First Trike Ride!

[Konrad]

My installer delivered my 2006 GL 1800 Roadsmith a few days ago and I waited until today for the snow to melt for the maiden voyage down a 2/10 mile steep and curvey driveway past a large pond to the dead-end road on which I am fortunate to live.<br />
<br />
Helmet and gloves, plenty of gas, tires properly inflated, all systems "go". :yes: Start is up, shift into first and at idle speed let out the clutch smoothly. It moves. Curve coming up, lean slightly right and WHAT THE HECK - the bike goes straight off the drive! <img src="images/smilies/AGGGH.gif" border="0" alt="" title="AGGHH" class="inlineimg" /> Grab brakes and stop. Took helmet off and wiped sweaty brow. OK, I'm just a couple of feet off the driveway, no problem, reverse got me back to where I was supposed to be. OK - you IDIOT - Remember to STEER! :banghead: Another curve and squirrel darts across drive and panic sets it - I miss the sweet lil darlin' but I'm aimed downhill through the trees. <img src="images/smilies/redface.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Blush" class="inlineimg" /> WHEW!

I'm stopped directly between two of those threatening monsters and sweat is running from under my helmet and dripping from my bearded 80 year old chin. <br />
<br />
No way I can get that monster backwards up the hill by myself and reverse is useless on this slope. Declare emergency, swallow pride, call friend and threaten to kill him if he tells! <img src="images/smilies/censored.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Censored" class="inlineimg" /><br />
<br />
Well, we got the bike, totally undamaged, back on the drive and pointed straight at the pasture where I taught myself to unlearn everything I ever knew about riding and practiced steering figure eights for an hour and a half.<br />
<br />
And I'm going to do the very same practice again tomorrow until it it second-nature! <br />
<br />
Man! Am I ever glad there was snow on the ground and bitter cold so I was unable to try to ride it home from the shop!<br />
:Bow Down:

 

[Nana]

What a hoot! A nerve-wracking-sweat-dripping hoot, but a hoot nonetheless.<br />
Believe me, you are not the first and only to have such an adventure, and many of us had our first adventure on something much more busy than your driveway. <br />
<br />
Thank you for sharing....... and I am thrilled it all happened without a scratch on either you or the trike!

 

[kiorana123]

Mate, I'm waiting for my kit to arrive from the USA so it can be built. Won't happen until March/April. You confirm all that I have heard! Bring on those figure 8's. Only problem, a 2 hour ride on a small freeway and a six lane harbor bridge to negotiate to get to the figure 8's! Keep the riding story coming, I'm laughing/sweating with you as you learn! Blessings from Kiwi land.<img src="images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" /><img src="images/smilies/angel3.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Angel1" class="inlineimg" />ray:

 

[NamVet]

Yep, my first ride on a VW trike at the Honda dealer, took if for a test ride, right out the drive and into the ditch across the road. My buddy walks over and and says, "man you were leaning and leaning, but ya forgot to steer". I know the feeling, I had to buy that VW trike just to prove I knew what I was doing, wish I still had it...lol

 

[Papa Zook]

Many people have the same experience you had so dont feel bad. Its a big change and will take some getting used to but once you get a few miles under your belt you'll love it. Get in a big parking lot somewhere and do the figure eights, do a few hard stops, lane change type manuvers, etc. Do this before you get into heavy traffic. And remember, dont lean...steer! Loved reading your story. Keep them coming. <img src="images/smilies/thumbup.gif" border="0" alt="" title="ThumbUp" class="inlineimg" /> <br />
<br />
BTW did you get a rake kit installed? If not, adding one will really decrease the amount of effort it takes to steer your trike. If you need one holler.

I know where you can get a DEAL.<img src="images/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Wink" class="inlineimg" />

 

[John Luciano]

Better yet do the figure 8's with your left hand in your pocket. It can be done and you will learn to steer.

 

[Konrad]

A reporter once described my property as "gently rolling green fields". That troglodyte never rode a trike across them. There are plenty of scenic rolls all right, but none too gentle. On foot or horseback, yeah, but on a trike to a newby those "rolls" seem like mountains to climb sideways where everything off of horizontal seems like vertical! <br />
<br />
Well, I may exaggerate by just a smidgen but that Goldwing-Roadsmith sure makes a nice ATV. In first gear, idle speed.<br />
<br />
But my responses are becoming better. (Uh-oh! STEER past the pond, the ice is too thin. . .

)

 

[Big_Steve]

It's not easy when you're used to 2 wheels. I was off bikes for <b><i><u>25 years</u></i></b> when I bought my trike. Even after reading up on trikes, steering, etc... On the test ride at the dealer, the first thing I did was counter steer and almost hit some parked cars.<br />
<br />
Several months later (after several thousand miles on the trike) I took the trike out to go test ride some 2 wheelers. Coming off the lot on the trike, I almost counter steered into a light pole.<br />
<br />
It's not easy unlearning............ <img src="images/smilies/gah.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Gah" class="inlineimg" /><br />
<br />
Talk about confusion......... I bought a 2 wheel Valkyrie, and second fill up, I forgot to put the kickstand down........ <img src="images/smilies/laugh.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Laugh" class="inlineimg" /><br />
<br />
That was the trike mentality.

