Lee H. Mann
Gone But Not Forgotten
As most of you here know, I supply Lehman replacement parts for those owners that are trying to keep their trusty steeds on the road. I get a lot of calls from people that have just purchased their used trikes and were told they were Lehmans. In most cases they were told that by the seller and ended having a MotorTrike or some other model that I don’t deal with. Most of them need some kind of repair item. I ask them to describe or send a picture to me before we continue a conversation. My recent run-in with someone in need really got me flustered. He was referred to me by another dealer for driveline related parts. He identified his trike as a Lehman Monarch II and needed the driveshaft assembly.
I make a lot of parts because many of these parts have been discontinued by the manufacturer and I build driveshafts and exhaust parts specifically. Lehman’s history on changes is pretty slim, they didn’t start an IRS suspension until late 2012 in a last ditch effort to save themselves and using a Champion variant on both the straight axle and IRS at that point.
I sent this customer the parts HE requested and upon receiving them he phoned me and said they wouldn’t work. I asked if he was sure it had a Lehman rear axle and he affirmed that he did. His main issue was that I made parts that he could have made himself once he looked at them. He then claimed that the u-joint would not fit the yoke of the rear axle. Lehman had been using the same u-joint for 30+ years on their shaft-drive conversions so I knew something was strange here.
As it turned out, he purchased a wrecked bike and he was blaming little-ol-me for what was or was not in the original trike. He also used my idea to fabricate his own driveshaft to fit his CHAMPION REAR AXLE ! He is sending the parts back for a refund and I will never deal with him again in this life.
I make a lot of parts because many of these parts have been discontinued by the manufacturer and I build driveshafts and exhaust parts specifically. Lehman’s history on changes is pretty slim, they didn’t start an IRS suspension until late 2012 in a last ditch effort to save themselves and using a Champion variant on both the straight axle and IRS at that point.
I sent this customer the parts HE requested and upon receiving them he phoned me and said they wouldn’t work. I asked if he was sure it had a Lehman rear axle and he affirmed that he did. His main issue was that I made parts that he could have made himself once he looked at them. He then claimed that the u-joint would not fit the yoke of the rear axle. Lehman had been using the same u-joint for 30+ years on their shaft-drive conversions so I knew something was strange here.
As it turned out, he purchased a wrecked bike and he was blaming little-ol-me for what was or was not in the original trike. He also used my idea to fabricate his own driveshaft to fit his CHAMPION REAR AXLE ! He is sending the parts back for a refund and I will never deal with him again in this life.
