Cass County Trikes

hitime · May 12, 2011

Anybody have any experience with them? I am still looking for a way to trike my Suzuki Intruder VS1400, and I like the idea of a bolt-on that doesn't require me to remove the swingarm and/or weld brackets onto the swingarm. I sure would like to have that hot rod triked!

ultraboy · May 12, 2011

I am a dealer for CCC. I have only purchased raked trees from them so far, but they are quality American Made pieces. Ron is a master machinist. He's here on this forum occasionally.

UB

hitime · May 12, 2011

I sent an email to CCC to find out if the kit they have for the C50 is compatible with my VS1400. The final drives are interchangeable and they use the same size rear wheel. I don't know about the size of the swingarm mount. I'm hoping they can figure it out. I have a real strong attachment to this bike, despite the fact that it bucked me off several years ago. I have had it since 1997, and would like to keep it as long as possible. Can't ride on 2 wheels safely anymore, so the only way I can ride it is to have it triked. Do you have any ideas?

hitime · May 12, 2011

Just got the email from CCC - the kit is not compatible with my bike. That sux!

ultraboy · May 12, 2011

hitime, Yup, that's about what I got from Ron too. Here's his email to me:

We have several kits that we make for shaft drive bikes but we have not done a VS-1400 yet. I would have to have the bike in house to make a kit for it. Right now we are absolutely booked solid for the next 3 months.

I like the bike and it would make a great trike but we just do not have the time or manpower to engineer the kit until winter time.

We are working on a Honda 1100 shadow now that would be VERY similiar. We should have it ready in about a month or so.

hitime · May 16, 2011

UB, do you suppose they would give me a price break if I let them use my bike as an R&D guinea pig?

ultraboy · May 16, 2011

hitime, Certainly would not hurt to ask, but winter time would prolly be the best for them. Give Ron a call, don't know how much 'winter work' he has lined up for next winter yet, but the earlier you ask, the better!

UB

standingbear56 · Jun 12, 2011

Hi Everyone,
Well I am taking the leap and just ordered a trike kit for my 93 sporty from Cass County Choppers. Right now, both Salem, my bike (yes, she has a name, as any proper mistress should) and I are in the repair shop after we were both slam dunked by a bear (yes, you read that correctly, a bear) Anyway, since Hitime was asking about the company, I figured I would tell of my experiences with the company as they happen. So far it has been a good experience. Both Ron and Gigi (I think that is her name, if I am wrong, I apologize) have been most helpful, even though we played an intense game of phone tag. Ron made sure he got through to me and took the time to answer all my questions. The price of the kit is very reasonable and it appears in the photos to be well made. When my kit arrives I will be able give a more in depth report on this.
Till next time......
George

Yogisan · Jun 14, 2011

I'm going to throw out another suggestion. Call either a local Lehman DEALER (not a part-time conversion provider) or call Lehman direct. I know they used to make a conversion for the VS1400 because I just saw one for sale at the Martinsburg WV Lehman dealer a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if it was done by conversion kit or as a "turn-key" unit built at Lehman.

hitime · Jun 14, 2011

Yogisan, thanks for the suggestion, but I have already checked with Lehman. They quit making them for the VS1400 several years ago and have no remaining stock. Nobody on this side of the pond makes a kit for this model, so having one adapted is the only choice.

I have pretty much decided on a Mystery Designs rear end (probably installed by one of the members on this board), and I'll add a rake kit myself. May make it a full-blown chopper if the cost doesn't go over budget.

Blondie Gal · Jun 14, 2011

Wait, wait - - a BEAR!!! I, for one, need details on that one!! We got deer and wild hogs and maybe an occasional buzzard or buffalo, but a BEAR???

JG122 · Jun 15, 2011

hitime said:
Anybody have any experience with them? I am still looking for a way to trike my Suzuki Intruder VS1400, and I like the idea of a bolt-on that doesn't require me to remove the swingarm and/or weld brackets onto the swingarm. I sure would like to have that hot rod triked!

may I ask, why would you be averse to welding or bolting brackets onto your swingarm ...?

regardless, when I was deciding on whom to use for my conversion, CCC made it to my "final two", but I wound up with Trinity -- both are quality !

hitime · Jun 15, 2011

JG122 said:
may I ask, why would you be averse to welding or bolting brackets onto your swingarm ...?

Because I don't have the ability to do it myself, and I don't have a local connection to do it for me. I want to be assured of a quality conversion, as does anyone who converts to a trike.

standingbear56 · Jun 20, 2011

Hi Everyone,
Ok, I took a quick jaunt to Florida, driving down with my son who is going to school for commercial pilot training. During the trip I had the opportunity to email back and forth with both Ron and GG (I spelled her name wrong in earlier emails, sorry). Both took the time to make sure all my questions were fully answered. They definitely get an A++ for communication. Here are some of the answers to my questions:
The finished kit adds about 100 lbs to my bike. (important, especially with a sporty)
The kit can be supplied with either a 5X41/2 or 43/4 bolt pattern
The optional bolt on fender kit is $495.00
Since tracking shows that my kit should be here sometime today, I should be able to talk and show more about the quality.
Take care,
George

standingbear56 · Jun 20, 2011

Blondie Gal said:
Wait, wait - - a BEAR!!! I, for one, need details on that one!! We got deer and wild hogs and maybe an occasional buzzard or buffalo, but a BEAR???

