Who's driving a Honda VTX 1300?

[Big_Steve]

Would like to trade notes with anyone that is driving a VTX 1300 trike, ESPECIALLY if you have the Motor trike kit.

 

[sarge7882]

I was going to trike my 1300 a couple of years ago, but a fellow offered me too much money for it before I could get the conversion done so I let him have it. I really like the looks of them triked and I know the bike is a solid performer. I would HIGHLY recommend putting an Ultimate Seat on it. Best money I ever spent. Wish I could get one for my current ride.

 

[Big_Steve]

I was going to trike my 1300 a couple of years ago, but a fellow offered me too much money for it before I could get the conversion done so I let him have it. I really like the looks of them triked and I know the bike is a solid performer. I would HIGHLY recommend putting an Ultimate Seat on it. Best money I ever spent. Wish I could get one for my current ride.

Thanks. My trike is handling funny with a passenger, and am looking for others with my bike to swap notes.

Yeah, I think should have gotten Ultimate seats. My dealer made a boo-boo when selling me the bike, and gave me some Mustang seats at his cost as a solution. I was all over that like a bum on a Bologna sandwich. But even at his cost, I don't think the seats are really all that comfortable, albeit a big improvement. I'll give it a couple more thousand miles and see how I feel then.

 

[mingus41]

Steve, what do you mean by "handling funny"? My Champion kit on the VTX 1300 S handles well with or without a passenger. I've just had the stock passenger seat and Honda backrest rebuilt by Mean City Cycles - I'll let you know what its like when I refit them at the weekend.

 

[Big_Steve]

Steve, what do you mean by "handling funny"? My Champion kit on the VTX 1300 S handles well with or without a passenger. I've just had the stock passenger seat and Honda backrest rebuilt by Mean City Cycles - I'll let you know what its like when I refit them at the weekend.

It handles great solo. With a passenger, it leans enough in corners to be un-nerving. I'm still playing with the air bags, shocks and tire pressure to find the "Sweet spot." Bazooka was explaining how the Motortrike suspension works, now that I understand it a little more clearly, I'll have another go at it this weekend.

 

[Gorilla]

It handles great solo. With a passenger, it leans enough in corners to be un-nerving. I'm still playing with the air bags, shocks and tire pressure to find the "Sweet spot." Bazooka was explaining how the Motortrike suspension works, now that I understand it a little more clearly, I'll have another go at it this weekend.

Steve it is not that far to Zook's shop in AL from Ft Meyers. It might be worth the trip for you to have the MAN look at it. I've ridden there from Key Largo.

 

[Big_Steve]

Steve it is not that far to Zook's shop in AL from Ft Meyers. It might be worth the trip for you to have the MAN look at it. I've ridden there from Key Largo.

Yahoo! Maps says 7 1/2 hrs from Sarasota. Believe me, that thought has been on the back of my mind for awhile now.

Want to make sure I exhaust everything that I can try myself first though. I just wish there were someone around here that could hop on it and say "they all do this" or "something's wrong here."

I'm not a great mechanic, but I can wrench the basics.

 

[tin man]

Got a 05 vtx 1300 with a voyager kit. Added a Diamond seat for comfort. Best investment. Just got back from a 1100 mile 3 day trip. Wish I had gone the 1800 route, but it does alright. Gas milage suffers and it takes time to pass. 9000 total miles on the bike.

 

[Nana]

Welcome to TrikeTalk, TinMan!

 

[Gorilla]

Got a 05 vtx 1300 with a voyager kit. Added a Diamond seat for comfort. Best investment. Just got back from a 1100 mile 3 day trip. Wish I had gone the 1800 route, but it does alright. Gas milage suffers and it takes time to pass. 9000 total miles on the bike.

Welcome aboard Tin Man glad you found us.

 

[Big_Steve]

Welcome Tin Man.

Since this thread was resurrected, I guess I should update it. After continued futzing around with the shock pre-loads, air bag pressure, and tire pressure, I've got it dialed in. 2 up is not great in the corners, but I can sure live with it now.

