need help from all of you

[captdanwh]

Hi guys and girls, My wife wants to buy a trike that has the training wheels on the back end (3 wheels) . money is a issue and we cannot afford a full blown trike with a body on it. Has anybody out there driven one or owned one and can give us their opinion on how they rode and if they were happy with them or not. this will be my wife's first bike ever and she is excited but wants a trike not a 2 wheeler. I would appreciate any views anybody has as I do not know anything about them. I want her to be happy and safe so help me out here.

 

[Nana]

I haven't ridden one with the kit you are referring to, but I know they can work very well if they are set up correctly. However, they do not steer as easily as a regular 3-wheel trike that has a rake kit, and your wife needs to be prepared for that.

I don't know what price range you are looking in, or what bike w/ kit you are considering, however, you may want to look into a smaller bike for her (sportster, Honda VTX, etc) with a Frankenstein kit, as those should not be a whole lot more money than a kit like the Voyager. You may well even find a pre-built trike in that range if you look. The sportster, for instance, is plenty powerful as a trike for a single rider, and we have several members on them without issue or complaint.

Here are some examples from just one site on the web: http://claz.org/classifieds/vehicles/motorcycles?q=frankenstein+trike

 

[JJHog]

Talk to Beth at Hot Metal Harley Davidson. She had a kit that converted her Sportster or maybe it was a Super Glide into a 3 wheeler with the training wheels. Hot Metals phone number is 412-464-9483. Beth works in the Service Department.

 

[John Luciano]

Ditto what Nana said. A used Voyager will run u $2,000 if not set up for your exact bike ( make year model) it may not fit and require adapters $250 to $500 additional cost. If you need to have someone install it figure on $600 more . As we said not as cheap as you think. A brand new one , the last time I checked was $3,800. If your at a rally the install free, if not you either need to find a dealer, or have it shipped to your home. Shipping will not be cheap they are 250lb units. Then you need to find some one to put it together and install it on your bike. If you do not have a bike then add that to purchase price. You need 500cc or better. I would recommend 750. New $5,000 used $3,500. This is were a decision need to be made. You are investing $7,000 to $11,000 into this project. You can purchase a used trike for a little more or if you check around a little less. Do your homework. Looking for a used TowPac ,Voyager, ,etc. for a small motorcycle is not going to be easy. So NEW may be your only option.
Handling ( I owned a 1980 with a Voyager for 4 years) they are not as easy to control as a true trike. That said, they do work and they appeal to many people. I personally did not like the feeling. They do have a history of failure,breakage.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hond...motorcycles&hash=item51b07013ae#ht_830wt_1021

 

[captdanwh]

I appreciate all the info so far and from what I am hearing this may not be the way to go for her as if momma ain't happy I surely will not be.

 

[FLTR2008TRIKE]

I have followed several of those kits on bikes and they scare me on how they react to bumps and changes in the road terrain. The adjustments for the suspension has to be spot on. Even then I personally would be riding one unless it was a emergency situation.

 

[Bushman4]

I would look for a used trike you can afford and skip the kit.

 

[turboman1354]

I had a tow-pac on 06 Sportster. Without rake it takes a lot of upper body strength to steer it in twisties. ok on interstate. had bad experience on mine and would not recommend it.

 

[GARYD]

Before I finally decided to buy a TriGlide I was interested in the Voyager kit, but the price kept getting higher. Then one day in the dealers parking lot I saw what I thought was a home made kit that was almost half the size of the Voyager and I really liked it. I waited for the owner to come out and asked him about it. He said it was a TowPac unit and he loved it. When I researched it I found it was almost half the cost of the Voyager. I was all set to buy one, but at the last minute I decided on the factory trike.
I still like the TowPac over the Voyager because of the size - I just don't know why trike kits have to be so big. Ghost Wheels is another kit with small wheels, but very expensive.
Leg Up Landing Gear is another great solution and not very expensive and lets you continue with riding on two wheels.

Good Luck

 

[dachsue]

I have 2004 hd nightrain with voyager kit listed in classifieds.

 

[ThreeWheelsRI]

I have an 06 sportster w/Champion Kit with EZ steer installed. Love it. Cost was more than reasonable. Looked on line for various trike dealers and found this one locally.

 

[pcombe]

Bite the bullet and get her something easy to handle and keep her safe.

If she hates the voyager type kit, you have just spent the better part of the price for a true trike.

Something else to keep in mind?
A raked front end is about essential for steering.
Make sure the upper motor mounts on a Harley have been reinforced. The Harley has a rubber mounted engine and the stock motor mounts will allow too much twist on the engine mounts and eventually will fail you.
My champion kit came with the reinforcement brackets.
And make sure she has air adjust shocks on the back if you get a straight axle kit.
The independant suspension will cost you more than the straight axle.

My friends wife has a c50 suzuki (factory built trike with a lehman kit on it,)
She doesn't have a lot of carry space on her particular model but i have watched her with it for about the last five years or so and darn thing appears to just about bullet proof and gets right down the road,

 

[Texan]

Have a good friend that installed an "Insta-Trike" on his Harley. He rode it to Sturgis this year and loved it.

Insta Trike by Tow-Pac, Inc - YouTube

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