The Wide Glide Frankenstein Trike Conversion Has Begun...

[TinCupChalice]

Great build you have going there!

Question: are you adding engine stabilizers to the bike? I am considering a Dyna for my next build (fat bob) and am concerned about the torque being applied to to the engine & tranny via the swing arm. I have seen some talk about this issue but have no idea how serious it is.

BTW nice touch on the fender mounting bolts. I went with stainless button heads and polished the heads

The Dyna was/is a unique animal in the HD line and with the Dyna you have to think in different terms. The front wheel, forks, fuel tank, and frame are the rolling chassis; the engine, primary, transmission, exhaust, rear fork, and rear wheel(s) are riding on the mounts/isolators with a top stabilizer. Acceleration and braking forces are trying to push and pull the engine/primary/transmission/rear fork/axle assembly/rear wheel(s) in the frame through the mounts and engine torque tries to pitch it up and down at the front. The rear shocks exert a constant rearward pull on the mounts due to their angle; basically, the mounts are a knife edge and rely 100% on the top stabilizer for vertical alignment.

On later model Dyna's the rear fork uses a spacer and a dust cover on the right side, and a press fit pivot bearing with an interference fit spacer on the left side. The hollow pivot shaft rides in the transmission boss making the entire rear axle assembly a part of the isolator/mount system. I have replaced the front and rear mounts with aftermarket and use a solid top stabilizer with a proper turnbuckle for accurate 0.00 vertical alignment.

So the question is, would it be possible to overload that transmission boss or the pivot shaft with the bike converted to a trike? I don't know; the left side rear fork pivot bearing takes the brunt of the load. My plan is to verify vehicle/engine and vertical alignment before this bike even sees first light. I know she was in perfect alignment previously, but with changes this dramatic, 'trust but verify'.



I am a bit out in the tall grass on this conversion so I will be taking it slow and easy when this ride finally does hit the street checking for any stability or handling issues...

 

[TinCupChalice]

The doubleback on the exhaust.

A few cuts here and there and now the Big Shots are Short-Big Shots; or are they Big-Short Shots

The W158 TTI's are installed, and cutting your exhaust, a re-tune is in order. No issues now with clearance as there was before, now it's just a case of what effect did it have.

My 'goal' is this bike sees first light very soon for the shake down rides; I want her to make her first public appearance on 7 June for the first of the season Bike Night at Holeshot HD





Pipes mounted; details, details. Used HD #17048-98 SE exhaust gaskets and new heavy duty stainless steel exhaust flanges and snap rings; polished to within an inch of their lives with Flitz. And double nutted; always double nut your exhaust studs...



Heat shields back on...







Stepping away from the exhaust was the smart move; once I walked back and started cutting everything fell in to place.

Doubleback, indeed

 

[Gorilla]

Very Very NICE work. You will be very proud showing it off.

 

[TinCupChalice]

Removed the jiffy stand with the Bung King extension, along with all the frame mounting hardware; it's all in the trash now. Painted the cut ends of the exhaust pipes and the heat shields with black high heat paint. Installed the Power Vision and flashed the original custom tune; now she's ready for auto tuning.



Details, details... The devil lives in the details; 3/4" chrome acorn bolt covers on all the rear axle mounting hardware. Grade 8 hardware is sweet to have, but looks just a bit like crap; we need to dress that up a bit



Do you see that smirk? That's the face of someone who knows that first light is very soon now

 

[Jack Klarich]

Very Cool project, great attention to detail:clapping:

I have always been a big fan of flames

 

[ol' school]

Really looking good Darryl! It is going be an attention-getter wherever you are with it!

 

[TinCupChalice]

I really need to update this thread; I've been riding so much I get a bit remiss about things...

No love at all for the first license plate mount; so I built another fender mount that positions the plate further under the fender and at a better angle. Much better.

I will do some glamour shots and post them up; promise; if I could just quit riding this beast long enough

 

[MDO]

Very nice! Whan you get a chance, I would like a ride report on how it handles.

 

[Lee H. Mann]

So the question is, would it be possible to overload that transmission boss or the pivot shaft with the bike converted to a trike? I don't know; the left side rear fork pivot bearing takes the brunt of the load.