 

[RLPCEP]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Konrad</strong>
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<div class="message">My installer delivered my 2006 GL 1800 Roadsmith a few days ago and I waited until today for the snow to melt for the maiden voyage down a 2/10 mile steep and curvey driveway past a large pond to the dead-end road on which I am fortunate to live.<br />
<br />
Helmet and gloves, plenty of gas, tires properly inflated, all systems "go". :yes: Start is up, shift into first and at idle speed let out the clutch smoothly. It moves. Curve coming up, lean slightly right and WHAT THE HECK - the bike goes straight off the drive! <img src="images/smilies/AGGGH.gif" border="0" alt="" title="AGGHH" class="inlineimg" /> Grab brakes and stop. Took helmet off and wiped sweaty brow. OK, I'm just a couple of feet off the driveway, no problem, reverse got me back to where I was supposed to be. OK - you IDIOT - Remember to STEER! :banghead: Another curve and squirrel darts across drive and panic sets it - I miss the sweet lil darlin' but I'm aimed downhill through the trees. <img src="images/smilies/redface.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Blush" class="inlineimg" /> WHEW!

I'm stopped directly between two of those threatening monsters and sweat is running from under my helmet and dripping from my bearded 80 year old chin. <br />
<br />
No way I can get that monster backwards up the hill by myself and reverse is useless on this slope. Declare emergency, swallow pride, call friend and threaten to kill him if he tells! <img src="images/smilies/censored.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Censored" class="inlineimg" /><br />
<br />
Well, we got the bike, totally undamaged, back on the drive and pointed straight at the pasture where I taught myself to unlearn everything I ever knew about riding and practiced steering figure eights for an hour and a half.<br />
<br />
And I'm going to do the very same practice again tomorrow until it it second-nature! <br />
<br />
Man! Am I ever glad there was snow on the ground and bitter cold so I was unable to try to ride it home from the shop!<br />
:Bow Down:</div>

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</div>
</div>That's a great big LOL!!!!!!<br />
<br />
RLPCEP

 

[RLPCEP]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Big_Steve</strong>
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<div class="message">It's not easy when you're used to 2 wheels. I was off bikes for <b><i><u>25 years</u></i></b> when I bought my trike. Even after reading up on trikes, steering, etc... On the test ride at the dealer, the first thing I did was counter steer and almost hit some parked cars.<br />
<br />
Several months later (after several thousand miles on the trike) I took the trike out to go test ride some 2 wheelers. Coming off the lot on the trike, I almost counter steered into a light pole.<br />
<br />
It's not easy unlearning............ <img src="images/smilies/gah.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Gah" class="inlineimg" /><br />
<br />
Talk about confusion......... I bought a 2 wheel Valkyrie, and second fill up, I forgot to put the kickstand down........ <img src="images/smilies/laugh.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Laugh" class="inlineimg" /><br />
<br />
That was the trike mentality.</div>

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</div>My Quebec 2 wheel riding buddy zinged me yesterday as we were getting ready to mount up after lunch. He walked over, bent down and looked at the left side of the Trike and straightened up with a very concerned expression. I immediately thought "Fluid leak!"

Then he said, with a perfectly straight face, "Somebody stole your kick stand." Oh, the indignity!<br />
<br />
RLPCEP

 

[Stephen]

You can take all the advice that the old timers give you here and use it but in the end it is still you who must become the master of your winged chariot. Lots of thought and lots of practice go into it. Happy riding.

 

[CCrider]

I have owned and ridden off road ATV trikes and fourwheelers for years before purchasing my first GW trike. I think that may be why I took to it like a duck to water.<br />
But I have seen friends that never rode a trike do exactly the same thing as you did.<br />
Loved the story, thanks for sharing

 

[Saltywheels]

Dude, you nailed it! I've been at it only 2 shortyears, but I'll never forget the first ride. Sat morning at Eagle Rider Rentals on La Cienaga Blvd in Los Angeles, ...typical SoCal 4 lane blvd with 2 Beemer buddies & Wifey. And at least 1 million HD riders & tourist renters! No worries, I taught track-days, I've been prowling around Trike Talk; I've ridden everything under the sun,:blahblah: Straight outta the drive way, no sweat. This is easy:woohoo:. Right turn on to La Cienaga with the traffic. I said right turn dummy Why you headed left against the 2 lanes of pissed-off LA drivers. Yup you guessed it..I was still counter steering:innocent: Wifey drove home- buddies couldn't stop hysterical laughing for the next 150 miles. Moral of the story: You ain't done nothing we all didn't do in one form or fashion. Welcome to an amazing experience as you master the art. "The more youse trike...the better youse get" ....old East Indian Trikers saying

 

[Konrad]

It's nice to know I'm not alone in Triker Purgatory and can earn my way into Triker Heaven with perseverance and practice.<br />
<br />
But once I retrain the muscle memory I'd probably best stay off of two-wheelers - I'm not sure I'm mentally ambidextrous enough to handle both capably and all that. Arthritis of the mind.

