Hd has a patent on a trike

[redneckray]

Okay,
HD has been awarded a patent for the trike, so i want to know how can they do that with all the other trikes being made out there and if so, do we now own a HD trike?
I am sure i will get some response onthis one, Wizzard you got your ears on, i know you are the one that knows about HD, just curious as to what you think about this, is it true or ? Nothing rude intended on this to you, ,grinn
Ray

[Papa Zook]

Okay,
HD has been awarded a patent for the trike, so i want to know how can they do that with all the other trikes being made out there and if so, do we now own a HD trike?
I am sure i will get some response onthis one, Wizzard you got your ears on, i know you are the one that knows about HD, just curious as to what you think about this, is it true or ? Nothing rude intended on this to you, ,grinn
Ray

It wont change anything, but it will prevent other manufacturers from copying certain proprietary designs or parts that are unique to their trikes. Thats about it.

[redneckray]

It seems funny to me that would jump on the bandwagon after all these years,lol

[Boscoporp]

I have a friend that has a new HD Trike. It rides good but doesn't have any power to spare. He paid $33,000 for it. That as you know is cheap!

[Tango]

I have a friend that has a new HD Trike. It rides good but doesn't have any power to spare. He paid $33,000 for it. That as you know is cheap!

They let him off the lot with out getting the extra $2,000 to make it "run" right? At $33,000 it is bare bones model. Unless he found a dealer that discounts. When I priced one, whoa! Dealer was nuts. Tom

[Keystone]

It seems funny to me that would jump on the bandwagon after all these years,lol

They were making Trikes long before 2009,,,,,,,,,,

[redneckray]

If that is the case , then why now the patent?

[Nana]

Ray, HD cannot possibly hold a patent on "trikes" in general. They could only hold one on those individual parts and designs that are unique to their own TriGlide and Street Glide trikes. Those were designed with unique components from the ground up, so are different than the kit trikes like mine.

[Mr.Wizard]

I don't know much about it but from what I know about patents is they take a long time to get. In some cases up to 7 years or more.

Even with a patent on a trike, the patent will be on their build and as said... it won't change anything. The conversion manuf's will still be here building kits for all makes and models.

Just me but... HD puts a patent on their trike... who else builds Harley's but Harley? Sounds redundantly meaningless to me, but that's Harley for ya. :yes:

[ricle41]

I don't believe HD got a patent on the "trike" anymore than Ford got one on the "car" or Chevrolet got one on the "pickup".
Patents have to be very specific to an item or part, and is not restrictive to all competition, but rather a manner in which an item is made.
Bayer got a patent on aspirin, but could never get one on pain relievers.
Sounds like another internet rumor.

[ultraboy]

As a manufacturer of patented products (we have 4) I can tell you that the process is long, arduous, and not cheap, but woth it if you intend to stay in business and protect youself from unfair competetion. With all that said, Harley does in fact hold US Patent # 7770683 on a "trike." The purpose of this patent is not to necessarily define a trike per se, but to define a manufacturing process whereby 'their' trike is not created as 'other' trikes are created by modifying an existing motorcycle.
Here's the abstract:
A three-wheeled vehicle includes a main frame assembly having a steering head disposed on a front portion of the main frame assembly, a front fork assembly pivotably coupled to the steering head, a front wheel rotatably supported by the front fork assembly, a rear frame coupled to a rear portion of the main frame assembly, a rear axle assembly coupled to at least one of the main frame assembly and the rear frame, a pair of rear wheels rotatably supported by the rear axle assembly, an engine-transmission assembly supported by the main frame assembly and positioned between the front wheel and the pair of rear wheels, and a body including a first mounting portion directly mounted to the main frame assembly, and a second mounting portion directly mounted to the rear frame.

OK, with that out of the way, the Patent goes on to state:

In manufacturing such three-wheeled motorcycles or trikes, tolerance stack-up from the conventional motorcycle frame, the rear frame, and the trunk body may sometimes lead to misalignment of the trunk body with the conventional motorcycle frame.

