Free Wheeler Test Ride Today

[Sunman]

First, I have about 400,000 miles on various bikes including 1 GL-1800 trike. At the time I had the GL1800 trike I just wasn't ready for a trike and went back to 2 wheels. My current ride is a 2012 Victory Cross Country Tour. Now looking at trikes again as my wife no longer wants to ride on 2 wheels.

So, today I test rode a Free Wheeler and thought I would post my thoughts. This is a great looking trike and one of them caught my eye last week at a local watering hole and after reading posts on this forum off I went to ride one.

On the good side: this trike is great looking and runs strong. Plenty of power in stock mode. Since it was a new trike I didn't wind it out but kept it at 3,000 RPMs or less and it has plenty of get up and go. Handling was good. Very responsive. Trunk is plenty big, more room than I thought and with a luggage rack would be able to take all needed for a trip. Stock exhaust sounds good. Not too loud but also not too quiet; a good throaty exhaust note. I would consider leaving the stock exhaust on (at least for awhile). Paint, fit and finish looked top notch. Liked that it has a reverse and parking brake. Instrumentation was OK, did not like that it didn't have a regular tach; hard to read the digital tach and watch the road. This trike is like driving a sports car!

On the bad side: Short wheel base makes for a bit of a harsh ride. Also, my previous trike had IRS and the Free Wheeler is a straight axel. The good side of this is there are less moving parts to break but it does contribute to the harsher ride. The ergonomics felt "crowded" ( I am 6' 1" tall) but would probably get used to it after installing rider's back rest, highway pegs, adjusting handlebars, etc. so could stretch out a bit. I did like the mini apes. Did not like the brake pedal position, it takes up a lot of space on the floorboard. Would probably put on an extended brake pedal and also remove the heel shifter as it also makes the floorboard crowded. They did put on a windshield for the test drive but they only had a 16" in stock and it is way to short for me. Lot of wind in the face. A 20" shield is available but none in stock yet. Since this is a midyear introduction, Harley has not got all of the accessories out to the dealers yet according to the salesman. I wanted: 20" windshield, rider's back rest, passenger back rest, luggage rack, engine guard and rear bumper. The dealer (this is largest HD dealer in Houston) only had 16" shield, rider's back rest, no passenger back rest, no luggage rack, no engine guard and no rear bumper. Dealer said they might could pull some from their other store. Salesman said on the ones they have sold they had to send them out with most of the accessories on back order.

Pricing: Dealer wanted MSRP ($24,599) for bike and accessories mentioned above totaled $1,700. Then add in freight and prep and taxes.

Overall feelings: I would probably buy one if I could get the right deal. It was a fun bike to ride for sure. However, since this would be my only ride I don't know if I would be happy with it for a long trip.

Sunman

[TomW]

I was looking at a Free Wheeler yesterday. If you like your Victory you have the perfect candidate for a trike for half the price for the Free Wheeler. Try to locate a few dealers that do the conversion and get a quote from them. I have seen the quality of a CSC conversion kit and watched some of the installation and it is every bit as good as the Harley. Most kits have all the options you could need and your Victory probably has the rest.

Just my opinion.Tom

[Sunman]

I was looking at a Free Wheeler yesterday. If you like your Victory you have the perfect candidate for a trike for half the price for the Free Wheeler. Try to locate a few dealers that do the conversion and get a quote from them. I have seen the quality of a CSC conversion kit and watched some of the installation and it is every bit as good as the Harley. Most kits have all the options you could need and your Victory probably has the rest.

Just my opinion.Tom

Thanks Tom. I have looked at the 3 kits available: MotorTrike, CSC and Road Smith and am now strongly considering one. Champion / Lehman have also now brought out a Victory trike in conjunction with Polaris but they start at $30,000.00 plus but do have Polaris warranty. They had said that they "might" make the kit available as a conversion kit but then there would be no warranty on the bike from Polaris. That is one reason I was considering the Freewheeler, there would be full warranty on the complete trike from Harley. A few years ago I converted a Honda GL1800 to a trike with a Motor Trike kit. Out in the Arkansas boonies the trike broke down. It took about 10 phone calls to get some help. The Honda dealers I called wouldn't touch it. It turned out that the problem was with the Motor Trike kit and fortunately there was a dealer only a hour away and I was back on the road the next day. Made me start thinking about what if I was in an area where there wasn't a Motor Trike Dealer.

Sunman

[Gorilla]

Thanks Tom. I have looked at the 3 kits available: MotorTrike, CSC and Road Smith and am now strongly considering one. Champion / Lehman have also now brought out a Victory trike in conjunction with Polaris but they start at $30,000.00 plus but do have Polaris warranty. They had said that they "might" make the kit available as a conversion kit but then there would be no warranty on the bike from Polaris. That is one reason I was considering the Freewheeler, there would be full warranty on the complete trike from Harley. A few years ago I converted a Honda GL1800 to a trike with a Motor Trike kit. Out in the Arkansas boonies the trike broke down. It took about 10 phone calls to get some help. The Honda dealers I called wouldn't touch it. It turned out that the problem was with the Motor Trike kit and fortunately there was a dealer only a hour away and I was back on the road the next day. Made me start thinking about what if I was in an area where there wasn't a Motor Trike Dealer.

Sunman

You hit on the very reason I sold my conversion and purchased a TRI-GLIDE. My wife and I take 2 trips a year of about 5 to 8 k each. There usually is a Harley dealer close if needed. My AAA will take the trike up to 100 miles without question. Less worry.