Getting Ready to Trike

[burgotrike]

I started riding motorcycles in May 2008 at age 65 with a Suzuki Burgman 400 cc. Because I wanted a bike strong enough to go 2 up on the highway, I traded up to the 650. At 71 my knees and hips do not seem to want to cooperate with the 638 lbs. of the Maxi-scooter and my wife too. I still want to ride for at least 6 or 8 more years. So I am working to get the Yelvington trike conversion kit for my Burgman. I am amazed at how much it costs..... almost as much as the California Sidecar Conversion for the Honda Goldwing. If anyone out there has the Yelvington Conversion, I would appreciate a shout out about your experience with its performance.. especially the steering, gas mileage and ride comfort. I am also trying to decide if I should trike the Burgie or sell the Burgman go for an older and less expensive Goldwing trike?

 

[Lucky]

IMO go with the Wing.I think it will do a better job.RIDE SAFE

 

[Frozenshrimp]

Welcome to Trike Talk from Oklahoma!!! Ride Safe!!!

 

[cooltech]

Welcome to Trike Talk and continue to enjoy your rides!
cooltech

 

[pcombe]

I started riding motorcycles in May 2008 at age 65 with a Suzuki Burgman 400 cc. Because I wanted a bike strong enough to go 2 up on the highway, I traded up to the 650. At 71 my knees and hips do not seem to want to cooperate with the 638 lbs. of the Maxi-scooter and my wife too. I still want to ride for at least 6 or 8 more years. So I am working to get the Yelvington trike conversion kit for my Burgman. I am amazed at how much it costs..... almost as much as the California Sidecar Conversion for the Honda Goldwing. If anyone out there has the Yelvington Conversion, I would appreciate a shout out about your experience with its performance.. especially the steering, gas mileage and ride comfort. I am also trying to decide if I should trike the Burgie or sell the Burgman go for an older and less expensive Goldwing trike?

I've never heard of the yelvington?

I would go with the wing because i fear your bike will be underpowered.

There are lots of conversion kits advertised at right side of the forum page and they have variable price ranges.

 

[trikeleader]

Welcome to Trike Talk.
I'd go with the wing in a heart beat. ThumbUp

 

[burgotrike]

Thank everyone for the replies and advice. The Yelvington Trikes are the new company taken over from Trinity Trikes. (Richard Yelvington). From what I hear about the conversion which is only put on the 650 cc Burgman Maxiscooter, it is an ideal fit and the bike is still capable of speeds in the 70s and 80s with good handling. No one has complained of being underpowered. But I am not hard to convince because I like the Honda Goldwing conversions. It is just that my Burgman is fully paid for with a clear title and only has about 12k miles on it, if that much.

 

[pcombe]

Thank everyone for the replies and advice. The Yelvington Trikes are the new company taken over from Trinity Trikes. (Richard Yelvington). From what I hear about the conversion which is only put on the 650 cc Burgman Maxiscooter, it is an ideal fit and the bike is still capable of speeds in the 70s and 80s with good handling. No one has complained of being underpowered. But I am not hard to convince because I like the Honda Goldwing conversions. It is just that my Burgman is fully paid for with a clear title and only has about 12k miles on it, if that much.

There is a lot to be said about a fully paid for bike! It's just hard for me to believe a 650 cc engine would suit the kind of riding i do, in a two up riding situation, but i don't know everything!
The factor i would be concerned with is how much does it cost me to convert the burgman only to find out i wish i would have sold it and bought the wing which i know i will like.

 

[Ohio Eddie]

Welcome to Trike Talk, from S/W Ohio.

 

[Ed Hobgood]

Welcome to Trike Talk from SE Missouri, glad you found us.ThumbUp

 

[burgotrike]

I do not know personally how well the triked 650 Burgman will work with 2 up and 100lbs. of luggage. I do know that my wife and I weigh about 410 lbs. together, and with luggage we are talking about another 120 lbs. at least. We traveled over 600 miles on a weekend trip. Average speed was 65-70 mph with 48 mpg. The bike handled well and power was good. Yelvington told me their kit adds about 100 lbs. to the weight of the bike. I have the same concern: that after I have spent about $7K, I will regret it and wish that I had went with the more powerful 1500 or 1800 Goldwing. I am thinking that one solution would be for me to go to their factory and test ride one of the little beasties!

 

[Papa Zook]

Burgotrike, you would be well advised to do plenty of research on the Yelvington Trike BEFORE you make the purchase! PM me for details!

 

[Rick Kay]

Howdy! :wave4:

Good luck with your choice!

