagle Rider says they rent trikes
Phoenix AZ - Southwest Trikes rents GoldWing trikes, and sells the Stallion (so maybe they'll be renting them soon?)
Osage Beach, MO - Lake of the Ozarks HD


Don't give up - there's a ride out there for everyone!! And it's a blast!!! :yes:

 

[Gorilla]

Go to a Harley Dealer and ask for a test riide on a TRI-Glide. Most will let you have some sort of a ride.

 

[hitime]

Go to a Harley Dealer and ask for a test riide on a TRI-Glide. Most will let you have some sort of a ride.

...And good luck finding a HD dealer with a TG in stock. All of the dealers around here have them sold before they ever get to the showroom floor. The guys who sell Lehman Tramps around here wouldn't even consider letting me test ride. Said they would give me a 50-mile no-questions-asked 100% money back guarantee. I told them to pack sand. I won't buy without test riding first. They let me walk and didn't even look a second time. Their loss - when I found what I wanted, I paid what they asked.

 

[Nana]

Check around and you CAN find a trike at the HD dealers (although they don't stay in stock long). This week we were in Columbus and a smaller dealer there had a Triglide on the floor and a new Street Glide trike had just been off-loaded from the truck. It was VERY sharp, BTW! Nice detail on the top of the trunk.