Voyager Trike Turning Speeds

[Honigschmidt]

Hi all,

I am very new on this forum (1st post) and was hoping to get a fear settled in my mind.

To begin I have polio and am unable to ride a conventional Bike. I had the itching to feel the wind and the open road, along with a very limited budget, and ended up getting a 2003 Honda Silver Wing with a Voyager trike kit.

Without ever riding a bike in my past it is all so new to me... but a thrill with every venture.

One thing really bother me about the trike.

1. When taking corners I feel real unsafe. I've read it is common for the outside wheel to lift in a turn, but I am very unsure on how much I should trust this... and to what extent. On the freeway a very mild turn will say 45 MPH for semi's and such.

Usually this is the speed that feels safest for me, but I have a feeling I am being overly cautious.

The big question for me is: How fast is safe to corner. Is there a way to tell it is tipping too much? I've been thinking about testing out turns, but am very weary of turning the bike over.

Any tips and knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

[Seatec]

The inside wheel will lift in a turn, not the outside wheel. When i was talking to someone at Voyager they tried to tell me the outside wheel would lift, they dont know much about their product and I was not impressed with them after reading about a lot of problems with their kit. The Towpac is a good kit and the Danson is a much better kit then both the other 2, as it dont lift its wheel. Im waiting on my trinitytrike kit which is a true trike kit, not 4 wheels. Just be careful in turns until you get use to the wheel lifting.. . Drop in to BurgmanTrikes.com > Home to see more scooter trikes. Wayne

[Honigschmidt]

The inside wheel will lift in a turn, not the outside wheel. When i was talking to someone at Voyager they tried to tell me the outside wheel would lift, they dont know much about their product and I was not impressed with them after reading about a lot of problems with their kit. The Towpac is a good kit and the Danson is a much better kit then both the other 2, as it dont lift its wheel. Im waiting on my trinitytrike kit which is a true trike kit, not 4 wheels. Just be careful in turns until you get use to the wheel lifting.. . Drop in to BurgmanTrikes.com > Home to see more scooter trikes. Wayne

You are very correct... thank you. I had to rethink the wheel lifting.

I have been (by instinct) leaning inward on turns to keep the inside wheel from lifting. Unfortunately I don't have the income to buy another kind of trike. I kinda have just take what i got and make the most of it.

So far it has been real nice... it's just that paranoia on turns that gets to me each and ever time.

Thank you much for the input.

[Nana]

I'm afraid I can't help you with information about the Voyager kits, but I know there are others here who will know more and will gladly help you out. I can, however, offer you a big, warm welcome to this forum! So glad you found us, and I hope you find you feel part of this nutty family and join in a lot in the days to come.

[John Luciano]

I rode a Voyager for 2 years on a hugh 1100 Goldwing Full dressed. You will not tip over. Trust me I have taken some very sharp turns when I had mine. It is a very erri feeling . Nothing like a real trike at all. At High way speed it is very stable, I could let go of the bars at 60 MPH . Altho I don't recommend it. I have driven on wet grass across fields over gravel with out a problem. It wiggles and shakes but you will not fall down . Ride and get use to the flying inside wheel ENJOY it.

[Gorilla]

Hi your instincts are correct. You should be leaning a bit into the turn to help to keep that inside wheel down. If you lean to the outside you are assisting the centrifugal force that is wanting to remove you from the machine. Take it easy in the turns for now. As you get use to your ride better you will develop a feel for turning. The key is to enter the turn slow and slowly speed up coming out. Pick up a book at the library about motorcycle riding skills. Even though a trike does not lean like a 2 wheeler in the turns the principles and forces are generally the same. Read about the principles, take it easy and gain experience. Good luck and have fun.

Ted

[Honigschmidt]

Thank you all for the input.

there was another topic here on the Voyage that I have read with much interest, and learned a lot from it.


tmigala, I think you may be dot on for me to just take it easy. It's funny to mention out load, but when I first hopped on it, 35mph seemed too fast and unstable. Mainly because it all essence this was my first bike of any sorts... most people get a bike experience way earlier in life.

I dared myself daily to go faster, go longer, and knew it would teach me. My first freeway experience scared the pants outa me. Each trip though eased my mind a tad. Now thew freeways are a joy....

err, unless it's traffic time, but I don't know anyone who loves traffic and is of sane mind.

John had mentioned it was a very eerie feeling in turns. I think that also is spot on on my feelings. So much so I have been fighting every turn as a possible wreck about to happen, and I know it should not be that way.

[John Luciano]

How are you doing with that Voyager Honig ? I use to leave a parking lots with one wheel in the air on purpose and then drop it at about 30 mph and make it squeal .

[bdn56]

Good morning Honigschmidt, I am sorry to have missed this post. Your feelings on the voyager are correct for the first few hundred miles. I never noticed the tire leaving the ground although others riding with me saw it. This was not a problem at all. I had a mishap on my 2007 Ultra and needed
some kind of kit to keep riding. Since I am so young, I thought my leg would heal up and I could be on two wheels within a few months. I could just unhook the voyager in 10 minutes and be on my way.
After realizing my bones won't heal good, I decided a permanent conversion would suit me.
I need additional surgery this May for the injury.
Back to the voyager. I was lucky to have a local installer who did a very good job on my kit. I did not have the problems many people have with it.
I put 4000 miles on it last summer without any problems. Like I said, it was installed correctly. You will see after a few hundred miles everything will be fine. I did lean into the turns to help out with the CG.