Oh, and the Mustang seat is much better now that my butt is broken in.

 

[Chumbly]

Big Steve- I ride a 2002 VTX 1800c with the Motor Trike kit... I know it ain't a 1300, but I beleive it is the same kit. (I was told by them that it is). I'm not an expert by any means, but I did realign the kit myself. Right now I have the shocks set on 3, about 25 pounds air in the tires, and 28 in the air bags. Rides a little stiff, but at least doesn't wallow all over the place. I ride two-up most times and we are big people. If you have any particular questions, shoot. We'll try to help you out. Chumbly-

 

[usurp31]

A local stealer has a NOS 2007 1300 with a MT kit for around $16,000; does that seem in line with the prices you guys/gals are seeing? Big Steve, how do you feel your 1300 does with long hauls and 2 up? Any chance you could post some pics from the back of your ride for comparison? Thanks!

 

[Big_Steve]

A local stealer has a NOS 2007 1300 with a MT kit for around $16,000; does that seem in line with the prices you guys/gals are seeing? Big Steve, how do you feel your 1300 does with long hauls and 2 up? Any chance you could post some pics from the back of your ride for comparison? Thanks!

I think that price sounds fine. It could be a turnkey trike that Motortrike makes themselves in their factory. They were going for between 16~17,000.00 last time I looked.

Long hauls with 2 up...... Well, I haven't done many long hauls. And even though it's 1300 CC's I think if I'm going to keep triking, I'm going to trade it in on a Valkyrie or Wing trike. I was off bikes for 25 years. At that time I had had a few parallel twins. Now that I'm back, I'm scratching my head wondering why the heck anyone would want a V-twin. But that's me.... At 16K, I think you're getting close to what a used Wing trike costs (could be wrong on that.) With all that said, I haven't done a long 2 up trip. I would not expect a long trip to be either terribly comfortable or uncomfortable more like "do-able." I don't think it's a good choice if you plan on doing a lot of long rides/vacations on it. We typically go 90 min/2 hours to a destination, do our thing, then come home. By the time we're home, it's kind of nice getting off.

You WILL need a good seat. The Honda seat is horrible. 25 miles and I was screaming to get off. But if you add an after market seat, there is a good chance you'll have to put pullback risers on your handlebar. Mileage on the interstate over 70mph is around 26 mpg. Driving mellow around town I get around 32mpg. The floorboards are very comfortable. I bought the Kury highway peg mounts that don't need a crashbar to use, just to be able to mix it up a little. You can see them in my photo. But I don't think they're a good match for the 1300. With out extensions, your feet get tangled up in the shifter and brake pedal. The extensions help, but look funny, and vibrate like crazy. If I were doing it over, I'd probably look to put on crash bars and hang pegs off them.

Exactly what pics do you want? The pillion area, the trunk, or? Let me know, I'll put some up.

 

[usurp31]

Thanks for the info; lots of good stuff there. As far as pics, any that you have handy would be great to see. I was wondering what type of trunk you had on yours and I was also wondering if you had a hitch, what you thought of it, and if you had hauled a trailer around.

 

[Big_Steve]

The seat is a Mustang seat. I didn't like it too much at first. The more I ride it, the better it feels though. Either the seat, or my butt is getting broken in.

The trunk/top box is a Givi "Unikey" I think it's the 52 liter one. That's about the only backrest that goes with a Givi. Other brand boxes have really nice backrests with short arm rests.

Trike :: 06VTX1330S.jpg picture by 1921morgan - Photobucket

Trike :: VTX1300.jpg picture by 1921morgan - Photobucket

Trike :: IMG_0730.jpg picture by 1921morgan - Photobucket

Trike :: IMG_2455.jpg picture by 1921morgan - Photobucket

Trike :: trike.jpg picture by 1921morgan - Photobucket

 

[Big_Steve]

Oops, forgot. No hitch or trailer. I assume a hitch could be added, but don't know for sure.

 

[usurp31]

Thanks again for the info and photos. I like the looks of the MT kits quite a bit.