Lawton, OK

[BeardedWayne]

Hi, new member here. I retired from the Army some years back and live in Lawton, OK. I am currently riding a Harley Street 500 but looking to trade up for a trike. Shopping online, I've seen a number of Sporty trike conversions without reverse that are pretty reasonably priced. I'm interested in any experience or recommendations with those.

Bearded Wayne

[Jack Klarich]

Hi Wayne, to Trike Talk

Many of the Sportster Trikes are nicely done, 3 problems with some of them

1 lack of storage

2 No reverse

3 under powered

[rhino 2]

Hi, new member here. I retired from the Army some years back and live in Lawton, OK. I am currently riding a Harley Street 500 but looking to trade up for a trike. Shopping online, I've seen a number of Sporty trike conversions without reverse that are pretty reasonably priced. I'm interested in any experience or recommendations with those.

Bearded Wayne

Wayne….Welcome to Trike Talk….. Depending upon the terrain where you live maybe you don’t need a reverse, ? but I’ll tell you I will not buy a trike without a reverse!

[trike lady]

Hello & to Trike Talk.

You'd at least want a 1200 engine minimum.

Something with reverse, storage is a must.

[Sully]

Hello Wayne...Welcome to Trike Talk........

[Zammy]

Hello Wayne, welcome to the forums.

[Marc H]

Welcome to Trike Talk Wayne!!!

[hardwickbv]

Welcome from Indiana!!!

Bob

[ol' school]

Welcome to Trike Talk Wayne! Thank you for your service.

[BeardedWayne]

Hi Wayne, to Trike Talk

Many of the Sportster Trikes are nicely done, 3 problems with some of them

1 lack of storage

2 No reverse

3 under powered

Thank you -- from what I have read, there may be a 4th negative: Passenger comfort, which would likely apply to all Sportster models. Perhaps a mitigation for the lack of storage is that I have seen some with a small rack on the back of the sissy bar and a small/medium box on the back. Regarding the lack of reverse, one seller told me that it is a light enough bike that the absence of reverse has not been an issue.

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Welcome to Trike Talk Wayne! Thank you for your service.

Thank you!!

[woody]

Welcome to Trike Talk Wayne! Thank you for your service, spent some time at Fort Sill myself nice area but I wasn't on a trike

As with a bike you learn where to park so the reverse is not used as much but if you have it you will use it from time to time, a must for me is independent suspension it makes a lot of difference in the ride and my wife's attitude.

[BeardedWayne]

Welcome to Trike Talk Wayne! Thank you for your service, spent some time at Fort Sill myself nice area but I wasn't on a trike

As with a bike you learn where to park so the reverse is not used as much but if you have it you will use it from time to time, a must for me is independent suspension it makes a lot of difference in the ride and my wife's attitude.

Thanks, Woody! Good advice! I have an appointment this Friday with a private seller who is selling a 2012 Honda Goldwing trike with a Motor Trike kit (and has reverse). It would be a much more comfortable ride than other options I was considering, especially for the wife. It has about 88K miles but is being offered for what I consider a very reasonable price.

[woody]

Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable Goldwing and motor trike folks will chime in on things to look for. Good Luck

[BeardedWayne]

Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable Goldwing and motor trike folks will chime in on things to look for. Good Luck

When selecting a trike conversion, it seems like it might be *just as important* to find one in which there is a local shop/dealership with trained technicians for that particular trike conversion. Semi-locally, there is a dealership that has trained technicians for Motor Trike and California Side Car. There is a local dealership that could do maintenance on Harley factory trikes.

[BeardedWayne]

It might be comparing apples and oranges except for the price. Locally, or semi-locally, there is a 2006 Honda Goldwing Trike with a Motor Trike Adventure kit and 44,000 miles offered for virtually the same price as a 2017 Freewheeler with 10,000 miles. The asking price the 2006 Goldwing trike is $16,500 and for the 2017 Freewheeler it's $18,500 (both from private sellers). Assuming both have been properly maintained, I wonder which one is the best deal.

[Jack Klarich]

It might be comparing apples and oranges except for the price. Locally, or semi-locally, there is a 2006 Honda Goldwing Trike with a Motor Trike Adventure kit and 44,000 miles offered for virtually the same price as a 2017 Freewheeler with 10,000 miles. The asking price for each is approximately $19K from private sellers. Assuming both have been properly maintained, I wonder which one is the best deal.

Wayne, do your research on both trikes

Can you find tech info on both

Are parts readily available for both

Is there good tech support for both

Where can you get service when out and about

Is a service manual and owners manual available for both

Will you be able to do your own maintenance

Have factory recalls and updates been done

[PosseRider]

Thank you -- from what I have read, there may be a 4th negative: Passenger comfort, which would likely apply to all Sportster models. Perhaps a mitigation for the lack of storage is that I have seen some with a small rack on the back of the sissy bar and a small/medium box on the back. Regarding the lack of reverse, one seller told me that it is a light enough bike that the absence of reverse has not been an issue.

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Thank you!!

Welcome to Trike Talk from Ohio.. luck with your search.

[Jarhead1775]

Welcome aboard Wayne. I just recently (3 weeks ago) bought a 2017 Harley Trike. Freewheeler. Not a lot of luggage space but it's a heck of a lot of fun. And luggage can be added. Mine has reverse but I haven't really had to use it yet. But I know there will come a time.

In regards to power. How much do we need? Mine cruises at 80 down I-5 San Diego and doesn't even breath hard. It's a 107. I think the biggest thing you will need to get used to is the steering of 3 wheels compared to two wheels. Totally different animal. But I say get what you can afford and ride like the wind.

[Uncle Fester]

Wayne! Welcome from Greenfield, Indiana!!

[LadyonaMission]

Welcome from San Antonio, Texas. I had a 2015 Freewheeler that I traded for a 2020 Freewheeler. The Freewheeler is the perfect trike for me. I don't carry a passenger, so I have room for luggage on the back seat. I typed "a bag" on the back seat, but that looked really tacky because I know lots of beautiful lady passengers.