I wasn't sure where to put this topic, so I stuck it here in general discussion. Please move it is it should be somewhere else.
I thought I would relay this experience for those folks thinking about converting their bike to a trike. It has to do with what I consider great customer service. We were at the Sturgis Bike Rally last week when we developed a drive train problem with our 1800 Goldwing with a Motortrike conversion. I suspected it was a U joint problem, but wasn't sure. I knew Motortrike was at the rally, so I hitched a ride in a pickup from a friend to their site and talked with Jeff, the owner of the business. He immediately knew exactly what it was and told me not to drive it any further, get it on a trailer and get it there the next morning. This was about 6:30 in the evening. We managed to borrow a trailer and got it to their location the next morning. They had a factory mechanic there and he took one look and confirmed it was the u joints. He told us to enjoy the rally and come back in a couple of hours.
To make a long story short, when we were all said and done, I had a completely new drive train in the trike. Drive shaft, u joints, cv boots, axles, everything. When I asked the mehanic how to prevent this in the future he explained that they had completely redesigned the drive shaft and u joints, making it stronger. He also explained that he replaced the cv boots as they had small cracks in the rubber and he didn't want them to go out in the future. Now I am worried about the cost. The mechanic didn't know and told me to talk to Jeff, but did say that me bringing doughnuts to the crew that morning was a good down payment. When I talked to Jeff and asked what I owed, he grinned and said, "Zero". I was shocked.
Now, I don't know if Motortrike has had trouble with their u joints in the past, thus the redesign. I also don't know what a dealer would have done had I broke down somewhere other than Sturgis and near the owner of Motortrike. I do think however that this is a good example of great customer service. We were back on the road riding the Hills in no time, with no money out of my pocket. If your thinking about a trike, I would certainly consider Motortrike.
I thought I would relay this experience for those folks thinking about converting their bike to a trike. It has to do with what I consider great customer service. We were at the Sturgis Bike Rally last week when we developed a drive train problem with our 1800 Goldwing with a Motortrike conversion. I suspected it was a U joint problem, but wasn't sure. I knew Motortrike was at the rally, so I hitched a ride in a pickup from a friend to their site and talked with Jeff, the owner of the business. He immediately knew exactly what it was and told me not to drive it any further, get it on a trailer and get it there the next morning. This was about 6:30 in the evening. We managed to borrow a trailer and got it to their location the next morning. They had a factory mechanic there and he took one look and confirmed it was the u joints. He told us to enjoy the rally and come back in a couple of hours.
To make a long story short, when we were all said and done, I had a completely new drive train in the trike. Drive shaft, u joints, cv boots, axles, everything. When I asked the mehanic how to prevent this in the future he explained that they had completely redesigned the drive shaft and u joints, making it stronger. He also explained that he replaced the cv boots as they had small cracks in the rubber and he didn't want them to go out in the future. Now I am worried about the cost. The mechanic didn't know and told me to talk to Jeff, but did say that me bringing doughnuts to the crew that morning was a good down payment. When I talked to Jeff and asked what I owed, he grinned and said, "Zero". I was shocked.
Now, I don't know if Motortrike has had trouble with their u joints in the past, thus the redesign. I also don't know what a dealer would have done had I broke down somewhere other than Sturgis and near the owner of Motortrike. I do think however that this is a good example of great customer service. We were back on the road riding the Hills in no time, with no money out of my pocket. If your thinking about a trike, I would certainly consider Motortrike.