Champion/Harley conversion question

[mtworks]

It's Trike time! Am thinking of converting my 15 road king over to a trike using a champion solid axle kit, but have a question. The Champion dealer map has very few dealers listed. If we needed repairs or parts on the road, how well could this be handled, or would we just be stuck waiting for a tow home from wherever? If we instead bought a tri glide I would just take it to the nearest Harley shop for fixing. I am a decent mechanic, just not a great one. Am capable of doing the conversion myself, just not sure if I want to. No long trips accross country, 3 or 400 miles max. Money is always a problem, just not a big one. Any thoughts?

[Gorilla]

Leo I have progressed in the trike world much like you are inquiring about. In Jan of 2009 I triked my 2007 Road king with a Champion kit. I did all the work myself. I rode that trike for 60k miles till September of 2013. At that time I purchased a 2013 TRI Glide. I have 52k miles on my TRI.

I never had an issue on my Champion not even one. My only mod to that install was I went to a coil over Olin shock. The shock was a heavy duty shock for a Harley. Great change much better then the air shocks. The only issues I had with the trike were mostly wear and tear on after market parts. Had a little issue with getting the bike part repaired once at the Harley Shop but mostly had little trouble with the Harley dealers. I went to the TRI because I wanted a trike that I could take in if necessary and the Dealer would know 100 % what was going on. I do my own maintenance so the only time I've taken the TRI in was to have the front cylinder head replaced because the front motor mount bolt came loose and tore up the hole. We do a lot of long rides and just the knowledge that the dealer should be able to handle any issue that would come up is the reason for the TRI purchase.

My TRI has been greatly modified but nothing that would give a dealer any real issue fixing. But knock on wood has not been necessary in the 5 years 52k miles I have had it. I would not hesitate to jump on and go anywhere.

There is not that much difference between the Champion conversion and the TRI. The conversion really is a no maintenance item once installed and setup to your liking. A Harley dealer will not hesitate to work on the Harley half and the Champion half should not give you an issue. With that being said the knowledge that the TRI is ALL Harley and there would be no question on a possible repair is worth it to me.

I hope that helps.

[mtworks]

Thanks for the reply Gorilla, That seems to be the consensus that the Champion kit is almost bulletproof and easy to install. Does anyone know if the kit can be ordered directly from Champion as there are not any dealers close to me?

[Gorilla]

Leo contact the owner of this forum (Papa Zook) (AKA Randy). He can be contacted by PM message because he is the owner. Or go to the bottom of the opening Forum page and select his business CUT-N-SHOOT CUSTOMS. There is contact info there.

Randy is a great guy and sells Champion. I would expect he can have it shipped to you. He will also get you a great deal. He is also an expert on most trikes and conversions. In other words HE IS THE MAN. VERY HONEST also.

Good luck you will not be disappointed.

Ted

[mtworks]

Thank You very Much, will contact him

[Bush Hog]

I have a 2009 FLHTCU that I converted to a trike this past fall with a Champion IRS kit. Did the install myself, including the mechanical reverse and raked triple tree. The instructions with the kit are pretty good and the few install questions that I had were quickly answered by Bill Swift at Champion.

You'll need a few specialty tools if you going to do the install yourself, so plan on a little added expense for these unless you already have them. You can go to Champions's website to download the install instructions, so this will give you a good ideal of what specialty tools will be required. Due to a shoulder surgery, I haven't had the opportunity to put on a lot of miles yet, but so far, so good. No problems to date.

Just a recommendation - get the triple tree kit. It makes a big difference in ease of steering. Hope this helps.

[Trikeconvert]

I have a 2009 FLHTCU that I converted to a trike this past fall with a Champion IRS kit. Did the install myself, including the mechanical reverse and raked triple tree. The instructions with the kit are pretty good and the few install questions that I had were quickly answered by Bill Swift at Champion. You'll need a few specialty tools if you going to do the install yourself, so plan on a little added expense for these unless you already have them. You can go to Champions's website to download the install instructions, so this will give you a good ideal of what specialty tools will be required. Due to a shoulder surgery, I haven't had the opportunity to put on a lot of miles yet, but so far, so good. No problems to date. Just a recommendation - get the triple tree kit. It makes a big difference in ease of steering. Hope this helps.

In late 2018 I had my 2014 FLHTK converted by Champion with their IRS kit, Rake Kit and Mechanical Reverse. The twist is the Lehman body that gives it the Tri Glide look. I love it! I would recommend the IRS kit and the Rake Kit. I’m glad I added the Reverse but not a necessity. I didn’t add parking brake kit, I solved parking brake issue with a strip of Velcro. Wrap it around the front brake lever and pull it tight. The body you choose is a personal choice.

[Trikeconvert]

If you looking to convert your Harley reach out to Madness Cycle. Tony Molina @ 615-653-5562. Tony was great to deal with. I had my 2014 Ultra Limited converted in November 2018. Tony was able to answer all of my questions. I've read in several topics about abs brakes after conversion. Just know that if you currently have abs when the conversion is done you will lose that feature on at least the rear wheel(s). I'm not sure if the front still works. I would think so, even with a flashing abs light.