Honda Factory Trike

[BikerG]

Trike market size is set to grow 13.39 billion from 2024-2028, according to Technavio. Any reason why Honda doesn't offer a factory built trike?

 

[pwhoever]

There are stories about the off road 3 wheelers that Honda used to make years ago. There were several large lawsuits because of injuries and a couple deaths and as a result of the settlements, Honda supposedly agreed to never manufactured another 3 wheeled motorcycle. I have not been able to confirm this but seems possible. Since stopping production in those though, they never produced anything similar since.

IMHO, and from some of the information I have seen, most of the problems came from the 3 wheelers being misused and not driven safely. But Honda ended up taking the fall it seems.

And for a long time, trikes were a niche market so not as profitable to produce. But now that popularity has dramatically risen, there have been many aftermarket conversion companies that end up providing more choices than what a Honda produced trike would offer. I think Honda has just chosen to let the aftermarket companies deal with it instead of mass producing one.

 

[My Turn]

Those off road Honda trikes had a locked rear axle (no differential) and were next to impossible to turn.

 

[Mykneesbehurtin]

There are stories about the off road 3 wheelers that Honda used to make years ago. There were several large lawsuits because of injuries and a couple deaths and as a result of the settlements, Honda supposedly agreed to never manufactured another 3 wheeled motorcycle. I have not been able to confirm this but seems possible. Since stopping production in those though, they never produced anything similar since.

IMHO, and from some of the information I have seen, most of the problems came from the 3 wheelers being misused and not driven safely. But Honda ended up taking the fall it seems.

And for a long time, trikes were a niche market so not as profitable to produce. But now that popularity has dramatically risen, there have been many aftermarket conversion companies that end up providing more choices than what a Honda produced trike would offer. I think Honda has just chosen to let the aftermarket companies deal with it instead of mass producing one.

This is the same thing I heard back when they stopped making the off road trikes.

 

[Papa Zook]

The reason Honda does not offer a factory built Goldwing trike is two fold and has nothing to do with the old death trap, off road three-wheeler lawsuits. First and foremost is the cost to design, develop, produce and ship the product, which is now manufactured in Japan, and not the USA, its primary market.

A new, current year Honda Goldwing DCT sells for north of $32,000 out the door. Add the cost of a Honda factory produced trike that could compete with the current offerings from CSC, Road Smith and Motor Trike and it simply does not make financial sense to do so, especially when considering that Honda is already massively profiting from the sale of huge numbers of new Goldwing DCTs that the domestic trike industry has spawned. Why would they screw around with what the US trike industry has handed them on a silver platter?

 

[cycle7447]

The reason Honda does not offer a factory built Goldwing trike is two fold and has nothing to do with the old death trap, off road three-wheeler lawsuits. First and foremost is the cost to design, develop, produce and ship the product, which is now manufactured in Japan, and not in its primary market, the USA as it was for many years. A new, current year Honda Goldwing DCT sells for north of $32,000 out the door. Add the cost of a Honda factory produced trike that could compete with the current offerings from CSC, Road Smith and Motor Trike and it simply does not make financial sense to do so, especially when considering that Honda is already massively profiting from the sale of huge numbers of new Goldwing DCTs that the domestic trike industry has spawned. Why would they screw around with what the US trike industry has handed them on a silver platter?

Interesting response. Harley did and they seem to sell quite a few of the Harley trikes. Lots of folks are moving from the two-wheeler to the RG3, Freewheeler and the TriGlide.

Now, only is Harley would produce an independent suspension trike.

 

[Papa Zook]

Interesting response. Harley did and they seem to sell quite a few of the Harley trikes. Lots of folks are moving from the two-wheeler to the RG3, Freewheeler and the TriGlide.

Now, only is Harley would produce an independent suspension trike.

IMHO, you're ignoring the main reasons it will never happen with Honda. First, Harley is a US based company, consider the logistics and cost to ship a steady stream of Honda trikes from Japan to the US, it's cost prohibitive. Harley does not have this cost.

Second, Harley literally used the existing front half of an existing product (Harley Ultra) and initially used Lehman to install a very basic, bare bones, solid axle back half (of Harley's design and manufacture). Comparatively speaking, in stock form, it is low-cost solution, with what some would say has a poor ride quality (when compared to the current IRS trike conversions), it runs hot, it steers harder, but is says Harley-Davidson on the tank and what owner group is more loyal to a brand than Harley-Davidson owners? They just have to spend thousands to make them more usable and comfortable. How many "What did you do to your Tri-Glide or "What did you do to you Freewheeler today" posts are there?

