The Adventure Begins

Think back to January of 2009. Gas prices were still hovering around $3 a gallon, and Linda’s Nissan Titan gets 13 MPG – it took over $50 to fill the tank! Here’s how I remember the conversation:

Linda: “This is ridiculous! I think I should get a moped to go back and forth to work!”

Bob: “No way! I don’t want you driving something like that on the highway!”

Linda: “Most mopeds will go 45 mph.”

Bob: “Yeah, but the traffic is doing 50 or more! I would rather you got a motorcycle.” (Now, what I didn’t realize was that Linda had wanted a motorcycle since she was 14)

Linda: “Oh, that sounds better! Thank you, honey!”

Think I was tricked? Yeah, well . . .

We talked some more, and on our February weekend at Myrtle Beach we stopped at the Harley-Davidson dealership. We saw their version of the trike – a three-wheeled motorcycle. We spent a lot of time talking with the salesman, and found that Harley-Davidson was not making a lot of them, that they were only expecting to have two to sell until 2010!

A trike seemed like a good idea – easier on the legs and knees, more stable. We didn’t want to wait, and decided to look at other manufacturer’s trikes. There aren’t any. But when we stopped at the Honda dealership in Florence, they told us that Honda of Sumter does trikes. So off we went to Sumter. As it turns out, these guys are THE place to go for trikes – they have a dedicated trike shop where they bring in kits from a company in California called Champion. They pull the rear ends from the motorcycles and put the trike kit in its place. When they’re finished, you can’t tell where the cycle ends and the trike begins. They add lights, chrome, and all the bells and whistles you could want.

Chris was great with Linda, explaining everything. There was only one hitch – she couldn’t test drive without a permit at the least. We told them we’d be back.

Linda went to the DMV, and found that they had added a classification just for trikes, since they’re not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle, and don’t behave like either. She took the written test, and passed easily. Now she was ready!

The weather didn’t cooperate, as it rained the following weekend. But the next one was beautiful, and we went back to Sumter. Chris had Quint, one of their mechanics, take a trike down to an empty parking lot, and he worked with Linda, showing her what she needed to know. Finally, he turned her loose, and she took off across the parking lot. She went around the lot like a NASCAR driver (always turning left) for the first lap. I remarked to Quint that she wouldn’t do that for long. On the next lap, she was doing figure eights, and her speed was better. Watching her handle herself, and seeing how happy she was, I told Quint, “I think we’re getting a trike.” We ordered her 2009 Goldwing Trike that day. They would build it just for her.

We talked about it some more, and agreed that, since it had been a lot of years since she had been on a motorcycle, she should take the Rider Safety Course out at Tech. It’s pretty grueling, in that you do class work on Friday evening, then spend Saturday and Sunday on the course out in the parking lot. You ride their motorcycles, assorted makes, between 150cc and 250cc. She signed up for the class.

She came home Friday night excited, and ready for the road work on Saturday. Unfortunately, she picked a poor weekend, weather-wise. It was cold and rainy all day Saturday. When she came home Saturday night, she was tired and sore, and had put the bike down twice. She ate dinner and fell asleep.

She returned to the class and completed it, scoring 100% on the written, but didn’t earn her “waiver,” which would allow her (at the DMV’s choice) to get her license without testing again. But I’m still proud of her for taking it. It was a good idea, and she learned a lot.

It took about a month to have the trike built, as they had to order the kit in the right color. But it was worth it. It’s a beautiful machine, very stable, and very powerful. It has heated seats, heated grips, AM/FM, Weather radio, cruise control, and passenger arm rests with a cup holder! We trailer’d it home, and she spent the rest of the weekend riding and practicing. Now, she’s got more experience, and she’s a good rider. I feel safe riding on the back with her, and I know she’s enjoying herself.

As a footnote, Linda received a letter from the DMV. Apparently, they were having a difficult time administering the new classification for Trikes, and abandoned the process. Now, you don't need a special license for a trike -- just a standard class D (for Driver's) license will do! That leads me to the next post.