Reviews based on Years of Stallion Ownership

[Mattel]

I would like to see this thread develop into a thread fellow owners can write a detailed review of their Stallion Ownership. If you decide to comment, please be considerate of the views of our fellow owner taking the time to write their own review.

If we are successful, we will develop a great guide for non-Stallion owners or people thinking of taking the plunge.

Please don't hold back.....

What do you like the best;
What would you like changed;
How does it compare to other bikes or trikes you have riden or owned;
Was it worth the money????
How do fellow riders treat you?

Lets breath some new life into the Stallion Forum. Lately I have noticed more owners than we have ever had, but it seems like we don't have the free exchange of ideas and the volume of information that we had with less owners.

Spring is sprung, and as we dust off our trikes and bikes lets share our experences!

I am going to chime in, but I do not want to chime in too soon!

Thanks,
Ride Safe, I look forward to seeing what my fellow owners think!!!!!!

[pmar6004]

Mattel,

Good idea and thread... As you and others may know, I've decided to take the plunge, as you put it, as far back as June of last year, but unfortunately TMS was forced to remove the water from their pool. Now I'm just waiting for them to turn on the faucet again and hopefully start some needed "PR" as well. The questions I have about the Stallion are aligned to the 2012 model, not yet appropriate for this thread. I'll look forward to chiming in once my dealership hands me the keys. Patiently waiting for that time to arrive....:innocent:

Daydreamer

[Captain H]

Ok , mates, fellow stallion owners, I will step up to the plate 1st, lol. We just got the batting cagers opened, & when I stepped up to the plate in there , I struck out , lol , so maybe I can do better here ? lol.
# 1 Power & speed, 5 stars. I am a 45mph--65mph kind of guy . This bike does that plus alot more . My son wanted me to take it to New England drag way to see what it will do in the 1/4 mile . I was thinking of Mt.Washington Auto Rd during bike week in N.H.
# 2 What I like best , would be the steering wheel , gas, & brake peddles . It handles like a dream . It's like driveing a go-cart on the road .
# 3 I like the looks & style of the Stallion , the way it fits with the pirate theme at the mini golf . The name of my Stallion was going to be [Capt's Colt] or [Pirates Pony ] I think Pirates Pony has a good ring to it . What do yous think ?
# 4. I like the wide tires , for good traction & braking , it stoppes on a dime .
THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE .
# 1. Little doors that open to make it a little easyer to get in & out .I was just told you should mount a motorcycle from the left, just like you do a horse. I did not know this , I always mount my from the right , my Stallion likes it , & so do I . LOL.
# 2. I have a little trouble seeing the speedometer from 40-80, because I like haveing the steering wheel up high . I do put the gps on the dash & get my speed from it.
Knowing what I know now , MATES, please be nice now, lol, I KNOW , I don't know much lol, BUT , yes I would buy a Stallion & if I had the Captain's booty, I WOULD BUY TWO.:Pepper::yes::yes: Ok , did I hit a single, :woohoo:or did I strike out again ,, l lol .

ride safe & have fun Captain h

[Captain H]

Mattel,

Good idea and thread... As you and others may know, I've decided to take the plunge, as you put it, as far back as June of last year, but unfortunately TMS was forced to remove the water from their pool. Now I'm just waiting for them to turn on the faucet again and hopefully start some needed "PR" as well. The questions I have about the Stallion are aligned to the 2012 model, not yet appropriate for this thread. I'll look forward to chiming in once my dealership hands me the keys. Patiently waiting for that time to arrive....:innocent:

Daydreamer

I sure hope you get your 2012 model , good luck . I had to wait 6 or 7 weeks for mine , that was hard , you are really waiting a long time . Mate , that's like haveing to walk the plank hu .

Captain h

[Mattel]

Ok , mates, fellow stallion owners, I will step up to the plate 1st, lol. We just got the batting cagers opened, & when I stepped up to the plate in there , I struck out , lol , so maybe I can do better here ? lol.
# 1 Power & speed, 5 stars. I am a 45mph--65mph kind of guy . This bike does that plus alot more . My son wanted me to take it to New England drag way to see what it will do in the 1/4 mile . I was thinking of Mt.Washington Auto Rd during bike week in N.H.
# 2 What I like best , would be the steering wheel , gas, & brake peddles . It handles like a dream . It's like driveing a go-cart on the road .
# 3 I like the looks & style of the Stallion , the way it fits with the pirate theme at the mini golf . The name of my Stallion was going to be [Capt's Colt] or [Pirates Pony ] I think Pirates Pony has a good ring to it . What do yous think ?
# 4. I like the wide tires , for good traction & braking , it stoppes on a dime .
THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE .
# 1. Little doors that open to make it a little easyer to get in & out .I was just told you should mount a motorcycle from the left, just like you do a horse. I did not know this , I always mount my from the right , my Stallion likes it , & so do I . LOL.
# 2. I have a little trouble seeing the speedometer from 40-80, because I like haveing the steering wheel up high . I do put the gps on the dash & get my speed from it.
Knowing what I know now , MATES, please be nice now, lol, I KNOW , I don't know much lol, BUT , yes I would buy a Stallion & if I had the Captain's booty, I WOULD BUY TWO.:Pepper::yes::yes: Ok , did I hit a single, :woohoo:or did I strike out again ,, l lol .

ride safe & have fun Captain h

Great review! Thanks!!!:Pepper:

How about: Cpt. Dbl. Put's Steed. or The Cpt's putt-mobile???

on the topic of riding on the drag strip, I was able to ride on Charlotte Motor Speedway (Lowes motor...) last year or the year before. I will always remember the sound of the fence supports swishing by at over 100mph! One thing to remember when riding on an elevated NASCAR raceway is you cannot have one tire up on the bank and the other on the flat part, as you will smoke the lower tire a little.

I have a video on that. I will find it and link to it.



I will say that was a tripple play for a review. Whos up on bat next??????

Batter Up!!!

[Mattel]

I've had mine since Sept. 08 and my wife and I love it. My only gripe is the wind on the co-rider. It's worse than my Goldwing. Even for the driver, you can't hear the radio at full blast above 50 mph. I wish they could design flared edges on the cockpit and windshield to divert some of the wind. This will be a good forum if Jeff & Diane Vey will read it. I like the idea about the doors and asked Jeff about them in 2006 at Wing-Ding and he said he wouldn't do it because people would use them to lean on getting in and out and break the hinges. I've been trying to think of a way to put a soft top and side curtains and windows for cold weather riding. The after market side curtains do a pretty good job of cutting off a lot of the wind for driver & co-rider. You can get them from B&G Cycle Upholstery www.bgseatcovers.com

Great write up! I have found the Baker Air wings to be a great solution for my problem of not enough air on the driver, and it did reduce the air on the passanger to some extent. We have talked about a bunch of solutions for this issue, I don't think there is one solution that works really great.

[Mattel]

100 Stallion owners, and only 2 reviews? That is 2%...... Does anyone else want to share some of their experence?

:Popcorn:

[ODDOMAN]

WELL, I SUPPOSE I'VE OWN MY STALLION LONG ENOUGH TO CHIME IN...SO HERE GOES...I LOVE THIS THING....I HAD STRIPES PUT ON MINE FROM THE 2ND DAY i HAD IT IN AUG. 2010....NOW I HAVE RUNNING LIGHTS ON IT , FOR BETTER ROAD SIGHT AT NIGHT, AND MORE TO SEE IN THE DAY TOO.....PEOPLE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY ABOUT THIS RIDE....GUYS SAY IT'S COOL, LADIES SAY "IT'S CUTE"....I BOUGHT IT BECAUSE IT IS "DIFFERENT"....BUT ALL SAY.....WHERE IS THE TOP?.....I SAY "IT IS A MOTORCYCLE, HOW MANY MOTORCYCLES HAVE YOU SEEN WITH A TOP?....

I'VE INSTALLED CARPET THOUGH OUT THE COCKPIT.....SEE MY PICS.....ALSO SO I CHANGED OUT THE SPEAKERS AND REPLACED THEM WITH "KENMORE MARINE STYLE" SPEAKERS....AND i PLACED A 350 WATT AMP FOR BETTER SOUNDS AT 45-75 MPH SPEEDS.....AND IF YOU GO "ANYWHERE" BE PREPARED TO GET ATTENTION, LOTS OF ATTENTION.....AND THE SAME QUESTIONS:

DOES IT HAVE A TOP?....NOT YET
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT RAINS?.....I GET WET...LOL
HOW MUCH IT COST?.....NOT TO MUCH MORE THAT A NEW TRIKE....
DOES MY WIFE LIKE RIDING WITH ME?..ONLY IF SHE IS NOT DRIVING IT....LOL

ONLY THING THAT I WANT TO CHANGE IS ...REPLACING THE HIGH BEAM LIGHT WITH A LOW BEAM SET UP, SO I WILL HAVE BOTH LIGHTS ON AT SAME TIME..THAT'S NEXT...

ODDOMAN
#667
EFFINGHAM, SC

[Lunchbox1983]

Improvements Stallion could make:

1) Front Speakers: without them the rears are useless at hwy speed.
2) MP3 port in the cabin the driver can access, CD is dead MP3 in the way
3) Power port to charge stuff both in trunk and in cabin.
4) Battery charge/Jump off tender plug
5) A better Seat
6) A cup holder for the Passenger, that a child can lean over and sip out of.
7) Factory options for GPS (Zumo) and CB installed.

I fixed all of these shortcomings (thanks trike talk members) except # 6, if my 10 year old dumps another cup of sweet tea down my wife's back he and I are both dead, so mod # 6 is high on my list.

THE GOOD

1) easy to drive
2) powerful thrust to weight
3) Heater
4) large fuel tank
5) cool looks
6) able to pull a trailer
7) Room to hold stuff in large trunk
8) Car tires on all 3 corners


OK that's all my brain can do, but I am sure I will remember more as I read others lists

[deanone98]

I have owned my Stallion since Aug 2010 and have added all of the extras to it. We love our Stallion, but I do see some things that could use some improvement.

Radio is hard to hear at interstate speeds unless you have it connected to your helmet headsets. Dashboard is hard to read in the sun and so is the CB and I have mine mounted on the left side of the steering wheel. My wife complains of the wind as a passenger. I have long legs and find it difficult to stretch my legs while driving. It is difficult to get out of because of no area to put your feet when you have a passenger and I find it easier to get into than out of. These bikes would not be easy for a person that may have some restrictions of movement on the legs or flexibility. They need more dealerships that are willing to work on them.

Good things: Nice looking, plenty of power, handle well in the rain, great stopping ability, seat is comfortable and when pulling a trailer you never know that it is there.
Dean

[Lunchbox1983]

To add to my list

The muffler sound of the stock stallion is horrible, I hated it in the show room, and figured it would be my first fix, which it was.

thanks to trike talk I found Bazooka

the zook dual exaust is the best upgrade I made, and well worth the money.

[cupcake]

Amen Lunchbox1983. I did the same. Now my stallion has some good sound. My neighbors say that they listen to me when I leave, and that it sound good going down the road.

[Mattel]

To add to my list

The muffler sound of the stock stallion is horrible, I hated it in the show room, and figured it would be my first fix, which it was.

thanks to trike talk I found Bazooka

the zook dual exaust is the best upgrade I made, and well worth the money.

When I purchased my stallion I had to walk through knee high snow up hill to the Stallion dealer (both ways!)........ Sorry, I just had to say that!

Really, Zook did not offer his exhaust upgrade, and at that time I was looking for a quieter exhaust note. I spent a little time researching a car muffler that would work, and I had a local muffler shop install a regular car muffler. It was much more quiet, and I was able to enjoy my ride more and listen to my music and the wind instead of the exhast. That was then... Now I have full race termis on my Duck.... Ohhwell!:Pepper:

[Mattel]

Pros & Cons of the Stallion Part 1:

Pros: Great look, and I like the older ones better as they have the deeper more exotic paints and clear coats. The gold and silver fleck in the candy apple red is out of this world! I like the one piece fiberglass tub better than the injection molded body parts. I believe the fiberglass offers better energy dissipation and crash protection than the newer body parts. But from the repair point I think the body parts will be easier to replace. I like the rubber foot pads on the new version. I was always too afraid to step on the side fins.

I like the headlights. They are bright and work well. I do not like the first lights that came on the original bikes with serial numbers approximately pre- 250 as they were not the HID lights. I installed led lights in the wind scoop at the rear tires behind the metal mesh. I felt the bike needed light here to help park in the dark, and to see the curb. I also think it would be good for the factory to install a light here to light up the side of the bike to be more visible at night.

HVAC: at first I did not want to turn on the ac, as I felt it would be wasteful. I did use it when the heat was over 90degrees. I know TBMS changed the duct design and my bike 313 had the new updated ducts. Even with this update, I had a problem with too much heat coming through the front drivers vent. I just closed it off when I ride. The real solution to the hvac issue is not the ac or the heat, but rather installing Baker Air wings. Without the baker air wings I was not able to get any air flowing on my lower body while riding in the driver’s seat. I had three positions for my air wings, closed which deflected the most air from driver and a little from the passenger; natural which performed just like without air wings, and open which directed a nice amount of air onto the drivers lower legs and on up the lower body and mid section. In my opinion, this is the first modification to perform.

Seat:
The seats were changed in the newer fiberglass stallions. They thickened the foam padding. I never liked the seat. I know Corbin was working on a seat for the Stallion, but the factory never worked with Corbin, and it is still on hold to this day. You can still ship your seat to them, but the cost is way too high. I Corrected this problem by adding an Air-hawk seat pad.

The seating position works, but it was just at the limit for my height. I am 5’10” and I don’t believe it would be comfortable for anyone taller. I had the steering wheel in the highest position and the peddles in the back position.

Roll Bar: Do you know the roll bar is just for show???? WTF? I view this as a con… I would rather have this as a real roll bar for safety sake in the roll over.

Brake peddle: It works, but I found the metal bracket to sometimes get in my way and I would hit the bracket with my foot causing the brakes to engage accidentally.

Muffler; I felt at the time of purchase that it was too loud. But my wife liked it stock. I changed out the muffler to quiet it down. Not a pro or con. But I do like Randy’s upgrades!!!!

Passenger: Pros and cons here; The overall seat for the passenger is about the best you will find on a motorcycle or trike. It is the lazy-Boy of rear seats. I have even fell asleep after a hard day of riding while my wife drove me up the mountain back home. Here is the rub, the wind buffeting is off the scale in the rear seat. The wind from the giant windshield breaks behind the driver’s head. Then the wind from around the sides comes up and hits about 4” behind the drivers seat. With all that, if it is a cold day you are not happy in the back seat! Even on warm days, the noise and the turbulence gets to be a lot.

Tires; I like the large tires. I had the wider tires, as they changed the size of the rear tires when the original stock tires were hard to get. The size of the rear tires were from a car that was produced for 1-2 years and it only fit that car’s rear tires! IF you think you are going to need new tires buy a set from Tire-rack.com and put them in your garage. I had to replace just one, and it set me back about $200. The factory is not your friend, and they tried to charge me a 40% marked up price of close to $300 for one tire at the time.

The front disk brakes are an organic pad. Con Con Con when it comes to having so much black dust on the front hard to clean wheel. The overall breaking is great! It stops on a dime, and it is safe, so that is a Pro. But why they did not design a set of brakes that took a ceramic pad is beyond me. Here is where someone designed this system with no consideration for keeping the bike clean. I believe this was a short sighted measure to keep the cost down.

Trunk:
The trunk is a Pro! Wow, big for a trike, and plenty of room to store tools, jack, and other stuff. I had the original carpeted trunk.
Battery location is a con. I had to install remote battery terminals. The factory should do this on new bikes. Having to remove a tire to get to the battery is just stupid when the factory does not provide the tools with the bike to do this. I had to purchase a mini scissor jack for $10. The factory should supply these with all new bikes.

Fuel cell: Pro! Wow have you ever seen a race car fuel cell on a trike! It looks bullet proof! The fuel gauge is a con. At first they only showed a quarter tank when filled up, then they had a fix that would show about ¾ tank when filled. I am not sure if they fixed this, but I can live with the fix.

Dash: Pro, what a dash! Nice and easy to read. The idiot lights are a con, as they are difficult to see in the bright sun. They just don’t work on sunny days.

Light switch; pro as it is easy to operate, but con as anyone can walk up to your bike and turn the lights on when you are not around and run your battery down. Also, you can leave your lights on when you get off without knowing it. I installed a beeper to let me know that the key is out of the ignition and the lights are on. (see the thread on this). This cost me $2.00 and it is something the factory should do on new bikes.

Performance is a pro! Wow, it has power!!!! It is like driving a go-cart! I would put this bike up against a can-am any day of the week with one provision; it would have to be in the mountains. The can-am is a fun bike to ride on a straight road, but put it in the mountains and it is like trying to ride an ATV on the highway; it is just f-n scary!! It is like the Can-am is trying to buck you off in the turns. But the Stallion is rock solid in tight turns. You sit lower and it just attacks the turns.

I will continue this review in another part to come…..

[CAS]

I owned one of the first plastic body Stallions from 09.

Pro
Style, lots of appeal
Tubular frame
Big CC engine

Con
Solid read end axle.
Excessive passenger wind turbulence at highway speed.

What it should have had,
Better fit and finish for plastic, chrome, rubber, and electronics; does not have the quality of a Goldwing for similar price.
Independent rear suspension and CV joints for more stability like the new Motor Trike kits.
Mod windshield and side to take excessive wind off passenger.
Add built in navigation, sound to helmets and intercom.
Add 6 speed transmission to improve MPG at 70 mph.

IMHO, to improve site membership, stop restricting member/owner comments. This site will not permit professional constructive comments made about the dealers or Thoroughbred Motorsports. Many like me have fought to uphold the right of free speech throughout the world, use or lose it. It should not matter who contributes money to this site, all comments should be posted. Other members can post different views and opinions to counterdict if warranted like on facebook and twitter.

[Charlie D]

Mattel: P L E A S E continue as it is only with input from the owners that proper correction to oversights can be accomplished. Further only those who ride or have ridden the Stallion are aware of the quirks. Thank you Charlie D

[Papa Zook]

I owned one of the first plastic body Stallions from 09.

IMHO, to improve site membership, stop restricting member/owner comments. This site will not permit professional constructive comments made about the dealers or Thoroughbred Motorsports. Many like me have fought to uphold the right of free speech throughout the world, use or lose it. It should not matter who contributes money to this site, all comments should be posted. Other members can post different views and opinions to counterdict if warranted like on facebook and twitter.

CAS,
TBMS does not and never has contributed any money to this site. As I told another Stallion critic, post away! As long as its based on facts and your own experience, we have no problem with that.