Honda being Honda would never use Harley's use approach of a bolt-on, solid axle rear end.... and if they did, why would anyone pay a premium for what they can already get from CSC or Roadsmith, which are well proven machines. I suspect that Honda would almost certainly base their trike on a new, trike specific frame.

And last, you can't ignore the obvious fact that Honda is already making massive money on the very strong sales of Goldwing DCTs currently being converted to trikes. It ain't gonna happen.

If I sounds like I'm trashing Harley, I'm not. I've owned lots of Harleys, love them and have converted hundreds of them. They have a lot of appeal, they have "soul" but out of the box the TriGlide just cannot compare to the ride, features, technology and dependability of a new Honda DCT Trike conversion. I have seen lots of loyal, lifelong Harley owners switching to Hondas for these reasons.

Having said all this, it's really a shame that the US cannot seem to compete with Japanese manufacturing and technology, so much so, that in the auto industry for an example, Ford doesn't even try to compete, they have stopped making passenger cars altogether.

 

[cycle7447]

IMHO, you're ignoring the main reasons it will never happen with Honda. First, Harley is a US based company, consider the logistics and cost to ship a steady stream of Honda trikes to the US, it's cost prohibitive.

Second, Harley literally used the existing front half of an existing product and used Lehman to supply a very basic, bare bones solid axle back half...comparatively, it is low cost solution, with poor ride quality, it runs hot, but is says Harley on the tank and what owner group is more blindly loyal to a brand than Harley-Davidson. They just have to spend thousands to make them more usable and comfortable. How many "What did you do to your TriGlide today" posts are there?

Honda being Honda would never use Harley's antiquated use of a bolt-on rear end....this is Japanese engineering and technology. If they did, why would anyone pay a premium for what they can already get from CSC or Roadsmith which are well proven machines. And last, you can't ignore the obvious fact that Honda is already making massive money on the very strong sales of Goldwing DCTs currently being converted to trikes. It ain't gonna happen.

If I sound like I'm trashing Harley, I'm not, I've owned lots of Harleys and they have a lot of appeal, but out of the box they just cannot compare to the ride, features and technology of a new Honda DCT Trike conversion. I have lots of loyal, lifelong Harley owners switching to Hondas.

Having said all this, it's really a shame that the US cannot compete with the Japanese, so much so, that in the auto industry for an example, Ford doesn't even try to compete, they have stopped making passenger cars altogether.

I would never think you are bashing Harley.

Taking your first point into consideration, one must then wonder why the Harley trike wasn't produced when the unit was built in Marysville, OH.

I also might imagine that if Harley made a trike with an independent rear and some of the features that guys like CSC and others have, you may lose some Wing owners.

As far as hot - well, maybe because I live in Michigan - my 2021 does not appear to be uncomfortable at all for me. I rode Wings from 1983 until 2004.

 

[pwhoever]

I would never think you are bashing Harley.

Taking your first point into consideration, one must then wonder why the Harley trike wasn't produced when the unit was built in Marysville, OH.

My guess would be that it would have required quite a bit more research and retooling at the factory. And they would have had to expand the factory to accommodate production. And it seems like trikes in 2010 and before we're not as mainstream as they have become today. Harley just started producing the Triglide in 2009.

Harley is the only motorcycle manufacturer to produce factory trikes. None of the other Japanese manufacturers produced a factory trike either. Owners have all had to rely on aftermarket companies to provide conversions.

 

[Papa Zook]

Because they already had a deal in place with Lehman Trikes to assemble the TriGlides at Lehman's facility in Spearfish, so it was simply more cost effective and quicker to bring the TriGlide to market.

 

[DandyDoug]

I am enjoying reading this discussion, lots of good info and speculation.

 

[Papa Zook]

Lehman's Spearfish Trike Operation takes the Harley TriGlide plunge.

 

[Gorilla]

Great pics Randy I have some of the same. They were really proud of their partnership with HD

 

[Pegasus1300]

" Harley is the only motorcycle manufacturer to produce factory trikes." Well, there is the Can Am Spyder and though not sold here the Piaggio Scooter.

