Considering a Stallion

[Oldmanwheeler]

I was in a serious accident in Colorado on July 4th and spent a week on like support followed by 8 weeks in the hospital in Greeley, CO and Ames, IA where we live. I broke 16 bones and shattered my left shoulder which as the Doctor described to by wife was "dust". I am now recovering at home and waiting to see a shoulder specialist at the Mayo Clinic or the Univ of Iowa Hospital - the wait is 2 - 3 months. It is doubtful I will have much more than 20% use of the arm so a traditional motorcycle or trike is out of the question. Since I can drive our van I figure I should be able to ride a bike with a steering wheel so you can imagine my excitement when I came across the Stallion.

One custom feature I want to add is a CB since most of the friends we ride with have CB's on their bikes. I want the radio, CB and GPS to be hooked into my helmet. I'm also interested in hearing what accessories owners have added to their Stallions and where you purchased them. Finally, how close is riding a stallion to riding a standard bike or trike?

I appreciate everyone's feedback.d Thanks.

Oldmanwheeler

 

[Nana]

Oh my goodness -- What an awful experience! I'm so glad you are getting right back out there. I'm no Stallion expert, but it sure looks like it would be a great option for you. You'll want to talk with Bazooka, who will know about options for a Stallion as he is a dealer for them and, I think, drives one. Then there are Mikey and Mattel who are experienced Stallion owners. I'm sure others too who can give you ideas.
Welcome to the trike family. You'll like it here .

 

[Oldmanwheeler]

Thanks Nana, just got a call today from the University of Iowa Hospital and they moved my appointment up from Dec 3rd to this Friday. This is the best new I've had in a while.

 

[Nana]

Did you find the forum section about Stallions specifically? I know there was discussion about several specific options available; things like covers and extras such as luggage racks, etc. There are a couple of members here who are excitedly awaiting delivery of their new Stallion (eg. Symplysimon).

 

[Trikerjim]

Welcome to our little family Oldman! The main thing is you're here! Glad you're still interested in riding. Like Nana said, check out the Stallion forum on here and ask these guys all of your questions. They'll be happy to help you. Good luck and happy to have you here....

 

[Mattel]

Welcome Oldmanwheeler!

I am sorry to hear about your accident, but I will do my best to answer your questions.

Regarding a Stallion:
I ride the stallion because of several reasons, one of them relates to injury's I have sustained to my feet that would prevent me from riding a motorcycle without a reverse gear, and a back injury from a car accident. Other motorcycles I have tried recently were too stiff of a ride, or put my back in such a position that was uncomfortable. I made a decision several years ago to purchase a trike that was built from the ground up as a trike. The Stallion was one of the very few choices. I also did not like cleaning all the little nooks and cranny's of my other motorcycles, and I especially dislike polishing and keeping chrome clean. don't get me wrong guys, I love looking at your clean chrome machine, but I shiver when I see you hitting a mud puddle! I love the wipe and go that I can do with the Stallion, and only the windshield is the most work to keep clean and scratch and smudge free.

When people ask is it a car or a motorcycle I say "yes". Yes because it combines the aspect of riding lower to the ground with out a roof and windows, and the feeling of the wind all around you. I believe it to be better than the motorcycles I have rode in the past in that it has huge rear tires 18"x55 with 24lbs of air in each. That is a lot of rubber in contact with the road! The fronts are also large but not as big as the rear. I have laid down my last bike 4 times before I sold it. Two oil slicks, one wet freshly paved street, and one slimly lizards. I now hit gravel in mountain road twisties with impunity. I will agree that you do not have that free floating lean you get with a two wheel motorcycle, but you also don't have the free feeling you get when your bike slides out from under you when you hit an oil slick, or patch of gravel. I love the secure feeling I get on my Stallion, and how well it handles. It has a bunch of power, and I believe the cornering is more fun than any car, with the exceptions listed above when compared to a two wheeled motorcycle.

I often ride with one hand. I think if you install a knob (check local laws if you are not disabled, as they are not legal in NC if you are not disabled) you should find it quite easy to handle. The cruse control is on the right side, so if you are left handed you may have to get a modified wheel. But, since this is a standard Ford wheel and set-up, I am sure you can easily find an aftermarket set up. Due to my feet, I use my cruse control extensively on the highway and in the mountains, and I find it very responsive.