I thought the voyager was great for the money.
Sorry about rambling on. Pm or email me if you have any questions. Bryan

[sidecarwilly]

First timer to the form. I have a problem with my Voyager kit as follows first and foremost is that for the past three riding seasons Ive broke one of the theaded rods of the two bearing receivers first from the rear facing forward the left then the right then the right again. I replace both sides thinking the other is fatigued each time. Voyager charges me each time for the parts which doesn,t sit well with me since it,s a defect in thier design.Of course they blame the installer which is a certified Harley Davidson trike and sidecar mechanic at a large dealership and had been in contact with them during the instillation. the bike is a 2006 Harley Davidson softail standard which I bought new from this dealer. The Voyager was transferred from a 1991 sportster that I traded in it was on that bike for two years that were trouble free but I didn,t put many miles on it do to mechanical problems with the bike. Is anyone else having this problem and if so have you discovered a cure? My next problem is the fenders the screws keep working thier way out I,ve lost two on a long trip I carry spares. Also I dont think they could have chose an uglier fender I plan to have a friend with a body shop to cut them down to 7-1/2" wide and shorted them so they just cover the mounting brackets.As to the fear some people are having in turns it,s unfounded yes you do have one wheel off the ground but you still have three on. I,m a very aggressive rider and have never had a problem with turns.

Coming from many years with a sidecar this is a walk in the park. I also like the fact that it,s transferable from one bike to another and doesn,t require any permanent modifications to the bike. Also I don,t experience front end push as I have with other trikes I,ve owned. But yes from the rear it does look like training wheels. Nothings perfect. Ialmost forgot someone wrote about grinding the belly pan bolts my bike is the lowest harley makes and I,ve never had that problem. Sorry about rambling on but if I can answer any questions please contact me. sidecarwilly

[John Luciano]

I had the Voyager on a 1100 Gold wing. My biggest problem was speed bumps. If I hit them hard I would bottom out. If I went slow I would get hung up. Maybe we have bigger speed bumps than you do. Mine worked fine but I had a lot of reinforced welding done to it. Also the unit is able to be swapped from bike to bike BUT the new Belly bracket is a $500.00+ addition if you go to a different BIKE. Only once did I get stuck. I parked over a storm drain and the center wheel was off the ground. For what it is ,it is a great invention. Don't know if I would go that route again after riding a real trike. I would not hesitate to tell someone else to try it as an alternative to a trike if $$$$ was an issue. It is 1/2 the price of a Trike conversion. I do have some good pictures of what people have done to their units.

[Okie]

I'm pretty new to trikes and I experienced that errie feeling in the curves at first with a Trike Shop kit on a 1800 goldwing but after about 1400 miles it went away. I took a trip a couple of weeks ago with a friend and he followed and said my mud flaps stayed the same height off the ground in the curves and corners as they did on a streight road.
It's just something that takes a little time getting used to.
Okie
Tulsa, OK

[John Luciano]

You get the feeling in your body that the bike is tipping. Sort of like a ride down in a fast elevator you think your feet leave the ground. The first 1,000 miles is the test period I guess after that your body and brain adjusts and you want to go faster and faster HA hA

[BlueTrinity]

Willie,

Just put a drop of Loctite on each of those screws before you put them back in and you won't have the problem of them vibrating loose.

[wingtriker]

I have a 1991 gold wing with the voyager kit on it and all you have to do in the turns is to slow down and bring in the clutch and glide around the turn. Then when you straiten out give it the gas again. It takes a little practice but you will catch on soon enough. Hope this will help. Dennis.

[John Luciano]

That does work when you ride alone , but don't try it in a group you will get tail ended or screamed at by the guy behind you that needs to gas his 2 wheeler at the same time you are coasting . How does that corner thing go slow , look ,lean and roll?

[adventurer]

Honigschmist,

It sounds like to me that you are simply being careful. Much of your fear will go away with experience. You seem to be doing the right thing and that is having respect for your time in the saddle. The more you ride the more you and your bike will become one.

Also, that is one good looking ride. Have fun, keep that respect for what you are doing and you will be fine.

[John Luciano]

I didn't mean to be sarcastic but as said above you will loose the fear of the rear wheel rising and you actually won't even know it. I found that if I rolled my rear ( center tire ) up on a 2X 4 ( makes the rear tire 2" higher off the ground )and loosened the rear clamps so the outriggers would drop down , I could put more down pressure on the out riggers and it felt better to me JMO I guess.

[dwiht]

I put 3000 miles on a Voyager kit before I bought a real trike kit. I found that I always had this eerie feeling in my stomach when cornering and the wife didn't like it at all. In a group, I always was the last bike as I could not corner with the two wheel bikes and would catch up on the straights. It would run down the freeway and most freeway corners just fine but forget about doing a lot of twisties. Mine was mounted on a lowered 02 Harley Ultra. It was a great bike but I noticed that speed bumps it would drag. I worried alot about the u-clamps breaking that hold the belley bracket on. I installed this myself, was careful to make sure it was centered and did find that putting more down force or preload seemed to help the stability. Good luck cuz a least you are riding.

Dwight

[Honigschmidt]

It's been a long while since I last posted, but I wanted to thank you all for all the support and information.

Time: That seemed to be the main factor of most of my fears with the voyager. I've had a chance to do around 1000 miles of fun trips on the bike and the fear of tipping is not what it use to be. I had a few instances where I would get the rubber screeching when the outside tire would touch pavement again... but I had to smile. I wasn't worried in the slightest when it happened.

Other fears like riding alongside a semi, or the lady who is on her cell phone who has not made any eye contact to me next to her, are fears better kept I think "The cell phone talkers never seem to fail me on the cut offs"

Google earth has been my best friend on planning trips. From Sacramento me and my wife went on many river and farm roads. Through national forests and beach roads. Been loving each trip.

My next endeavor is to adjust my pre-loads, or replace with airshocks. The ride is very bumpy at times, but overall I have been very happy with the trike.

Thanks again for everyone's help and information!