[Mattel]

I owned one of the first plastic body Stallions from 09.
...
Con
Solid read end axle, unstable in a power turn, wants to tip over.
...
What it should have had,
Better fit and finish for plastic, chrome, rubber, and electronics; does not have the quality of a Goldwing for similar price.
Independent rear suspension and CV joints for more stability like the new Motor Trike kits.
...
Add built in navigation, sound to helmets and intercom.
Add 6 speed transmission to improve MPG at 70 mph.
....
IMHO, to improve site membership, stop restricting member/owner comments. .

Cas,
Regarding your comment "unstable in a power turn, wants to tip over" I find from my experence this could not be further from the truth. I have rode this trike for close to 13k miles including the Tail of the Dragon, The Snake, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and too many mountain roads to list. The Stallion is rock solid in turns. Only once have I ever even got one wheel to come off the ground in a turn, and it was because I was doing close to 30mph in a sharp downhill 210deg. switchback. I knew I was pushing the Stallion but I wanted to find out just how far I could push it before I got a wheel up. Even when that happened, all i had to do was feather the brake pedal and the wheel came right down. I have ridden in the Mountains with a pack of sport bikes so hard that when I came to a stopping point the front brake disks had smoke comming off them and they were blue! I did not ride like this all the time, because it is not the responsible thing to do, and this bike is a better cruiser.

Regarding navigation, I use to run a gps attached to the windsheild. This cost me about $75.00. I would hate to see how much this option would cost if it was offered by TBMS. Besides.. where would you put a nav system???

I do agree that a 6 speed transmission would be great for the Stallion, but I don't think they offer one for this engine. I do think you are onto something regarding more fuel efficency. I would hope TBMS would consider a version of the Stallion that ultra efficent, or even electric. After getting my Stallion I too was a little dissapointed in the burn rate of the fuel. I belive the Stalllion was designed to be a performance vehicle. I think the toughts were if you had 30+k to spend on a trike you had plenty of money to buy gas. Now the fact that it takes regular fuel is a big plus, but then again, back then gas cost a fraction of what it costs now.

Regarding your comment "Better fit and finish for plastic, chrome, rubber, and electronics; does not have the quality of a Goldwing for similar price." The Stallion may be comparable to some Goldwing trikes from the point of view that they are both trikes, but they are like apples and oranges. I say that because the Goldwing has been in production for How many years????? What if you compared the Stallion to a Goldwing in it's first or second model year? The Stallion is a low production built from the ground up trike. The Goldwing is a high production motorcycle that has been redesigned or revised for (I am guessing) Twentyfive+ years????? Of course the Stallion is not going to have the level of finish of a Goldwing. That level of finish can only be achieved by a Multi-Billion dollar production company that has designed, redesigned, and refined their product for decades!

I have read your posts in the past and based on them I always thought you purchased the wrong bike. You should have purchased a Goldwing! Stallions are not for everyone, and the alternative for someone who wants a trike that has been refined for the last 25 years, is a Goldwing. Stallions were made for those who wanted something diffrent than a triked out motorcycle. That option did not exist in 2007-8 when the Stallion was introduced.

One final note::Monster:
I wish you would not hijack my thread with unrelated commnets on this forum. Please open another thread to deal with that issue if you think it has merit.

[Lunchbox1983]

I agree with mattel the Stallion is glued to the road, I have taken a U turn so fast and hard that my butt was shot out of the seat, but the rubber was still on the pavement.:woohoo:

In a head to head twisty run I would give a nod to a "standard" trike as you can use the handel bars and your legs to push to counter the forces. On the stallion I use one hand to hang onto the side while the other steers and there is not an easy way to find something to push against with my legs (I squeeze with my knees).

I think my wing and Stallion will take the twisties just as fast, it is just easier to hang onto the wing.

[Ed Hobgood]

I agree with everyone on the way the Stallion takes curves. I've only had my Stallion for four months but I had a Goldwing trike before and the Stallion takes the curves much better than my Goldwing did. Don't get me wrong, I loved my Goldwing but as of now, I like the Stallion much better.