Motor Trike new Sportster kit

[WindyOne]

I was nosing around today and found that Motor Trike has a new trike kit out for the HD Sportster. The kit doesn't have a steering kit or reverse. The cost including an onboard air compressor, color matched, carpeting, fender bras is $10,764.95 installed. the installer told me Sportsters don't need a steering kit as the rake is already good. I am not concerned about reverse as my timberland's are equipped.
Anyone think this is a bad/good deal or something to stay away from. I am still kicking around the idea of converting mine.

[ultraboy]

?? that looks like a Twinkie Dyna to me.... :yes:

[WindyOne]

I always think Dyna's and Sportsters look alike.

[Papa Zook]

Thats the Dyna, but the kit is basically the same, same body, etc. I'd recommend the Motor Trike conversion. Been selling them for years and like em.

[White Wall]

I rode a Dyna Superglide for years! My wife still rides a Sporty. They have about as many similarities as comparing a Dyna to a Soft tail. Dyna's and Sportsters are totally different. I wouldn't trike out a 883, but a 1200 with the top end done would make a great trike for someone! You might want to give it a taller gear if you are looking to ride HWY or long trips. I'm not trying to sound smart ass, but I pride myself on my Harley-Davidson knowledge.

[ultraboy]

I'll agree with Randy, I have a M/T kit on my FLHX. I picked it over the others simply for the style and looks of the body. It's my understanding that the M/T Sporty kit won't be released for a few weeks yet. Would love to see some pics of the new kit.

UB

[WindyOne]

I'll agree with Randy, I have a M/T kit on my FLHX. I picked it over the others simply for the style and looks of the body. It's my understanding that the M/T Sporty kit won't be released for a few weeks yet. Would love to see some pics of the new kit.

UB

When I said sporty's and Dyna's looked a like I didn't mean performance wise, just as a quick glance kind of thing. But this is only my opinion and I don't know a lot about bikes.

Ultraboy you are right I was told they would be released in 4 weeks. This is a new product for this year. I think it is great because of the trunk space usually being 1.5 cu ft. on the Lehman kits, and this is much larger. I like the design a lot. The only thing I would like to improve is the amount of fuel tank size from 4.5 to 6 gals. I found out about these kits and a dealer close enough that installs them by doing a search for bike dealers in a neighboring town. I was looking for something totally different. The installer has a good reputation and has been in business for some years. He is a genuinely nice guy to speak with and has an endless amount of patience for questions.

Would you agree that the Sporty doesn't need a steering kit?

After looking for a few months at different conversions and nearly doing a new 2010 tri glide deal I am thinking this would better suit my requirements for a trike. It is affordable, offers a reasonable amount of trunk space and looks pretty nice.
My riding plans were always short trips mostly within a 150 mile radius. The air suspension is a plus for comfort and I will be upgrading to a Gunfighter seat with driver backrest from a Mustang Vintage Solo seat. I think in addition I will be adding floorboards to help relieve back tension.
The additional length of the kit and air shocks should make this a much more comfortable ride. My sporty is a '09 1200XL Custom with stage one upgrade.
I am getting psyched about this. I think this is doable and glad I held off on the other purchase. This way I get to keep my HD and be active within the HD local group,I enjoy that for the activities.

[ultraboy]

Hey, you already own the bike, so why not? As far as raking the front end, a reduction in trail is what is usually needed on most trikes. The FLH family, for example, have about 6.6" of trail. For an FLH that has been triked, you would want about 4". Your sporty has 4.9" of trail as it comes from the factory, and weighs in much less, so I don't think you'll need to rake the front end. You'll just have to see how it 'feels'
There are electric reverse kits for Sporty's out there in the aftermarket, but that's a personal choice. As far as the short gas supply, well, you'll need to stop often to wipe the bugs off your teeth from smiling so much anyway...

Good Luck

UB

[WindyOne]

Won't that make your dental tech happy at cleaning time?

Motortrike doesn't offer a steering kit for this conversion. According to the dealer I just spoke with he said they felt it wasn't needed on this bike. He says they are very thorough on their research so I have to go with them on this.

[ultraboy]

I agree.

[Papa Zook]

The Trike Shop offers a 6 degree rake for the Sporty if you wind up wanting one.

[WindyOne]

I received some pictures today from Motor trike of a Sportster conversion they had done. These pictures show dual exhaust which is no longer able to be done for this kit. What they are using is a Python 2 in 1 pipe. I am not familiar with these or the concept of only having one exhaust. The axle was a problem with the install of the exhaust system and this is why they made they change. Overall I think the kit installed looks very very good.

I put the pictures in my gallery under album titled Motor Trike.

http://www.triketalk.com/forum/membe...ne-albums.html

[ultraboy]

Hey, I like the looks of that! Looks like you could hand a tour pac on there, or luggage rack, or what have you, if needed. Some aftermarket companies are selling an electric reverse for sporties, but it fits 'their' rear end. Wonder if M/T is going to offer one for their kit?
Anyway, thanks so much for sharing those pictures, I do like the looks of it!
The Python 2 into 1 pipe for '04 - '09 Sporties is gonna run you about $425. It's a good performance exhaust system, which is actually made by V&H.

UB

[White Wall]

A friend of mine runs a 2 into 1 VH. His bike sounds awesome. There are different baffle set ups for it if you don't like the sound. Have fun. "I love when a good plan comes together."

[Gorilla]

Windyone I'm going to echo much of what Dave and Randy have said. With the trail of the Sportster I would not expect any problems with steering. Motor Trike has been in business a long time. They know what they are doing in the trike conversion business. As far as the gas tank, If you are only planning on 150 mile excursions fuel should not be an issue. I had a 06 1200 Low and it got 50 miles to the gallon. I would suspect as a trike it would get in the 40+ range. That should give you about a 120 mile range before getting serious about finding a gas station. That's about 2 hours of saddle time. Time to stretch anyway.

[ultraboy]

LOL TED! My wife and I both had Sporties in the past, and we always used to say something along the lines of.... 'it has a 150 mile gas tank, and a 75 mile seat' We did have fun with those!

[Gorilla]

Sporties are GREAT bikes. and should make a great trike given the proper mods. Dave your right on the seat I had forgotten about the stiffness after a long ride.

[BlueTrinity]

Oh yeah, UB...I had one of those too! We were probably the original "Iron Butts".

That may have been a a 75miler from a comfort standpoint, but I'll bet that, like me, you had many, many rides that were a heck of a lot longer than that. In fact, come to think of it, there weren't very many that were that short.

As for the 150 mile tank, most times the ol' backside was mighty glad it wasn't any longer than that.

Thanks for the memories!

[ultraboy]

I had an Ironhead kicker, and a 1990 Evo type with that new-fangled 'lectric leg, chain final too. Loved those things!

[ben721364]

I recommend a test ride to determine for yourself if raking is needed, ...for you.

Motor trike might post MSRP for the kit and installation on it's web site.

I was nosing around today and found that Motor Trike has a new trike kit out for the HD Sportster. The kit doesn't have a steering kit or reverse. The cost including an onboard air compressor, color matched, carpeting, fender bras is $10,764.95 installed. the installer told me Sportsters don't need a steering kit as the rake is already good. I am not concerned about reverse as my timberland's are equipped.
Anyone think this is a bad/good deal or something to stay away from. I am still kicking around the idea of converting mine.