Legup Landing Gear

[ofscout]

I am new to the forum and this topic may have been hashed out before. I have a 2008 wing with a CSC conversion for my wife and I, however, I have a 2005 HD Road Glide that is my personal baby. I am 68 with a bad right knee. I know, I know. Go get it replaced. One day but not now. I really would like a little more stability in slow speed and in stopping. Our Hog Group has a monthly ride from FT. Worth HD to Billy Bob's in the Stockyards for our monthly meeting. We ride down Exchange Ave at SLOOOOW speeds in parade formation on highty polished bricks which are like polished glass.

Very uncomfortable and right on the control bubble. Have looked at The LegUp Landing Gear website and am highly interested. Looks like the answer to my problem. When checking the HD forums, all I get is nasty comments by old hard head riders. Does anyone have experience and HONEST opinions about this product. I am not totally ready to go to my Wing for solo riding. I know its coming, but I so love the twisties. TIA Bob

 

[tfdeputydawg]

Great for low speeds.
Do whatever you need to do to keep riding! Don't pay any attention to those whom don't understand.

 

[trikeleader]

Welcome to Trike Talk, do what you think is the right thing. Don't pay any attention to all the negative posts. On average you will not get those types of comments on this site.

ThumbUp

 

[bongobobny]

Yes, I have considered them for my old 1984 Yamaha Royal Star Venture...

 

[rhino 2]

You''ll never please hard heads, But you have to please yourself, That said do what you need to do to keep riding, And more important
To keep riding ''Safe''.....

 

[captdanwh]

I have a bad left knee and if my then two wheeled bike leaned just slightly left when i was almost stopped i could not hold it up without my knee going out. i am 69 years young and just love my trike and do not give a damn what anybody else thinks. if they were in my position i wonder what they would do , give up riding , i bet not, they would trike it. i also tell some of them that i could go out and buy two of their bikes for what mine costs and that usually shuts them up.

 

[crackercap]

I am not familiar with Legup landing gear and hope someone on this forum can help. I rode Harleys for years and currently own a 2011 Ultra Limited, but 6 mos. ago bought a 2007 Gold wing trike to "get the feel" of triking. For me it was a fairly easy transition to go from one to the other. I am going to sell the Harley as cost of two bikes is pretty high and the insurance is costly. I don't find myself as tired at the end of a long days ride on the trike plus not having to balance the Harley when two up is easier on the legs but riding the twisties is no where near as much fun on the trike. The wife and I had a bad spill several years ago and were very lucky to even be able to ride again.Just thought I would share my situation with you. I am 67 yrs.old.

 

[cscsonny]

Hi,
I watched the video on the Leg-Up web site and my question to them would be the riding the twisties you mentioned.Harley's ride pretty low and would the system have enough ground clearence to be aggressive in twisties without causing you a problem.Sometimes you need all the lean you can get in tight twisties.
Their video only shows using the system on a parking lot.

 

[87Trike1200]

Here's another possibility from "Trike Alternatives". (click) I think their "Retract-a-Trike" is only for GoldWings, but their "Ghost Wheels" looks interesting and is for several Harley models.

Good luck with whatever you choose - keep those knees in the breeze.. ThumbUp

 

[oneup]

looks like a good product for your situation, my only question is does it let you know when its down? example. you have it down, but go over 10mph.. it goes up and you slow again and dont realise its gone up. if you expect it to be down and it isnt you could have a nasty fall. actually all falls are nasty, especially on your wallet.

 

[Razor]

Last year I bought a 2012 Spyder and a 2012 1800. The Spyder turned out to be a mistake for many reasons so I sold it after 4900 miles. As it stands right now Can Am has lost me for good. I searched and searched and only spoke to one person that had actually road a bike with a competitor to the Legup Landing gear. He said it made him fall over because he lowered them when one wheel was over a pot hole. When the left side wheel touched and the right wheel was over the hole it pushed him over. I'm not sure if the Legup will do that because the wheels are spring mounted. Also if your are on a slope it will make the bike parallel to the surface of the road. Legup does tell you in their video to always put your feet down when you stop with their system installed. Since I could not find anyone that actually had the Legup system I decided to trike my 1800 with a Motor Trike Razor kit. The Razor kit has 9.2 cubic feet of storage. It amazes me how well the Razor handles curves and how comfortable it is for me and my wife. I do miss the two wheel ride. No trike can replace that experience. I've been thinking about a trip to Florida to visit the Legup folks. If it turns out to be a good thing I may buy another 1800 and have it installed.

 

[Golden Dakota]

Last year I put the Legup Landing Gear on my 2012 Goldwing. It is a good product, but obviously does not give you what a trike gives you. It can be set to automatically come down every time you come to a stop, or you can set it to only come down automatically when you press a button while riding. Lights on the control switch always tell you what it is set to do. On manual you need to press that button again every time for your next stop - i.e. you can set it to automatic or manual. I never ever even once set it to come down automatically all the time - that can be dangerous if you are not on level ground or in a corner. It is only good on completely level ground and going in a relatively straight line, no matter what the manufacture tells you in their promotional material. Steering it left and right takes a huge amount of getting used to, and always made me nervous. I found it to be a comforting thing to have in case you ever needed it i.e. started to tip over when you were stopping, so I never ever set it to automatic. Did I use it a lot? The honest answer is no, but on the occasions that I did use it, I was glad to have it. I used it in severe stop and go traffic jams. I used it occasionally at red lights. I used it when making a slow speed turn in a parking lot. If you need more help that that, don't hesitate, get your bike triked! For me, it was an interim step before converting to a trike, which I have just done. I had a Razor Kit put on my bike and really love it. The level of confidence and feeling of security it gives you if you have a bad back (I have had a couple of back operations) is wonderful. If it were me, and I was doing it all over again I don't think that with hindsight I would put on the Legup Landing Gear - I would go straight to a trike - I don't think that I am going to miss balancing and holding up over 1,000lbs every time I stop, never mind trying to pick it up when (notice I didn't say if) I tip it over!
Ultimately it's your decision - read the threads on this blog and see if any of us trikers would ever want to go back to a 2 wheeler - doubt you will find even one! :laugh: