Vulcan 900 Trike Build

[burkbuilds]

I finally got some replies from the company I bought the kit from. They basically admitted that they haven't put this kit on a Vulcan 900 before when they responded that they were going to "contact other trike builders to ask them how they handled these problems". They initially said they would find a longer belt, but in a later e-mail replied that they were not able to find a longer one. Between something they said and some research I did I was able to pretty much find a solution to resolve the side to side balance issue. I've ordered wheels with different backsets from Summit. The left wheel will set in toward the frame more than the current wheel and the right wheel will set out from the frame further. I will also add a 1/2" spacer to the right wheel to put it out even further and that will bring me to within 1/2" of perfectly symmetrical side to side. I don't think a 1/2" will be visually noticeable. I'll put fenders over the wheels and weld on some support brackets to hold them securely and have them painted to match the color scheme of the rest of the bike. I think that will look okay. I'm going out to my shop today to make some brackets that will allow me to mount the touring trunk behind the passenger seat. I'll get some saddle bags to fit between the fenders and the center frame of the bike, the ones that came with my bike are to wide to fit.

I've requested that the kit supplier take back the fiberglass kit and the wheels they sold me that won't work with my bike and fully refund that part of my purchase. Hopefully they will honor that request. If not I may look into doing something like WW suggested and make that kit and the wheels into a pull behind trailer or something. If they do not then I will at least file a complaint with the BB bureau and post warnings all over the internet not to deal with them. You may have noticed that I haven't named them in any of my posts yet. Hopefully though the kit supplier will do the right thing and refund that part of my purchase. I recommended to the kit supplier that they should change their advertising and not tell anyone this kit will work with the 900, at least not with the body kit and the wheels they are selling. I did pay with a CC and I'm sure I could send everything back and fight those charges, but I want a trike, I've put a lot of time into it so far and I'd rather just try and make the best of a less than perfect situation.

I'll let you know how they respond to my request for a partial refund of the parts I can't use. If they work with me on that they I probably will not seek any other action against them. If they refuse to honor that request that will change.

[mole2]

Personally I'd make them take the whole thing back rather than jury rig the setup. Plus they pay the return shipping as well as a full refund. At that point all you've lost is the time you put in. If they don't cooperate then take them to court.

What about looking at one of these? MTC Voyager Motorcycle Conversion Kit. The nice thing about those is it's an on and off setup (4 wheels) which allows you to ride as a trike or on two wheels. In fact the Ultra looks like what you're trying to do now. They have the Vulcan 900 listed. Watch the video here.

Looking on Ebay you can pick up a used kit for cheap. You just have to have the proper frame kit. You can look your frame kit up on MTC Voyager and see what other motorcycles use the same kit.

Voyager kits on Ebay.




Edit to add Ebay info

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

I've put a lot of time into it so far and I'd rather just try and make the best of a less than perfect situation.

Gotta hand it to you BB, you don't give up easily. The offset wheels are brilliant. I never would have thought of it. Hopefully the supplier will do the absolute best to resolve the situation and support you for the time you have spent developing their product. At least they appear to be upfront when admitting to never having actually done a 900 to full completion.
From the sounds of it they are in the trike industry for the long haul. Bringing the other competitors into the scene shows their commitment to keep the whole aftermarket in a good light to all potential customers. Yup, there is a light at the end of the tunnel if only you reach for it.

[burkbuilds]

Mole, thanks for the links, I've looked at that set up before and a lot of people use them but it just doesn't appeal to me personally.

WW, thanks for the encouragement. I'm feeling better about all of it today, especially after I made my brackets and mounted the trunk on the bike. I ordered fenders today and once they come in I'll have some welding and bolting to do to get them ready for the paint shop but basically I'll be finished at that point. I even climbed up on the passenger seat after I got the trunk mounted and it was pretty comfortable. My wife said she'd probably ride 2 up with me on this when it's done. I've tried to get her to ride with me before on two wheels and it just was NOT going to happen.

Here are a few shots of the trunk mounted on the bike and the brackets I made from some checker faced aluminum I had around the shop.

[Water Warrior 2]

Awesome!! You're gonna make it happen. New wheels and fenders will do away with the built in offset nicely.

But I have to ask a question in all seriousness. Slightly off topic but my curiousity is on a high level right now. Why would you have a pallet jack in a home garage????

[burkbuilds]

WW, well, this is a home garage of sorts, but it is also my woodworking shop and I've found that pallet jack to be a wonderful back saver over the years. I paid less than $200 for it new and although I only use it a few times a year, I am always glad I have it when I need it.

Got something of a response from the Trike company today. The owner kinda tried to belittle me and make it sound like I just didn't know what I was doing and that she wouldn't have the same problems if she had this in her shop, but in the end she did agree to refund the money for the fiberglass body if I sent it back to her. She failed to say whether she would do the same with the wheels, so I've sent another e-mail asking for an answer to that. I also took some pictures of the bike from the rear that show how badly offset the entire thing is now, so here they are.







She requested that I put the fiberglass body back on and send her pictures to show this but I told her I had already put the OEM fender, seat and made brackets for the trunk and installed it and I wasn't going to pull all that off again just to take a picture for her. I think it is pretty clear that there is 3" of difference in the distance between the tires and the frame from one side to the other.

[Water Warrior 2]

Those 3 pics should be all she needs to make the right decision. Putting the bodywork back on won't hide that much of a discrepancy. Your previous pics of the lack of fit with the bodywork would just confirm your concerns and make your case stronger.

[mrlmd1]

Nice job so far, and a lot of work and dedication.
Here's one, all done.
Get one of these and you'll never have to worry about hitting a friggin' dog or a cage or anything else on the road.


Can't wait to see yours finished.

[Water Warrior 2]

Sure hope that trike has a power steering assist built into it.

[burkbuilds]

WOW! Now that is a Trike!

I got a call from Summit today, one of the wheels I ordered is no longer made, so I cancelled the other and went back to looking at my wheel options. It actually worked out in my favor. I found a set of nice Chrome wheels with a 3" difference in backset, so now I won't even need the spacer and it will be dead on centered up. The icing on the cake . . . they cost less than the ones I had ordered first so I'll get a few bucks back, and the center caps from my original wheels are the correct size for these wheels. They promised me they would get here by Friday, which would be nice. My fenders are scheduled to arrive this week so maybe I can weld everything up and have it ready to go to the paint shop next week.