I also have found the smooth ride to be much better than a lot of the firm rides of sports bikes. I have never ridden a Gold Wing, so I cannot compare. I like the air shock adjustments and I keep it soft, at about 23psi, and sometimes I drop it to 20lbs if my back is not feeling good. That said I have ridden 7 hours in one day with no back pain.

If you are going to compare the speed and agility of the stallion to a motorcycle I find no problem keeping up or even pushing sports bikes around on the highway. The Stallion is no slouch in the horse department! You have 155 hp with a 5 speed automatic transmission. The shifts are smooth and if you get into it too much off the line you can spin the tires when you hit second gear if you don't watch it.

I have spoke about the wind sounds on another thread, and also about the amount of attention you WILL get. If you are not an extrovert, or ready for more attention than you would get driving a 200k+ car - DO NOT BUY A STALLION!!!!! But if you can deal with it, you will notice more people look at you smiling ear to ear, children will jump up and down, and everyone, I mean everyone will want to ask you about your Stallion. The most common thing you will hear is "I never seen anything like this in my life!" But I enjoy the many smiles I see all the time.

I hope this helps. Ask any other questions. I will do my best to answer them. Get better soon.

 

[Mattel]

Fortsand's Question

Originally Posted by Fortsand
Hello,
I am not an owner, but I joined the forum as I wanted to correspond with other Stallion owners.
I presently ride a Gold Wing 1800. I have been fascinated with the Stallion for several months, but I have not seen one. Bazooka is about a hundred miles from me and I plan to go up and do a test drive at some point.
I have several concerns. How much heat do you get off the engine? Since it has a/c, I was thinking that maybe the a/c was to compensate for the engine heat.
How much wind noise do you get at 60-70 mph? Is it worse than a GoldWing?
How about intercom? How do you communicate with your passenger?
I saw on one forum where somebody had acquired an owner's manual before purchase. I sent the factory an e-mail yesterday, but did not hear from them yet.
Any info you could offer would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hello Fortsand,
I would be happy to answer your questions, but would you mind if I posted it on a thread so everyone could benefit from these good questions? That way someone down the road with the same questions you have can get them any time just by reading.

That would be great, thanks for your time.

Fortsand here is an answer to some of your questions:
Heat off the engine:
The stallion does not suffer from one of the most problematic issues that I believe plagues regular motorcycles in very hot weather. I have rode my Stallion this summer in 100+ degrees with not problem. In fact I always try to wear mesh CE armor for protection, and I was wearing it on that day too. If you read the TBMS factory website, they say they placed the radiator in the rear of the trike and when the electric fan kicks on it pours heat behind the bike. Because the engine is not exposed, you don't get heat rising from between your legs. As you pointed out, the AC delivers a bunch of cold air at any speed. I find I need it most in hot weather when I am cruising at slow speeds looking at the sights. I have noticed some minor issues with heat escaping the vents when the ac is not on, but I addressed a quick fix on another thread for that. One extremely minor issue that most people will never notice is that the bolt heads near your feet will heat up on hot days, but if you are wearing boots and pants you will not notice. I find the AC enables me to ride when others will find it unbearable especially at slower speeds or in heavy traffic.

Conversely, where the AC will enable you to ride in the extreme heat, the heater and full cowling and windshield will enable you to ride comfortable in extreme cold. I have found the heater to make riding in the cold much more enjoyable. But, having the large trunk enables me to carry the correct gear, rain gear, different jackets, and gloves, and all the other boyscout stuff I tote around to help others out.

Wind Noise:
I have never rode a Gold Wing, but I am sure someone here can fill in this gap. The wind noise for the passenger is much more than the drive, and I wrote about this on another thread too. I have done some research on riding wind noise, and I found the Stallion to be different from many motorcycles without wind shields in that the main wind noise for the driver is a booming turbulence. I have been able to reduce that by changing to a full face helmet ( a Shoie RF 1000) and I always wear hearing protection, no matter how short my ride is or what helmet I wear. I understand someone is developing a great wind deflector that fits into the design of the Stallion, and it will be released in the next few months.

Owners Manual:
If you read all the posts on this website you should not need to read the owners manual. I hope TBMS will put it on line soon. I think they should so we can print to the pages that we need to carry on the bike for road side repairs, as the entire hard bound book takes up too much space in the trunk.

Intercom:
Look at the other threads. I don't own one yet but there are some great threads on this here on this forum. Someone even has a complete setup designed specifically for the Stallion, I believe Serra Electronics can direct you to that retailer, as they are providing the electronics and that dealer has made a custom mount for the radio/intercom.

