My pride and joy is a 2003' GL1800 w/ 2011 Roadsmith kit. The adventure began in 2009 really as we had been riding 2 up since 1965 off & on. First we started our search like most others do reading Forums, Mfgr. info and whatever is out there back in 2009. After lots of research we had narrowed down our selections by August 2010 to our top two selections, Hannigan & Roadsmith so as we planned our Sturgis trip we included visits to both manufacturers displays while there. I tried calling the Hannigan folks (sales lady) and most were already gone so they said to just show up and I'd be taken care of. I then called Roadsmith and spoke to Doug Lindholm who was very helpful with info to were they would be located, he was leaving the next day so I said we'd see him there.
So the day prior to opening day we left and drove straight to 100 miles short of Sturgis. Next morning we drove into Sturgis electing to try Hannigan first, guess so did everyone else. They were packed and only had (4) working display units with two in their trailer for repairs which seemed strange. We tried to get a time to do a test ride, that wasn't going to happen / booked til the end of the week / tried to get some info from people returning from test rides (seemed to be limited to the area downtown) as not many good reviews from people of our on age range, not many complaints just so so reviews as folks couldn't go to the highway as they were told having only 4 units they needed them to return ASAP!!
We did look very closely at their body off GL1800 unit to see details along with taking a few pictures and we were off to Roadsmith. Once at Roadsmith which was also very busy but had plenty of people we were greeted by Doug Lindholm himself, he asked if we had a few minutes as he wanted to show us around and ask some questions. They had a HT1800 kit Body Off on display and immediately jumped out some differences / Heavier Drive Shaft, Heavier Sway Bar, Coil Over Adjustable Progressive Shocks, Adjustable Suspension using stock rear shock adjuster, and it looked like heavier Plates and mounting areas. Doug walked us through the kit asking also how we rode, how many miles, type of use the kit would get, etc.
Then he took us out to the front line of trikes all lined up out front showing us different options that were available and how and where they mounted. Loaded us up with lots of literature and walked us back to our car behind the trailer where parked next to the car was a GL1800 all loaded up and with a Full Tank... asked if we needed helmets / nope we brought them. Gave us a walk thru of how things worked on the Honda saying take it easy the first few miles / don't lean in corners / and take it for a ride as long as you need to.. WoW!! Wipe the smile off my face!! We rode the demo for nearly 100 miles to Spearfish coming back on the highway at 70 with the other bikers.
We did finally get to ride a Hannigan at a dealer in Central Texas the next week.. but it rode nothing like the Roadsmith... so we had our decision made and we asked for quotes from our top two dealers for both kits with the options we decided on.
Now what did we pick:
HT1800 w/Independent Rear Suspension
Heavy Duty True Track Stabilizer Performance Sway Bar w/ Stock Honda Adjustable Pre-Load
2:93-1 Ford Rear End w/ 2" Shaft Driven Differential
Large VW Disc Brakes & HD CV Axles & CV Joints
Chrome Alloy Wheel Upgrade All 3
Carpeted Trunk included
1 1/4" Reciever Hitch included
5 Gallon Auxiliary Fuel Tank
Roadsmith 5 deg Steering Rake
Roadsmith Wing Guard Floorboards
Chrome Nerf Bar Bumper
Roadsmith Custom Trike Cover
Then we added a set of Mud Flaps and (2) Courtesy Light one for trunk and the other for the tour box along with various Baker Wings.
Next on the list was rebuilding our stock bike seat for Trike Comfort by Tom Simmons in Fayetteville, Ark.
We did pull an Aspen Ambassador Camper for about 6 months but just didn't use it enough so we sold it, now we just pull our little cargo trailer.
If you have questions please PM me and I'll try to answer....
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