I don't know if any other manufacturers address this issue, but Lehman used additional pieces to reinforce the transmission boss at the rear engine/transmission/swingarm mounting point. Pages 6 & 7 specifically.

http://www.lehmantrikes.com/assets/...on-instructions--wi-501-0044-af48c52e30bf.pdf

 

[TinCupChalice]

A wash, detail wax, and then a ride about town in 91° temperatures. Got busted by the Lady as I was heading out of the driveway :laugh:

Thank you, Lee H. Mann! I will be looking in to this!

 

[ol' school]

Looks good Darryl! Have fun riding it!

 

[TSport]

Extended Front End

We just ordered a Frankenstein kit for our 07 Street Bob, and plan to install it in October. The plan includes extending the front end 6 inches and using raked triple trees. It looks like your front end is extended. How do you find the handling?

 

[TinCupChalice]

We just ordered a Frankenstein kit for our 07 Street Bob, and plan to install it in October. The plan includes extending the front end 6 inches and using raked triple trees. It looks like your front end is extended. How do you find the handling?

You will really love the Frankenstein conversion; it is beautifully made!

My fork tubes are a +3" over '10 - up Wide Glide, so they're 30". I'm using the stock Wide Glide trees and I don't find I'm having any problems with the handling. But, I have an example of one; this is my first trike. Maybe it does steer 'heavy' and I just don't know it :laugh: One thing I did do was to tighten up the fallaway somewhat and that made a difference in the stability during cornering and slow speed handling.

On my wish list is to look in to using trees to get more rake; but then I'll want longer fork tubes again. It's a vicious cycle, but for now I'm riding it as is and really enjoying it; I do wish I'd have done this conversion much sooner...

 

[TSport]

You will really love the Frankenstein conversion; it is beautifully made!

My fork tubes are a +3" over '10 - up Wide Glide, so they're 30". I'm using the stock Wide Glide trees and I don't find I'm having any problems with the handling. But, I have an example of one; this is my first trike. Maybe it does steer 'heavy' and I just don't know it :laugh: One thing I did do was to tighten up the fallaway somewhat and that made a difference in the stability during cornering and slow speed handling.

On my wish list is to look in to using trees to get more rake; but then I'll want longer fork tubes again. It's a vicious cycle, but for now I'm riding it as is and really enjoying it; I do wish I'd have done this conversion much sooner...

Thanks for the feedback. (I chose your conversion to make my first post on this forum because I love the look of your trike.) About 7 or 8 years ago, my local HD dealer loaned me a demo trike for a day (don't think they would do that today). I actually only kept it for an hour, but discovered that I really hated it for the first 30 minutes. After the initial shock, I started to adapt and came to the conclusion that with maybe a week or two of riding time, I could probably be quite happy with it.

I ride an 01 FXDXT 103 and my wife has the Street Bob which is mostly stock. Because of physical issues, riding more than an hour has become a concern. I finally convinced her that a trike is the solution, especially as she is no longer keen on just being on the back of mine. However, I do see us eventually getting back to being a one bike couple (where I may have to take the back seat from time to time). So, this also will be a "bucket list" type of bike for me, that is a custom bike. The last time I had a bike with an extended front end was back in the seventies, and it was a 6" extension on a '71 xs650 with no change in rake. Can't remember ever having a problem with that setup.

Back to our conversion. I'm letting a local independent shop (B.A.Machine performance cycles) do all the work, as well as work out the geometry, as they have decades of relevant experience and have made several Frankenstein conversions in the past couple of years. I'm hoping the raked and extended front end will help keep the trike tracking straight, but that turning will not become even harder. Another thought I'm having is to drop a tooth off the transmission pulley as we don't ride much over the speed limits (and mostly on the back roads at that) and sixth gear isn't used often. In a couple of years we will be doing a performance upgrade to the engine as well.

I hope you will post again after getting more miles on your trike and let us know what changes, if any, you think could improve the experience.

 

[TSport]

Street Bob Frankenstein Conversion is About to Begin



Still waiting on parts, but the 07 Street Bob Frankenstein conversion starts next month.

 

[Doug D.]

Damn cool ride, Darryl! Great job, and welcome aboard!

PEACE and ride safe! orag: