If it was me, I would keep looking for one that has being Trike. Ever so often they pop up at not a bad price.

 

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So I need to do something (If only just fixing the ABS), would it be a dumb idea to put a Hannigan trike kit on my K1200LT? View attachment 185795

Would it be dumb? No, but probably depends on your ABS issue. If it is just a low level warning from a leak, that is one thing. If the unit has internal issues, that is another.

Personally, I would consider, depending on your financial situation, trading your LT for a Gold Wing. A couple of reasons for that. First, the Wing engine is a more low RPM torque monster and you have a wet clutch, both which are more conducive to a heavier vehicle. Second, you could move up to a newer model with new electronics, plastics, etc.

 

Glad to here that your back in fighting shape.

First you have to get the abs resolved. I think that there are great videos (Kirk Johnson)on this.

It's a shame that the LT's have very little value for what they are,so I personally would never put that kind of money into a new trike kit for it.

I don't think much of trikes anyway. My wife and I decided to go the sidecar route. We are going to pickup the LT rig we bought in couple weeks. It will be an adventure learning how to pilot the thing.

Good luck

 

Sorry to hear of your health issues and pray that they are now behind you hopefully forever. I sold my LT for weight reasons, having had quad bypass and now pulmonary fibrosis it was time to say goodbye to BMW forever. Great bikes when they are running. Not great when they require constant attention like a needy clingy child. I suggest do the brakes asap and sell it on. I purchased an older Goldwing and love it, but eventually I’ll either buy a CanAm Spyder or nothing at all. The Goldwing is heavier but easier to manage with the weight down low, but they also come with some inherent problems. Doesn’t matter which brand or model of two wheelers you own, you will always have something to be watching or repairing. The two bikes give you totally different rides. Each with pluses and minuses. Both offer great comfortable rides, both have massive amounts of power, torque and can keep up with most bikes in acceleration. The Honda to me is faster from the get go and pulls like a train, but it makes you feel your in the bike and not on the bike. Riding position is better in the LT for sure, but that top heaviness stopping and starting takes away the pleasure at least for me. But each to there own. Perhaps if you are totally in love with the LT checkout landing gear as an addition so you and your good lady can continue to ride together without that fear of the bike taking a nap. It’s a darn sight cheaper than triking it out. In hind sight I should have gone that route. But that’s the clarity of hind sight vision. Which ever route you take I wish you all the best, just keep on riding for mental health. Never ever give that up, there’s always a solution in todays modern world more so if you have the money to throw at the hobby and lifestyle. Good luck and God bless.

 

I have been thinking about this for a day. (Being almost 80 now I am watching the corners, fighting old age so I bought a light little bike as I don't ride with my wife. M1000R) I think a trike is dangerous. Take a look at the couple of options for front dual wheel bikes . There are several brands. some even side by side which would be very cool with your wife. Much safer and carry a lot of gear. Possibly find a use but good one. Why take 20 year old tech and try to make a plum.
Spiders come to mind but there is another brand too I think.

 

if I were you, I would give a serious look and a test ride of a Can-Am Spyder. People I've talked with that have ridden them say they are a lot of fun. I think it would be more fun than a trike.

 

I have a 2003 LT that Hannigan triked in 2015 with 53k on it now. My wife and I ride long trips (6k-12K) on backroads each year. I am 79 and we love traveling on this bike. I also am dealing with my 3rd bout of different cancers (thank you Agent Orange), so don't stop riding. Hannigan is top rated with the independent suspension which is flat in the curves. You also will still have ABS because they use brake assembly off of earlier Honda Civics.

 

I agree with the posters who recommend a CanAm Spyder because the two wheels are on the front. This is MUCH more stable than two wheels on the back. I've seen a trike tip over on a curve. That is the safety issue.
However, there seems to be reliability issues with newer models, according to the Can Am owners forums. https://www.canamspyderforums.com/threads/reliability.20026/.
Like most user forums, including this one, you will see all the problems, and frequently how to fix them, so take that info with a grain.

