Responding to "Trike or Not to Trike"
We've triked our Wing. Am new to this forum, and noticed this post. A little background: My spouse (he is not that computer literate, hence why I am posting this) bought a new GL 1200 Interstate Goldwing in 1985. Kept it until 1995, he then sold it to his niece. Approximately 2 years ago (2007) he went to visit his relatives and brought it back on the back of his Ram. The bike was not running; had been left outside a few times in the snow, etc.--When he brought it back, it was just shy of being a basket-case. Lots of work to restore to original. It was pretty difficult finding some parts, but he persevered, and got it done. Took almost a year to restore to what it was in 1995.
Then, he decided to convert to a trike. After looking around we settled on Tri-Wing Industries. They are based out of Canada, north of Washington State. It is expensive to convert, but in my (and he just LOVES it) opinion, it's worth it. The base price was roughly $6000. However, expect to spend another $2000 for additional expenses. Taxes, shipping (shipping to us from Canada to eastern NC was $800), drive shaft modification, and rear tires/rims will eat most of that $2000. And don't forget the paint job. And the rear taillights. All in all, the expense was around $8000-$8500.
That's the negative part....And now for the positive! We had NEVER "triked" a bike before, and were unsure as to whether to tackle this one on our own, or have someone build for us. After much thought about it, he decided to DIY. Initially, I think it was overwhelming for him, but after a day of staring at the parts that he had uncrated, he got over it and got to work.
Within 48 hours, it was done. The instructions that came with the kit were very helpful, we could call the manufacturer and would actually get the owners on the phone that could offer suggestions, and assistance with the "little" stuff that he couldn't figure out.
If we had to do it over again, would we? Absolutely! By the way, we "triked" the bike in September 2008; he took the bike to Daytona this year (he drove-- did not trailer--) from NC. This is his "new" primary form of transportation now--even tho' he has two trucks to drive. He wants to go to Sturgis next.......
There are a few "musts" that have to be done during the assembly of the trike...let me know if you are thinking about it, and we'll try to give you a few pointers...