Expected power loss after conversion.

[Gyropilot]

Hi everyone I'm new to the form. After just abount dumping my 1500 Goldwing a few times over the years we decided to trike it over the winter. We haven't had a chance to try it yet because we still have snow and cold up here. I was wondering what percentage of power can I expect to lose due to the extra weight and drag?

 

[Nana]

Hi Gyropilot. I just want to give you a big welcome to TrikeTalk! You will have a bit of learning curve (think maybe 200-300 miles) to adjust from the leaning turns to steering the turns, but once you get the feel of it, you will love your trike! Such a feeling of stability and comfort! As for your question on power loss, you'll get lots of replies from experienced goldwing riders, but I'm betting you don't notice a significantly large loss of power.

 

[Papa Zook]

Hi everyone I'm new to the form. After just abount dumping my 1500 Goldwing a few times over the years we decided to trike it over the winter. We haven't had a chance to try it yet because we still have snow and cold up here. I was wondering what percentage of power can I expect to lose due to the extra weight and drag?

You wont notice much difference in power at all. Its going to seem like an entirely different animal at first but I'll bet you'll love it after 100 miles or so.
Happy triking.

 

[Yellow Trike]

You might have to gear down one gear on long up hill climbs. That is all I have observed from the GL1500 trikes in our group.

 

[chaz_36]

Most conversions use comparable overall geaing eg., using different combinations of final drive ratios and rear tire diameter. The thing that changes is the extra weight added by conversion...(this varies between 185# and 400#) and additonal wind resistance from the fenders at higher speeds.

 

[Papa Zook]

Its been my experience that most trike kits add between 175 to 250 lbs to a bike after the conversion. That is taking into account subtracting away the weight of all the pull off parts like the swing arm, rear wheel and tire, disc rotor & caliper, sub-frame, hard bags, fender, lights, etc...then adding back a 40-50 lb fiberglass body, the rear end, sub-frame, wheels & tires. The net difference if not as much as most people think. I cannot imagine any conversion adding anywhere close to 400 lbs to a bike???

 

[Gorilla]

Gyropilot Welcome aboard. My daughters 97 1500 CSC has more than enough power. Don't worry you'll be fine.

 

[chaz_36]

"Its been my experience that most trike kits add between 175 to 250 lbs to a bike after the conversion" ??? :no:
Not my numbers....just look at the manufacturer's data.....Roadsmith says their trike is 1150 after conversion (some of their advertising says their kit weighs 400#), CSC says their kit weighs 359, DFT says theirs weighs 185
Saddle bags, rear tire/wheel & most remove swingarm (DFT & Hannigan don't remove)....

Honda states that their bike weighs 900# ready to ride..go figure...

Charlie

 

[Ozarkryder]

Aside from the extra weight, you also hae a set of air dams (known as rear fenders) now, creating some extra aerodynamic drag. That and all else said, the difference isn't all that great. The 1500 has plenty of power & torque. Didn't even notice the extra little bit more I had to bend my right wrist.
I think our kit (MotorTrike Classic 1) changed the gearing a bit. At 3000 RPM, the speedo reads 64 MPH, the GPS reads 61.

 

[Papa Zook]

"Its been my experience that most trike kits add between 175 to 250 lbs to a bike after the conversion" ??? :no:
Not my numbers....just look at the manufacturer's data.....Roadsmith says their trike is 1150 after conversion (some of their advertising says their kit weighs 400#), CSC says their kit weighs 359, DFT says theirs weighs 185
Saddle bags, rear tire/wheel & most remove swingarm (DFT & Hannigan don't remove)....

Honda states that their bike weighs 900# ready to ride..go figure...

Charlie

Exactly my point...If the Roadsmith kit does weigh a full 400 lbs and the converted bike weighs 1150 and you subtract the 900lbs off for the the bike, then the the max net difference after the conversion would be more like 250 lbs, not 400 lbs. (The Champion and MotorTrike conversions net about a 175- 200lb addition)

My point was that many people fail to subtract all the weight of the hardware that comes off the bike during the conversion process. Not tryin to be a smartazz...Just don't want folks to think they are adding 400lbs to their bike. That would make me leery to trike my bike.

 

[Maverick]

My '09 Hannigan added 300# to the weight of the bike once the conversion was done. Rides great; still have my hp; mileage dropped some. So what, aux. tank and keep on riding.

 

[Gorilla]

Welcome aboard Maverick. Post some picture and setup a profile.

 

[Lady Triker]

Anywhere from 5-20 % power loss and that was the answer I got directly from John Lehman when I asked him.

Like others have said, on a Gold Wing there is still lots of power.

 

[Jenkinsrawhide]

I haven't noticed any power loss. Mine will still run over 100mph but I don't reccommend doing that, but you will naturally experience a reduction in miles per gallon. When I had 2 wheels I could get 42+ mpg and now I average 36 but thats not really bad.