Back in September we decided I would probably make good use of another Goldwing (old 2006 now has 119,000 on it) so I ordered a 2015 40th Anniversary GL1800. At the same time I started talking with the Roadsmith Trike Conversion folks in White Bear Lake, MN. Together we designed a very nice paint scheme to compliment the original Honda paint. I took possession of the Goldwing a month ago tomorrow.
Ten days ago this finally showed up in the street out front. I expected it, so I had spent most of the day getting the 2015 torn apart (part way at least) to make ready the conversion.
It probably looked like the “Keystone Cops” to anyone watching two fat old men hustling a five foot by six foot crate down our dirt and gravel driveway on a pallet jack but we did it and actually got it all the way into the garage. Soon as we got it uncreated and inspected I went back to work prepping the Goldwing.
At its worst the bike looked like this. It was totally ready for me to roll the conversion chassis up and bolt it on. But that was only after I had spent five hours removing and reinstalling numerous items (including the gas tank) just to get to the top mono shock mounting bolt which had to be removed so I could get the shock out.
That little round thing sitting on the foot rest in the foreground is the active part of the mono shock’s adjusting feature. This got transplanted into the trike conversion.
There were high and low points in this conversion journey. Yes, I must have walked and crawled a hundred miles in the past ten days. I now know why the professional installers get $2000 to do it. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say I’ve got at least 90 hours of actual hands on work in this. I am on first name basis with nearly ever nut and bolt on the trike I believe. It was a very rewarding experience and I'd do it again in a heart beat. I enjoyed every minute of the process. It gave me a chance to become very familiar with both the bike and trike components.
This morning I put the finishing touches on the trike then went for a short test ride…
I have to admit I’m pretty proud of the entire process.
The outcome was so good that even Ruby thought she should enjoy it so we went to lunch with a bunch of guys I ride with. She never rode the '06 Gold trike but her new hip has healed well and so maybe she will be able to ride some now.
What we ended up with is a 2015 GL1800 with Roadsmith HTS1800 independent rear suspension trike conversion. You know the bike part has all the bells and whistles and I just had to add another hand full. The trike part has adjustable preload suspension, heavy duty torsion sway bar, Wing Guards (floor boards) and AUX 5 gallon gas tank.
Ten days ago this finally showed up in the street out front. I expected it, so I had spent most of the day getting the 2015 torn apart (part way at least) to make ready the conversion.
It probably looked like the “Keystone Cops” to anyone watching two fat old men hustling a five foot by six foot crate down our dirt and gravel driveway on a pallet jack but we did it and actually got it all the way into the garage. Soon as we got it uncreated and inspected I went back to work prepping the Goldwing.
At its worst the bike looked like this. It was totally ready for me to roll the conversion chassis up and bolt it on. But that was only after I had spent five hours removing and reinstalling numerous items (including the gas tank) just to get to the top mono shock mounting bolt which had to be removed so I could get the shock out.
That little round thing sitting on the foot rest in the foreground is the active part of the mono shock’s adjusting feature. This got transplanted into the trike conversion.
There were high and low points in this conversion journey. Yes, I must have walked and crawled a hundred miles in the past ten days. I now know why the professional installers get $2000 to do it. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say I’ve got at least 90 hours of actual hands on work in this. I am on first name basis with nearly ever nut and bolt on the trike I believe. It was a very rewarding experience and I'd do it again in a heart beat. I enjoyed every minute of the process. It gave me a chance to become very familiar with both the bike and trike components.
This morning I put the finishing touches on the trike then went for a short test ride…
I have to admit I’m pretty proud of the entire process.
The outcome was so good that even Ruby thought she should enjoy it so we went to lunch with a bunch of guys I ride with. She never rode the '06 Gold trike but her new hip has healed well and so maybe she will be able to ride some now.
What we ended up with is a 2015 GL1800 with Roadsmith HTS1800 independent rear suspension trike conversion. You know the bike part has all the bells and whistles and I just had to add another hand full. The trike part has adjustable preload suspension, heavy duty torsion sway bar, Wing Guards (floor boards) and AUX 5 gallon gas tank.