Yes, it was a Bear. I call it my 3 Bear Thursday. I was riding back from my HD Dealer, Baer Sports in Honesdale Pa (pronounced Bear), my nickname is Standing Bear, and I ran into a Bear. I was riding between 20-30 mph on a back road short cut home. I rounded a curve and a BIG black bear bounded onto the road, no more than 10 feet ahead of me. Since he was going from right to left, I swerved to the right, thinking I could get around his butt as there was no time to stop. At the last second, he stopped, turned towards me and reared up. I don't know who had more of an OH S**T! look on their face, him or me. The next second I grazed him while passing UNDER his front leg. For the record, he was definitely solid, NOT poofy.

At that point, I went off the road, hit gravel, and went down. When I stopped rolling, the 1st thing I did was look for Yogi. He was still where I 1st saw him, back on all 4's. He looked at me, shook his head and snorted, generally NOT a good sign.

ray:He then lumbered towards the woods on his original path and stopped just before entering the woods. He stopped, again looked back, and appeared to wag his butt at me as if to say "Kiss My A$$" :BootieShake:and lumbered into the woods, apparently totally unharmed. At that point I called 911. It took about 10min for them to locate where I was calling from, and all the time I kept an eye out for Yogi.:AGGHH: Fortunately he didn't make a second appearance. :woohoo:This is the second time a motorcycle has confronted a bear in this area. I responded with our local ambulance & F.D. to a call last year in the same general area when a full HD Bagger hit a bear under very similar conditions. Again the only injuries were from the fall, and the bear didn't attack. So the score is Bear 2, Harley 0. Maybe he works for Honda. :<):GL1800:
Other than messing up my back badly, I'm pretty much OK. I always wear full armor - FF helmet, jacket with armor, chaps and high boots. I received only 3 small areas of road rash, which are already healed. While everyone is welcome to ride as they see fit, in my particular case, the armor saved my hide, literally.
Take care,
George

rexkaru · Sep 20, 2011

The quality of the Cass County Trike kit is good. Their customer service needs work. Major work.

HDI_IA · Oct 24, 2011

rexkaru said:
The quality of the Cass County Trike kit is good. Their customer service needs work. Major work.

I did have a pretty good experience with their kit and have to say hands down that everything was well built. I did run into a couple problems when getting the kit.

I got the kit that has the single rotor/caliper in the rear which is what I wanted (anything's an improvement over the OEM drum brake). So I got the kit and it had the parts for the single rotor/caliper, but also had parts in it for the dual rotor/caliper model. They also had sent the wrong instructions

Ron was really easy to work with, but GG was suppose to do several follow-up calls and a few other things which never happened

But overall the experience wasn't too bad. The kit went together pretty easily and everything seems to work well. I did have some wobble issue on the front, but have read that is not too uncommon.

I have installed a Lehman Tramp steering stabilizer and that resolved those issues, so now my 76 y/o Father is just loving being mobile once again and I tell you that he really gets the attention with that trike.

He's running it without the fenders and is running mudflaps (we got the fenders as part of the kit on an ebay deal they had, but didn't use them yet)

Anyway we are well pleased with the kit and would recommend it to others as it seems rather solidly built.

standingbear56 · Nov 10, 2011

Hi Everyone,
Again I apologize for the delay. I have been in the hospital due to my back. I’m going to be OK, but it looks like my riding season is over for now. My Cass County Trike kit is now installed on my 93 1200 Sporty. The installation was done by my Harley dealer, Baer Sports in Honesdale Pa. The instillation manual supplied with the kit provides the basic information needed, but the mechanics said that more step by step photos would be very helpful. Also, the quality of the photos needs to be improved.

Cass County says that the kits bolts on directly without needing additional parts. However the stock rear belt sprocket did not fit on the kit’s axel, and the stock belt was too short. A newer sprocket is needed, as well as a belt several inches longer. The axel spacers with the kit also had to be modified to bring everything in line. The tolerances of the kit are very close. For instance, there is less than ¼” between the drive belt and the trike kit, and even less between the rear brake caliber and other parts. Due to the rim kit I used, the fender struts and the tires are also very close. The above has all been overcome with some ingenuity on the part of my mechanics, and are just being mentioned as an FYI for anyone considering purchasing this particular kit. My mechanics called CCC several times for assistance. Depending on which mechanic I spoke to, Ron of CCC was either very helpful or not helpful at all. I was not present during those calls, so I do not know what transpired. My personal experience is that Ron always returned my calls, and was very helpful to me.

The one thing I am NOT happy about is that there is rust showing up on the kit. This was totally unexpected as I was under the impression that the entire thing was aluminum. The rust is NOT on the axel, but on the kit itself. I still do not know how to get photos uploaded so I cannot show any. As soon as someone shows me how to do this, I will send them. Had I known that a part was subject to rusting, I would have had it painted, or something, before it was installed.

I have had the kit up to 50 MPH on local country roads so far, and as of this time, it rides very well. Because of the front trees still being stock, steering is hard. I did not see any tree options for the kit on the CC website. The only way to find them is to google raked trees, Cass County Choppers, and THEN they come up. IMHO, the trees should be shown with the kit info, not hidden somewhere. I will be having either some form of raked tree installed, or convert to a raked Springer, as I like the look of those, and this is something I was planning on doing anyways at some point, even before I decided to go with a trike. Paughco has springers raked up to 3 degrees.

Cass County Choppers is a fairly new company, so one should expect some “bugs”. However the sign of a good company is how they address said “bugs”. Ron appears to be sincere so I look forward to see how these issues are fixed. The kits are definitely workable, and are affordable, even with the extra needed parts. With the exception of the raked trees, I am three wheeling for under $5500.00 total. My suggestion is that if you are considering a CCC kit, call Ron and ask him what he has done to address the above issues. So long as he has addressed them, then the CCC kit is a great bang for the buck. I hope this helps everyone.
Ride safe & Take care,
Bear