Independent Rear Suspension

The smooth ride of the Roadsmith HSC1300 is primarily due to our innovative suspension system that offers a ride like no other trike. The Trike Shop was the first to offer Independent Suspension for trike conversions over 14 years ago. The cynics said it would never work. They’re eating those words today. Talk to anyone who has actually ridden an Independent Rear Suspension and a solid axle system trike for a period of time and ask them which one rode better. You can’t deny Independent Rear Suspension is the way manufacturers of cars, SUV’s and ATV’s are going. Trikes are no different. These trikes are built with a purpose- “Comfort”.

The multi-point mount of the chassis to the bike frame actually strengthens the bike's frame as well as dissipates the added stress of a trike. We attach it to the existing mounting points on the frame like the swingarm mount and the upper shock mounts. A feature of the trailing arm type independent suspension is the fact that there are very few moving parts. There are literally only two pivot points on each trailing arm which are within urethane bushings. This eliminates any adjustments or maintenance requirements. There are more complicated way’s to design a suspension, but why?

True Track Stabilizer Bar

The stabilizer bar, also known as a sway bar, is a flexible link between the two trailing arms. The bar uses the torsion effect to always try to keep the trike righted or sitting square to the ground. The beauty of the stabilizer bar is the fact then when one wheel hits a bump, the bar can flex quickly to absorb the movement and then return. This is the same technology used in almost every vehicle today. Just think if you had “no lean”. This means your trike is always perfectly square to the ground. In affect, if you go over a 2” bump with your right wheel the trike rocks up 2”. With Independent Suspension, just that wheel goes up. The antiquated solid axle system is only made today because it’s cheaper and easier. Technology has improved a lot in the short history of trike conversions but some are too stuck in their ways. We offer only the most innovative designs to our customers.

Longer Wheelbase

We increase the wheelbase on all of our conversions. This puts the rear wheels back behind the passengers’ seat area rather than sitting right on top of the wheels. Any vehicle that has a longer wheelbase will have a smoother ride. It’s just common sense. As an added benefit, the differential being farther back reduces the driveshaft angle.

Automotive Differential

Our differential is constructed from standard automotive ring and pinion gear sets. The original application of our differential was a Jeep. We cut down this cast iron housing and make an Independent Suspension differential out of it. The components inside it are all new including the 3.55:1 ratio ring and pinion. We make the gear ratio slightly deeper to

retain the impressive power of this monster.

Disc Brakes

Large disc brakes more than handle the stopping of this trike. Remember trikes stop faster and easier than bikes. With more tire contact area and much better stability, braking a trike is not the white knuckled balancing act that a bike can be. All the Roadsmith trike conversions come with the NHTSA required mechanically actuated parking brake. This feature is not only Federal law, but it is very useful when warming up your trike on an incline. The wheel bearings, calipers and rotors are all from a high production automobile application known as the VW Beetle. Like all of our constructed drive train, we use everyday parts off the shelf for your convenience.

Heavy Duty Driveshaft

We manufacture a completely new driveshaft built from full size sealed automotive u-joints and a 2” tube. These are the same components used in full sized cars and trucks. We figured if the design can hold up in heavy vehicles, it should have no problem with a trike application. We’ve proven ourselves right.

Heavy Duty CV Joints

The axles are custom made for our conversion kits, but the constant velocity (CV) joints are standard automotive applications such as VW and Porsche. We use automotive type parts for all of our drive train because it’s designed for a much heavier load, meaning these parts will probably last forever in this light duty application. Again using off the shelf parts for your convenience.

Alloy Wheels

The Alloy wheels that come with our conversion kits are clear-coated aluminum rims that have a similar look and finish to the bikes front rim. They are a 16x7”, 4 bolt on 100mm circle; positive 35mm offset size that fits many automotive applications. We also offer a Chrome plated option.

Storage Compartment

The large storage compartment comes completely carpeted to both protect and store your riding gear. The trunk (5 cubic feet) has about twice the capacity of the stock saddlebags.  This gives you a larger space to fit larger objects into. The large trunk door opening also allows for easier packing or loading. The release for the saddlebags under the Tour Pack is now used to release the latch for the trunk. This convenient trunk will fit all your gear securely away from the elements.

Factory Styled Body

The slick body design incorporates the look and feel of the original motorcycle. We feel the trike conversion body should melt seamlessly into the original body parts. The body is constructed of heavy-duty fiberglass. It is then painted with urethane paint, flat sanded, and buffed to a mirror finish to ensure a perfect paint match both in color and finish. The mounting system for the body ensures a rock solid attachment and no exposed mounting hardware. Notice the

added foot room for the passenger,

another feature of a longer wheelbase.

Trailer Hitch

With any touring machine a trailer hitch is a familiar sight. When riding a trike, a trailer is not a danger like it is on a bike. The trike will never feel like there’s a trailer behind it. We include a 1 1/4” receiver for a trailer hitch neatly tucked under the body. It is incorporated into the rear body support and is welded directly into the strongest part of our frame.

Warranty

The Trike Shop has an unparalleled history of customer service and satisfaction and we put it in writing, with the best warranty in the market. Your trike comes with a full 3 year or 1,000,000 mile warranty on the entire trike kit. We can offer this because we know with over 14 years of producing this type of conversion kit, we do it right the first time.

Steering kit

The Roadsmith 6 degree steering kit is an option that most people get, if not initially, someday. The VTX1800 needs a rake increase to make for a comfortable and stable trike. To explain what a steering kit does is a little complicated. It basically feels like power steering for your trike. It reduces the steering effort by about half. The front-end geometry of a motorcycle is designed with a certain amount of trail in the front end to allow the bike to counter steer easily and remain stable. With a trike we are not counter steering, but rather steering. That is the opposite of what that front end was designed to do. With our steering kit we reduce the trail in the front end to give you better leverage at the handlebars to steer your trike. It gives you better mechanical advantage to turn the front wheel off of center. It’s like your handlebars are twice as wide as they really are. This can positively affect your fatigue level at the end of a long day.

Muffler Kit

Cobra slash-cut slip-on

Chrome Wheels

You can brighten up your wheels with this 16" x 7" chrom rim option.  They are a 4x 100mm bolt pattern with a positive 35mm offset.

Chrome Nerf Bumper

 Our chrome nerf bumper adds both protection and classic look to the back of your Roadsmith.  This bumper is constructed of 1 1/2" steel tubing with caped ends then fully polished and chrome plated for years of everlasting luster.  Functionally, the solid 5/8" bar bolts directly to the trike's frame.  If you do bump into something rolling it around the garage, it doesn't damage the paint finish.

 Wheel Well Trim Package

This is a 3/8" stick on trim that goes around your sheel opening.  It just finishes off the bike nicely.

Radio Caddy Fairing

ABS Fairing with chrome mounting brackets.

Draw Bar

The trike conversion already comes with a built in receiver for a trailer hitch.  This is the draw bar you'll need to actually tow.

Trailer Converter

This harness actually plugs right into the factory harness to give you a flat four connector for your trailer.

 "Paint-Ready" Main Body

Here is the prepped and primed body ready to be sanded and painted.

Main Body Paint

We can paint to match your bike's exact color.

Fairing Paint

 Click here to download installation instructions

 Click here for Price List