From Missouri

[T and S]

55 years young, looking at retiring soon ( I have been blessed to work for a good company with good retirement). I rode 3 wheelers and 4 wheelers, off road, for a number of years, but never a street bike. I have been looking at the new Harley trikes, maybe getting one to do some touring of the country. I think my wife would like that. Right now I am into jeeps, but I guess I am out growing all the hassles, harsh ride, clean-up, places to go, etc... Anyhow I am looking for all suggestions, ideas, or anything else that would help us make this transiition. Thanks

 

[SBStormy]

Welcome to Trike Talk and good luck on your adventure. There are lots of great people and resources here to help !

 

[Nana]

Welcome, T&S! You've come to the right place. We have some of about every kind of trike here from home-built-from-scratch to every variety of bike/kit combination out there. We have a number of owners of TriGlides and the StreetGlide trikes too, so you should get some great feedback. I'd encourage you to read through the posts on this thread, if you have not already done so. It will give you a good sense of the adventure you are looking to begin:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.triketalk.com/forum/general-forum/242-experianced-trike-riders-please-post-here.html" target="_blank">http://www.triketalk.com/forum/gener...post-here.html</a>

 

[T and S]

Thanks for the replies - I have been lurking around here for about a month.
Like any thing you do, their are a lot of different directions you can go, I guess I am at that intersection looking for a way to turn ......

 

[katfish16]

welcome to the board, one of the best things to do is go to a rally, and ride as many trikes as U can.. they all ride different. they are all good kits, u just have to find the one that will suit u and the Ms. <br />
<br />
Good Luck

 

[John Luciano]

Building a Trike from a kit gives you a lot more options than going with the factory HD. You can choose Ind rear or a different make or even a different style HD to build off of . $ is not that much different either. Some members have found the aftermarket REV more reliable that the factory option. Rumor has it HD is taking over the whole trike operation in house

 

[Gorilla]

Welcome aboard T and S. It's hard to advise you because i don't know what you like. Honda Gold Wing trikes are very comfortable QUITE and perform very strong. Long trips are easy. Harley touring trikes are the same except they have a louder exhaust tone. The Factory trike is very nice but in my opinion you need to spend 1500 to 2000 to free up the motor from the EPA restrictions that make the factory bike run hot. There are lots of opinions on what conversion is better if you buy a trike all ready done. Each has their own plus and minuses. The real key is get what you like and it should be a known company. Good luck and thanks for joining us.

 

[skuuter]

WELCOME to TRIKE TALK....Endless Selection Options in Trikes nowadays......kick back and read through the Forums...plenty of opinions and info on the Harley Trikes, as well as all of the others. You can take a Smoky Mountain Trip and rent a Harley Trike from Smoky Mountain Harley Davidson in Maryville, Tn.....:wtg:

 

[PhilGilbert]

At the risk of bringing down the wrath of all the loyal Harley trikers, please do your homework before you buy a new computer controled HD. I think an older model (non computerized) would be a far better choice. Read the posts on this board.:no:

 

[lightninlen]

Welcome T&S glad to see another triker even if you are thinkin Harley (lol) I'm a VW triker for 39 years & still free on 3 Hope to see you around Alton some day!

 

[ThirdWheel]

T and S - Welcome in from the lurking status. Since you haven't had the experience of riding different models of street bikes I would recommend katfish's suggestion of going and riding as many different makes as possible. A lot comes down to personal preferences just like with cars. I would even consider buying a good used one just in case you decide after a short period of triking it is not what you wanted or you want to "upgrade you ride". That way you can sell and not lose the money that you would if you purchase new. There are a lot of good deals out there now. Generally, the bigger and heavier the trike the smoother the ride (OK guys, chime in if you feel this is incorrect), however the handling is different than a smaller, lighter trike. Shop around, research, read reviews is the best I can offer.

 

[Gorilla]

At the risk of bringing down the wrath of all the loyal Harley trikers, please do your homework before you buy a new computer controled HD. I think an older model (non computerized) would be a far better choice. Read the posts on this board.:no:

Phil there is nothing wrong with the computer based Harley's. They are just stifled by the restrictions that EPA places on vehicles. If not for the computers and therefore fuel injection, we would not have any air cooled Harley's being produced. There is readily available help and products that resolve these issues and allow them to run better than any of the older carburetor Harley's. They do suffer if not taken to the next step of tuning. If T and S are looking at used trikes most previous Harley owner will probably have had work done on them to release the stifled motor, so they should be seriously considered if it is what they like.

 

[T and S]

.... and so I went down to the local Harley dealer yesterday. He has a new 2011 on the floor. The salesman ( is this kid out of diapers yet ) showed me the trike. Funny thing was I new more about the new trikes than he did, and I don't even own one ! I asked him about the heat problems I have read about on here, he knew nothing. So I decided to keep it simple, I asked him if it had rear disk brakes. He didn't know that either.
Then he gave me a song and dance about how hard they were to get ( they have only had 4 in the last year) - thus their asking price of $33,700.
.... I moved on down the road

 

[Gorilla]

Good idea. Be nice if they would know their stuff.

 

[GypsyAngel]

Are you looking to buy new or used? Rollanet.org has some for sell. The latest is a 99 Harley 1340 CC Evolution, asking price 8500$. The phone number is 573-265-1982. It is not ours but we like to help others in finding what they are looking for. Good Luck in your search, enjoy. ~Karman

 

[redneckray]

T and s,
welcome to the family, i personnally like vw trikes, been riding and building them for a long time and enjoy them, you will find someone on here that can point you in the right direction,
ray

 

[T and S]

Thanks for the welcomes, and heads up on trikes. Checking out the rollanet now.
So a question - How hard would it be to build a trike, with one of the kits on the market. I have seen during my 'net travels that they have to be done right, or they will drive like crap. Also, how about cost on doing a kit ?

 

[redneckray]

What kind of trike do you want??
Ray

 

[Bugman]

Theres some pretty good road to ride in Missouri, a few of us use go down there on trikes in early 80. at lake of ozark . there a lot og likes out there. seen a few differant style by Ray.if you can show him whats in your mind he will design it,

 

[jlb]

welcome T&S, i'm not sure where in MO you are but if you ever want to do a road trip to central Il & can refer you to a dealer that usually has several used trikes in stock & they build new goldwing trikes. I'm sure you'll find what's right for you. I never really considered a trike, till I saw a spyder in a local parking lot.....6 months later i'd found my own. It would have been faster, but I admit, i'm always looking for the best deal. Don't be afraid to search wide...I ended up purchasing mine from Tenn. Good luck & enjoy the search!