2004 Road King: Frankenstein Kit

[GRR]

Very nice build, U took ur time and you have a nice pictoral to boot

Bet ya cant wait toride it

Best of luck

R U gona pump up the engine or let it fly?

Thanks

I'm leaving the motor as-is right now. It has a 95 cubic inch big bore kit already.

Besides that, I've probably put about $10k into this phase of the build and need to save up for the next phase.

 

[GRR]

Well, I'm stuck in limbo waiting on getting my fenders from paint.

My wife picked them up Tuesday and they had done a horrible job. They didn't even paint the inside of the fenders or the lower edges. :Shrug:

I called the shop Wednesday and after a couple of phone conversations and a visit to the shop, I am giving them a chance to make it right. We dropped them back off at the shop Thursday morning.

I went by earlier today (Saturday) and they were still working on them. So, I guess I will see Monday if they come through.

 

[trike lady]

Sounds like you used a painter similar to the one I had trusted a simple job to when I lived in Florida. It took him two months to paint 2 fenders and a splash plate for a Voyager. There was every excuse in the book used and probably some new ones and this guy came highly recommended and the job wasn't that great. Needless to say, he never got work from me again.

 

[GRR]

Sounds like you used a painter similar to the one I had trusted a simple job to when I lived in Florida. It took him two months to paint 2 fenders and a splash plate for a Voyager. There was every excuse in the book used and probably some new ones and this guy came highly recommended and the job wasn't that great. Needless to say, he never got work from me again.

Sounds like the same guy or at least a relative. Maybe he moved from Florida to Texas.

We were originally told it would be about $600 and would be done in 2 or 3 days. Then they called and said $750 and 2 weeks, because of paint cost and waiting on paint. I agreed to the $750, because I know the paint is expensive.

When my wife picked them up they charged her $900 for a slipshod job. The place has a good reputation and does motorcycles, but after 3 weeks of waiting, I'm not impressed.

Hopefully, they will surprise me with decent looking fenders on Monday.

 

[trike lady]

That's a good possibility of a move from Florida to Texas, a lot of businesses have vacated Port Richey over the years and when I was looking for a motorcycle repair shop in the area to help a member here both shops were closed up. The paint for the Goldwing was expensive also as it was the pearl white. It was times like that when I wished I had the basic skills for painting and could have saved myself a lot of aggravation and probably done a better job.

 

[GRR]

That's a good possibility of a move from Florida to Texas, a lot of businesses have vacated Port Richey over the years and when I was looking for a motorcycle repair shop in the area to help a member here both shops were closed up. The paint for the Goldwing was expensive also as it was the pearl white. It was times like that when I wished I had the basic skills for painting and could have saved myself a lot of aggravation and probably done a better job.

I am kind of kicking myself, because I had considered painting them myself. But I decided I didn't want to experiment with the expensive paint.

It will work out in the end though.

 

[trike lady]

Now that they know you're an unhappy customer, they'll do their best to make it right.

 

[GRR]

After stopping in Saturday and being told they would finish my fenders by the end of the day, I figured going by during lunch on Monday to pick them up would work.

I was wrong.

They are better than the first round, but the manager told me they needed to be redone before I even saw them.

Maybe Wednesday, ..... lol

If they aren't done by Friday, I'm going to get my money back and paint them myself.

 

[GRR]

I finally have fenders

I went by Wednesday and explained to the manager that I was going to pick up my fenders Friday. I told him he had two options

1. Have them done and do a decent job, or

2. Give me a full refund and I would take them home and paint them myself

Surprise, surprise, they were ready. I'm going to undercoat them with herculiner this weekend and mount them next week.

Here they are just resting on the wheels.

It only took a month to complete a 2 day job.

 

[GRR]

While waiting on hurricane Harvey....

Currently waiting on Harvey to get here, so I herculined my fenders.

Depending on what Harvey brings, I'll be able to install them in a couple of days.

 

[trike lady]

Looks good :good:

 

[GRR]

Fenders installed today

Harvey continues to dump water on us, but so far my house is dry and the power is on.

So, I installed my fenders today. I'll get some better pictures when the rain quits, but here are a couple.

 

[grandpawj]

I really like it. That Red is really Red! A real looker.

 

[ncbandit]

Great Job!! Awesome looking ride!!

 

[David357]

Great job GeorgeThumbUp

Absolutely awesome looking trike.

It was well worth the wait for all the parts.ThumbUp

Thanks for sharing your build experience with us.

 

[GRR]

Thanks everybody

Now, if it will just quit raining....

LOL

:rofl:

 

[GRR]

Comments on Frankenstein Trikes and Better Pictures

The sun is back out, the trike is done, and all is well. Below are a couple of better pictures, but I wanted add a few comments about the guys at Frankenstein Trikes.

I am very happy with the trike kit and had a lot of fun putting it together. I've had two people at work ask me if I traded the Harley in on a new trike. That speaks a lot about how well the kit goes together.

Throughout the process, the folks at Frankenstein have been extremely responsive. They shipped lightening fast and responded to questions rapidly. I had one damaged part, emailed the night I saw it was damaged, and a new one shipped before lunchtime the next day. Overall, the best service I've had from any company in a long time.

The trike rides great.

Hope to see y'all on the road some day.

 

[paws]

George - that IS one good-looking trike! Glad you are happy with the whole experience of it and glad you and yours survived "Harvey".

Hope you plan on bringing it to the Kerrville meet the first week of October!

Carla

 

[Chappy KC]

GRR, You say the trike rides great. How much psi is in your tires? Also, can you easily identify parts so you can do your own repairs and buy them from an auto parts store? My Motor Trike was proprietary and I had to use the dealer no matter what.

 

[GRR]

GRR, You say the trike rides great. How much psi is in your tires? Also, can you easily identify parts so you can do your own repairs and buy them from an auto parts store? My Motor Trike was proprietary and I had to use the dealer no matter what.

I'm running 30 psi in the rear tires. Some people may want to run less. The rear end is a dana 30, so it will ride differently than your MT.

Frankenstein is pretty open about the parts they use. The brake calipers are HHI, so brake shoes and caliper rebuild kits are easy to get. The instructions even include the part numbers for the differential seal, differential bearings, axle bearings, and brake pads.