Need advice on new Trike conversion for 1800

[Al Killeen]

Hi All,
I'm about to convert my '02 Gold Wing to a Trike (which is why I joined Trike Talk, btw), and I am having trouble find objective comparisons online. Looking at CSC as the top hit so far, but what do you think the best conversion is out there?

 

[Blondie Gal]

Oh, you won't be disappointed with a CSC - we have an 08 GW1800 CSC (see profile pictures) and absolutely love it. As a matter of fact, it was chosen as the March Trike of the Month! We do 'big trips' - getting ready to go to Maggie Valley, which is about 1300 miles each way . . . and it's never given us a moment's trouble (knock on wood), even in the most remote, destitute parts of the beautiful national parks out west. We rode 20 hours straight from above Durango back home to Killeen, TX last August - worn out, but the trike was in great shape! Again, welcome to the Forum - whatever you choose, you'll love being here; you're among friends!

 

[Al Killeen]

Thanks BlondieGal!
You live in the town named after one of my ancestors, I see... (Killeen, Texas)
On the CSC, which options to you consider "must haves"? I'm thinking of holding off on the floorboards and adding them later if the bike doesn't look good enough without them.
I'm looking at about $15K for the conversion, does that sound about right?

 

[Al Killeen]

Actually, I saw your bike with the floorboards. Beautiful! Maybe I need them after all...

 

[Blondie Gal]

Make a wish list and check 'em off as you get 'em . . . some every month, so it all doesn't break the bank. Look at ShowChrome and see Honda Goldwing Parts and Accessories for good deals. I think we've put just about everything chrome-y on it that they make, but John says there's another $800 worth of stuff yet to go . . . sigh . .

.

A comfy rear seat is mandatory, along with a good backrest for yourself. Cup holders, of course. Arm rests for the back seat. Lots of lights so you can be seen at night (just added more this week). Paint is fun, but not an immediate must - wait until you see what 'fits' the trike best, unless you're bringing it over from the two-wheeler. Flagpoles if you like, CB if you want. We have an MP3 player in lieu of a CB - we ride mostly alone on 'big trips' back East and out West. Volume control for passenger if loud music isn't her thing. A dozen other more technical things; these are just the 'cosmetic' things I can think of. Oh!

And a Michelin Pilot Active (mounted reverse) for the front tire - you should get 14 - 18K miles from one.

Don't know pricing for the conversion - we bought ours already finished off the floor at the dealer. Traded our HD Ultra and Sportster 1200 in on the Wing. Never looked back.

Send Scalp Hunter a Personal Message and ask for input - he loves to talk about the trike! (So do I!!)

 

[tfdeputydawg]

Test the rest
Then ride the best
Hannigan
Seriously-Please try a Hannigan before you make your decision.

 

[White Knight 04]

Welcome and you will get all kinds of feed back on this issue...Shop around and make your decision on your own I'm sure you will pick a good one....

 

[Gorilla]

Hi All,

I'm about to convert my '02 Gold Wing to a Trike (which is why I joined Trike Talk, btw), and I am having trouble find objective comparisons online. Looking at CSC as the top hit so far, but what do you think the best conversion is out there?

Welcome aboard. We Wing people are chiming in nicely. Take your time and if possible see if you can test ride a conversion that you are interested in. Good luck. Most important if you are having it converted by a shop, make sure you find a good one. The biggest difference between the different conversions is the quality of the install, the conversions themselves are close, with personal likes making those differences.

 

[Blondie Gal]

White Knight is completely correct - while we're <b>big</b> advocates of the California Sidecar conversion, there are several equally good ones out there, so look at all you can before you make a final decision. Wing World has had several featured conversions in the past year; look through them - or look through the posts on here - to see what works best for YOU!!

 

[Al Killeen]

Thanks to all for the wonderful responses! Very helpful. I'd ideally like to test ride all the major Trike manufacturers for the right kit, but being in Colorado, finding Dealers is tough. Any way you can think of where a person could test drive the top 3 or 4 before committing to a single brand? The reason I'm thinking this would be prudent is that I tested a MotorTrike last weekend and found 2 very disconcerting things: the front wheel seemed "squirrely" or jumpy going down the road, (although less at highway speeds). It did have ez steer on it, so maybe that's why. Second, it leaned away from corners to the extreme and made me feel like I was about to tip over. Are these typical on all Trike Kits, or unique to MotorTrike? Thanks for your thoughts... (also, best installers near Colorado if you have an opinion on any of the brands).

 

[Blondie Gal]

Ours doesn't 'lean' - don't know about others. Wish we could help, but we have some good dealers in Central Texas if you want to come this way . . .

