Attachment 16209 Attachment 16211
This is a direct quote from Bazooka when i asked about , and before i bought the champion straight axle kit.
pepper" The Champion solid axle kit is one of the most straightforward and easiest kits to install, period. Their install instruction manual is thorough and has lots of pictures, stuff us male humans need and like! "
( See sept. 2013 trike of the month on this forum)
Also Goggle- pcombe library/photobucket- i kept a photo log on the conversion.
I did the conversion myself.
I am reasonably capable as a mechanic but by no means a certified motorcycle mechanic. And this was my first ever trike build!
I have since done a might of work for others also as there is no dealer/trike installer within a convenient range of where i live. Besides, I wanted to do it myself.
I did the rear end conversion in the garage within a 1 1/2 week time span including paint and pinstripe,(
by the way i painted my rear kit using the Dupli-Color spray cans of black and clear paint bought from auto zone at about $7.00 per can, This paint is an automotive paint and its propellant is propane so it dries very near as fast as you shoot it! So you have to try and get a run in the paint! )
I did this entire conversion with no high dollar lifts or tools, with my motor manual at hand for reference , an overhead chain hoist, jack stands, and champion instructions at my fingertips. Also a welding machine.
The instructions caused me to scratch my head a couple a couple times but i was able to work through it .
I also was able to talk directly to a champion installer/mechanic at the factory when i tried to over think the instructions.
I got plenty of good advice from other forums members ( you know who you are), who have done the conversion themselves and Bazooka went out of his way to help me also.
I have COPD and Congestive Heart Failure and blood thinning medicine kept my knuckles bleeding, and i constantly had that dang portable oxygen machine in the way
, and band-aid brand made a small fortune on top of my parts expenses.
(and i was in absolute heaven).
Speaking of expenses
i got a very good deal on the kit through Bazooka on this forum, I also got a good deal from Bazooka on the raked triple trees i installed on the front myself but thats another class and not about the rear end conversion.
All totaled i have under $8,000 into the entire conversion.
My ride is a beautiful 1989 Harley Davidson tour Glide Ultra Classic who's next birthday will see 25 yrs. and still counting,
There were only a couple of kit manufactures that offer a trike assembly for a machine as old as mine. Champion and Frankenstein come to mind and i have to admit Champion was the best looking kit in my opinion and its cost was considerably less than Frankenstein and i am on a fixed income.
The Harley tri-Glide is a straight axle so i reasoned that model was good enough for mine and so chose to go with it over the independent suspension.
My trike rides a little rough in town with the crappy city streets but i built it for travel and when i get it out of town
it's ride smooths out and is everything i would want in a trike, I am one of those guys who puts miles on a machine and took it out on a 2500 mile trip through rugged mountains,and open plains and found my trike to be even more responsive than my buddies Tri-glide in steering and handling.
The motor is a stock 80" Harley with a five speed tranny and i am constantly running up behind my friends tri-glide on hills and have to back out of my cruise control and i usually use at least 1/2 gallon less fuel per fill up than he does.
The Bassani mufflers that came with my trike kit produce a very righteous deep, yet mellow tone and is the envy of my friends.
The Champion kit for a bike as old as mine also came with the the braces and instructions to beef up my upper motor mount, It came with everything i needed to do a complete conversion.
I absolutely love my Champion trike.pepperpepper