 

[Renegade Trikes]

Welcome from Southern Indiana burgotrike! Lots of research should be done before you pull the trigger. You would be safer with the Goldwing, but having someone already paid off is nice.

 

[Bill Reber]

The kit you mention I have never heard of , be aware Trikes in most cases do not ride as well as a two wheeler on poor roads at speed on good roads they are great. We rode out 2010/champion wing to Abbyville SC this weekend hwy 178 was awful front wheel on the center of the lane was bunched up and wash boarded about lost my dental inserts ! :gah::Trike1:

 

[87Trike1200]

I suggest selling the scoot now and putting the proceeds towards the Wing. It should be easier to sell now as is. If you "trike it", and are disappointed, it might be harder to sell as a trike. Most "trike shoppers" would be looking for something with more "umph".

 

[burgotrike]

Thanks for the advice. I have been thinking about doing just that.

 

[cirbtap]

Buy yourself a 1800 and trike it a.s.a.p. YOU WILL NOT GO WRONG.

 

[burgotrike]

Thanks Road Rider. I really would prefer a Goldwing trike rather than to 4 wheel my 650 Burgman. From what I hear about the Yelvington Trike, it is not a good deal and still has a lot of serious problems. Patience, research and information is what I need. I'm still searching. Thanks, again.

 

[White Knight 04]

Welcome to the group from N/W Penna.

 

[Jonesy]

Take the time to go up to Kent Road Motorsports, rte. 7, Cromwell, Ct. and talk to them on your plans, and get any imput from them. I think that you're putting too much money into a burgman, and be sorry you don't go bigger now, just my 2 cents worth.

 

[burgotrike]

Jonesy, thanks for the advice to see Jim at Kent Road Motorsports. I know him and have been to see him at his shop. I am convinced that I should get a heavier and stronger donor bike such as the GW to trike. Money is an issue right now. But hopefully things will look better next year. I want to "pull the trigger" next spring.

 

[Jonesy]

Talked to him myself today, you'll be glad you waited till you could something bigger. PM me sometime I go to that area now and then. We'll cruise around some.

 

[dougv]

Welcome to Triketalk Burgotrike,

I'm a newbie also and from Torrington. I was going through the same thing myself only with a Vulcan 900 that I bought new a few years ago. My wife and myself combined are in the same weight range and although the Vulcan moved us along, it sounded and felt like it was pushing it over 50 MPH. I had looked into having a trike kit installed but it was very close to what I could buy an older Goldwing that was already done from Jim at Kent Road. I ended up trading in the Vulcan for a 97 Goldwing with a CSC kit on it. I did notice that with our weight, even the 1500 can become taxed a little, not that it bogs down but on a long hill in 5th it requires a little more throttle with the two of us compared to just myself. I couldn't imagine how the 900 would have done.

Overall the Goldwing is a much nicer ride.

Jim has a couple of 97 trikes, one with a new CSC kit and another he took in trade with a Motor Trike kit. He also has a 97 Goldwing that hasn't been done yet with 22,000 miles on it. I can't say anything bad about him, he took care of us and you can also test ride them.

Good luck with the search.....

 

[Trvlngnrs]

Come on.... You know you want the Goldwing Now's the perfect opportunity!

 

[IrishRob]

Believe it or not, I have both...a 1500 Goldwing with Motortrike conversion and a Silverwing scooter with a yelvington kit. My wife and I love them both and each has its place. Once upon a time there were some challenges with Yelvington on a couple of non-scooter kits, but the folks that I know who have either the Burg or the Silverwing seem to be happy with theirs. For around town the Yelvington unit is wonderful but for longer and farther rides the Goldwing is like sitting on your sofa. Different horses for different courses and your milage may vary.

Rob

 

[burgotrike]

Thanks for the reply. I have heard that the Yelvington trike has some problems like locking up of the differential and rough steering. How is it on two up riding. Is it slow? The 2 wheel 650 is very fast even with 2 up. When did you acquire your Yelvington Trike? Is it the 3.0 version? I am just concerned that if I invest 7K in the Burgman that I will be satisfied with the performance.

Charles

 

[IrishRob]

Charles:

Our kit was one of the first group that had the Yelvington name, after Trinity was bought out and Richard Yelvington became the new owner/manufacturer. I can only address the Honda Silverwing conversion but I understand it is remarkably similar to the Burgman. Ours is as fast as out 1500 Goldwing trike out on the open road but, personally, I am more comfortable on the Goldwing trike out on the freeway. There is a Canadian Member, SeaTac, who even makes a fiberglass cover making the Burg look like its larger brethren trikes. Having said all that, I will taking Mrs. Rob's Yelvington unit out tomorrow.

Rob