 

[Tri-Pacer]

Al; I agree with White Knight, but for the record we have an 02 motor trike & it is a very nice conversion & holds steady at 80 mph on the freeway & very little lean (2.5 degree rake) in the turns. be sure & try the new independent suspension by motor trike--ok-ok---

 

[tfdeputydawg]

1. Depends on the brand bike and the degree of rake as to how much of the "twitchy" feeling you get. There are many reasons for the front feeling "squirrelly". Most are eliminated with properly installed and properly torqued tapered steering head bearings.
Steering a trike takes getting use to. You are now moving on three points instead of 2 and you will "feel" road changes and varying road crowns that you would not sense on 2 wheels.
2. Straight axle trikes corner "flatter" than IRS trikes is a common statement. However, you are not leaning into a turn as on 2 wheels. The effect is the same as cornering in a cage except you do not have the same upper body support(seat backs) on a bike as in a cage.
One trick to learn to do is to push down on the leg on the outside of the corner (RH corner=LH leg). This counteracts the tendency to feel like you're being "thrown" off the bike. Adjusting the suspension, if you're going to ride the twisties also is a big help.

 

[Gorilla]

Thanks to all for the wonderful responses! Very helpful. I'd ideally like to test ride all the major Trike manufacturers for the right kit, but being in Colorado, finding Dealers is tough. Any way you can think of where a person could test drive the top 3 or 4 before committing to a single brand? The reason I'm thinking this would be prudent is that I tested a MotorTrike last weekend and found 2 very disconcerting things: the front wheel seemed "squirrely" or jumpy going down the road, (although less at highway speeds). It did have ez steer on it, so maybe that's why. Second, it leaned away from corners to the extreme and made me feel like I was about to tip over. Are these typical on all Trike Kits, or unique to MotorTrike? Thanks for your thoughts... (also, best installers near Colorado if you have an opinion on any of the brands).

If you hold off a couple of months, they will all be at the Sturgis Rally. Lots of test riding available.

 

[Frozenshrimp]

Al Welcome to the forum from the Sooner State!!! Sorry I can't help you out with your question cause I ride a VW Trike but as you have noticed there are some very helpful and friendlyest people here on the forum... Glad to have you aboard..RIDE SAFE!!

 

[Pittsburgh Biker]

Ours doesn't 'lean' - don't know about others. Wish we could help, but we have some good dealers in Central Texas if you want to come this way . . .

Plus you'll get a few jokes for freeray:

 

[DonFor]

Welcome Al, I have a 2008 gold wing and went with Roadsmith,it was a choice between Hannigan or Roadsmith,as both dealers are 60miles from where I live. I have friends who have roadsmith conversion,and I chose Roadsmith. Hannigan was alot wider which steered me away. What ever you choose,I'm sure you'll be satisfied. Best of luck with your choice.

 

[Al Killeen]

The search goes on, and gets more confusing! Now I have a 15 year installer claiming that DFT is the only way to go (but most expensive), and that CSC and MotorTrike have reliability issues. Lehman claims the "no-lean" is best (although the competitors claim it is old technology and rides rough), and the Hannigan installer says nothing else beats it. Whew!!! Anybody out there have any opinions on reliability issues with any of the models, or have owned and ridden Hannigan Trike Kits or DFT Kits on a Gold Wing 1800?

 

[Lucky]

AL I have not had any problems with my MOTORTRIKE conversion(90wing) I also have not heard anything bad about the three you mentoined last.Installers may be trying to steer you towards what sell.Anyway you know what they say about opions.GOOD LUCK! RIDE SAFE:Biker:

 

[Burnerboy]

I'm also new to riding a trike myself (actually I never even rode one as of yet either) BUT my 2010 Goldwing is in the shop as we speak (11/29/16) being
converted to a Roadsmith trike..W/all the bells/whistles added ..epper: i'm getting ready to pick it up next week myself and getting very excited to try out my new ride..
I feel like a kid just waiting for Christmas to get here fast...I'm just hoping that I also will like the feeling of three instead two wheels...hence the reason for being on triketalk myself.....just looking for info..

Ronnie

 

[roxxyt]

All conversions are a matter of taste. Make sure to do all your research like everyone has said. The difference between Motortrike and CSC and Hannigan would be width of the rear so they will all handle a little differently.

 

[W3JNP]

You've gotten lots of good advice.

I'll add that you may also wish to check out the new style reverse trikes.

There are distinct advantages in handling in stability.

