Comfort Level --motorcycle vs trike

[Southpaw]

For all those of you who rode a motorcycle before a trike, I want to know if you can tell a difference in the ride with having two larger wheels behind you now, vs having the one back tire from a motorcycle. Can you feel more of the bumps in your ride from the two wheels than you did with a single wheel? My bike is a Harley Road King, and I'm going with the Frankenstein conversion kit.

 

[Bikerbozo]

I find the bumps easier on a trike. With the exception of hitting a pothole with just one of the rear wheels. That sideways movement it sends me on can be annoying. I will try and swerve front wheel on edge of holes and try and ride rear wheels around them.

 

[Lucky]

Probably the main difference is between lean and no lean.Three are more likely to hit a bump because there are more of them on the ground.I would like to have another two wheeler,but will never give up my trike for one.RIDE SAFE

 

[pigbike]

For me a trike is a much more relaxed ride. Roads here are pretty good so potholes are not really a issue. Speed bumps are a pain however.

 

[rhino 2]

My two wheeler's ride much smoother because i can avoid [go around] most pot holes and sunken man hole covers on two wheels than With the T/G .

 

[Nana]

Personally, unless it is a particularly large pothole or object on the road, knowing ONE of those three wheels is going to bump, I'd rather it be the front wheel, and straddle it with the rears. You are sitting right over that rear axle, and so you do feel the bumps. However, by lowering the air pressure in the rear wheels, it is a much more comfortable ride. On my Champion kit, which was solid suspension, I always kept the rears at about 17 psi. Much over 20, and I found it much less comfortable! You may want to try it like that with the Frankenstein kit too.

 

[Gorilla]

southpaw its hard to compare the two. they are different riding styles. being in the wind and the free feeling is the same. the control is different. you can miss more rough areas with 2 but with 3 you dont worry about sand or oil on the road. much more sure footed in the rain.

 

[adaptolife]

My Harley rides the same as a motorcycle. I lean and steer the same as a 2 wheeler because the Ghost Wheels only operate in trike mode when stopped. Been using them since 06; 26k miles!

 

[Ed Hobgood]

I know talking with the others I ride with, they all like the lean of a two wheeler but when it come to in town traffic and and the overall safety of a trike there is no comparision. Everyone like the feeling of wind in their face and the freedom of getting out on the road and just riding. Yes, you will feel a few more bumps in the road but you will also be able to see some of the thing two wheelers must watch out for, it's not that much of a problem for you on a trike (sand, loose gravel). Ride safe and have fun!

 

[saab9k]

I triked mine mostly for use in town. Red lights, stop signs.

On the open road, getting where I really like it as a trike too. Took a few miles not to lean.

 

[KRUZR]

I hit what I call a sneaky dip in the road before I converted to a Trike and compressed my lower spine. After 18 decompression sessions I got the feeling back in my right foot. That won't be an issue on the Trike however, going over tracks on a angle or off set bumps or holes can kind of twist my lower back some and that I have to be careful about??

 

[oldbear]

The big difference I see (other than the "not leaning" deal) is that you're now on a 3 track vehicle vs a single track. Accordingly, you have 3 contact points that you need to "miss" a pothole with vs 1. I does feel a little different when you hit a hole, especially with one of the rear wheels. However, if the suspension is set right, it's not a big deal and the overall riding experience is MUCH more relaxed than a traditional bike of the same size. I still love to ride a 2 wheeler, and hit the road on my old BMW Dakar fairly often, however for ease of handling loaded and two up and long distance travel it's tought to beat a trike!

 

[John Luciano]

Yes I do know you definitely could look around a lot more now that it's a trike I find it my friends say she didn't see that or how can u look around so much but as a trike you could look around a lot ,another guy said to me when he triked his bike when he drove it home he noticed a lot of things on the road that he never saw before. I find it more comfortable, I can go places I could not go with the 2 wheeler ( up a loose gravel drive way, across a wet grass field, the grooved road surfaces, country dirt roads to name a few

 

[tomg]

I have both 2 and 3 wheelers as many others do, but if the time comes to only have one, the 2 wheeler is gone !!!! I have found that the more you ride a trike, the better it gets !!

Tomg

 

[kawabeemer]

I find I am less concerned with crap on the road surface when on 3 wheels. Riding my FJR I am continually scanning for crap/liquids on the road. If you can't fall over, you don't worry those things that cause a 2 wheeler to fall down. Yes, a trike feels safer from road hazards. The hazard from 4 wheelers remains the same.

 

[clint44]

Our trike rides better than our former Road King. The Arnott air ride made a huge difference in ride quality.

 

[Greydog]

The only time I have ever wanted my trike back on two wheels is when I tried to avoid a dead skunk in the road. No way to go around it so I tried to split the difference between the front wheel and the right rear wheel. Front wheel missed him but rear wheel nailed him. 95 degree day and 50 miles to the nearest car wash!! You cannot outrun the smell......I tried!!!