Q. What differences will I notice when I ride a trike rather than a cycle?

A. 1.You can make better time on a trike. There is a certain inertia point on a 2 wheeler where you have to slow at turns or you go down. On a trike, you can take the turns 10-20 mph faster because you do not have to watch that your wheels stay under you.

2. Another difference that many of my customers comment on is that they can enjoy their ride more. They do not have to have their eyes on the road every minute to watch what is directly in front of the wheels. They can look around and enjoy the scenery.

3. Possibly the biggest difference people have to adjust to is countersteering. When riding a bicycle or motorcycle, countersteering is the name given to the counter-intuitive technique used by cyclists and motorcyclists to turn corners. When riding a bicycle or motorcycle, countersteering is a method of initiating a turn by a small, momentary turn of the front wheel, via the handlebars, in the opposite (counter) direction. This process usually requires little physical effort, because the geometry of the steering system of most bikes is designed in such a way that the front wheel has a strong tendency to steer in the direction of a lean. Now, with a trike, you steer like you do a car, and do not lean. This means if you drop your left hand in your lap, and pull back the right handlebar with your right hand, you will turn right.

Q. How will a trike affect my gas mileage? 

A. A trike will knock about 10% off your fuel mileage. You are adding about 250 lbs and you are pulling fenders against the wind.

Q. How do I maintain my trike now that I have it?

A. After you have ridden your first 1,000 miles, bring in your trike so we can check the heim joints and grease them if necessary. We want to make sure everything is working correctly for you. This first visit is free as a courtesy for our customers. If you ride in rain, grease the heim joint on the non-independent suspension trikes sometime in the week following the ride. This is very important to remember because the rainwater tends to wash out the grease. The fender bras need to be removed when you are done riding if they are wet. They snap off easily to dry out. If they are left wet on the fender, they can damage the paint. We use any good spray grease for the heim joints, Honda Polish to clean and wax the trike, and Amsoil for the oil changes. And, of course, there’s the yearly inspection needed, just like a motorcycle. No appointment is needed for the inspection. We keep our inspection cost low as a courtesy to our customers.

Q. What can you tell me about the difference between a Leaman, Champion , and Motortrike conversions?

A. The most obvious, of course, is the looks. And that depends on what you like. From a technical standpoint, the biggest difference is in the suspension. Motortrike has a coil over shock suspension and an airbag along with our independent suspension axles. The shocks have 4 adjustment settings, and the air bag pressure can be adjusted also. We usually set the shocks on the second position up, and this can be adjusted up or down depending on the rider’s preference for a softer or firmer ride. Straight axles with the airbag and coil over shock suspension are also available. Click on this link to see the pictures of the various suspensions.

Q. I am buying a motorcycle to have a conversion done by you. What would you advise me to get? 

A. It depends what you want. The new independent suspension makes a comparably smooth ride on the Harley Davidson and Honda trikes.

On Motortrike kits, ABS brakes are not disconnected in the triking process. While some companies disconnect the ABS brakes, Leola Motortrike does not recommend it.  Reverse can be added to the Harley Davidson trikes.

You also do not need to be particular about color if you see a cycle at a price you like. We do our own painting here, and we can either paint the conversion to match the cycle, or we can paint the whole cycle to be whatever color you desire. It does not cost that much more to paint the rest of the cycle when it is done during the conversion process. If you are converting to Motortrike from another type of trike, I can tell you the basic handling is the same, whether you are driving a Champion, Leaman or Motortrike. However, caveat emptor, they all ride differently as the suspensions are different. Do ride all the conversions before making your decision. 

Q. What is EZ steer?

A. We take the whole tree out of the front and put another one in. The simple physics behind it is that it rakes the front end and makes it steer easier by transferring some of the weight off of the front wheel and onto the back wheels. It does not noticeably alter the appearance of the trike.

Q. Do I need EZ steer?

A. I tell people to take the trike and drive it without the EZ steer and see how they feel. The new independent suspension is designed to transfer some of the weight to the rear wheels so most people do not need it.

It is really a matter of personal choice and preference. It doesn’t cost any more to have the EZ steer installed after the conversion is done so if you later decide you want it, it only takes about 4 hours to install and is something we can easily and quickly fit into our schedule.

Q. How much experience do you have to draw on to advise me with problems?

A. The first trike was built in 1992, and currently Leola Motortrike has built over 500 trikes in the last 15 years in addition to handling motorcycle state inspection, repair and servicing, motorcycle body repair and painting. Since 2005, Motortrike has named Leola Motortrike as one of the top 10 dealers in America.