I'm an old busted up carpenter in sunny NE Ohio. Had a hip replacement 2 months ago and am having a shoulder replacement in March. I can not imagine not riding this summer, Doc said 6 month recovery for arm. I'm thinking, Freewheeler with a Rekluse auto clutch can put me back on the road by mid May or June as I won't use my left arm for the clutch. I live in the country and could get away without much turn signal use. I have been on Harleys since early '70s but never on a trike. Can I get away with 1 arm operation or are they too hard to manuever with one arm ? Also trunk lid is quite substantial, think I can mount an aftermarket trunk to it ? Thanks for any input

 

It takes a surprisingly lot of effort to turn a trike - and the faster one goes, the harder the effort. I suppose the Freewheeler being a bit light than the Triglide I rented would be a little easier to turn; but again, I was surprised. If you've ever ridden an ATV, think that effort x 1/2.

 

You may want to try a Freewheeler before your surgery; a trike does require shoulder movement to steer

 

The weather her probably won't allow for a ride by March unless the jet stream changes. I was thinking that would be the response, a lot of effort to steer.

 

BTW, it's not only the effort required to steer. Unlike a two-wheeler which one leans into a turn, generally pushing the rider into the seat, there is a fair amount of centrifugal force on a trike during moderate to high speeds that feels like the bike is trying to throw you off the seat. I'm not trying to discourage you, but you should have as much info as possible to make an educated decision. Good luck.

 

The trike will require more shoulder effort to steer then a two wheel. The gain is not having to lift and steady or balance. That said the trikes are very enjoyable. I can't say I miss two wheels, I handle anything on my TG that I can my Sportster

 

If you are thinking of operating a Trike with only one arm, You better test ride one now and try to do it while you still have two relatively good ones...
To be blunt you can't steer a trike using only one arm.......

 

From what I know based on several friends with shoulder or rotator cuff surgery, it is going to be very hard to steer a trike for a good while. If your surgery is in March i would not think you would be able to steer a trike for at least 6 months without possibly messing up the surgery. Again, this is just what I have heard from friends with shoulder or rotator cuff surgery. It seems to be a long recovery time.

 

I purchased a freewheeler trike when I retired after 40 yrs of driving trucks. Have a bad shoulder and some issues with arthritis in my hands,for me the trike was hard to steer and in short even 100 mile rides were not fun.I went back to a road king and now enjoy riding again.
I've been riding almost 50 yrs. and fully understand the thought of not being able to ride sucks but if it was me I'd do the surgery and recoup time and get back to riding what you have,not to mention save a lot of $. Just my thoughts,all the best in what ever decision you make.

 

I appreciate all the input. It makes sense