 

[Stephen]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Konrad</strong>
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<div class="message"><b>It's nice to know I'm not alone in Triker Purgatory and can earn my way into Triker Heaven with perseverance and practice.</b><br />
<br />
But once I retrain the muscle memory I'd probably best stay off of two-wheelers - I'm not sure I'm mentally ambidextrous enough to handle both capably and all that. Arthritis of the mind.</div>

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</div>I'm not very far ahead of you, let's see you can ketchup. :Monster:

 

[Konrad]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Stephen</strong>
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<div class="message">I'm not very far ahead of you, let's see you can ketchup. :Monster:</div>

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</div>Youth does have its advantages! <img src="images/smilies/thumbup.gif" border="0" alt="" title="ThumbUp" class="inlineimg" /> And your weather I think is warmer than mine!<br />
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Hmmmm . . . If I got the new Baker Trike wings and adjusted them to direct the engine heat . . .

 

[Stephen]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Konrad</strong>
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<div class="message">Youth does have its advantages! <img src="images/smilies/thumbup.gif" border="0" alt="" title="ThumbUp" class="inlineimg" /> And your weather I think is warmer than mine!<br />
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<b>Hmmmm . . . If I got the new Baker Trike wings and adjusted them to direct the engine heat . . .</b></div>

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</div>Won't work. On the 06 wing the fans draw the air into the rad's from the outside in. The hot air is directed out through the front of the fairing. I still like my Orville Sage wings but does no good on keeping you warm.

The foot warmer wings I don't know about. If you get them and they work let me know.<br />
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And your weather I think is warmer than mine!

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</div>I think for the next few days were going to be in the high 30's days and low 20's at night. EEK!

 

[tfdeputydawg]

On the 06 wing the fans draw the air into the rad's from the outside in. The hot air is directed out through the front of the fairing.

Run that one by me again:Biker:
Directed out through the front where, please!
Mines an 06. As far as I know, Honda did not reverse the fans on any of the Wings! Did I totally space something here? Have I had the wrong idea on which way the fans blow?
Why did I install Baker lower air wings to keep the heat off my legs,coming out of the radiator side vents, when I put my feet on the road pegs, in the summer?
I'm wondering how air could get out the front of the fairing at say 70mph on the interstate for example.
I'm always willing to learn:yes:

Edited 2 min.'s after I posted. I guess my fans have never been on at 70mph so, that was a stupid comment to make! But still inquisitive about the fan direction when they are on?

 

[chaz_36]

When the fans are on they blow out the front and normally turn off around 17 mph, then air flows from front out both sides with no fan.....:yes:

 

[tfdeputydawg]

Thanks, learned something today. I keep thinking I know so much about this bike and then I find how little I really do know. But, don't tell anybody-I like to answer questions!utergreet:

 

[Stephen]

When the fans are on they blow out the front and normally turn off around 17 mph, then air flows from front out both sides with no fan.....:yes:

And no heat really makes it to the rider.

 

[Konrad]

I started this thread a couple of weeks ago with the description of my first harrowing trike ride. Since that time I had put behind me way less than 100 miles but needed to take it to the shop this past Wednesday for a trunk lid adjustment so off we go amidst fear and trepidation first time down the expressway. And I had promised myself not to go over 60 (a promise soon broken). And mentally commanded myself to STEER at every curve. :AGGHH: Arrived safe and sound.

But then on the way back there was a sudden "Eureka"! moment when I realized that mind, body and bike had all come together and melded into one entity and all was right with the world. :woohoo:

I LIKE not having to put my feet down! Yesterday I was back on the X-way and stuck in two miles of bumper-to-bumper that would have driven a snail mad. Had I been on the pre-trike bike I would have probably have pulled into the emergency lane and waited it out instead of constant feet-down and balance. On the trike I just crept along, feet up and no balance problem. I am GLAD I made the decision to Trike! epper:

 

[Nana]

WooHoo! Konrad you are well on your way to trike addiction! LOL!

 

[Blondie Gal]

And how long did it take to get the grin off your face???

 

[wingking51]

Way to go Konrad!!!!:wtg:

 

[Gorilla]

Another convert. Congrats KONRAD

 

[trikermary]

Good for you Kondrad..................now the fun begins!

 

[bigtim]

Hey Great Story, but everyone that has taken that first ride, can relate to your adventure. When I first got my voyager, I was told that it would take at least 500 miles to get used to riding a trike, it took me 900 miles to start trusting my system. But I can tell you that when I went back to two wheels, It's the same kind of adjustment all over.

 

[tfdeputydawg]

Now it's time to learn to tip it up on the front and 1 of the rear wheels:innocent:
This will impress a lot of people including but not restricted to:
Paramedics, ER personnel, Police officers taking the accident report from witnesses:AGGHH:

 

[Konrad]

Thanks, Dawg, but I think I'll pass on the acrobatics. Fifty years ago I would still have been dumb enough to test the limits of safety but as a former LEO I've seen enough of that. I am now the quiet, laid-back, relaxed and sedate rocking chair type.