I was sorry to read about your, and others' health issues. I'll turn 75 in 3 weeks, and am feeling it. I still love my '07 LT, but hand cramps and leg cramps make riding less fun than it was even 10 years ago. I feel less confident with my SO on the back, only because the LT is so top heavy.

My first cross-country trip was from San Diego to the Gatlinburg, TN CCR in 2003 on my '01 LT. That was a blast. Now I have 22 years on two LTs and a little more worried than I was in my youth...

 

Hi Bobby-S, I hope you continue to improve and are both able to ride for many, many years. That is a tough decision on whether to trike your KLT! The initial investment cost will only matter if you can’t keep riding it for several years. I've had my 2006 triked since 2012 and my wife and I enjoy it very much when we ride. The past year and a half has been at a standstill for our riding though. With so many projects in and around the house, the trike has become second fiddle recently. The ride comfort of the LT trike is still excellent, maybe a little better as opposed to my two wheel LT version. I do miss the lean factor with a trike and you will work a little harder on those twisty roads. I still keep an RT close by when the need to lay into the curve arises. I was also hauling an Aspen pop-up camper with the K1200LT but decided it was just a little underpowered for our mountainous forays. We decided to keep the camper east of the Mississippi if we even take it at all. I have also thought of upgrading to the more powerful K1600 trike but at almost 72 years this probably wouldn't be a very wise expenditure for us. As was mentioned previously, if you could locate a used KLT trike, this would be the better option, in my opinion!

 

I admittedly did not read all the responses word for word. I did see Kirk’s name mentioned. I U-Haul trailered my LT to Kirk in Crystal Lake,IL and dropped it off. Along with a few other services/upgrades, he bypassed my ABS with a Spiegler brake line kit that he came up with for them. Install was seamless and I just didn’t have ABS or the “linked“ brakes…no different from my KZ400, GS1100G, CB360, Road King or Road Glide. Illinois is a “tall” state so may be a hike, but I did the round trip from Cleveland. Kirk is a wizard!

 

Does Spiegler offer this kit for retail sale?

 

Well.. As the writer of the original post, I thought I'd update this. A week or so before writing that post here I had contacted a guy on Facebook Marketplace about a 2000 K1200LT with a Hannigan trike kit that he had for sale. He had replied that a guy was coming to look at it the next day. I told him thanks.

After a couple days later I saw his ad was still there so, I called him back. He said that the guy had never showed up but another guy was coming the next day to look at it. I told him I was still interested and if he didn’t show, to give me a call. This was about the time I wrote the original post. Then a week ago last Friday I got a message from the guy asking if I was still interested as no one had showed. I told I couldn’t get there until Tuesday but if he still had it, I’d give him what he was asking for it ($9500) in cash.

Last Monday I went by the bank and got $10,000 cash, hooked a suitable trailer to my van and started my on my trip (500 miles each way).On the way there I had plenty of time to think: What the hell am I doing? Spending all this money to get 24year old K1200LT with 79000 miles on it just because it had a trike kit installed in 2013? Of course I imagined all of the things that could be wrong with it.

I got there and he hadn’t sold the bike. Cosmetically It is immaculate. It appears to be in beautiful condition. Standing next to it I can’t find anything wrong that I didn’t know about. He started it up and I rode it around the block. He also had pretty good records of the work that had been done since he purchased it (about 7 years or 10,000 miles ago) I then bought it, loaded it on the trailer and started back home.

On the way home I get to within 150 miles from home and hit nasty Thunderstorm. I am on a limited access highway it is getting dark and it starts raining buckets (the Trike is on an open trailer and it may looks like have been the first time the Trike was in the rain. Then I start hearing the little plinks on the van roof that mean light hail (the small kind you can hear but not really see while driving) . Of course I start looking for a place to pull off the highway or at least an underpass to stop under but there is nothing.

