Hey here forum, the wife wants a trike now. This weekend we met someone that converted his ultra in to a trike for his wife; now you see what I'm faced with. My bike is 06 ultra with 7K miles and loaded. I just didn't think it would be wise to throw it all away for a plain tri-glide that we may not get until late next year. Can I get some help between champion sidecar, lehman , DFT which is better?

 

does your wife know how to ride, at all? if she does, tell her that a bike is easier and safer to ride, than a trike, in my opinion.

 

I haven't owned a trike, but a good friend of mine just got the California Sidecar trike kit installed. It has independent suspension and he says it handles great. It looks awsome as well.

 

I never rode a trike , but i just seen a softail with the champion trike conversion on it. WOW did it look sweet . also talked to the man ridding it & he said it takes ALOT of upper body ( sholder & arm strength ) to ride them . he also had the extra kit( i forget what it is called ) added to the front end to make it easier to ride . i would like to convert my softail , but for the $8,000 he invested in his i think ill wait . Bob

 

If you are looking for a kit with a body, I think any of the main companies such as Lehmen, Champion, DFT, Motortrike, Hannigan or even Trike shops Roadsmith are all good choices......they all have their pros and cons...Try and ride some.......Decide if you want straight axle or independent, .......then what you like the looks of.
Don't get totaly hooked on things like air suspension......you can upgrade any with lots of aftermarket choices if thats something you want......
Having followed the trike market for about three years now I really think it boils down to....what you like the looks of, and whether to go independent or not. Oh ya.......and what you can afford.

Three things as the owner of a trike I would say to consider are...

Raked triple trees......you can ride without..but so much nicer with.

Reverse...again, not a must have, but if it's in your budget..do it.

If you can afford...go with the trike conversion and not the Voyager type kits. They are great for the money or if you want to go back and forth between two and three wheels. But having ridden both styles.......a full conversion handles so much better.....just my opinion.


Good luck and keep us updated........

 

Like myself, my wife road sport bikes. But the touring bikes are to heavy for her, we would ride from NY to VA for lunch and then back to NY. So she got use to the touring bikes, now we do ride quads a lot; but I don't know if that matters. But speaking to some dealers, we plan to also install the EZ ride triple tree, which they say helps the steering.

 

Raked tripple tree - changes the trail for easier turning

 

Converted my 07 FLHTC into a Trike Shop trike 3 weeks ago. A beautiful piece of engineering and a perfect H-D two tone matching paint job. I would concur with 'FBTRIKE' to visit a shop/dealer and test ride one of theirs. It is a different ride. The person 'Crouch38' refers to is correct. What you gain in stability, braking, zero worries about losing it on gravel, road snakes, or traction in bad weather, you lose in the cornering. It does take significant upper body to muscle the machine thru turns, especially at posted speeds. The trike wants to continue in a straight line. You have to overcome that by pushing and pulling on the handlebars at the same time. Counter steering is a thing of the past. Another thing to get used to while turning is to keep the throttle where you want it all the time you're either pushing/pulling on the right handlebar. A technique they teach you in MRSP course is to look thru the turn. It really helps you when on a trike. It's much easier on both the driver and passenger. Look well into or even beyond the turn and the trike will follow your eyes. The result is a smoother, higher speed negotiation, with less physical exertion.
Having said that, it's great to be able to pull into a gravel parking area and turn 360 degrees at 1mph with your favorite passenger sitting behind you.
Our bike weighed in at 784lbs without driver/passenger or luggage. This meant an even narrower tipping range at slow speeds. No more worries now!!
The rider and passenger will experience more discomfort on some roads because two wheels are on the road sending their 'reactions' back thru the trike. The driver has a choice, either take the bump/pothole with the front wheel, or avoid the obstacle and let a rear wheel/s encounter it.
Like I said, it's a different ride, but I'm liking the decision more and more each time I climb aboard.
Bob810

 

Thanks guys, Bob810 which kit did you get, I check out the CSC and champion, I'm leaning towards the champion kit. Anyone can guess their 2 cents. Oh yeah Bob810 do you have pic's of the new trike?

 

From my wife:
I am the wife who owns the yellow & white fat boy/trike conversion pictured above. I have no disabilities, but an only 5' tall and 105 lbs. I LOVE riding and have put up to 10,000 miles/year on my motorcycles --- rode cross country 6000 miles a few summers ago on the fat boy with 2 wheels, for instance. So riding is not the issue to me. It is the parking lots, etc! In any close situation I must wait for my hubby to maneuver my bike, and that has been very frustrating over the years. Obviously parking lots, gravel areas, and other close-up situations are a part of every trip or ride. At 54 I decided the trike conversion was a good option for me.

Mine is a kit by Champion. I checked out a number of makes, and liked this best for my tastes though I cannot say one is better than all the others. I've put about 10000 miles on since the conversion and I love it! Handles great at highway speeds, and on country roads also. Very stable and easy for me to roll in parking lots by myself.

Things that helped me choose Champion:
Appearance counts!
"Easy Steer" option (rakes the forks and steering ease is amazing!!!)
Price (Total kit, paint, pinstriping to match my original tank & fenders, installation just over $10,000.00)
Option to add reverse at a later date if I decided to.
Suspension (I did not want independant rear wheel suspension, though some like that)
The people at the Champion factory were very nice to work with (all by phone), responded quickly, answered all my
questions patiently, referred me to a great place to work with locally for installation.
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