What do you like about your Roadsmith Trike?

[Trike Talk News]

OK Roadsmith Trike owners, here's your chance to brag on your Roadsmith Trike and tell current and future trike owners why they should buy a Roadsmith Trike or Trike Conversion. Topics of interest will be ride, handling, features, benefits, design, fitment, service, price, styling, etc. There will be NO FLAMING or complaining in this thread towards any dealer or the manufacturer as there are other places for that.

This thread will be based on your positive experiences and why you bought a Roadsmith and why you recommend Roadsmith to others. Please state the make and model of your bike and the make and model of your Roadsmith Conversion along with how long you have owned it and how many Roadsmith Trikes you have owned total.

[The Captain]

What I like about our Roadsmith:
Fit, finish, load bearing running boards, size of the trunk, style, reputation of Roadsmith's customer service, cost, available options, longer & wider wheelbase (better ride) and the fact that it's in my garage!

[bikerbillone]

Owner/Rider of a 2005 GW, w/2012 RS conversion. I really appreciate it, no complaints. Got the aux tank, a large chunk of $, but cheaper than wishing ya had it after all is done then back to the shop for an install. The TrikeShop Daytona did a good job on the conversion. I may discover something a year or so from now, but so far so good. I did not get the floor boards, aqua guards, whatever the term these days, I prefer the freedom of the foot pegs, and the forward crash bar pegs for stretch, but that's just me. I have the 4.5 degree rake which works for me and recommended by the installer. I've not given much thought to a trailer. I believe that my compression bags work well, so there will be no trailer unless the the problem of too much gear becomes an issue.

By the way, I do have a co-pilot and we seem to make do with our travel arrangements, she is quite comfortable back there. We have no inter-com at this time, but thinking seriously about that feature. Gets a bit uncomfortable trying to do the shout communication thing. I did a lot of research before selecting the Road Smith and comfortable with my selection. My mpg went from a 41 to a 36 which can be all over the range depending on many factors. Just using an average here. As many have mentioned, find a good installer you're comfortable with....Here's what I could have done without, a rear manual brake set which comes with the RS conversion, so it's just there. It's way to easy to forget unless you set it really firm so the machine doesn't move in first gear.

[Lucky]

Pearl II 2008/Roadsmith/6Degree rake

First of all it came from a dealer that I really feel good about. Have put about 16000 miles on it since May with no problems.Rides great.

[DonFor]

pepper 2008 Gold Wing Trike June 2010 Trike Shop Daytona Fl. Great job took 4 days to convert bike to trike extra fuel tank, and running boards. Great Job. Was a toss up between Hannigan and Roadsmith Choose Roadsmith. Width of Hannigan a little too wide for me. Co pilot is well pleased with this trike. She loves the ride and stability. Talked with a lot of owners of Roadsmith and they were fully satisfied with their choices. I had to agree. Suspension on roadsmith is great and comfort is what I was looking for, and a reputable dealer.

Blessings to all riders May you ride with the Lord, and be safe.

[Sand Piper]

Sold our 2010 Spyder RTS. Bought used R.S. irs 1800 wing with 20,000 miles on it 4 months ago Flare red in color and loaded with extra farkels. Why I wanted this Road Smith: 6 degree rake,no air bags to leak. long wheel base. simple suspension design that really works well, No rubber bushing in suspension at all. R.S. has long lasting urathane bushings instead of rubber.

Have put 5000 miles in 4 months it and some of those were from a 3200 mile road trip up to Ga,SC, and Nc. mountains and some 75 MPH on I-75 and I - 95 interstate miles.Wind, semi trucks and high speed so easy to maintain with out any discomfort what so ever. Did better on curves then my modified Spyder ever did. This will be our last bike I am sure, as I am 76 years young I will not be able wear this machine out before I will have to give up riding bikes all together.

[bikerbillone]

Well said Sand Piper from Punta Gorda. Looking to head to Peace River Seafood in your fine city on the 27th to meet up with friends from Okeechobee. Enjoy that RS.

[rmrc51]

Pearl II 2008/Roadsmith/6Degree rake

First of all it came from a dealer that I really feel good about.KDCycles in Altoona,Al. great guys about three brothers working there.Have put about 16000 miles on it since May with no problems.Rides great.

She rides great, very comfortable and stable!

[Roadsmith Trikes]

Thanks to everyone who posted in this thread (so far) and for your positive comments. We will continue to monitor and respond in this forum (as often as we can), while at the same time sharing new information as it becomes available. While we are very proud of our trike products and history, we are even more proud of our incredibly supportive customers!

[SMSgt]

I bought my 06 wing with 2012 RS last Dec. I bought it because of the longer wheel base, aux fuel tank, IRS, and larger trunk space. It handles and drives great.

[pudge]

We upgraded to a GL1800 and a RoadSmith trike kit at the same time. We were riding a GL1500 with a solid rear axle kit and we loved it. That machine was pretty long in the tooth and we wanted to upgrade to a newer machine that could possibly last us for the remainder of our riding days. We found an '06 GL1800 that had few miles on the clock and which belonged to an acquaintance in our home state and bought it. We then, after considerable research on line and in person, decided that we wanted a RoadSmith kit with IRS. Another long time acquaintance who is a trike installer located about an hour away from us highly recommended the RS kit. This man had been installing various brands of kits for some time, and he was very positively impressed with the RS brand.

I was very impressed by the fact that a majority of the mechanical parts associated with the kit were parts that were available off the shelf in most well appointed parts stores. I liked the design of the suspension and I very much liked the fact that the drive shaft was purpose made for the kit and that the u-joints again were well known readily available parts. We were able to ride an RS kit a couple of times prior to our decision, and we found the longer wheel base and the IRS to be a significant improvement over what we had been riding. My wife, who is almost always present with me when I ride was very pleased with the ride in her seat.

We did not get the running boards or the extra fuel tank. I don't personally care for or need either one, and we have not been sorry we left those options off. We did opt for the 5.5 RS steering kit with Progressives Springs installed in the front forks. We have ridden this kit nearly 20,000 miles since very early 2011. At this point, we are entirely pleased with our choice. It rides very well, it handles very well, we think it looks good, it has more storage space than some other brands (we got the added storage space at the front of the trunk over the rear axle, and we have not had one single complaint or problem with the machine in the time we've owned it. We also tow a trailer almost all the time (an Aluma MCT) and the hitch that comes with the trike kit is way more than adequate for the towing job.

My installer friend has told me that he has had very few complaints about the RS kits that he has installed and these were for relatively minor things, such as readjustment of the trunk latch or similar. He has basically continued to service the other brand kits that he's installed, but is now only installing RS kits, last I heard. I know that there are other good kits on the road, but I have absolutely no reason to ever want another brand. Our experience with the RS kit has been very positive. I have no qualms about recommending the RS kit to anyone, and I have done so many times. I know of at least three other riders who have since purchased RS kits for their GL 1800s and all of them are very satisfied.

I have no experience with the newer suspension that automatically adjusts to compensate for different loads, but I have had no occasion to mess with my suspension settings since getting them initially set for my wife and I with the trailer. I have made no changes on the few occasions when I've ridden single up without the trailer, and I could tell no real difference in the ride quality. The machine is always ready to go when we want to go. I check the tire pressure regularly and change the oil when it comes time for that, and otherwise, we just ride and enjoy the ride. What's not to like? Folks, that's my personal opinion, and that of my wife after the miles and time listed above. You may have different likes and tastes than we do, but we are completely happy and satisfied RoadSmith owners.

[mailman01]

Have a 2005 goldwing with 2011 RS conversion. Love the IRS, didn't get the wing guards as I like to put my feet down to push it backwards or to stand up at stops to stretch. Thinking strongly about the RS comfort controls to move foot pegs forward and down. Great machine.

[rmrc51]

Have a 2005 goldwing with 2011 RS conversion. Love the IRS, didn't get the wing guards as I like to put my feet down to push it backwards or to stand up at stops to stretch. Thinking strongly about the RS comfort controls to move foot pegs forward and down. Great machine.

I had the Comfort Controls installed when I bought my trike. These Comfort Controls had just come out at that time and it was one of the first sets released by Roadsmith. They really do make a difference in the, 'comfort' of your foot placement. Although your legs are not stretched out as they are with the Harleys, I can say that with the Comfort Controls, your feet are in a more 'natural' position and not as cramped and bent as they were with the standard configuration.

When I picked up my trike. I purposely sat on another GW trike they had on site and then back on mine. The difference was definitely noticeable. Granted, these are not cheap by any means. And I'm sure each one of us has their own definition of what level of comfort they're willing to pay for. For me, these new Comfort Controls tipped the scales in favor of going with a GoldWing as I never felt comfortable with the stock foot position even on my previous Valkyrie trike. I hope this information helps.

[Goldwing09]

In 2009 had my 2005 Goldwing triked with a Roadsmith, My wife and really liked it untill the rear end went out in 2012, but the great guys at Roadsmith took care of it. Later that year I bought a 2013 Goldwing and had it triked by with a Roadsmith. I picked Roadsmith in part because they stood behind their product, plus I like the ride, feel & handling. Have recommended Roadsmith to many riders.

[neilrupp]

I have a 98 Wing with a 2012 kit installed. I love the looks over all the other units. The mechanics of the drive train are very heavy duty. You shouldn't ever have any problems with R/S kit. I did remove the springs that are over the shocks and this gave me an even smoother ride. If your a person of the larger size you shouldn't do this. I'm the type that just can't keep my hands off anything I buy. I would recommend the RS kit.

