Trip back from Denver on my new trike

[GoldenDragon]

Flew into Denver on May 8th. Monty Luftus from Nece Trikes in Windsor, Co met me at the airport. Took an hour ride north to Windsor and to get my first look at the Dragon. Mailed off some of the left over parts to various people then took a ride up to Estes Park for dinner. Nice twisty canyon road from Loveland up to Estes Park. I think Monty just wanted to make sure I knew how to ride the beast before sending me back to Oregon. The Golden Dragon and I left Windor, CO at 7:30 AM on Wednesday May 9th headed for Bend, OR. Mostly I-25 abd I-80 over to Ogden, then I-15 and I-84 to TwinFalls, ID. Total miles on Wednesday 670. Great weather all the way through intil just before Burley, ID in I-84. Tried to out race a storm blowing in. Git just a head of the storm only to find it was pushing 35-40 mph cross winds. Very hard to keep bike on the road. Had to slow way down but kept going and got out of the storm within 10 minutes. Left this morning, Thursday May 10th from Twin Falls headed west on I-84. After Boise I took Idaho 55 down to US95 and went to Jordon Valley then on to Burns Jct and Burns. Bike has performed flawlessly. From 20-90 mph, she do anything you ask of her. Just have to hang on. Arrived in Bend about 4PM today. About one mile from my house, I down shifted in to second and accelarated across and intersecton, when I start getting a terribly noise from the rear end and I'm losing momentum. Coasted into a Chevron Station and had to have the Dragon Towed to Bend Euro Moto for repairs. I broke the right side half shaft between the differential and the A Arm. Called Monty and he is next day air shipping me a replacement. Had a tremendous ride. Very grateful I broke down in town and not between Burns and Bend. More details on the repairs. I'm dog tired. Night Night!

[ibbones]

That sounds like a good ride. What kind of fuel mileage are you getting triked out?

[STARFIGHTER]

I'm averaging between 37-40 depending on temperature and altitude.............

Glad you made it back before problems randi

[GoldenDragon]

You would be surpurised what 9 hours of sleep will do for you. I did have a great ride back. Weather was 50's in the AM and 70-80 during the days. Bucked a lot of headwinds. Recorded 32-36 mpg. I wonder what the mileage will be pulling my trailer and two-up? No word on the repairs yet.

[GoldenDragon]

Well, I received the new half shaft (right side) for the trike and had the local Ducati dealer do the replacement. Ducati Dealer is billing the manufacturer directly so I had no out of the pocket expenses. Seems to run fine now but I am still wondering why the half shaft assembly would fail. I plan on putting another 1000-1500 miles in June before taking off on a 21 day, 6000 mile trip back to Sioux Falls, SD. That should work out any bugs that I may still have. Besides that, I'm very happy with the conversion and can't go any where without 10,000 questions from interested parties. I'll need to get more business cards to hand out. See you on the road.

[STARFIGHTER]

Glad you're back on the road Randi.............................
Did you get The Aux. fuel tank ? How do you like it ?

[PePa]

Oh boy, now we trikers have to worry about shaft failures, instead of the old dreaded "rear end" failure, what is one to do??????

Sorry to hear about your failure, but glad all is ok. I have put 4500 on mine since December and take off tomorrow for a trike class in IL. I did a 600 mile day to Philly a few weeks ago, with no problem. If something fails, I'll call for roadside assistance and tell them to send a flatbed. Life is to short to worry, so just ride, and don't leave home without the old credit card!

[GoldenDragon]

I did get the aux. fuel tank. I just wait until the low fuel light comes on then flip the toggle switch and transfer the fuel into the main tank. Low fuel light goes out and the tank reads nearly full after I transfer the 5 gallons. With the reduced mileage, I still have a 300-350 mile range, which is fine as I usually want to get off before that anyway. I'm going to do like PEPA stated. Just ride it and make sure I have roadside assistance. If it breaks, it breaks. I'm not going to worry about it.

[GoldenDragon]

Here it is the end of June and I have another 3K miles on the trike since I got home. Had to replace the HID low beam, get a new front tire and changed the oil. Still waiting for Ztechnik armrests. Changed out the standard front turn signal lenses for the clear ones. I also added a Bakup backrest. I towed my Aspen trailer for about 1000 miles to several rallies. Seem to get mobbed where every I go.

I did notice that the trike kit did not sit square on the sub frame. One side was 1.75 inches lower than the other side. I removed the body work with the help from my local bike club (Cascade Range Riders). I adjusted the suspension to make sure everything was level and square. Then replace the body work and added a couple of shims to level her up. It is within a quarter inch of being level now. I am also replacing some of the 3M film added to the fenders to reduce rock chips.

I entered the Dragon in a Show and Shine at the Oregon State Gold Wing Touring Association rally and won best non Gold Wing Trike. Even the Wingers think she is pretty nice. Missed Peoples Choice by two votes. I'm taking an extended trip starting on July 7th. 6500 miles in 22 days. I'm headed back to the Black Hills area then north in to Canada to pick Grand Tour check points.

I missed the West Coast Rendezvous due to family commitments. I can't make CCR this year but I'll be there in 2008. Maybe some of us Trikers should get together out west sometime. Any thoughts?

[dmatson]

Pictures, please. I would like to see what she looks like also how does the ride and handling compare with a normal LT.

[Steve_R]

Since Hannigan is the only company to build a trike kit for the LT, you can see one here (http://www.hannigantrikes.com/content/bmw.html). It would be nice to see GoldenDragon's full set up with trailer in tow. :)

[GoldenDragon]

Sorry I haven't replied but I'm out on the road, third day of a 22 day 6500 mile trip. I'm currently in West Yellowstone, MT. I have the trailer in tow and will see if I can get some pictures posted at my next stop in Cody, WY.

As far as handling, it is after all a trike. No comparision to a regular LT. It is just a different animal. As far as trikes go, it handles quite well. Even pulling a trailer, I've had no problems taking most posted curves at 10-15 mph over the posted speed. Takes a little getting use to but for pulling a trailer, you can't beat it. Keep checking back. I'll post again soon.

[GoldenDragon]

Well, I'm now in Custer, SD and heading for Sioux Falls in the AM. Here are some pictures of the Dragon and trailer (Aspen Sentry).