Frankenstein Trike kit on a softail springer

[Pup]

I have a Frankenstein Trike kit being installed on a softail crossbones springer. Does anyone here have a similar ride? If so, How do you like it? Are ther any issues I need to be aware of? I can't wait till mine is out of the shop and ready to ride.

Pup

 

[lazor1]

welcome to trike talk pup.

i installed a frankenstein kit on an 06 sportster last year.
had no problems so far with the kit. had to install the powersteer tripletree
to make steering easier. also installed a steering damper.
the only problem with the frankenstein kit is it is a unique kit compared to the others in appearance and draws a crowd where ever you go

 

[Nana]

Pup, to my knowledge yours will be our first Crossbones trike. Probably the closest one I can think of in addition to Lazor's is Grimm's trike. You'll see his most recent pictures here: <a href="http://www.triketalk.com/forum/harley-trikes/2787-i-decided-time-change.html" target="_blank">http://www.triketalk.com/forum/harle...me-change.html</a><br />
and I think he has some in the GARAGE also, from prior to his recent upgrades.

 

[Pup]

Thanks for the welcome and the reply.

Do you know of a steering stabolizer for a springer?

I am sure the trike will turn a few heads. But I am going for a subdued theme Satin Black on Black. Sometimes the less is more look draws more attention than intended. I had Frankenstein anodize my kit black. Although I like the way the bare metal looks I think the black would better match the theme of the trike.

 

[Pup]

Nana

Yep similar kit except my axles will be longer and my tires not so wide. And although not required in Texas LOL I will have fenders.

Thank you

Pup

 

[Nauga Mok]

Have you checked inot a raked triple tree for the springer? An additional 3 - 5* rake in the tree will make it steer much easier. With the springer, you also have the option of lengthening the rockers. The object is to get the trail down from 6.3" to 3 - 4". That's going to be one HOT looking trike! Next you'll have to up it to a 110 or at least a 103 with NASTY cams!<br />
<br />
NM

 

[grimm]

yeah, you will have fun fiddling with that springer to bring trail back to where it should be. some claimed that the stock front end didn't bother them. others have used raked cups to reduce it some. i would have loved to make one work on mine, but i have enough issues with handling without throwing that monkey into the mix. it would look freakin amazing if you managed to get it to work. i went with 7 degree trees on mine and +4" tubes. handles great and can travel a straight line no prob without a stabilizer. <br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
and you're definitely right. less is more and it will grab attention everywhere you go. mine is very simple with nothing more than what is needed to get it down the road.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
i have bags and such for long trips and have done 2 separate 2500+ mile trips with no problem on it.<br />
<br />
you're gonna love it.

<br /><br /><br />
good luck<br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
grimm

 

[grimm]

hey pup, living in San Antonio, i was curious as to where Ground Pounders was. Turns out the shop is literally less than 5 minutes away from my house! if you wouldn't mind, i would love stopping by the shop and checking out your build. <br />
<br />
oh, you mentioned going for a black on black look. just wanted to throw out that i do powder coating too. it's just a hobby but i can do some pretty decent work. done some of my own parts including the tank, fender, struts, handlebars, horn cover, air cleaner cover, lower legs, etc. for instance, i could easily throw powder over your headlight buckets and such. my best friend has a powder coating shop in Victoria and can pretty much do anything you want. just trying to help.<br />
<br />
grimm

 

[Pup]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Nauga Mok</strong><br /><br />
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<div class="message">Have you checked inot a raked triple tree for the springer? An additional 3 - 5* rake in the tree will make it steer much easier. With the springer, you also have the option of lengthening the rockers. The object is to get the trail down from 6.3" to 3 - 4". That's going to be one HOT looking trike! Next you'll have to up it to a 110 or at least a 103 with NASTY cams!<br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
NM</div><br /><br />
<br /><br />
</div><br /><br />
</div><br /><br />
</div>I have been looking but raked triple trees wont work on a springer since the lower triple is part of the upper forks. There is a sidecar mfr that will rake the forks but they want $900 to do it and require you to ship the forks to them. So far I have found no rocker extensions or longer ones. I think if I can find some, I'll go with raked cups. I doubt I'll turn it into a rocket sled...<br /><br />
<br /><br />
I wanna go slow and smile for the gawkers LOL And after what I spent on the bike, kit, and handmade wheels.....<br />
<br />
My better half is about to put her foot down...

And for once in my 28 years of being married to her... I don't think I'll argue LOL!!!<br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
Pup<br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
One Road<br /><br /><br />
Three Wheels<br /><br /><br />
No limits

 

[Pup]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>grimm</strong><br /><br />
<a href="showthread.php?p=29430#post29430" rel="nofollow"><img class="inlineimg" src="images/buttons/viewpost-right.png" alt="View Post" /></a><br /><br />
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<div class="message">hey pup, living in San Antonio, i was curious as to where Ground Pounders was. Turns out the shop is literally less than 5 minutes away from my house! if you wouldn't mind, i would love stopping by the shop and checking out your build. <br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
oh, you mentioned going for a black on black look. just wanted to throw out that i do powder coating too. it's just a hobby but i can do some pretty decent work. done some of my own parts including the tank, fender, struts, handlebars, horn cover, air cleaner cover, lower legs, etc. for instance, i could easily throw powder over your headlight buckets and such. my best friend has a powder coating shop in Victoria and can pretty much do anything you want. just trying to help.<br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
grimm</div><br /><br />
<br /><br />
</div><br /><br />
</div><br /><br />
</div>Grimm <br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
Actually it's all black on black already including the headlight bucket.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
I have no problem if you go to the shop.<br />
<br />
Emilio is pretty cool and likes what he does.

He wont get the kit till Friday or so and the wheels are not going to be there till the first week in May. So there wont be much to look at till late next week I don't imagine. I might take you up on some powder coating. How big a piece can you coat? I am considering doing the outer primary and hub caps on the rear wheels.<br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
Pup

 

[Pup]

If I can't rake it, I'm considering going with beach bars. That will get rid of the silly looking baby apes that came stock on it as well as give me a little more leverage to make it turn easier. That and the beach bars will add to the retro look I'm going for.

Pup

 

[grimm]

i'm not sure about others but when we were building mine turning wasn't the problem. the trike refused to follow a straight line and exhibited severe front wheel wobble. the tires raised the rear end a little thus the need for the longer tubes to bring it back level. that combined with the raked trees make it handle perfectly.<br />
<br />
at my place the largest i can coat is a primary. that wouldn't be a problem nor would the hubcaps. anything larger and i could hook you up with my buddy in Victoria. He has a shop and his oven measures 6'x3'x3'. large enough for anything on a bike. he does amazing work and is the one that helped me powder my tank and fenders. <br />
<br />
grimm

 

[stacebg]

imho 3 - 4 in of trail is still to much 1.5 - 2.5 works for me...
some one mentioned rake cups.... they dont do the right thing for you.... will increase rake but dont decrease trail... need to basically leave the stem alone and rake the trees,,, the cup are more like raking the frame...... personally i would not run a springer on a trike .. a little to much flex from bars to wheel especially with the stock trail....
just my 2 cents

stace

 

[Pup]

i'm not sure about others but when we were building mine turning wasn't the problem. the trike refused to follow a straight line and exhibited severe front wheel wobble. the tires raised the rear end a little thus the need for the longer tubes to bring it back level. that combined with the raked trees make it handle perfectly.<br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
<b><font color="Blue">My tires are a little more low profile than yours. So getting it level won't be an issue. I think I figured out how to mount a steering stabolizer. That'll have to do till I can come up with the $$$ to do something else.</font></b><br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
at my place the largest i can coat is a primary. that wouldn't be a problem nor would the hubcaps. anything larger and i could hook you up with my buddy in Victoria. He has a shop and his oven measures 6'x3'x3'.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
large enough for anything on a bike.<br />
<br />
he does amazing work and is the one that helped me powder my tank and fenders.

<br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
<b><font color="blue">What would you charge to powder the two hub caps satin black?</font></b><br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />
Pup

 

[robandlyn]

Can't wait to see your pictures !
A Crossbone's Trike should look wicked ...
Rob ....

 

[Pup]

She is in the shop, the kit arrived today, and the wheels are manufactured and ready to ship... I can't wait... It looks like I'll be back on three wheels saturday after next.... Grimm you out there?

Pup

 

[grimm]

hey pup, i stopped by ground pounders, this morning to check out your ride! i saw your bike and the boxes with the rear end, swing arm and fenders. i met Emilio and he seems like a pretty good guy. he was saying that they have to wait on your wheels before they can get it going but he might throw on some mustang wheels so that he can assemble the rear end. that way, when the wheels come in, they'll just bolt 'em on and get the fenders on.<br />
<br />
he and his body guy were pretty excited to check out my frankenstein, too. anyway, i'm gonna be stopping by on occasion just to see what's happening. <br />
<br />
grimm

 

[Pup]

The Wheels Are Done

The wheels are done and ready to be shipped to the shop. I think they will match the front wheel well. They came out looking great. I had the rims reversed to make the spokes sit deeper in the rim (ala old world hot rod). The other way makes the spokes look too much like hub caps. I had them made by a company called True Spoke in California. Pricey but they look mean... I can't wait to unveil the creation that will affectionately be called from this point forward "<b>BACK IN BLACK</b>" Grimm yeah Emilio does some cool hot rod work. And his prices are the best in Texas. The only way I could have had this done cheaper, was to do it myself.<br />
<br />
I'm going to carry some of his business cards to pass out to anyone who asks where I had her done.

<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<img src="images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" /><br /><br />
<br /><br />
Pup

 

[Nana]

Re: The Wheels Are Done

Those wheels look tough, Pup!!!!! Impressive, for sure. I can't wait to see the finished pictures!

 

[Pup]

Nana,

I am almost giddy...lol

And that says a lot for a 6' 230 lb 50 year old combat vet that has been riding for 35+ years. 1 1/2 weeks and yaaaahoooo. My first ride will be the 150 mile trip back home from San Antonio.

Thank you.

Pup