After about 10 minutes (that seemed like hours) the rain stops. Fortunatly the hail never gets any harder but as it is now almost dark I continue on.. When I stop for gas I look for damage and cannot find any..When I get home it is late, So I just back into the driveway and call it a day.

The next morning I get up and unload the trike. I looked it over and fortunately, I found no hail damage (just some bird poop that easily washed off). I spent the morning and part of the afternoon getting insurance, the title transferred into my name and a license plate.

So, At this time I have about $10K all in on a 2000 K1200LT trike. and I still have the 2008 K1200 LT that is not a trike. After getting the trike legal, The wife and I hopped on it for a real test ride. We only rode for a total of about 30 miles but I am happy with my purchase. More importantly my wife loves it. There are a couple issues I wonder about but nothing that will keep me from riding it.

One issue is that the brakes will do a decent job of stopping the trike but the ABS light is on. I will have to look into that. But then as noted in the previous post, the ABS light is lit on my non-triked 2008 K1200LT so I guess I will have to learn how to troubleshoot a BMW ABS system. Also the backup motor/system doesn't seem as strong? as the the one on my newer bike (of course it also weighs 320 lbs less)

 

Do a search on LT ABS failures. it will enlighten you.

 

Yes, this is a rabbit hole I am not looking forward to entering.. I think I will try bleeding the brakes on both bikes.. On the trike I will probably do an ABS delete if flushing the system doesn't fix it. I am figuring that even just that will take some research.

 

The ABS on your trike is NOT like the one on your 08. It is just a variable displacement unit that even in failure mode it will brake as good as it gets, just no ABS function, you 08 would loose its power brakes in a failure. Many things can cause the light on the 2000 and even if the fault is no longer there you will have to clear it in the ABS with a GS-911 or grounding a certain pin. Detail can be found in the Technical section here.

 

Like John said if the ABS isn't working you still have full braking. Module Masters in Moscow in Idaho does rebuild the non servo ABS units like you have they don't rebuild the 2002 to 2009 servo units.

 

When I test rode the trike I found that the stopping power was not quite as good as my '08 K1200LT but it was OK. I figured that it was in a good part due to the 320 lb weight increase from the trike kit. Before doing any research, I figured I'd flush the brake lines (all fresh fluid) and possibly change out the brake lines if they are still rubber. If it were not for all the other stuff managed in the ABS unit. I'd just remove/bypass it .. After all the bike is a trike. ABS is a good thing but, you won't drop it because you accidently locked up a wheel. As far as I can tell, I could just pull the bulb out of the warning light. on it.. Unfortunately I will still need to troubleshoot the ABS light on my '08 Non trike K1200LT.

The other thing I figured was that since the Trike uses a Ford Thunderbird rear end, I should not have the problems common to the early rear drive units

One thing I was wondering about but and have not yet looked for is a listing of the differences or improvements that were made to the K1200LT over the years.. I noticed much is the same but there are number of subtle differences. Such as the changes in the ABS system or changes from an analog dashboard to a digital dashboard..

 

No need to bypass the ABS on your trike as you will not notice a difference. 99-2001 (early) had the ABS II non-linked non powered and 96 HP engine, rear drive for speedometer feed. 2001 -2004 introduced iABS a linked and powered system, same 96 HP, now the ABS generates the speedometer signal no sensor on the rear drive. 2005 2006 Digital dash updated version of the iABS, now with 116 HP. 2006-2009 added dimmable dash and factory HID headlight. Over the years there was various trim levels offered with either painted or chrome foot plates.

 

I know this reply is a little late but felt I needed to pass on my experience with a sidecar on an LT. I had a sidecar for my 2001 LT and I absolutely hated it. It handled like a pig and it took a ton of energy to turn at low speeds. The guy who bought it sold it on after 6 months. It goes without saying (so i will write it) Make sure you ride it before you buy it. You really need to know how it handles before you pull the trigger. I would think a trike would be a much better option.

Loren

 

I haven't posted anything on here in a while so I thought I might update this thread a little. Last summer after I got the '00 K1200LT trike, I checked it over and because I found nothing wrong, we rode it. I just let the ABS lights on it flash.. My wife and I put a couple thousand miles on it last fall (I found I could easily ignore the flashing ABS lights). When I am going somewhere by myself I will ride my '92 R100RS but if my wife is going with me we take the trike. We have had no real major problems. The only thing is I was riding with a group of friends and the guy behind me said that he smelled coolant once when I accelerated hard. Since then I have kept a close eye on the level of coolant but It has not changed.

Come wintertime I took all the front tupperware off. While it was off I pulled the radiator cap off to check the coolant and the radiator was still full to the top. While I had had the plastic off I carefully removed the wiring for the CD changer and CB radio system. I also removed the CD changer itself and the CB radio >Handheld< in the glove box. I never used them and that left more storage space. I still have the AM/FM radio but either one of the speakers is blown or the unit is garbage and needs replaced. I have considered replacing the head unit with something else but my wife and I have Sena communication modules on our helmets so we haven't been using it.

There have been a couple minor things that I haven't tried checking into yet... One is the cruise control is intermittent. Sometimes it will work. Sometimes it doesn't. The other thing is if I am parked in traffic long enough for the radiator cooling fans to come on, both the ABS lights will stay on solid and not flash. When I start moving again and the bike cools down they start flashing again. Weird.

The '08 K1200LT was OK and I still have it but, because it is so top heavy, and I never fixed the ABS on it, I have not ridden it any distance since 2021 (I just start it up every month or so). The thing is I am getting older and even though I never thought I'd want a trike, The more I ride the trike, the more I like it.

 

I haven't posted anything on here in a while so I thought I might update this thread a little. Last summer after I got the '00 K1200LT trike, I checked it over and because I found nothing wrong, we rode it. I just let the ABS lights on it flash.. My wife and I put a couple thousand miles on it last fall (I found I could easily ignore the flashing ABS lights). When I am going somewhere by myself I will ride my '92 R100RS but if my wife is going with me we take the trike. We have had no real major problems. The only thing is I was riding with a group of friends and the guy behind me said that he smelled coolant once when I accelerated hard. Since then I have kept a close eye on the level of coolant but It has not changed.

Come wintertime I took all the front tupperware off. While it was off I pulled the radiator cap off to check the coolant and the radiator was still full to the top. While I had had the plastic off I carefully removed the wiring for the CD changer and CB radio system. I also removed the CD changer itself and the CB radio >Handheld< in the glove box. I never used them and that left more storage space. I still have the AM/FM radio but either one of the speakers is blown or the unit is garbage and needs replaced. I have considered replacing the head unit with something else but my wife and I have Sena communication modules on our helmets so we haven't been using it.

There have been a couple minor things that I haven't tried checking into yet... One is the cruise control is intermittent. Sometimes it will work. Sometimes it doesn't. The other thing is if I am parked in traffic long enough for the radiator cooling fans to come on, both the ABS lights will stay on solid and not flash. When I start moving again and the bike cools down they start flashing again. Weird.

The '08 K1200LT was OK and I still have it but, because it is so top heavy, and I never fixed the ABS on it, I have not ridden it any distance since 2021 (I just start it up every month or so). The thing is I am getting older and even though I never thought I'd want a trike, The more I ride the trike, the more I like it.

An intermittent cruise control can be caused by a loose microswitch in the clutch handle. There are two there and it's common that one gets slightly loose which makes the controller think the handle has been pulled when it really hasn't. Good luck

 

I've just recently pulled the failing ABS unit out of my 2005 LT, and disconnected the ABS light. It was a bit of work but not too bad folowing Kirk's online video. Not much noticeable difference in the braking force, although I do miss the "linked" braking it used to have. So now I brake with 2 fingers and my foot, rather than just 1 finger....
Good luck sorting your 2008.

Also fixed the micro-switch under the clutch handle a long time ago... never an issue since.