This is just a story I need to tell and make a couple of points.
Know what you are riding, how it is built and what parts you need if something fails. Since I performed my own conversion, I knew and it came in real handy in a little Utah town named Milford. No regular bike shop (no matter what brand) can fix your trike and you will be a U-Haul case to find a dealer, or just come home.
Those small town local mechanics are getting real scarce, but I just happened to break down in front of Arron's Chevron station in Milford, Utah. I had a rear wheel bearing fail and the folks inside the station told me they had a mechanic and I think....sure...I bet they do and figured I had to go talk to a grease-monkey. Arron told me to roll the trike into his garage and loaned me a floor jack. As he watched me pull off the wheel, then yank out the axle, he knew right away what to do. I did too, but had no idea what was about to unfold over the next 2-hours. This guy took me all over town and called various parts houses miles away trying to find a bearing to no avail. He had one more chance. The Ace Hardware (Yes...I said Ace Hardware) had a little auto parts section and they actually had the bearing I needed. That was a shocker, but what came next is the real story. We had to find a press to remove the old bearing and retainer and press-on the new bearing. He located an older retired gentleman he used to work for that had closed his machine shop years ago. We get the key, drive out to this old shop (in Arron's truck), dust off the machinery, made a jig to press the old bearing off and and the new bearing on. This hydraulic press had not been used in years, but he managed to beat on stuff and rewire some electrical's to get her hummin'.
I was back on the road in less than 3-hours at a cost of $144.00. A few of those good guys are still out there and I contrast this to a Harley Dealership that told a riding buddy that it was a 4-hour job to change a tire. We found a Honda Shop 3-minutes down the road that replaced the tire in 45-minutes. I won't mention that particular dealership by name but the city is Durango, Colorado.
Just a story....but if you are ever in Milford, Utah...tell Arron how much all us trikers appreciate people like him.
Know what you are riding, how it is built and what parts you need if something fails. Since I performed my own conversion, I knew and it came in real handy in a little Utah town named Milford. No regular bike shop (no matter what brand) can fix your trike and you will be a U-Haul case to find a dealer, or just come home.
Those small town local mechanics are getting real scarce, but I just happened to break down in front of Arron's Chevron station in Milford, Utah. I had a rear wheel bearing fail and the folks inside the station told me they had a mechanic and I think....sure...I bet they do and figured I had to go talk to a grease-monkey. Arron told me to roll the trike into his garage and loaned me a floor jack. As he watched me pull off the wheel, then yank out the axle, he knew right away what to do. I did too, but had no idea what was about to unfold over the next 2-hours. This guy took me all over town and called various parts houses miles away trying to find a bearing to no avail. He had one more chance. The Ace Hardware (Yes...I said Ace Hardware) had a little auto parts section and they actually had the bearing I needed. That was a shocker, but what came next is the real story. We had to find a press to remove the old bearing and retainer and press-on the new bearing. He located an older retired gentleman he used to work for that had closed his machine shop years ago. We get the key, drive out to this old shop (in Arron's truck), dust off the machinery, made a jig to press the old bearing off and and the new bearing on. This hydraulic press had not been used in years, but he managed to beat on stuff and rewire some electrical's to get her hummin'.
I was back on the road in less than 3-hours at a cost of $144.00. A few of those good guys are still out there and I contrast this to a Harley Dealership that told a riding buddy that it was a 4-hour job to change a tire. We found a Honda Shop 3-minutes down the road that replaced the tire in 45-minutes. I won't mention that particular dealership by name but the city is Durango, Colorado.
Just a story....but if you are ever in Milford, Utah...tell Arron how much all us trikers appreciate people like him.