 

[Railroad Triker]

Hi All,
I'm about to convert my '02 Gold Wing to a Trike (which is why I joined Trike Talk, btw), and I am having trouble find objective comparisons online. Looking at CSC as the top hit so far, but what do you think the best conversion is out there?

Gotta say, your on the right track with CSC Conv. Did my 06 3 years ago now. Went from 6 years avg. of 3k, per year. After, avg. over 10K, per year.

Regrets: It took me 2 years to commit. Wife, I, and Tri Pod Dog love it every ride. Riding almost 50 years was a hard decision to make. Glad I pulled the trigger.

I did the whole works, ground effects, hi perf. brakes, and they painted all in factory. I have had good body men look this over. They cant believe how good 6 year difference with paint.
NOTE: Pre assembly, had my own body man put 3M, Stone Guard sprayed on front of rear wheel wells and ground effects. Only cost $100, and paid off immediately. Did not go with hand brake. Never issue on 2 wheels, not been on 3 either.

Coming your way in a month. Going again, 3rd year, to Medina Hill Country. Each year about 100 days, usually get around 3 K more miles out there alone. Pack up trike in 5th wheel toy hauler and get riding soon.

B Safe Out There

 

[alwrmcusn]

I'll drop in my two cents worth:

I rode a Royal Star Venture that I had a Hannigan trike conversion done on. As a trike I rode it for about three plus years. Great kit, great ride, great reliability and great support from Hannigan if you have questions.

I traded that RSV about two months ago for my current trike, a 2008 GL1800 Motor Trike (2013 Razor kit). The MT trike is slightly smoother, noticeably quieter, slightly more powerful than the RSV.

The Hannigan's wider stance provides very stable cornering and it's slightly longer wheel base adds to the "soak up the bumps" ride. I had the auxiliary gas tank installed and it was well worth it as the mileage dropped from 45-47 to about 30 after I had it "triked".

The Motor Trike Razor conversion has more trunk storeage than the Hannigan by having a little space just behind each wheel. It's kinda hidden but it's there.

Learning to ride a trike, and there is a difference!! took me about two weeks to be comfortable on corners. Where I live the Tail of the Dragon is easily done in less than a day and the Cherohala Skyway is slightly closer. That front wheel wobble can best be assisted with by someone else, but...EZ Steer is probably not the cause. Steering head bearings are a possible cause of course.

I found it is very important to keep the front tire properly inflated as low front tire pressure would cause occasional low speed up to about 10mph front wheel wobble for me. I used a Michelin Commander II rear tire on the front of the Venture mounted to rotate correctly (some mount them to rotate backward). The tire pressures I used and still use are 40psi front and 24-26 rear.

I do not subscribe to the theory that due to road camber one rear tire should be 2psi more than the other. If all roads were perfectly level with no curves that (to me) might make sense. But they ain't and it don't to me (smile).

Now my final comments:

1. These are my opinions, other riders/trikers will most likely have different opinions. Theirs are as valid to them as mine are to me.

2. If you can, do test rides on all the different conversions.

3. I really wanted to like the Can Am Spyder, test rode the full dresser and hated it (just my opinion). It was twitchy and "leany" to the point of scaring me and my wife. I am assured that I would get used to it and that it likely was not properly set up. Could be, but the riding position did not fit me (6-2"). However I do find it is a really nice looking machine!

4. Remember the extra width that is out of sight behind you when you pull up alongside the gas pumps etc!!

 

[wehrme]

You've gotten some good advice.

Get the trike that has the look you like.

You'll have it for a looong time.

ps. most of the trikes all look the same to me...

 

[firefighter4634]

Thanks to all for the wonderful responses! Very helpful. I'd ideally like to test ride all the major Trike manufacturers for the right kit, but being in Colorado, finding Dealers is tough. Any way you can think of where a person could test drive the top 3 or 4 before committing to a single brand? The reason I'm thinking this would be prudent is that I tested a MotorTrike last weekend and found 2 very disconcerting things: the front wheel seemed "squirrely" or jumpy going down the road, (although less at highway speeds). It did have ez steer on it, so maybe that's why. Second, it leaned away from corners to the extreme and made me feel like I was about to tip over. Are these typical on all Trike Kits, or unique to MotorTrike? Thanks for your thoughts... (also, best installers near Colorado if you have an opinion on any of the brands).

I don't know what part of Colorado you are in, but to the East of you in Clarks Ne, is the third largest dealer in the nation for CSC. We just up graded to a trike with them and they are great people to work with. It was a three hour drive for us to get there, but really glad we made the trip. They sell both Roadsmith and CSC, if you contact them or go ask for Joe.