My Tow-Pac 14" InstaTrike Install on Ultra Classic Harley

[HarleyBob]

Toe was out a bit so I will ride it around the yard and down a little street today.

Tomorrow the Grand Kids get to ride with Paw Paw around the yard. Then Friday and Sunday I will get back to work on adjustments and wiring.

I'm going back to playing on the bike!

***Fenders, fender "T" braces, and back frame covers are at the Painter! Saddle bags and side covers go on after adjustments and tail lights and reverse wires are installed. Side covers need to be trimmed a little at the very bottom. Then some Test driving at faster speeds! Still a bit to do! ***

People may think I'm meticulous, I am, My background is in mechanical engineering and Jet Aircraft Mechanics. All those have to be precise, and I want my stuff right on a machine I will have the wife on and be going down the road at 70 M.P.H. !

 

[BillR]

That is looking real good, Bob.

Pick one for me. :bass:

 

[dadztoy]

Cart on bike! the wheel base looks much wider on the bike than I thought it would!

Tires look Big and nice! Saddle bags and side covers stay off until it's all adjusted.

The finders, fender "T" brackets and rear frame covers are still at the paint shop!

Lunch time and some adjustment reading!

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***I think before adjusting anything, I will take a short test ride to let things settle, if you will. First I will make sure all bolts are tight!***

Looks great Bob!!!

Yeah, the wheelbase on most outriggers is larger than a regular trike conversion... Mine at the outside of the fenders is right around 64"... That's why I take the fenders off when I load it into the pickup bed as I have about 62" between the side walls of the bed... Outside of wheels is about 60" on mine...

Try and keep the toe (parallelism) to 1/16" or less... It will take some time to get it this close but will pay dividends in tire wear...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours... We're in Chicago (suburbs) for a few days at the daughters celebrating Thanksgiving with the daughter, husband, and granddaughter... Have a wonderful holiday...

Les

 

[HarleyBob]

Looks great Bob!!!

Yeah, the wheelbase on most outriggers is larger than a regular trike conversion... Mine at the outside of the fenders is right around 64"... That's why I take the fenders off when I load it into the pickup bed as I have about 62" between the side walls of the bed... Outside of wheels is about 60" on mine...

Try and keep the toe (parallelism) to 1/16" or less... It will take some time to get it this close but will pay dividends in tire wear...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours... We're in Chicago (suburbs) for a few days at the daughters celebrating Thanksgiving with the daughter, husband, and granddaughter... Have a wonderful holiday...

Les

Thanks Les

Same to you, Happy Thanksgiving. I road the grand Kids around the yard on the bike today, they loved it!

 

[HarleyBob]

******THE TEST RIDE******

I got it all adjusted in about 1-1/2 hours this morning.

I didn't fool around with the down pressure.

Then took it for a test drive. The following was the test results on different types of roads.

I've been riding 3 hours!

Test #1--- 0 to 20 M.P.H. No shimmy as the Harley free-wheeler I rented did at low speed. Very smooth out the gate.

Test #2--- 0 to 50 M.P.H. Easy steering, one hand no problem, No pressure needed to keep it straight.

Test #3--- 0 to 65 M.P.H. Same as test # two, curved well. not shacking very smooth ride.

Test #4--- 0 to 75 M.P.H. Same as all of the above. No finders on the bike to test shake. Smooth. Now I didn't go one handed on this test, But I could have.

It short I'm more than satisfied with the performance of this kit! In my opinion it out rode any Harley kit I have tested.

Suspension worked awesome, better than Harley's straight axle set up! Stability was superb!

Now I'm yet to complete the set up and test the reverse and the finders on the kit.

More riding is in order and more testing, but so far I'm glad I got this Tow-Pac Kit!

 

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Nice job, Looking real good.

 

[HarleyBob]

Harley wires and isolator, neat under the seat Two Hot and Two ground not connected but for tail lights and reverse.



Tail lights wire harness run to back awaiting plug that's on order.

Also notice tail light wiring on cart run and awaiting fenders.







Factory wiring for reverse that will attach to finder skirts, I will add wire loom!

Note the switch that will go through hole in fender skirt I will drill, the lighted Red switch is sideways in picture.



Blue tape is just temporary to hold wires out the way so I can ride awaiting paint job on fenders!

Tie wraps are loose and I have extra wire until I can complete the job. Could be two weeks for paint job!

Next will be to test the reverse and test the tail lights. Also more riding and testing!

Then readjusting and checking wheel alignments and replace saddle bags!

***This bike needs to be washed and waxed!

That will happen soon!***

 

[dadztoy]

Looks great Bob - keep the pics coming!!

