Hi all - I am female and recently found myself with a 2006 screaming eagle full dresser which is to large for me to ride/handle etc. I have thought about turning it into a trike as I am not  wanting  to sell it.  A few questions for you all out there as some friends are trying to talk me out of it..

Are they difficult to learn to ride? (I have been riding bikes for a lot of years but have not much in the last 10 as such)

What are the quirks if any that you need to get used to - cornering, reverse gear etc?

Eagle trikes at the Gold coast are who I have been talking to about getting it done , if anyone has any information about their work would be appreciated as well.

Any other informatio would be gretaly appreciated.

Thank you all eagerley awaiting replies..

 

Anie888 would be the person to speak to. She has a trike. She has a thread running in the Off Topic section.

Good luck, that's about all I can offer when it comes to trike's.

As a Trike Owner.. or is that care taker... got to say... no... it's not hard.. but there's a few things different.. mind you.. mine's a lot more work.. then modern day trikes... as mines an old Ex LA Police Walla.. with a right hand tank shift... and left foot clutch... LOL...

Anyways... there's No more leaning.. just more turning of the handle bars... and round a bouts.. well.. you just take them a lot easier.. or you can just look forward to lifting a tire off... every so often..!?

And if it's setup properly... she'll be good on the highway.. where as mine being from the 60s - 70s... well.. she can get a wobble up in the front wheel at times.. but.. that's more so from having to reach down and change gears..!?

Reckon You'll love it..!? And.. I've seen some very tidy conversions come out of Eagle Trikes..!

Regards, Chops

OOoooppss.. forgot to add..

At all times... remember.. she's got a wider rear end... soooo... no more lane splitting... or... trying to go between poles or the like...

As simple as it sounds... sometimes.. it's very easy to forget..!?

Regards, Chops

Hmmm....considering you are an experienced rider the first question is : is a trike the right thing for you ? .... If so i have no advice to offer sorry but if you really want to keep the bike have you considered a dedressing ( getting rid of all the extra crap that isnt needed to just ride ), also a smaller and narrower seat goes along way to help balance and hold the bike when stopped.

I don't have any personal experience (yet) of riding trikes, but are dealing with Eagle Trikes atm.

After several discussions with Hop, hubby decided we would convert my dad's GV250 for him. Sent it to him in July, will pick it up in December.
So, unless you are in a hurry to convert, I will be able to report then.

Thank you all for your comments to date. I have spoken to Hop a few times via phone and did go and see what he does at the Gold Coast. He did tell me about not putting your feet down and going up between the trafiic. I put a post on Anie888 forum and am awaiting a reply. He mentioned the Blacktown shop but he is closer for me (5 hours away).

Mastersron...so sorry I took so long to reply. Now that I have ridden my Trike on the east and west coast of the U.S. I can tell you that it's been bloody magic! As others have mentioned, I had the motor trike kit fitted (with reverse) at H-D in Blacktown...good people.
As I was coming to the states, I waited and had an E Z Steer kit fitted, which rakes it out 5 degrees, and is a bit easier to steer for me.
I have damaged shoulders and legs from an accident three years ago-- and the Trike enables me to keep riding.
Who ever you choose to do the conversion, make sure they are familiar with Harley's and fit reverse.
As I have a stiff leg and have to sit back further in the seat I just had a set of HeliBars fitted while here in Sturgis.....what a magic piece of gear!! They have so much adjustment, and the steering is fan-bloody-tastic!
TRIKES ARE FUN

 Thanks  Annie for the reply. I am in the process of getting it done, even though I am not that sure that i will be able to manage it. I took a Honda Valkyrie trike for a ride and did bloody atrocious. It kept wanting to run off the road into the gutter? I talked to Hop at Eagle Trikes at the Gold Coast who is doing the conversion, and he said it was the calibre of the road. I figure the steering will take a little to get used to, but would be easier to do in the country where I live rather then at the Gold Coast. I hvant ridden a bike much in the last 10 years so maybe this had a little bearing on it as well. I recently found myself on my own and the bike was my husbands (imported from the US last year), and I am not wanting to sell it so thought at least this way I might be able to ride it.  

Not to confuse things too much,I'm a right leg above knee amputee ,so keeping a bike up at the lights is a bit of a chore-I chose a side car ,as a good mate who has ridden both trike's & outfits said -trikes are a bit scarey -left & right turns-lifting wheels etc ,where chairs are dodgy going left,right turns are ok,also chairs you can take 2-3 people (with double chair) & simpler to convert back to standard.Please note I haven't ridden a trike so I am not making a first hand judgement.
I wanted to get back to solo so i have imported a "leg up landing gear" & am in the process of getting it fitted-i"ll post a report when its on-The good news is that Pete G has expanded his range of bikes that can use this system.The situation in Victoria from what i understand is that if the manufacturer of the bike makes sidecar options you don't need to get it engineered-so a FL or,fxr series bike is ok as they had a factory sidecar option.With a set of factory adjustable sidecar trees ,RTA should let it through without all engineering bullshit & cost.The cost of a sidecar conversion is substantially cheaper than a trike conversion,but at the end of the day ,its what you want ,but more importantly what your comfortable with.

 I was at Hops on Friday and saw your fathers bike there. I took mine down so when you go to pick your dads up check out the green one he will be working on and let me know how it is looking. 

I am getting a Gladiator fitted. Imported from the US. Kit arrives next week. The bike belonged to my husband who was fatally injured in a MV accident earlier this year. This is my way of hoping to get to use it as it was too heavy/big for me to ride as a bike.(I couldnt touch the ground) He also had a 1988 heritage softtail which I can handle alright.

some good info here on how to ride a trike www.triketalk.com

As a trike owner and consistant rider, Trikes are the way to go.  I bought mine in March this year ( always wanted one) learning to ride it was an experiance roundabouts and sharp corners were challanging at first, but as I had to ride 1500klm home after purchace I soon got used to it.

I still need to think ahead more that with a bike, as leaning into corners is a definate No No lean right ..go left takes a little while.

Now I ride my trike to work every day 30Klm each way in Sydney Traffic, not putting your feet down and just sitting back and enjoying the rumble of the engine is always a pleasure.

I have hit the island at a servo once . as was mentionerd earlier their wider than a normal bike and you do forget ONCE!

Enjoy 3 wheels and be proud, dispite what some say it is still a bike and still a Harley.

 

 Oh one last thing do get a reverse gear put in ..not the electric one a true geared reverse well worth the added expence.

parner has a heritage softail trike, his was converted by Mick Green in Geelong Vic.
He had to change the front end, as the original one was too heavy in the corners.
Now has a 5 degree rake on it ,says its so much better handling it.
Not sure where you are, but if your anywhere near Medowie nsw on 17th
we will be there at the bull & bush pub,for the longriders bike show.

Thank you for the comments everyone. Yes I am getting reverse gear put on but I am not sure which one he is doing, as the gear leaver looked funny so I think it is the electric one on the handlebars. I do think it will be the steering and the camber on the road that is going to cause me the most grief till I get used to it all.

A friend of mine had a sidecar and she did exactly the same as the old mate with the sidecar, took it off, pulled up at the lights and forgopt to put her feet doen and the bike fell over, so yes I believe that story as it happened to her.

I live in a small country town in Queensland so will be to far away to meet up with you in NSW. Even though it would be great to be getting used to riding this bike with other sidecar riders. I do not get it back until November, so am eagerley awaiting its arrival.....