FAQ's about Trike Ownership

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TRIKE OWNERSHIP

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

What if I don’t like how my conversion rides? From a technical standpoint, the biggest difference is in the suspension. Motortrike has a coil over shock suspension and an airbag. So there are 2 suspensions. 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. The first position will make the ride softer. If a person says they will never have a passenger we adjust it differently.

After you have ridden your Trike several times, if you do not like where we set the suspension, stop in any time, and let us know what you would like. It takes only a few minutes to make an adjustment. You do not need an appointment, and there is no charge for this service to my customers.

Because we do state inspections, we get all sorts of conversions in here, and we
take them for a test drive if we work on them. 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.

How do I maintain my bike now that I have it? After you have ridden your first 1,000 miles, bring in your bike 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 heim joint 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 Cheetah grease for the heim joints, Plexus 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.

What if I decide I need EZ steer? It is really a matter of personal choice and preference. If you want the EZ steer installed after the conversion is done it only takes about 4 hours to install and is something we can easily and quickly fit into our schedule. Call to schedule an appointment or to discuss if EZ steer might be appropriate for you needs and solve any steering difficulties you may have.

To install EZ steer, 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.

What if I want a trailer hitch and don’t have one? unlike with the EZ steer where post conversion installation has the same cost as pre-conversion installation, with the trailer hitch we have to loosen the body and lift up the frame in order to weld it on. If you are not careful, the heat from the welding can damage the paint job. The extra labor involved increases the time it takes to install the hitch. Because it takes about 2 hours to install, call for an appointment

How much experience do you have to draw on to advise me with problems? I built my first trike in 1992, and I have built well over 300 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 me as one of their top 10 dealers in America. Personally, I have been a cycling for 31 years and I have been in body shop business for 25 years.