2019 Honda Blue Goldwing DCT Tour thinking of making it a Encore Trike

Bobmaine · Dec 19, 2019

2019 Honda Blue Goldwing DCT Tour thinking of making it a Encore Trike

Can someone give me feedback pros and cons on the Encore trike kit. What tire should you use on front ? Is it hard to turn ? How does the automatic transmission react ? About how many MPG do you get ? Should I do ground effects? Should I get the heavy duty brakes ? ETc ETc Thankyou in advance for any input you can offer.

rhino 2 · Dec 19, 2019

Bobmaine said:
Can someone give me feedback pros and cons on the Encore trike kit. What tire should you use on front ? Is it hard to turn ? How does the automatic transmission react ? About how many MPG do you get ? Should I do ground effects? Should I get the heavy duty brakes ? ETc ETc Thankyou in advance for any input you can offer.

Bob, I can't help you on your question , But i can Welcome you to Trike-Talk...:clapping:..

I'm sure someone will chime in soon with the info you need...ThumbUp....

LadyonaMission · Dec 19, 2019

Bob, I can't help you, so make that two people only able to offer you a big :welcome:.

ol' school · Dec 19, 2019

Welcome to Trike Talk Bob! I am sure someone will have an answer to your question soon.

56Elwood · Dec 19, 2019

Bob, I can give you a "little" info on the Encore. I just took delivery of a 2019 Goldwing DCT Tour with the CSC Encore conversion.

I traded in my 2013 GL1800 with the Hanngan gen II conversion on it at Nault's in Windham, NH. I got a fair trade in for the 2013 and a good price on the 2019 plus the conversion. The options I got on the Encore are: Powertrak front fork, performance brake upgrade, chrome Encore wheels, chrome wheelwell trim, trailer hitch and wiring, chrome rear lightbars and running boards. Accesories the dealer installed during the conversion: Utopia backrest, Honda driving lights, Honda CB, Baker wings and Baker passenger grab handles, J&M Bluehub corded headset adapter and Helibar risers.

Now onto the performance. DCT shifts great, have only ridden in tour mode so far. Braking is excellent and steering is the lightest of any trike I've ever ridden, even lighter thank the Tri Glide which prior to this trike was the lightest. Cornering, this trike feels more nimble than the Hannigan. Suspension is very compliant but still feels planted. Keep in mind this is only with 200 miles or so on this but it feels better every time I get on it. So far I'm very happy with the product(s) and the installer did a great job. I've already been underneath it just to poke around and everything looks great. Hope this helps. BTW, Nault's did the conversion and they did a great job.

CJAC · Dec 19, 2019

I've got the same set-up on my 2018, purchased it in October. DCT works great, even pulling my Roll-a-Home camper. The steering on this trike is very light, much better than the Tri-Glide I traded in. You'll love this set-up.

Gorilla · Dec 19, 2019

Welcome aboard Robert glad you got a couple of first hand experience reply's.

Bobmaine · Dec 19, 2019

Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the info !!!

trikeman · Dec 19, 2019

:wave4:

Jimer · Dec 24, 2019

Bobmaine said:
Can someone give me feedback pros and cons on the Encore trike kit. What tire should you use on front ? Is it hard to turn ? How does the automatic transmission react ? About how many MPG do you get ? Should I do ground effects? Should I get the heavy duty brakes ? ETc ETc Thankyou in advance for any input you can offer.

Robert,

I too am interested in hearing an answer to your MPG question; the GL1800 Encore I'm looking to buy does NOT have 3.6 gallon auxiliary fuel tank on it and I'm wondering if worth adding and how big of a job it is to install or if I should keep shearching until I find a bike withe aux tank?

Jim

CJAC · Dec 25, 2019

My previous trike was a 2017 TriGlide, I was able to get 125-150 miles per tank (6.0 gal tank). This is my first GoldWing, 2018 Tour DCT with CSC Encore kit, I'm able to get 150-175 miles per tank (5.5 gal tank). I usually travel slightly above the speed limit.

Speed and headwind will have a big effect on mileage, those rear fenders are not very aerodynamic.

I wanted the aux fuel tank. My dealer told me adding the aux fuel tank could be expensive since the rear fiberglass has to be removed.

Bobmaine · Dec 25, 2019

If i trike it I would pick a dealer who has a top notch installer and stands behind the work. I live in Portland Maine and can travel to get it installed. Would like to hear from anyone about good or bad experiences with company's and or installers. California Side Car (CSC) is top on my list. Any thoughts on others? Thanks Bob

Happy Holidays

56Elwood · Dec 25, 2019

Bobmaine said:
If i trike it I would pick a dealer who has a top notch installer and stands behind the work. I live in Portland Maine and can travel to get it installed. Would like to hear from anyone about good or bad experiences with company's and or installers. California Side Car (CSC) is top on my list. Any thoughts on others? Thanks Bob

Happy Holidays

Hey Bob, Merry Christmas. As I stated in my earlier post, Nault's in Windham NH did the CSC conversion on my bike and I think they did a great job. This was the Windham shop's first CSC install so their lead tech from the Manchester shop who does the CSC installs there came down to Windham to do the install and train the lead tech there. The install took a little longer and I am perfectly fine with that, they took their time and got it right. I've already been underneath just to poke around and everything is as it should be.

