Trike Arrived; Interesting First Ride

[Scratch]

The '08 Suzuki Lehman Tramp was delivered last Monday and I was very pleased with the trike's condition. It arrived with 1,550 miles; clean as a whistle...

Gave the Phantom a loving pat on the rear as the dealer loaded it on the trailer for it's ride to the Austin dealership. Loved that bike...

Didn't ride until Wednesday due to the weather. Rain cleared just enough for me to brave it around the block a couple times. My unintentional route took me right through the front yard and nearly into the neighbor's front yard before I yelled "Whoa Hoss!" and brought it to an embarrassing stop... I slowly backed up; put it in gear and 'pushed' the handlebars into position. Kinda wished I had put the helmet on so the neighbors wouldn't recognize me, but the cat was out of the bag at this point. I might have accelerated to 20mph and never felt like such a noob in my life.

All those two wheel years meant nothing! Brought it back to the garage and as I wiped it down wondered what the heck I had just gotten myself into...

Thursday: Slowly pulled out of the driveway (this time) and made it around the block a few times gaining confidence with each lap. As I started to pull back in the driveway, I talked myself into taking it out on the country road adjacent to our neighborhood. I put about five miles on it; smiling all the way...

Friday: Did a 40 mile ride and loved every moment

Saturday: Wife climbed on the back and we put about 15 miles on it. Not the most powerful bike as has been mentioned here, but it surprised me by providing more than enough oomph to run 70, although I kept trying to find that (missing) 6th gear. I'll never figure out why the metric bike manufacturers have taken so long to add that simple tranny modification.

Ordered the same set of Mustang seats this weekend I had on the Honda which should make quite a difference in comfort.

Sun will be out today and tomorrow so I'll be looking for excuses to go somewhere. Think I need a haircut or sumthin'...

 

[2006gold]

BEAUTIFUL trike. Just keep riding and everything will fall into place by itself. Take it from me - keep that helmet on.

 

[ride3]

Great looking trike!! Best of luck with it.ThumbUp

 

[DTR 11TG]

Great looking Trike, keep your feet up & forget almost everything about riding 2 wheels, it will come to you before you realize it. epper: Ride safe

 

[pcombe]

beware of gas pumps!

 

[Rick Kay]

Congratulations on your trike! She's a beaut! :10:

Wishing you many carefree miles! ThumbUp

 

[1800 06 Champion Trike]

Have a great Trike ride and watch out for parking and gas pumps.

 

[87Trike1200]

Great looking trike! Let us know how you're doing. Couple hundred miles you'll feel comfortable - couple thousand, you'll be an "expert". Have fun, ride safe!

 

[wehrme]

It looks like that is a 805cc Suzuki.

If your trike uses the stock differential, that came with the bike, you can get a modded rear from a 1500 Suzi which changes the ratio.

Many 2 wheel Volusia/Boulevard riders do this.

Run 75mph at 2500rpm.

Check out Volusiariders.com

 

[Gorilla]

Congrats nice trike. I just smiled when I read about the first excursion. Now GO HAVE FUN

 

[Scratch]

Thanks ya'll for the words of encouragement. Just returned from another spin. Started out to run a couple errands and get a haircut; then next thing ya know, I'm heading out to the lake...

OK, so ya'll have seen hundreds of trike pictures, but bear with me... I'm a noob; having much more fun on three wheels than expected.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[cavie]

we never tire of trike pics and expect to see them with every post.

 

[Steve on 3]

Enjoy the trike, looks nice. Please leave yourself lots of room on the sides or you will learn exactly how wide those fenders actually are.

Keep smiling

 

[WindyOne]

Nothing like a trike to put a smile on your face. Glad you are enjoying yours. At least you have sunshine.

 

[rwhgme]

Mazel Tov! Ride it in the BEST of health!

 

[Lucky]

thanks ya'll for the words of encouragement. Just returned from another spin. Started out to run a couple errands and get a haircut; then next thing ya know, i'm heading out to the lake...

ok, so ya'll have seen hundreds of trike pictures, but bear with me... I'm a noob; having much more fun on three wheels than expected.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

be careful riding a good looking trike like that is habit forming! Ride safe

 

[Marc H]

Sweet ride!! Your gonna love it!!

 

[Big Juice]

The trike is looking good and you keep up the good work. When I got trike, I went to a large parking lot and practiced figure 8s, turning circles, left and right turns. It helped me get a feeling of what to expect when out riding. As was mentioned before, watch out for those concrete guard poles at gas stations, they can reach over and bite-cha. The thing I have had the hardest to overcome, is staying in the "center" of a lane with my trike. I keep wanting to ride one side or the other, especially if I am riding with some 2 wheelers, but I am working on that. The good thing is that you will love all the practice you need to do, because being on 3 is fun and brings that big smile to your face!

 

[mynameisearl]

Scratch that is nice looking scoot, Congratulations ThumbUp

 

[Calgary]

It's a great looking trike and will provide you with miles of smiles! Enjoy!

 

[dogman513]

Its all Push and Pull now,, Enjoy!ThumbUp

 

[Scratch]

Thanks much for the encouragement! Better half and I put 75 miles on it yesterday. Very enjoyable except for the hard seats. The Mustang seats ordered last Friday were delivered yesterday afternoon while we were out riding. Fast service from TwoCycleGuys.com and about $50 less expensive than other online stores. Thanks again for the tip, Cavie.... I put them on last night, making just a minor modification to the rider seat rear attachment arm. Rode about 10 miles or so this morning and the difference was remarkable. Nice lumbar support and softer seating.

Man is this fun!

 

[Sully]

Scratch, send us some pics of your new seat. ThumbUp

 

[Scratch]

Scratch, send us some pics of your new seat. ThumbUp

Here ya go, Sully:

Also had to remove the backrest to fit the passenger seat, then re-installed it... All in all; it was about an hour or so to reconfigure. Very tight fit all around...

 

[cavie]

It gets even better when you add the drives backrest and the passenger armrest