Making The Switch - Bike to Trike - Great Info!

[Ozarkryder]

Organic matter on the pavement:

Why did the chicken cross the road?
To prove to the possum it could be done.

We have plenty of stuff on the road, and sometimes the highway department doesn't seem to eager to pick it up. If it is really ripe, large, a skunk or roadkill-on-the-halfshell, I do my best to try not to hit it. Ripe and skunks can ride with you for quite a time, large will disrupt your day and armadillos are like running over a rock. Soft and fresh, I still try not to hit it, but it isn't as big of a deal if I do.

Oh - for northerners newly traveling in the south - watch out for live armadillos no matter what your mode of travel. Thier natural reaction when threatened is to jump, and they can get pretty high. I have seen 4X4 grills and radiators badly messed up by an armadillo they thought they could roll over with plenty of clearance. Plays havoc with cars too, and can really mess up a nice trike or bike ride.

[Boscoporp]

I have been trikeing about four years. I am riding my second trike. My first was a 1996 GW with a Tri-King kit. My newer one is a 2003 GW with a Motor Trike kit. I ride between 12,000 and 15,000 miles a year. That is after parking it for two months in the winter. I absolutely love Triking!

I beleive that tikes are a lot safer and easier to ride. I have a lot of two wheel friends that I watch struggleing to maintain control all the time. I have a modulating headlight which I believe to be the ultimate saftey gear. Their ar mor accidents by boxes pulling out in front of bikes than from people falling off their trikes! Haha Many people think armour clothing is the answer??? I have NEVER had anyone pull out in front of me with a headlight flashing. I watch very carefully for the first one all the time!

Questions: feel free to email me any time!

[Calman]

I came from the sidecar world last year so I found the switch to a Trike not so hard once I got over leaning against the curve. Oh yeah; took awhile to remember I had not one projection hanging off the cycle but two projections.

[Ironhorsepilot]

I have been trikeing about four years. I am riding my second trike. My first was a 1996 GW with a Tri-King kit. My newer one is a 2003 GW with a Motor Trike kit. I ride between 12,000 and 15,000 miles a year. That is after parking it for two months in the winter. I absolutely love Triking!

I beleive that tikes are a lot safer and easier to ride. I have a lot of two wheel friends that I watch struggleing to maintain control all the time. I have a modulating headlight which I believe to be the ultimate saftey gear. Their ar mor accidents by boxes pulling out in front of bikes than from people falling off their trikes! Haha Many people think armour clothing is the answer??? I have NEVER had anyone pull out in front of me with a headlight flashing. I watch very carefully for the first one all the time!

Questions: feel free to email me any time!

Can you turn off the modulating head lights at night? Looks like it would be very distracting.

[john]

bought a new goldwing triked it out with a 09 champion kit. it had 30 miles on it when i trike it. been riding a atv for 10 years. rode my trike with no problems. my wife and i love it.

[Gorilla]

Congrats John

[Smoken'JOE]

Can you turn off the modulating head lights at night? Looks like it would be very distracting.

Yes, it has a eye, to turn off when it gets dark or in a tunnel. Saved my butt many times.
Here's the one I have had for at least 4 years.
Motorcycle Headlight Modulator - From $45.95 VisiPath - limited time.

[Big_Steve]

Oh - for northerners newly traveling in the south - watch out for live armadillos no matter what your mode of travel. Thier natural reaction when threatened is to jump, and they can get pretty high. I have seen 4X4 grills and radiators badly messed up by an armadillo they thought they could roll over with plenty of clearance. Plays havoc with cars too, and can really mess up a nice trike or bike ride.

:eek:

[skuuter]

GREAT STUFF 3-Wheel Veterans....THANKS....I'm finding most of this stuff as very true. 40+ years on the Two Wheelers, I caught on better riding the Trike by simply sifting through my hundreds of thousands of miles of 2-wheel accumulated knowledge, drop anything that even remotely had to do with Lean/Countersteer, read these tips, then go out and put on 4200 miles in 5 weeks of ownership.....The Trike has become my All-Time Favorite now...Lookin' forward to the Day I'm classified as "experienced"......Thanks Again Folks....:wtg:

[triwinggirl]

I built JOY in early "06"

arty:

[Boscoporp]

I think that Trikes are a lot safter than two wheelers because of all the above reasons.

[bootzy]

Hi guys,<br />
I'm new to the forum, but I've been riding my Harley trike for 3 years now. I am a disabled vet so I have to take my wheelchair with me on the trike. My wife loads the wheelchair on the trike. What I'm looking for, I saw on E-Bay once, but lost it. It is a master cyclinder that controls front and rear brakes from one master cyclinder with two levers attached to the master cyclinder. The master cyclinder is taller than your average master cyclinder. I have a picture of it, but my scanner is broken. Any help in finding this master cyclinder would be appreciated. Thanks

[ThirdWheel]

Welcome bootzy. Hopefully, someone is familiar with what you are looking for. I remember some post on something that not long ago. OK guys jump in.

[Nana]

Welcome bootzy!
I would suggest you repeat your question about the brakes in the maintenance/mechanical section of the forum. You'll get a lot more views and replies in that area, I think. Go to this link, and start a new thread about what you are looking for:

Maintenance - Trike Talk Forum

[skuuter]

WELCOME to TRIKE TALK Bootzy......I've seen what You're lookin' for on a Trike here in Tullahoma a few years ago. The Owner has since moved elsewhere. He had a Wheelchair mount also, and rode a lot of Our Charity Rides here with His Trike.....Post Up Folks, bound to be some INFO here.....:wtg:

[Bugman]

I got my 1st trike in 79 for $250 runing sold it in 2 months and went to a Rays fiberlass had over 18 trikes since 79, got to stay free on three

[grumpy]

Hello

Personally I step over my seat with my right leg then sit down.

I tooK the BRC in May of 2004 to get my license. We got our trike back at then end of May. A friend had loaned us his trike for the month of May so we would know how to ride a trike when we got ours. Great friend huh? We did get him a gift certificate to the Harley shop, as he was riding his harley and not the trike at that time.

Anyway, later that year(Sept.) we went to a Motorcycle rally at Opryland in Nashville. We took our first trike course then. One of the best things I have done. We took our second course in 2006 in Murfreesboro.

If you get a chance take a trike course.. You practice curves, breaking etc.
one of the things they made us do was drive in a circle and accelerate until we lifted one wheel off the ground. What you find out is that all power to the rear is lost while a wheel is off the ground, you therefore slow down and the trike returns to the ground.

Hopes this helps

Been reading this thread.

Since I do not consider myself "experienced" as of yet, I will ask a question. When going around in a circle to raise a rear wheel, is the circle marked or do you turn the bars all the way over or hold a constant position? I have been unable to locate a Trike Class in my area and this seems like something I should experience and understand so that if I were to do it unintentionally I would recognize it and not react badly. TIA. Stan

[Papa Zook]

Been reading this thread. Since I do not consider myself "experienced" as of yet, I will ask a question. When going around in a circle to raise a rear wheel, is the circle marked or do you turn the bars all the way over or hold a constant position? I have been unable to locate a Trike Class in my area and this seems like something I should experience and understand so that if I were to do it unintentionally I would recognize it and not react badly. TIA. Stan

Don't worry...it ain't gonna happen. If it does, you were riding WAAAAAAAAY too aggressively!

[blackwidowHD]

Thanks for the good advice for the new trike riders. I am in the process of converting my 2006 HD Softtail Deuce with a Frankenstein 30" Hot Rod axle. I have never ridden a trike other than 3-wheel ATV a very little. But I have a very long curvy drive way to practice on.

[Big_Steve]

Some helpful information from the MSF site. Sorry if these have been posted already........

http://msf-usa.org/downloads/3w_tips.pdf

http://msf-usa.org/downloads/Library...tor_Manual.pdf (Starting on page 42)