Originally Posted by
dadztoy
I'm not well versed on all the outrigger conversions, but generally speaking the outriggers are wider than a normal trike kit and thus have a bit of a different look than a standard trike conversion...
I'm not sure which is better, the 12" wheels or the 14" wheels, but as I see it there are advantages to both... 14" wheels should ride better due to more surface on the road but will have a higher unsprung weight, while the 12" wheels will ride somewhat rougher, but have a lower unsprung weight... All things being equal, lower unsprung weight will yield better acceleration and better suspension performance and just be overall easier on the suspension and have better ride quality overall...
Tough to make a call... Personally, I have a Tow Pac and have been well satisfied with it for your exact reasoning, still being able to ride on 2 wheels solo, but installing the trike kit when riding with the wife, daughter, granddaughter, etc for additional stability and peace of mind...
All outriggers seem to have some issues and peculiarities, so ya kinda "pays your money, and takes your choice"... I've made some mods on my Tow Pac to suit my style of riding and transporting the trike on my Rampage Lift in the back of my pick-up truck...
The Tow Pac has worked well for me but others have had issues like HarleyBob and the Tow Pac reverse (read his thread)... And this isn't the first customer service issue people have had with Tow Pac so that's a bit of a caveat for future buyers... Yet, my experience has been good with the exception of their installation of the kit which left a lot to be desired quality wise... Here lately, I have been chasing a problem with excessive fender vibration at speeds above 70 MPH... Normally this doesn't effect me as I tend to stay off Interstates and below 70 MPH but still, it's a nagging issue I haven't solved yet...
When I bought mine, I bought a "demo unit" and I'm not sure what that meant, but I did get the full warranty... I did have to replace bearings and races a while back due to water infiltration that damaged the bearings and races, but I do that myself, so it's not a big issue for me in terms of maintenance... I have started using BelRay waterproof grease so we'll see how that holds up in the future but I do check bearings regularly these days...
If reverse is important to you and you don't ride a Goldwing with the built in reverse, you would probably be better served looking at units other than Tow Pac... The Voyager seems to have a decent reverse according to the video I saw but I'm not sure of any others...
Good luck with whatever you choose and keep us informed as to your progress...
Les