Making The Switch - Bike to Trike - Great Info!

[cavie]

Bought my trike about a week before xmas. 2005 1300R VTX Champion. Took me about 10 min in a parking lot to decide I made the right choice. Brought her home and drove her around for about 50 miles.pepper Put her in the shop for a head to toe check up. Valve adjust, carb jetting, colonostomy, brake fluid transfusion, etc. Comes home on Saturday. Thank you for this thread. I have learnd a hole lot about my trike from my lazyboy!!!Let the games begin.

[bikerbillone]

Nice conversion. Colostomy, now that's funny.

[tom w]

I guess I could call my conversion kit a prosthesis for my bum knee. (can I get a tax write off and claim it as medical equipment ?) had it about 7 months . you guys with experience on this site have helped me a lot converting from 2 to 3. never would have thought it was a big deal.... whole new world! Thanks to all for your advise on lots of different topics. I have learned a lot more just from this thread.

[tom w]

Have read this thread twice so far, plan to read it again in total! Why, because I expect my first trike in a week or two and need to know all I can about riding/driving a trike! I am triking my '06 Yamaha StratoLiner with a CSC kit through a local trike dealer and in hopes of many, many great miles of triking. I have been riding 2 wheels for 40+ years and the input of the experienced members is of great value to someone like me and it is much appreciated!
Thank you, and hope to see some of you on the road in the near future!

your in for a new experience.
I rode 2 wheels for most of my adult life till 7 months ago. I rode my ultra 5 hours from home , had a conversion done and rode it back home. Never really rode a trike before. took a demo ride once.
The dealer could not believe I was riding that far on my maiden voyage. Think it made him a little nervous about his work. The ride went fine no problems other than in my head. best thing this newbee can say is RELAX . my knuckles were white for a week after getting home.

[dogman513]

We rode hack's for over 2 years before going to a trike (TriCar). When group riding there is a reason that trikes should be at the back. They will outstop the 2 wheelers you are riding with. After you become more familiar with the trike and are riding with a group of 2 wheelers in the twisties take care that you do not run over them in the turns. Ride all you can and enjoy.

Out stop 2 wheelers? At 60mph a trike needs 150 plus feet to come to complete stop. just info

[dogman513]

On a road with no traffic park with the left rear wheel near the center stripe. Then mark the stripe location on the windshield or the handlebars. Now you have an indicator to warn you when you are too close to the center stripe. The first time I pulled a trailer with with a bike I found myself crossing the stripe when I didnt pay attention so I marked the windshield and never had the problem again.

Add the little convex mirror to mirrors, you can see where the rear of your is riding

[skuuter]

Add the little convex mirror to mirrors, you can see where the rear of your is riding

Yep.....I run convex mirrors on EVERYTHING with Wheels.....

[skuuter]

Great thread, thanks to all the experienced riders and newbies sharing their experiences. I am planning on a trike conversion in the near future. Not really sure when but hopefully not too long from now. So reading this has been very helpful and informative.

ALWAYS GREAT to hear...."proof" that TRIKE TALK.com works.....

[oneup]

it would seem to me that it doesnt matter if you have much experience on two wheelers or not.. in fact having a lot of 2 wheeled experience may even be a hinderance when it comes to controling that first ride. all my regular riding friends are highly experienced and skilled 2 wheel riders, and when i got the trike they all had a try, and all struggled a bit at first. sure they have the road skills, but not the handling skills, their expectation of what they expected was quite different from the reality. Paul, who is an ex GP racer, and the most skillfull rider i know, nearly hit the curb.

Im guessing a novice would have less expectation of how its going to be, and is therefor more likely to go easy till they get a feel for the trike. So my best advice is to take it easy, go somewhere quiet if possible. a large empty car park would be great, take your time. build up speed as you gain confidence. feel out your front and rear brakes, get an idea of how they work and how the trike reacts. the ability to stop is hugely important.. steering may feel a bit heavy, but point the front wheel where you want to go, and smile its all a learning curve and its going to be a fun one.

[bikerbillone]

Have read this thread twice so far, plan to read it again in total! Why, because I expect my first trike in a week or two and need to know all I can about riding/driving a trike! I am triking my '06 Yamaha StratoLiner with a CSC kit through a local trike dealer and in hopes of many, many great miles of triking. I have been riding 2 wheels for 40+ years and the input of the experienced members is of great value to someone like me and it is much appreciated!
Thank you, and hope to see some of you on the road in the near future!

Oh yes, you are so right. My first ride after 46 years on two wheels, I almost drove into the wrong lane of traffic, no kidding, that was a bad one, had to stop, obviously put my feet, yep, then started out again and got it turned the right way. After that it smooth sailing

[livelyjames]

it would seem to me that it doesnt matter if you have much experience on two wheelers or not.. in fact having a lot of 2 wheeled experience may even be a hinderance when it comes to controling that first ride. all my regular riding friends are highly experienced and skilled 2 wheel riders, and when i got the trike they all had a try, and all struggled a bit at first. sure they have the road skills, but not the handling skills, their expectation of what they expected was quite different from the reality. Paul, who is an ex GP racer, and the most skillfull rider i know, nearly hit the curb.
Im guessing a novice would have less expectation of how its going to be, and is therefor more likely to go easy till they get a feel for the trike.
So my best advice is to take it easy, go somewhere quiet if possible. a large empty car park would be great, take your time. build up speed as you gain confidence. feel out your front and rear brakes, get an idea of how they work and how the trike reacts. the ability to stop is hugely important.. steering may feel a bit heavy, but point the front wheel where you want to go, and smile its all a learning curve and its going to be a fun one.

What he said........