Les

 

[HarleyBob]

The tail lights are still not working right. I installed Rivco kit HD007-13 on my bike harness under the seat, then had to put in Rivco GL18007-IU still not working right. brake lights stay on all the time, everything else works. Now they are telling me I need Rivco kit EC 07664 to add to and go between the two kits I already have installed, because my cart tail lights are four wire and the bike is a five wire. So it's on order and shipped out.

These are my Big 6" tail lights I'm testing, I wanted surface mount LED's in 4" but couldn't find them. I'll have to use gaskets and a little caulking , because the finder have a slight round to them and the lights are flat.

I'm still waiting on the painter. This morning I will ride over to his shop on the bike to check on my parts. His shop is only 5 miles away.

 

[HarleyBob]

********************Reverse Test*************************

Save your money, $400.00 for the reverse ordered with the kit. Now it is a 'Reverse assist' Only. It will not back up at all, in short grass in my yard. On flat lever concrete it will but So Very slow. Not to be used with a passenger.

You have to help it along with your legs if it's not on a flat smooth concrete surface. Put your $400.00 toward a reverse put on by the dealer. It's also hard to disengage with your foot, you have to reach down to the pavement with your hand to disengage or pull the heel off your riding boot! It's not worth much!

 

[HarleyBob]

Painter is saying another two weeks are so!

 

[paws]

Oh wow! That’s a lot of money for such a disappointment. Hopefully you can get your money back?

 

[GRR]

********************Reverse Test*************************

Save your money, $400.00 for the reverse ordered with the kit. Now it is a 'Reverse assist' Only. It will not back up at all, in short grass in my yard. On flat lever concrete it will but So Very slow. Not to be used with a passenger.

You have to help it along with your legs if it's not on a flat smooth concrete surface. Put your $400.00 toward a reverse put on by the dealer. It's also hard to disengage with your foot, you have to reach down to the pavement with your hand to disengage or pull the heel off your riding boot! It's not worth much!

I would call them up and tell them you will pull the parts off if they want them back, but you need a refund. Not only the $400, but also for the spacers you had to buy.

 

[dadztoy]

********************Reverse Test*************************

Save your money, $400.00 for the reverse ordered with the kit. Now it is a 'Reverse assist' Only. It will not back up at all, in short grass in my yard. On flat lever concrete it will but So Very slow. Not to be used with a passenger.

You have to help it along with your legs if it's not on a flat smooth concrete surface. Put your $400.00 toward a reverse put on by the dealer. It's also hard to disengage with your foot, you have to reach down to the pavement with your hand to disengage or pull the heel off your riding boot! It's not worth much!

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So sorry to hear that Bob... I would NOT let Tow Pac get away with that... Demand a refund or tell them to make it work!!! If they don't give you any satisfaction, start spreading the word about what happened, if no other reason to save someone else the grief your going thru...

Could you find a more powerful gear motor to replace what is there??? Plenty of them out there.. I'm thinking something like a slide out motor off an RV would probably do the job...

Les

 

[HarleyBob]

I called Tow Pac this morning and asked for my money back. They will get back to me. I told them I can push it with my feet better than their sorry reverse!

On the Good side, The fenders and other parts are in red paint and when dry will get pin striping and clear coat. As we talk they are still wet!

The pin striping is painted on and not a decal. One is orange and one is silver with a space between them. so he has to paint 3 pin strips!

The strips will be rounded at the corners like the bags.

 

[dadztoy]

Fenders look great Bob... Glad you decided to take Tow Pac to task... An item should work when you buy it and you should not have to re-engineer it... Let us know what happens with them and the reverse situation.... The good news is with the trike kit on, it's pretty easy to push and you don't have to worry about it falling over!!

Les

 

[trike lady]

Looks good. I had a GL1500 Goldwing with a Voyager and never used the reverse, I found the Wing easy to push by myself. Never liked the fact that it used the starter.

 

[dadztoy]

I don't use reverse often but it does come in handy some times...

 

[HarleyBob]

I don't use reverse often but it does come in handy some times...

There's an after market reverse for Harley that goes in the tranny, you use your clutch and shift it with your right hand using a small shiftier on the tranny. They tell me they work good. Not installed cost is $1,500 to $1,800.

 

[HarleyBob]

Tow-Pac got back to me with an offer.

I send them my reverse and pay the shipping and they send me the stock spindle.

Also I could get charged a 20% restocking charge, if parts don't look new, and they don't after motor rubbed on the tire.

That is $80.00 plus shipping. So I would be out well over $100.00 plus the spacer and lugs $50.00

So I would be out well over $150.00 for their crap reverse!

So I would end up with-- Less than $250.00 out of the $400.00 I paid + all the TIME and B.S.!

He also said it's been over 30 days but he would let me slide on that!

I almost told him where to go but held back and told him I would get back with him.