[Mgammon]

Two years ago, I had my 2008 Goldwing HPNA Goldwing converted to the Roadsmith trike. Our decision

to convert was based on my wife having to give up her solo riding due to three back surgery. With that

said, we contacted The Trike Shop in Daytona Beach about the conversion ... They had several Goldwing

Roadsmith conversions on consignment and actually let me pre-ride one of the conversions. Fell in love

instantly ... Handling was superb, quality of work superb, and options superb. So we sat down and

worked up my conversion plan. Most of my options were performance based, with sway bar, 5 gal

aux tank, but had the whole conversion done body wise.

In addition, had handlebar risers installed

and a heated Ultimate Seat. The air suspension works flawless, but I have had to replace two

air shocks due to failure .. These were replaced by The Trike Shop under warranty. No cost to me.

Now after 2 years, we have put close to 25K miles on the trike and it is best described as

A W E S O M E .... Have ridden Goldwings converted with the top three other manufactures and

I will not smash names, but, the Roadsmith has them all beat, hands down ...

Merry Christmas all .. Happy Motoring ...

[BillyKR]

Well, it appears most of the replies have been for Hondas, so I guess I'll "check in". I have a 2006 HD UltraClassic that I converted to a trike in 2008 with a Roadsmith conversion. I researched pretty much everything out there at the time, and the Roadsmith actually was the best value, since it included almost everything I wanted where other vendors treated those as extra-cost add-ons.

Things I most like: The fit and finish are - for all practical purposes - perfect. I bought it directly from the factory, had them color-match my HD (using a body part I sent them), and had it installed by the good folks at Texas Sidecar, northeast of Dallas. (That installation was perfect, too.) I had the front fork extended at the same time, and had the Stage II kit installed on my engine to give it the power it needed for a 1,400 pound ride.

In the ensuing 5 years, we have had NO problem with the kit or any part of it. I also have an automatic clutch with Kevlar plates, so the "parking brake" is a necessity...in fact, it's almost a godsend, because bikes/trikes with automatic clutches won't hold a hill in gear. So, I learned to set the brake every time I park, and release every time before I pull away.

Anyway, that's enough. Ride safe, all!
BKR

[Texas Rider]

06 Wing/Roadsmith here and I like to consider myself a critics worst nightmare . Roadsmith seems to be one of those best value for the buck deals. With this trike kit I can pretty much put my "I'm a critics worst nightmare" out to pasture. There's absolutely nothing to complain about and everything to brag about after two years of riding this critter.

[North of 49]

I have a 1997 Valkyrie with a 2007 RS kit. I bought the bike new, loved it's performance, was low miles, so I decided to keep it and add a trike kit. Here's some of the reasons I picked RS:

Dependability...Long track record of building trikes, good reputation..
Comfort...long wheel base, IRS, passenger comfort, sits ahead of rear wheels, (not over them).
Was self installed...we had no dealers within 600 miles at the time. Ease and simplicity of install was important. Was a bolt on project, no cutting involved. And many of the driveline parts are available locally. Don't think the "do it yourself" option is available now??
Rake kit available and was installed with the trike kit.
Came with trailer hitch, we pull a trailer.
Visually appealing, long and low, it attracts attention and long discussions. Ask my wife.....lol

Changes/additions:

Got rid of OEM radial front tire, and replaced with Michelin Pilot Activ...much improved handling !!!
Installed up-graded master cylinder from RS, for improved braking.
Replaced worn out original rear tires with Michelin Hydro edge rain tires (no longer available) Not sure that it improved wet handling significantly?
Installed hand grips on back for passenger.
Lowered stock footpegs, improved riding comfort.
Added Kuryakyn luggage rack behind passenger, (no trunk on Valks) and their Grantour bag...only use for longer trips. as trunk is good size.

I am very happy with the Roadsmith Trike and my wife is comfortable as well. We do an annual trip to Sturgis and have had no problems on the road. And there have been two more RS kits installed in my small town since they looked at mine. I would certainly buy again, based on my experience.

[kb9osl]

I like the ride , its smoother than some of the others. The trunk space is big enough for both of us .This has the aux. tank , with the extra 5 gal. I could go over 375 miles before fill up . We like the IRS ,I think it's a bit wider than some others. I really couldn't find anything that I don't like about a Roadsmith . I called the factory and they where very helpful with my concerns, sent me an owners manual for my 04 kit , answered all of my questions, returned a few calls
(they where out on some Rally's, called me back after they got back . For me , I like that type of customer support , I bought this trike used, so really they didn't owe me a thing ) I would buy another Roadsmith trike if my 03 wing ever fails.