Test Drive:
I put my deposit down before I took a test drive, and only got to test drive one one day before they painted my Stallion. I was not disappointed, neither will you.

I hope I answered your questions, if you have more, just ask away!

Ride Safe!

 

[Oldmanwheeler]

Thanks everyone, especially Mattle, for such quick responses. I have located a red 2008 Stallion with 3,800 miles on it that an older couple owned and then the husband had a stroke and can no longer ride. They are asking $28,995 for it and it has a J&M CB/Intercom already installed and custom pin striping. I'm hoping they schedule me for surgery in the next week or two so I won't be able to go look at it until later in the month. Hopefully it's still around then.

Here are a few more questions if you don't mind. What brand
trailer looks the best with the Stallion? I will want to mount my Garmin Zumo GPS and am curious where some of you have mounted your GPS' at. By the way I create custom routes and poi files for GPS' and would be happy to share with anyone on this forum.

Thanks for all the well wishes. I'm very lucky to be alive, let alone recovering as well as I have. The one thing that has keep me going is is the possibility that someday I will ride again.

 

[BenO]

Glad to see you made it to the forms. I have seen a lot of mangled bodies and I am just amazed at what new procedures the Doctors are able to do every year. I know you are happy Iowa was able to get you in sooner. You would have been amazed at the Mayo Clinic . So many specialist Doctors that would make your head spin and even more amazing is ever medical person talk to each other they are a complete team.

I am sure you will be glad when it is all done. I wish you a speedy recovery.
I have own and ridden many bikes over the years. As you can see there is a wide variety of knowledge and opinions on Motorcycle’s, trikes including the Stallion here.

Like many we end up riding a trikes because of medical reasons. You will find that the stallion meets those needs better then other trikes. Since I was pretty much an Goldwing (last one is still in the garage being the watch dog)person over the last few years I was pushing for a GW Trike but the wife kind of wanted to get a Harley trike.

Neither one of us ever was able to find one we both agreed on each trike had pros and cons. Every single one was different in some way or another. We followed the Stallion from the first time it made its appearance. We rode three different Stallions and each was a slight difference but we both always agreed on each one that was the way to go. So We got our bid in.

I personally think it handles & rides better then the GL1800 trike and the different Harley trikes we have been able to ride on trips with friends.

The only real draw back I have is the windshield is too short and the passenger behind me gets a lot of wind, more then they should in my opinion.

Unlike Mattel I have different opinion on the top question when they ask if there is one. I have seen one made for a Goldwing, but I always thought they were lacking. But a top (if one is ever made) is just that a top not a cabin enclosure which would indeed be more like a car then. If they ever make a top I will be looking at it very hard.

You will find a lot of real good ideals of accessories that are being used coming from a specific need of the users. Bazooka has a great Exhaust mod. You will find a nice variety of cover options post in these forums. Mattel has found a way to get more usable pouches to be bought and installed.

As My ground effect lights has come in I am just waiting on the switches I ordered fro Germany to get in to set them up. My head light bulb replacements have come in I just need the time to swap them out and readjust the beams to see if they were or were not an improvement.
I am still looking into led replacements for the back lights. I even looked into swapping for a European style tail light.

My front speakers are in I just got to figure out a way get the stereo out of the trunk to be able to hook the leads in. I am not happy with any of the intercom/cb/ or radio available right now but there is suppose to be some new option available after the first of the year. I am hoping to be able to get one on by spring.

You will find some other luggage options as well. I pull an Ion trailer. I also have pulled a car popup tent trailer as other cargo trailers and usually don’t even know they are back there.

I know Mattel I am sure being slow LOL but I will get the lights and pictures when it is finished. After the switches come in I will just be trying to figure out how to get it up so I can get under it in my garage.

I don’t think the Stallion will let you down. We just have to wait for more to get on the road to be able for it be cost efficient to make more accessories.
There is a fine group of folks here to be able to talk with on any questions you might have. Again welcome & hope the hospital visits are short.

 

[Mattel]

You need to jump on that Stallion with both feet!

 

[trikerjack]

Fortsand, thinking of a Stallion

Originally Posted by Fortsand

Hello,

I am not an owner, but I joined the forum as I wanted to correspond with other Stallion owners.

I presently ride a Gold Wing 1800. I have been fascinated with the Stallion for several months, but I have not seen one. Bazooka is about a hundred miles from me and I plan to go up and do a test drive at some point.

I have several concerns. How much heat do you get off the engine? Since it has a/c, I was thinking that maybe the a/c was to compensate for the engine heat.

How much wind noise do you get at 60-70 mph? Is it worse than a GoldWing?

How about intercom? How do you communicate with your passenger?

I saw on one forum where somebody had acquired an owner's manual before purchase. I sent the factory an e-mail yesterday, but did not hear from them yet.

Any info you could offer would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hello Fortsand,

I would be happy to answer your questions, but would you mind if I posted it on a thread so everyone could benefit from these good questions? That way someone down the road with the same questions you have can get them any time just by reading.

That would be great, thanks for your time.

Fortsand here is an answer to some of your questions:

Heat off the engine:

The stallion does not suffer from one of the most problematic issues that I believe plagues regular motorcycles in very hot weather. I have rode my Stallion this summer in 100+ degrees with not problem. In fact I always try to wear mesh CE armor for protection, and I was wearing it on that day too. If you read the TBMS factory website, they say they placed the radiator in the rear of the trike and when the electric fan kicks on it pours heat behind the bike. Because the engine is not exposed, you don't get heat rising from between your legs. As you pointed out, the AC delivers a bunch of cold air at any speed. I find I need it most in hot weather when I am cruising at slow speeds looking at the sights. I have noticed some minor issues with heat escaping the vents when the ac is not on, but I addressed a quick fix on another thread for that. One extremely minor issue that most people will never notice is that the bolt heads near your feet will heat up on hot days, but if you are wearing boots and pants you will not notice. I find the AC enables me to ride when others will find it unbearable especially at slower speeds or in heavy traffic.

Conversely, where the AC will enable you to ride in the extreme heat, the heater and full cowling and windshield will enable you to ride comfortable in extreme cold. I have found the heater to make riding in the cold much more enjoyable. But, having the large trunk enables me to carry the correct gear, rain gear, different jackets, and gloves, and all the other boyscout stuff I tote around to help others out.

Wind Noise:

I have never rode a Gold Wing, but I am sure someone here can fill in this gap. The wind noise for the passenger is much more than the drive, and I wrote about this on another thread too. I have done some research on riding wind noise, and I found the Stallion to be different from many motorcycles without wind shields in that the main wind noise for the driver is a booming turbulence. I have been able to reduce that by changing to a full face helmet ( a Shoie RF 1000) and I always wear hearing protection, no matter how short my ride is or what helmet I wear. I understand someone is developing a great wind deflector that fits into the design of the Stallion, and it will be released in the next few months.

Owners Manual:

If you read all the posts on this website you should not need to read the owners manual. I hope TBMS will put it on line soon. I think they should so we can print to the pages that we need to carry on the bike for road side repairs, as the entire hard bound book takes up too much space in the trunk.

Intercom:

Look at the other threads. I don't own one yet but there are some great threads on this here on this forum. Someone even has a complete setup designed specifically for the Stallion, I believe Serra Electronics can direct you to that retailer, as they are providing the electronics and that dealer has made a custom mount for the radio/intercom.

Test Drive:

I put my deposit down before I took a test drive, and only got to test drive one one day before they painted my Stallion. I was not disappointed, neither will you.

I hope I answered your questions, if you have more, just ask away!

Ride Safe!

Fortsand

I have a Goldwing 1800 and my bride has a 2013 Stallion, stick with the Goldwing,

 

[rhino 2]

Out side of todays post......The last one was 5 years ago...And the OP's original post was about 11 years ago....:Shrug:....

 

[rocket1lf]

To TrikerJack, I've been riding motorcycles for over 50 years and my last three two wheelers were Goldwings. I have had my Stallion for 4 1/2 years now and I ride every week with a group of Goldwingers. I can do everything they can do more comfortably. I love the Stallion and won't be going back to a Goldwing. To each his own. Rick

 

[1dn5up]

Out side of todays post......The last one was 5 years ago...And the OP's original post was about 11 years ago....:Shrug:....

Wondering if his quest ever got forfilled :Shrug:

 

[rhino 2]

Wondering if his quest ever got forfilled :Shrug:

I always Wonder what ever happened to the posters on these old threads?......Moved on 'Or sold their trikes never to ride again...:Shrug:

 

[1dn5up]

I always Wonder what ever happened to the posters on these old threads?......Moved on 'Or sold their trikes never to ride again...:Shrug:

The original poster got messed up in a accident and was considering a trike due to his handicap. So as 10yrs past, we will never know the outcome :Shrug: Can only wish him well.