 

[pwhoever]

" Harley is the only motorcycle manufacturer to produce factory trikes." Well, there is the Can Am Spyder and though not sold here the Piaggio Scooter.

I stand corrected. I forget about the Can Am all the time. I think because it's a reverse trike, sometimes it just doesn't click...

 

[Pegasus1300]

However I agree with the idea you were trying to put across, no matter how lucrative the trike market seems to us NONE of the major motorcycle manufacturers except those have even put a toe in the water so to speak. That says to me that the aftermarket is doing a good job and maybe there is not as much money in that market as we think. The last time the aftermarket did a great job of supplying a need (Fairings and bags for tourers) the factories jumped in with both feet to the point that Vetter, Calafia, Butler Avon, Avion, etc., are all gone.

 

[FRR]

My neighbors had one of those, their youngest son flipped it, that was the end of that fun, they sold it out of caution and I would have too

I knew 2 families that were devastated when both their sons were riding 3 wheelers back in 1982 and one was killed and the other injured for life when they collided one afternoon.

 

[ROAD DOG]

I knew 2 families that were devastated when both their sons were riding 3 wheelers back in 1982 and one was killed and the other injured for life when they collided one afternoon.

You can die sitting on a toilet !

 

[Oldster]

I compared the cost of a trike conversion on my Road-Glide and just trading it in on a new Tri-Glide. It was actually less expensive to trade for a new Tri-Glide. Love it and I have a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty backed by the largest dealer network in the U.S..

 

[Burnerboy]

You can die sitting on a toilet !

Aaaaaaaaaaa BUT you then die a very happy man! And more educated, if you were reading while on the toilet

 

[FRR]

You can die sitting on a toilet !

Yes, but hardly at the age these kids were. I'm glad no one suggested that at the boys funeral

 

[Burnerboy]

Yes, it's sad that the two bro's collided while ride'nn together... BUT that's not Honda fault, what's -so-ever.. Vehicles (no matter what brand name(s), or model(s) collide every day.............through-out the world....

 

[Sandman1]

Then, who wants to deal with this as a trike builder besides the already-mentioned suggestions on why Honda has not entered the trike conversion side of the industry?

"What was the verdict on the Harley-Davidson trike?
An upstate New York jury has awarded more than $287 million in punitive damages and other compensation to a man and the estate of his deceased girlfriend following a fatal accident involving their Harley-Davidson “trike” motorcycle. Aug 20, 2024"

Then how many more lawsuits will follow this one?

Jury finds Harley-Davidson liable following trial focused on ...
BizTimes Home › Latest News
Aug 9, 2024 — A jury has found Harley-Davidson liable in a case centered around the company's recalled 2019 and 2020 trike models.

 

[HDUSA1]

You're ignoring the main reasons it will never happen with Honda. First, Harley is a US based company, consider the logistics and cost to ship a steady stream of Honda trikes from Japan to the US, it's cost prohibitive. Harley does not have this cost.

I know this is an older thread, but have a couple comments to add. Papa Zook is correct about the Hondas.

Several years ago when i was deep in to Victory’s and involved in the national Victory Motocycle Club (VMC), we took a few groups out to their Spirit Lake Iowa plant for tours during the Spirit Lake Bike Rally.

I got to know a couple of their engineers as I was an engineer myself and they had been working with Lehman as well on a trike. They let me test ride one and it was terrible riding. When I got off and had a puzzled look, they laughed and said yeah, it’s a Flintstones rear end on a Cadillac.

They obviously weren’t happy with it and their R&D department was working on their own design along with Marketing researching if they would sell. They had some sketches they showed me and were collaborating with Arlen & Cory Ness on a body design. For the trike subframe, they were working on a full air ride hollow cast aluminum IRS for the Vision and Cross bikes using the same aluminum casting process for the spine in the bikes.

I don’t know how far they got with that, but shortly after, Polaris shut down the Victory line and focused all their attention on the Indians. They are nice bikes, but they don’t have nearly the R&D that went in to the Victory’s and I felt their Marketing Team led them down a bad path chasing after Harley.

I have no idea if Indian has any aspirations to delve in to the Trike market, but if anyone were to compete with Harley and offer a factory IRS unit, Indian might be it.

