As I search around the Internet and find various trikes for sale I wondered if there were any Bike conversions that did not make good trikes? For instance I wouldn't convert a Virago 250 although I did see one 250 as a trike. I see a number of C50's and think they are lacking enough torque to do the job properly. Although there are a significant number of C50's out there. Has anyone made or seen a conversion that just didn't do the job? Just wondering if it makes any difference what bike you hook up to what trike kit?
Any Bikes that don't make good trikes?
- Thread starter WindyOne
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John Luciano
One Of The Origionals , TOI - New England
MHO any bike under 800cc is pushing it. If you are a small person 120lb or less, don't do interstate always travel one, up I bet you could go down to a 500. I saw a 250 from China really cheap. Thought about looking in to it for just the drive train. Might be ok for in town , does 60 MPH..... not sure if it would pass DOT regs.
I'm thinking they got that result running down-hill at full throttle, with a half-starved, 12 year old, 90 pound Chinese factory worker testing it.
Puff
Contributing Member
Er, have to disagree here. In my local Ulysses M/C club, one of the members who unfortunately has since ridden on (passed away) had a 250 Virago, which was converted to a trike by my friend Gert (gertbuilt on this forum). Jimmy was 83 years old, and this little Virago did the job for him, and kept him 'upright' until the day he died. The pic was taken at Whittlesea, a country town where our local Ulysses M/C meet, and Jimmy and the trike safely travelled at a respectable speed on the country roads surrounding the Whittlesea area where he lived.
It looked great and performed quite well... Horses for courses I think is the operative word.
But I do agree that for highway work (and safety) I also prefer a hefty powerplant.
Footnote: Unfortunately, this little gem was burned to a cinder during the 'Black Saturday' fires in Victoria 12 months ago. A sad day in our local history where raging bushfires took around 200 lives, countless wild life, and many homes and properties.
As Puff mentioned above, a small bike can be done and be more than satisfactory. And I do mean for built for recreation, not just one of those Asian workhorses used to haul 500 chickens at a time! 
Over the last couple of years, here at Trinity we've converted several dozen 250cc bikes. Most of them are the rather strong running Korean Hyosung brand (which has 10hp more than most 250's) but even so, we've done Honda's, Kawasaki's, Suzuki's and several Chinese brands. (check some of them out at Trinity Trike Roadster ).
Although we'll still do the 250's, when talking to potential new trikers that don't yet have a mount, I'll steer them to the Burgman 650 or the Suzuki Savage 650 platforms first for an entry level. This is especially true in the case of the Savage if they are on a tight budget (one can ride off into the sunset for $7-8k total cost with a good used donor mount).
That said, we've dropped doing the 250cc Chinese bikes as not being a good investment for the consumer. After all, if you hang on a quality rear conversion that costs up to twice what the donor cost -- you still have a Chinese bike that won't last anywhere near a long as the trike conversion will! Not so with the higher quality Japanese & Korean models.
Even in the case of the Suzuki Burgman 400, we've found that the pre-2007 swingarm structure won't sustain a trike conversion like the years that followed. And since there's nowhere near the interest in the 400 as the 650, we've dropped the Burgman 400 from the line up to make room for the Honda Silverwing which is in final development right now.
Although motorcyclists love to be different when it comes to their rides, I'd point newbies to the more mainstream trike conversions -- at least for their first go round. After that you can shop around for a Piaggio Mp3 with a Tow-pac on the back!!
Bob Witte
The Trinity Trike
Over the last couple of years, here at Trinity we've converted several dozen 250cc bikes. Most of them are the rather strong running Korean Hyosung brand (which has 10hp more than most 250's) but even so, we've done Honda's, Kawasaki's, Suzuki's and several Chinese brands. (check some of them out at Trinity Trike Roadster ).
Although we'll still do the 250's, when talking to potential new trikers that don't yet have a mount, I'll steer them to the Burgman 650 or the Suzuki Savage 650 platforms first for an entry level. This is especially true in the case of the Savage if they are on a tight budget (one can ride off into the sunset for $7-8k total cost with a good used donor mount).