[retread83]

You did better than me,ran over foot in driveway,tried to turn the first corner by leaning.Wifey did better,didn't put feet down or lean.

[Rubiconcruiser]

Been on three since 73. Own an 1150 BMW but it's parked. The trike is the cats meow for sure

[RTwing]

I started riding trikes back in 2009 when I first tried out a CanAm and decided to just go ahead and try building my own.
The first was a built to fit st1100 that was built piece by piece by just welding things together. Since then and some 80,000 miles later I reached a point where playing around lead to a the real deal. I have since created a patented design for a reverse trike conversion and have just returned from a 3400 mile trip to the hills of NC where we found the trike to be a real handler in the corners and can out run most cruisers and tour models.

Now to clarify this is after many miles of relearning how to ride as riding a trike is requires a new skill set over riding conventional motorcycles. I hear all the time where people "try" a trike for a mile or so and don't like it as it's not a real motorcycle. What they are really saying is they don't understand how to ride it and it scares them. Well once you learn you will find out tipping is not a real option - sliding the tires and squealing rubber is the real deal. At least this is the deal with a reverse trike. Along with the fact you always know where the wheels are as they are right in front of you and the steering is designed specifically for turning.
After over 100 motorcycles and 1.3 million miles on two wheels my ride of choice is a reverse trike and that's my story and I am sticking with it.

[Darth]

I recently did a Champion trike conversion on my wife's Sportster. We both "learned" to ride it by starting off slow and out of high traffic areas. This past week we did a 1,300 mile trip (her on the trike and me on my 2 wheeler), this was the first longer ride for her on the trike. You could see as the week went on, she got more used to it each day... by the end of the week, she was right a home on the bike... carving corners like a pro! As an added bonus, she was not sore or stiff at the end of the day... she made the comment numerous times that the trike is more relaxing to ride! She is a happy triker!

[RTwing]

I read all the reply's and this is all good information.
I have never owned a traditional wheels back trike but have been building and developing a trike model for the last 5 years.
The tendency to follow road crown does exist slightly on my GL 1800 but not at all on other bikes. In fact I can pretty much ride on any road surface including gravel one handed or no handed on all but the GL1800.
While my trikes have the wheels up front there are some similarities. Tire pressure, type and tire size make noticeable changes to handling and ride. Air pressure has to be less than 20 and more than 15 so I find 17 a good average. If one is of a different pressure than the other you don't notice any pull unless the tire is totally flat. In general there is no tenancy to pull one way or the other unless it's quite windy.
Ride is extremely soft and it's more like riding a hovercraft that a motorcycle. Cornering is easy to get used to and in most cases I can out run a traditional cruiser in the corners. I have not been able to lift a wheel but have had some scrubbing and squealing when pushed to the max.
My last set of tire were 165x55x15 and the ride was a bit harsh along with the tenancy to follow road crown and irregularities. These were Federals and they were hard sidewall tires and a poor choice. I have switched to 165x60 Continental tires and now the ride is much improved and the drifting minimal (on the GL as the Valkyrie is less affected by road surface irregularities)
What I have discovered is a formula for width X length along with proper steering geometry that is a great baseline however each motorcycle has it's own handling quirks which need to be addressed so the geometry must be adjustable to fine tune. Mostly caster.

Example the Valkyrie is mostly unaffected by changes even the poor tire choice had little detrimental affect on ride and handling however the GL was greatly affected. Wind had no affect on the Valkyrie but the GL does drift a bit with wind especially going head on into wind.

The one thing all the prototypes have in common is the stability especially in hard cornering during deceleration. In a must stop situation these things become planted to the ground and tipping is not an option.

From what I have read it appears there are similarities in conventional / reverse trike designs and also great differences.

[Hocky]

Note to YELLOW TRIKE
Stop using REV to hold the trike. Not sure with the 1800 but with the 1500 you are now using a small gear attached to the starter to hold a 1200lb trike . If it snaps you loose rev and the motor has to be removed and cases split to get the gear out.

+1 on not using reverse as a parking brake! It's like chewing ice, yea been doing it for years but one day, break or chip a tooth and then >> big problem and asking yourself why did I do that? Don't ask how I know…………..

[Rubiconcruiser]

Just had my Tri Glide parking brake cable replaced. I went to use it on my inclined driveway and she was finished. I put her in gear obtained a 10 inch piece of double sided velcro strapped it around the front brake lever and what a surprise. It stays. There are those that disconnect the PB. Those that don't use it. And those of us who Paid for it why not use it. Use cautio wherever you park. QUOTE=Hocky;243388]+1 on not using reverse as a parking brake! It's like chewing ice, yea been doing it for years but one day, break or chip a tooth and then >> big problem and asking yourself why did I do that? Don't ask how I know………….. [/QUOTE]

[sportthedog]

If this is not the right thread to make this post, my apologies.

I have a HD 2 wheeler and I pull a Bushtec trailer. With the weight I currently have, I lose speed on longer steeper grades
So, when I convert this bike to a trike, it seems reasonable that I will have to beef up the engine to accommodate the additional weight of the trike kit.
So, my question, did many / any of you do any engine work before you did your conversion?
thank you

[Mr.Wizard]

If this is not the right thread to make this post, my apologies.

I have a HD 2 wheeler and I pull a Bushtec trailer. With the weight I currently have, I lose speed on longer steeper grades
So, when I convert this bike to a trike, it seems reasonable that I will have to beef up the engine to accommodate the additional weight of the trike kit.
So, my question, did many / any of you do any engine work before you did your conversion?
thank you

This is what I did. All motor mods before converting.

My reasoning was to make absolutely sure I was happy with the motor mods before I spend a boat load of cash on the conversion.