 

[Notgrownup]

If Honda had a factory trike I might have looked that way. I was concerned about dealer support , I know GW’s are pretty reliable and companies like CSC are top notch but stuff can happen on the road and it’s one of the deciding factors that convinced me to stick with Harley’s , plus I was familiar with the platform already having owned an Electra Glide and a Sportster for 15 years and worked on them myself a lot.

 

[Burnerboy]

I do have to admit, that after test ride'nnn a Indian motorcycle, I was 100% surprised (I love'd it) BUT last season, I test rode a BRAND NEW Harley TRIKE (with open eyes) and had to say that it was a horrible ride'n machine.. (I felt bad for the salesman, that had to ride next to me during the test ride) cause he was doing his best to convince me, that I would get used to the rough ride, that this 2014 model year trike had.. O' yea and that the $535.00 a monthly payment for 60 months, would be worth it.. WOW!! I had a very hard time, removing the smile on my face, after climbing back on my smooth running {paid for in full} Honda Goldwing w/ a Roadsmith TRIKE .
Ronnie
12/26/24

 

[Notgrownup]

I do have to admit, that after test ride'nnn a Indian motorcycle, I was 100% surprised (I love'd it) BUT last season, I test rode a BRAND NEW Harley TRIKE (with open eyes) and had to say that it was a horrible ride'n machine.. (I felt bad for the salesman, that had to ride next to me during the test ride) cause he was doing his best to convince me, that I would get used to the rough ride, that this 2014 model year trike had.. O' yea and that the $535.00 a monthly payment for 60 months, would be worth it.. WOW!! I had a very hard time, removing the smile on my face, after climbing back on my smooth running {paid for in full} Honda Goldwing w/ a Roadsmith TRIKE .
Ronnie
12/26/24

Burner boy, you are correct about a TG in stock form, it rides pretty rough. I must admit as well that owning a TG has been a work in progress for sure. I do have it dialed in now I believe with the Bars, seat, front suspension, tourpak relocation and Pro Action shocks. It was a test on my previous 14 TG then trading to the 21 I knew what needed to be done. It’s now rideable 500 miles a day for both me and Mrs . We both test drove a CSC Goldwing before buying the 14 TG and knew that it was way smoother but we both ended up wanting still to stay with HD. Who knows what the future holds though. After we did 3000 miles in 6 days this past summer we are now good to go again. Planning a 10-12 day ride to Canada next summer. We’re ready.

 

[Burnerboy]

NOTgrownup,
Thanks for the nice come-back, I wish we lived close'rrr to each other, we'd make good ride'nnn partners together..
I do ride with many Harley's, and always have good rides, when ride'nnn together....BUT the "best" thing to always remember, is were ALL motorcycle enthusiast, and should enjoy each other's company..NO MATTER "what we ride"..........."keep the rain away, and the salt off the roads"...........

Ronnie
12/26/24

 

[Notgrownup]

NOTgrownup,
Thanks for the nice come-back, I wish we lived close'rrr to each other, we'd make good ride'nnn partners together..
I do ride with many Harley's, and always have good rides, when ride'nnn together....BUT the "best" thing to always remember, is were ALL motorcycle enthusiast, and should enjoy each other's company..NO MATTER "what we ride"..........."keep the rain away, and the salt off the roads"...........

Ronnie
12/26/24

I always say I’m a motorcyclist first and foremost. I was the only Harley (2 wheeler) rider in a large group with the local Southern cruisers riding club and whenever we went to the NC mountains there was always someone curious about riding my 07 Electra Glide . Those SOB’s always, always got off with a big smile and none ever had a bad thing to says. I on the other hand appreciated the nimbleness of the GL1800 and available smooth power but was always glad to get on my bagger. Give respect, get respect. It would be boring if we were all the same right?

 

[Burnerboy]

I always say I’m a motorcyclist first and foremost. I was the only Harley (2 wheeler) rider in a large group with the local Southern cruisers riding club and whenever we went to the NC mountains there was always someone curious about riding my 07 Electra Glide . Those SOB’s always, always got off with a big smile and none ever had a bad thing to says. I on the other hand appreciated the nimbleness of the GL1800 and available smooth power but was always glad to get on my bagger. Give respect, get respect. It would be boring if we were all the same right?

True'rrrrrr words were never mentioned, and I got to admit, that I actually get along "best" with the Harley boys..
and of course the words rice ~n~ speedie dri always seems to come up during our fun and very friendly conversations.. LOL

Ronnie
12/26/24