I would suggest buying Fred Harmon's videos for this too, very helpful. My previous ride was a 2013 Goldwing with the Hannigan conversion, installed by a nationally known trike shop down south who has since retired and we found some installation issues with that but I had them resolved by an independent shop so all was well and I put 20K on the Hannigan with no issues. I have dealt with the shop in Keene, I will not deal with them again nor would I recommend them.

If CSC is your choice then either Nault's location would certainly take care of you. Just looking at the install gives me a great deal of confidence while riding. I had the Helibar risers installed during the conversion and the tech who did the install (Windham's trike tech) took great care to trim and finish the plastic cover over the risers. This tells me a lot, the craftsmanship is very good. If you'd like to discuss this over the phone, feel free to PM me, I'd be happy to help any way I can.

trikeman · Dec 25, 2019

Must be a gold club member to use PM :wave4:

Gorilla · Dec 26, 2019

56Elwood said:
I think there's a minimum number of posts you need to make before you can PM. I'll try to send you one

The "PM" ability is limited to members that join the "GOLD CLUB" This is a $99 per year fee. But for what you can acquire from this web site it is well worth it. The fee is to help offset the costs of running this site. Believe me Randy is not making money. I really suggest that all join the club to insure this site stays functional.

56Elwood · Dec 29, 2019

Bobmaine said:
Hi Tom I tried to PM you. It will not allow me to. I would like to talk to you and take a ride to see your trike if possible. Please advise

Bob, I signed up to be a Gold Club member. This is a great site and for less than the cost of a medium iced coffee from Dunk's, it's certainly worth it. If you do this also, PM when you can, next weekend is supposed to be in the 50's and I have already renewed my registration for 2020. Let me know

DiggerODale · Mar 22, 2020

Installer.

Bobmaine said:
If i trike it I would pick a dealer who has a top notch installer and stands behind the work. I live in Portland Maine and can travel to get it installed. Would like to hear from anyone about good or bad experiences with company's and or installers. California Side Car (CSC) is top on my list. Any thoughts on others? Thanks Bob

Happy Holidays

I went with the CSC factory install. I am very pleased.

Jimer · Mar 22, 2020

Bobmaine said:
If i trike it I would pick a dealer who has a top notch installer and stands behind the work. I live in Portland Maine and can travel to get it installed. Would like to hear from anyone about good or bad experiences with company's and or installers. California Side Car (CSC) is top on my list. Any thoughts on others? Thanks Bob

Happy Holidays

Bob, I can't help you with a "top notch" installers, my plan was to buy a new GL1800D and have a CSC Evora conversion installed; however, I couldn't find an installer locally that I felt comfortable with and I didn't want to do a long distance build (did that with a car and it was a nerve racking experience). So as a plan "B", I located a few Honda dealers with new 2018-19 CSC's in stock meeting/coming close to my specs; I than called CSC and asked them how many CSC kits these dealers had built.

CSC was extremely helpful and I then called and began negotiations with these dealers. I finally settled on a new 2019 GL1800D CSC Evora at a highly recommend dealer with 300+ builds experience that was 1100 miles from my home. This was during the holidays and he had 11 new trikes in stock with 2020MY on the way, so I was able to negotiate what I felt was fair enough deal to warrant the $1,200 shipping costs.

As thorough as I thought my due diligence was, the dealer through a last minute curve when he informed me of Honda's (ridiculous/archaic) "NON-NEGOTIABLE - In Person Delivery" policy. This added a $900 air fare to the deal, but after some discussion, the dealer helped out a little and we did the deal.

Even with the shipping and travel cost, I still did better than any of the local dealers were willing to do. I suspect that when this pandemic is over, similar if not better deals will be there for the astute buyer.

As for CSC, so far in my short ownership I could not be more pleased with both the company and the product!

Bob, I hope that my shopping experience is of some help to you; good luck with your search!

Jim

Sandman1 · Jan 27, 2021

That is the Fastest Color!

CJAC said:
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I've got the same set-up on my 2018, purchased it in October. DCT works great, even pulling my Roll-a-Home camper. The steering on this trike is very light, much better than the Tri-Glide I traded in. You'll love this set-up.

Love that Hawkeye Blue Pearl, I'm planning on getting my 2018 DCT Tour converted around April or May @ CSC facility, yes they are that booked already. Looking forward to the ride up and mini vacation while they install the Encore kit. Still looking over the goodies I want added. Ride Safe!