Making The Switch - Bike to Trike - Great Info!

[Papa Zook]

i run 32lb in rear tires and 42 in front seems to handle great no tire wear at all rides great

32 LBs in the rear tires is way too much. Nary a single trike manufacturer recommends anywhere near that much pressure. You need to be running 20-24 lbs max.

[Mr.Wizard]

Check this out Randy...

A guy with a TG came to me (local) said his trike just drove funny.

Front tire = 50 lbs
Rear tires = 65 lbs
Shocks = 5 lbs


Will let you be the judge on that one.

[Papa Zook]

Check this out Randy...

A guy with a TG came to me (local) said his trike just drove funny.

Front tire = 50 lbs
Rear tires = 65 lbs
Shocks = 5 lbs


Will let you be the judge on that one.

Thats what I run in my Dually!

[Mr.Wizard]

Thought I would ride it to see what he was talking about... got about a mile down the road and turned around. Darn back end hunted like no body's business.. thought he had bad swing arm bushings. When I put it on the lift the tires sounded like a brick hitting the lift.

[Skeet7373]

Wiz...what was the digital tire guage you recommended with the swivel head? Putting one on my christmas list since mine is 2lbs off!

[Mr.Wizard]

Swivel head? Not sure but ill look around for you. The angle heads are nice.

[rivercityjack]

The first experience with trikes was back in the late 60's and I rode a 65 Harley Servi Car for 3 years doing traffic and writing parking tickets to Farmall workers who parked on the side streets around the factory instead of the parking lots. (Took too much time to get to the tavern after work if you had to wait getting out of the parking lot and across the train tracks.)

The 2013 TriGlide is about the same handling, just has a lot more power, more gears, and an electric reverse instead of the 3 speed forward, 1 reverse and a 45 cube engine. It also had a pair of red lights up front and a siren which helped a lot getting through traffic. Of course when you hit the lever for the siren, speed dropped, the siren ran off the front tire and the battery went dead after ten minutes of red lights on the front, but it was a lot of fun back then. even when it was below zero, chains on the back tires, and they ran all day till they went back in the garage late afternoon. Thank goodness the radios didn't work that well on the cycles back then. Ah, memories.

[drumdoctor]

Some very basic things are sometimes overlooked...

Make sure that ALL items (Handlebars, shifters, air seats, windshield,etc...) are
adjusted for maximum comfort.

I have set on other people's trikes and felt very uncomfortable--even though we were similar in size.
The handlebars were at a strange angle, the shifter felt odd and I wondered how they could ride any distance over 25 miles.

Take your time and experiment with different positions for your controls.

[Shimpy]

This post has been going on for so long that I've moved from 0 - 1 years to
1 - 2 years experience. Maybe we need to re-do the survey?

[Mr. Mac]

I had my 2 wheeler converted to a Lehman Monarch II in 2006. I had put 30,000 miles on the 2 wheeler. I now have 175,000 on the trike. I guess you might consider Mary and me to be experienced riders. We are looking forward to spring and getting back on the road.

I am a newcomer to this board. I am generally a lurker, but may post once in a while.

[Nana]

I had my 2 wheeler converted to a Lehman Monarch II in 2006. I had put 30,000 miles on the 2 wheeler. I now have 175,000 on the trike. I guess you might consider Mary and me to be experienced riders. We are looking forward to spring and getting back on the road.

I am a newcomer to this board. I am generally a lurker, but may post once in a while.

Welcome, Mr. Mac. So... with 175,000 miles under your belt, you surely have some riding wisdoms to add here to help our new riders!

[OldBay]

John, what do you suggest instead?

[skuuter]

Check this out Randy...

A guy with a TG came to me (local) said his trike just drove funny.

Front tire = 50 lbs
Rear tires = 65 lbs
Shocks = 5 lbs


Will let you be the judge on that one.

..."WOW", just "WOW".....

[sirkitrider]

Just read this thread for the 2nd or 3rd time. Read it b4 I bought the bike and again today. VERY helpful. THANKS to all who gave their suggestions. After 1600 miles on my trike I find these tips very helpful before and after I started riding. {Also thanks whoever posted the MSF links}

First ride ... I thought "oh crap what have I done!" 200 or 300 miles a little better. Luckily, I blew a fork seal and had to replace it so I rebuilt the forks - seals, bushings, fluid, PS, etc. Made a HUGE difference in the handling of the rig.

Going from two wheels to three, or in my case four, wasn't that big a deal since I had a four year lay off.

The left turn is still the hardest to feel confident about.

What I like most about the trike thing is you don't have to sweat the small stuff ....... small critters, rocks, sand, hay, limbs, etc. in the road. Still have to be aware of course but feel much more secure when that barking dog chases along side. Still gotta watch the big stuff though, but I feel the size of the setup does make us more visible. Although I don't take that for granted either.

- Sirkitrider

[Ozarkryder]

[QUOTE=sirkitrider;147912]

(snip a bunch of stuff)
The left turn is still the hardest to feel confident about.
(snip some more)
- Sirkitrider[/QUOTE]

Until there is a bit of experience, a lot of folks I know have had this same sentation. It is called "Edge Fear". Going right aorund a curve there is somewhere to go if you take it wide and into the other lane, take a left hander wide and you can run right off the road. See it a lot here in the Ozarks where it is very curvy, there are few guardrails and most roads have a dropoff into a holler. (ravine for you northerners) I see a lot of people take a different line through a left hander than a right hand curve even though they both have the same radius.
Nothing to worry about, it will come with experience.

[Smoken'JOE]

The left turn is still the hardest to feel confident about.
- Sirkitrider

Try moving your head to the left when turning. Kinda like leaning.

[rayg5102]

New to triking here. Picked up 2010 HD TG w/8600 miles. Tough here in Maryland with cold rain and snow. Can't wait for warmer days. Just nice enough for short 1/2 hr - 1 hr rides here and there. So far I've driven with the parking break on, had trouble with left turns and my face hurts from smiling. Other than that its a blast so far. Going out to find leathers so I can get out in the cold

Hope to see some of you out there
Ray

[skuuter]

[QUOTE=sirkitrider;147912]
Until there is a bit of experience, a lot of folks I know have had this same sentation. It is called "Edge Fear". Going right aorund a curve there is somewhere to go if you take it wide and into the other lane, take a left hander wide and you can run right off the road. See it a lot here in the Ozarks where it is very curvy, there are few guardrails and most roads have a dropoff into a holler. (ravine for you northerners) I see a lot of people take a different line through a left hander than a right hand curve even though they both have the same radius.
Nothing to worry about, it will come with experience.

Yep, sight through the curve and concentrate......I've really enjoyed a lot of Your Roads there...not a lot different from where I live in Tennessee. Looking forward to the RALLY there.........

[skuuter]

Something else I do, and have done for years....when approaching a side road or driveway that has a vehicle in it, I always roll out of the throttle (...or accelerate briskly if already at the road/driveway and a vehicle moves up to their stopsign to clear them before they can pull out) which generally drops about 2 to 7 mph instantly off my forward speed...Those few MPH and split second has saved me several times when the Other Driver pulled on out. I always ride with two fingers on the front brake lever and clutch also when doing back roads or in Town with intersecting roads...another "time saver" in a bad situation.....

[crackercap]

Many thanks for all the helpful hints, I have never riden a trike so I am a little apprenshive to take that first drive. I recently bought a 2007 Honda trike and everything is new to me, being a Harley rider for many years. Thanks Again