wife wants a trike
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/20...t-application/
You know some say IRS and some say straight axle Lehman seems to have a good reputation and they use a straight axle. Lots of choices out there you probably want to factor in what kind of ridding you will be doing. Long trips? Sunday putt? I would definitely take it for a good long test ride and make sure she is HAPPY. That's my 2 cents worth.
Now is your wife thinking trike because of the two wheel thing or could a safety course on a small bike be better for now. Which is a savings of say Thousands of dollars.
Was at the HD shop last Saturday and there were several kits on Sportsters...
Two of the trike buyers have sold thiers,the other one is still riding it now and then.If they hadridden before and decided to go trikin,I think it would be a better idea.Trikes are great but they damn sure aint as easy to ride as they look.Many times the added weignt of a conversion kit will bringa whole different series of dynamics into play.I cant get used to them personally the times Ive ridden them.
But then again I sometimes lean when driving my car.
LOL
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My wife has a DFT kit based on a 2001 Fatboy. She was not strong enough to hold it up when she stopped and she dropped it at stoplights and stopsigns in front of me. Damn near gave me a heart attack.
She got scared of the Fat Boy and quit riding on her own. Well here I am with two bikes and one rider. Not too bad if you think about it but I wanted her to enjoy the ride as much as I did.
Friends of ours had a Honda trike and she got to ride it around in a big parking lot and just absolutely feel in love with the thing. Can't have my wife on a Honda so we had to convert the Fatboy.
After she got used to it and it didn't take long, she thought she was falling back too fast on the big hills on the interstate highway. That led to punching it out to 95ci, porting & polishing the heads, 203 gear driven cams and Rineharts and Champion reverse. Now she leads the pack and I have to catch up.
Anyway, to continue this a little longer, she loves to ride the trike even though it still needs to be raked out a little in the front to stop the tire scrub on a tight curve. She has ridden it all day long even through the Rocky Mountains. She has ridden through Rocky Mountain National Park a couple of times at 12,000' and with no guard rails. She isn't the least bit afraid of the trike, loves it!
I enjoy riding it also. Cheap--no, fun--hell yes. Was it worth the money--most definitely.
I suggest that you get her a ride on one and I don't mean on the rear seat. She needs to drive it if she knows how to handle a clutch. If not, then she shouldn't be trying to ride anything without proper training first. Don't want to heart the little lady!
If she has any questions and wants to talk to my better half, just send an email and I get her on this site.
Just mytwo cents worth.
PS: If my knees get any worse I may convert my Softtail Custom.
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My wife rides a trike hear is her comments:
I am the wife who owns the yellow & white fat boy/trike conversion pictured in one of these posts. 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 this summer 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 only put about 300 miles on since the conversion and am still adjusting to the difference in steering and leaning in corners, but overall I love it! Handles great at highway speeds (had it at 80 on the freeway for about 10 miles the other day) and on country roads also. Very stable and easy for me to roll in parking lots by myself.
Things that helped me choose Champion: http://www.championsidecars.com/trikes/
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.
NOTE: She now has about 3500 miles on the trike and still loves it.
more info on trikes:
https://www.hdforums.com/m_856771/tm.htm
my wife's

to Duck,
We both enjoy the trike. Choosing the trike you would want is a personal preference. I like the DFT but some of the others look great also. The only caution I have is this, I don't believe a Sportster is hasa big enough engine to handle a trike. I know making a statement like that will probably get me some static but our luck with the Fat Boy definitely proved that you need a strong bike to pull that much weight. Arouhd town it was no problem but on the big road you need enough power to stay away from the idiots.