That said, we've dropped doing the 250cc Chinese bikes as not being a good investment for the consumer. After all, if you hang on a quality rear conversion that costs up to twice what the donor cost -- you still have a Chinese bike that won't last anywhere near a long as the trike conversion will! Not so with the higher quality Japanese & Korean models.
Even in the case of the Suzuki Burgman 400, we've found that the pre-2007 swingarm structure won't sustain a trike conversion like the years that followed. And since there's nowhere near the interest in the 400 as the 650, we've dropped the Burgman 400 from the line up to make room for the Honda Silverwing which is in final development right now.
Although motorcyclists love to be different when it comes to their rides, I'd point newbies to the more mainstream trike conversions -- at least for their first go round. After that you can shop around for a Piaggio Mp3 with a Tow-pac on the back!!
Bob Witte
The Trinity Trike
would not worry about going down to 650 or maybe 500 cc depending if you are carrying a big load or want to pull a trailer
had suzuki 2 stroke t500 early 70 s vintage, go any where as fast as you want to go onthe hyway and certain a modern 500 cc make way more power than a 40 yr old engine
at the time it didnt have the duals and there were several mods since when i used to ride it but you get the idea
stace
had suzuki 2 stroke t500 early 70 s vintage, go any where as fast as you want to go onthe hyway and certain a modern 500 cc make way more power than a 40 yr old engine
at the time it didnt have the duals and there were several mods since when i used to ride it but you get the idea
stace
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John Luciano
One Of The Origionals , TOI - New England
That horn is bigger than the motor ...That is the horn not the air cleaner right >>>>?LOve the set up, looks strong enough to handle everything you can dish our. Not thrilled with the original rear fender look .
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- #9
The burgman 650 makes a real sweet trike.
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- #10
Technically, yes it is a scooter by traditional criteria. But I for one am hard pressed to stay with the "scooter" moniker (and the negative connotation it brings to the table). If a scooter, then what's with the two foot diameter wheels? As a two wheeler, Burgmans hang in with the best of them in the twisties. Also, we're talking about something that has a fuel injected twin cylinder 650cc power plant with as much horsepower as some big twin cruisers and is capable of 100+ MPH even after trike conversion!
No, I much rather think of them as "step thru" sport cruisers. I assure you my knees really prefer mounting a Burgman and my butt kinda likes where it lands as well! As a two wheeler they are a worthy alternative and as a trike, one of the best buys you can come up with!
Bob Witte
The Trinity Trike
John Luciano
One Of The Origionals , TOI - New England
Sister in laws significant other bought the 650 Burgman and I tell you it flys. also you have a ton of storage under the seat. It is auto shift or paddle shift. I never have to look back if he is following me and if he is leading no problem either. BTW mostly ridden 2 up. in the high 30's low 40's gas mileage
Puff
Contributing Member
I agree John, I've got two mates with 650 Burgmans and they FLY..
I recall one day on a straight section of highway, I gave the trike a handfull to clear it's throat and admittedly was a tad over the speed limit. Then I glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw, what I thought, was a cop bearing down on me... it was Ken on his white Burgman and he went past at around 90 Mph (150 Kmph) They are definitely more than a scooter, they are a motorcycle with a step-through body.
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- #14
Bought on for my daughter and it was a real treat to ride. Definitely not your tourist town scooter. You can get in a hep of trouble if you don't ride them like a bike.
My friend has a C50 (800 cc) Lehman trike. It keeps up to the rest of us, but just barely. She is not small (about 200#s) and usually she has to downshift when going up a hill in the mountains or when passing. For just booting around the city, it's ok, but just not quite enough power on the highways.
She has regretted not getting something bigger, but will eventually.
Usually triking will result in a 5-20% power loss from that of the original 2 wheeler.
She has regretted not getting something bigger, but will eventually.
Usually triking will result in a 5-20% power loss from that of the original 2 wheeler.
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