The present invention provides, in one aspect, a three-wheeled vehicle including a main frame assembly having a steering head disposed on a front portion of the main frame assembly, a front fork assembly pivotably coupled to the steering head, a front wheel rotatably supported by the front fork assembly, a rear frame coupled to a rear portion of the main frame assembly, a rear axle assembly coupled to at least one of the main frame assembly and the rear frame, a pair of rear wheels rotatably supported by the rear axle assembly, an engine-transmission assembly supported by the main frame assembly and positioned between the front wheel and the pair of rear wheels, and a body including a first mounting portion directly mounted to the main frame assembly, and a second mounting portion directly mounted to the rear frame.

The present invention provides, in another aspect, a method of manufacturing a three-wheeled vehicle. The method includes providing a main frame assembly having a first boss and a second boss extending from a rear portion thereof, coupling an engine-transmission assembly to the main frame assembly, securing a rear frame to the first boss of the main frame assembly, providing a trunk body including a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion, securing the first mounting portion directly to the second boss of the main frame assembly, and securing the second mounting portion directly to the rear frame.

Harley has 458 patents.

[Papa Zook]

This is the trike they applied for a patent on. A leaning, reverse trike design. Thanks Larry @ Champion Trikes for pointing this out! You've always got the correct information. Here's a link to the whole story: Harley Trike Patent

[Southern Man]

is the Can-am then a knock off on a HD design and is that why the Can-Am is made in Canada?

[1800 06 Champion Trike]

I wonder if you are referring to their deal with Lehman Trikes.
We toured their factory in Spearfish,SD last year.
There were kits and complete Trikes sitting all over the place.
As far as the Can Am look a like, I don't think they would go that way.
Also a news release today in the Milwaukee paper, that claims many dealers are out of 2 wheel bikes to sell.
One minute the dealers are over loaded and the next they have nothing to sell.
I wonder what that's about.

[ultraboy]

The can-am reference above is merely an 'application' of which there are thousands each year. This one was never (yet) issued an actual patent. The one above, which I refer to US Patent # 7770683 is real.


link here
Three-wheeled vehicle - Patent 7770683

[spiritdream]

This is the trike they applied for a patent on. A leaning, reverse trike design. Thanks Larry @ Champion Trikes for pointing this out! You've always got the correct information. Here's a link to the whole story: Harley Trike Patent

Zook, the patent apparently is real, but that particular article is from 2007. Does Larry @ Champion know of any articles that might be more recent?

[Papa Zook]

Well then I guess they have two separate trike patents...my mistake. Dont drawings have to be submitted? Are there drawings attached for the patent you listed Dave? When I clicked the link on that article to read the patent language, the link was dead. I should have researched it further before I posted...sorry.

Yes Spirit this article was from 2007 but I guess we wrongly assumed that the patent for that application had finally been issued. As I said before, I dont think its going to affect the trike industry in any big way but it is interesting to see Harley Davidson so zeroed in on trike developement. Maybe they have seen what we have all been seeing for a very long time and that is trikes are here to stay.

[1550vt]

Please don't let the word get out but I am sure I have one just like the one described in the patent that Ultraboy quoted.....just don't have TG on the gas tank.

Seriously though, we know...manufactures do this all the time and if not through a patent, a proprietary agreement between the manufacturer and the supplier. When I was trying to convert my rag from drum to disc, I discovered that Wilwood made the disc brake components for Lehman....but would not sell them to me due to a proprietary agreement with Lehman. Forced me to do it own my own and I have since helped lots of other folks do it. Hey....maybe I should have gotten a patent!

[ultraboy]

OK, one more time. The can-am looking rig is an application, nothing more. I filed over 250 of them to get my 4 patents, so they don't mean much. The actual, issued US patent for the TG looking trike I uploaded to BOX. It's in PDF and the whole deal with drawings, etc. is here:
US7770683.pdf - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage