Complete baloney. Every trike of every make, model and brand, short or long benefits immensely from the addition of a rake kit, not only for ease of steering but for safety and I know this first hand. I had a customer years ago that opted out on the rake kit on his VTX1300 conversion due to that same claim and almost died from a situation where a rake kit would have almost certainly kept him from running off the road.
On his first ride having just left his home in North Georgia, he left a light, turned left and accelerated at what he thought was a safe pace through the turn, but misjudged the much increased steering effort and turn radius of his new trike, jumped a curb and rolled over a 30 foot embankment with the trike landing on him. He broke his back and punctured a lung and was in a medically induced coma for a week. Was this the fault of the dealer (me, even though I suggested the rake kit) or Motor Trike for making that claim on their website and telling their dealers to this day to use that statement as a selling feature due to the lower price?
Maybe not, but to this day I feel awful about it and I will not install a trike conversion without a rake kit and feel some responsibility for my customer's accident, even though I suggested adding the rake kit. At that time I was a Motor Trike only dealer and that is what they preached. I had already built a lot of trikes and knew it was a huge improvement, but I had not before this incident considered the safety factor, so I did not push the issue.
Invest in a rake kit. It is the best money you will ever spend on your trike conversion.