[WingChick]

Oh boy, I went and done it! Dropped the bike off this morning to get a Hannigan conversion done. Gots lots of different feelings going on. Anxious, nervous, excited. I feel like I have read every ounce of info here and it just seemed like the right fit for me.

Now besides being wider and learning to steer and not lean, what other learning curves (pun!) should be expected? Yes, I did get the EZ Steer b/c so many folks said it was a must so hopefully that will be worth the extra money.

I felt weird leaving my big yellow baby in the care of someone other than myself but it seems like John at Essex County Trikes in Maplewood, NJ (http://www.essexcountytrikes.com/) knows his stuff and the guy is clearly passionate about what he does. I did my homework and I know that the quality of the installation should be considered above all.

Anyone who would like to chime in, please do. All comments about what to expect, tips or anything else are greatly appreciated.


-Denise:excited:

 

[Bulldog]

Good Luck with the waiting process and congrats on your choice of a new ride.


Bulldog

 

[KJ5IX]

Ditto Bulldog, good choice :congrats:

 

[retraite]

Oh boy, I went and done it! what other learning curves (pun!) should be expected?
-Denise:excited:

Denise,

I'm sure you can count on needing some more farkles (and our new prez will 'preciate it). Ya' gotta sparkle up your "baby" with those new farkles.:doorag:

Ain't waitin' terrible. Here's hopin' for appropriate NJ snow and lousy weather so you won't be so flumoxxed with the waitin'. Spring's a comin'.

It'll be great.

 

[Doc1]

WingChick, :congrats: I know your going to love it and I like your choice as you can see. We need to see pics as soon as you get it. Ride with care and enjoy your decision. :thumbup: Doc

 

[KYBLUE]

:congrats::congrats:


Well, it's going to be a little different than 2 wheels....so getting use to...take it easy at first...it'll come naturally in a short while...
the pluses outweigh the negatives....

be safe and enjoy...

And pictures when completed....

 

[George Lewis]

Good show. Hannigan is a good choice. It will take several hundred miles and then you will be at home with your new trike. You will wonder why you waited so long....

 

[Danbgt]

You'll love it!
Believe it or not, the hardest thing for me to learn was to quit putting my feet down at stops. Just be careful not to get a foot under one of the rear tires. That would not be a good thing!!! Ofcourse, I guess if you got the runneraquastylegroundeffects boards, that won't be hard to learn.

:congrats:

-Dan

 

[IR Harry]

Ditto on the putting the feet down, but that goes away if you got the running boards. Personally, I recommend then - dry feet, more places to put the feet, keeps some road grime off the body.

Second thing is the width. You are now about the size of a small car for width - no more lane splitting, watch the curbs, stay in the middle of the road.

Third thing is the length of your stops. A trike is a real magnet for attracting attention, and everyone over 30 wants to know about trikes. So get used to a crowd at every gas stop.

There is nothing tough about the learning curve - as I was told when learning how to run a 40' boat - Do it Slowly. That way, when things go to hell, and they will, they go to hell Slowly.

Give yourself a few miles, your confidence will pick up, your skills will increase, and you will be just like the rest of us - real fans.

Congratulations, and welcome to the party.

 

[JR&JR]

Something that you'll do the first time or two you stop is put your foot down, try not to run over it. One other is maybe get youself bias belted front tire and lose the steel belted front, the differents is like power and no power steering. That your time get some miles and YOU'LL LOVE IT!:thumbup:

:congrats:

 

[GMRoesler]

Specially watch out pulling up to gas pump island!! You now have a 61-1/2" wide rear end and if you are not careful you can have more than just a scratch!4: Might be more excitement than you want!

Regards,

 

[Mama Chicken]

I had some trouble getting use to the quick response of the EZ steering. Was told by an installer to ride it with my left hand in my lap. I though he was crazy cause I just knew I needed both hands on the handlebars to steer. (old big red 3 wheeler mentality) Iwas wrong! By using one hand I got a better feel for steering and made the transition much quicker. Plus Iwasn't all over the road and Mama wasn't slapping the back of my helment as often!
Enjoy the ride and post pictures ASAP!

 

[pajim]

Welcome to the Hannigan "Family" :congrats:
We love ours. The ride quality is great, the workmanship is outstanding, the luggage capacity is very helpful on trips and the Hannigan factory will answer the phone.

Ditto on the "putting the feet down" thing. The first time you have to stop in a puddle,,, well . Take your time and don't rush your adjustment period. Beware of your throttle when you turn. There's a tendency to roll the throttle on when turning left and rolling off when turning right. No biggy most of the time, altho,,,one day,,,,:22yikes:
Ditto on the curiosity factor, too. As trikes become more popular, this factor will diminish.

Welcome aboard :coffee1:

 

[beastie]

Oh boy, I went and done it! Dropped the bike off this morning to get a Hannigan conversion done.

Good for you :congrats:

Now besides being wider and learning to steer and not lean, what other learning curves (pun!) should be expected?
-Denise:excited:

You are correct that you have to steer a trike, but you should learn to lean...not the trike but your upper body.

This riding technique is especially true with Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) like your Hannigan.

Think of an outrigger canoe... or have you ever seen a small one-man sail boat and witnessed how the sailor leans out to counter-balance his boat. This is what I am talking about.

In all I am about to say, when I say inside, I am talking about the inside radius of a curve, e.g. in a right hand turn/curve the inside refers to the right side and vice versa.

The man who designed the IRS on the CSC Cobra Trike is a friend of mine, and we have talked about the design and handling characteristics of the IRS Trike for hours on end. There are definite reasons for doing what I am about to tell you. And these techniques apply to the Trike whether riding slow or fast, just to a lesser or greater degree.

Unless you are riding at parking lot speeds, you want to transfer some of your weight toward the inside of the turn or curve. The faster you are moving, the more the weight transfer. Your Trike does not have a limited slip differential; therefore the driving force will go to the wheel that has the least resistance. This means that in a turn, until the point that the inside wheel lifts off the ground and loses traction (which can happen); the driving force goes to the outside wheel.

Once the inside wheel lifts and/or loses traction, the driving force transfers to it and the wheel will spin and you will lose forward momentum. This is why you need to lean to the inside – to keep as much weight as possible on the inside wheel to keep it on the ground. The Trike suspension is made to take advantage of this technique.

Things you can do besides lean:
- Lighten up on your inside foot and press that knee against the tank.
- Put pressure on your outside foot so as to push yourself to the inside.
- Lock the elbow or stiffen the outside arm and push the bars – this also helps you to push yourself to the inside
And then lean into the curve with your upper body.

If and when you get really good at this – like KenL and Wilson (and Dean) - you might even grow to like it. This technique makes going around even slow curves more enjoyable and you will find that riding the trike is more comfortable and relaxing. And should you happen to pick up the pace and ride like KenL (who takes the curves so fast, his front tire smokes) you may even find yourself shifting your butt off the seat to the inside to get even more weight to the inside. It’s all a matter of physics and counteracting centrifugal force.

This is just a short primer on handling the IRS Trike. I hope it helps.

 

[Welch Dragon]

Congratulations on your conversion - Hannigan makes a great trike :agree:- my wife has an 06 Hannigan, I have an 04 DFT. We belong to Chapter F ( F Troop ) and we meet in Freehold on the 4th Sunday of the month. We would welcome you to come visit and meet our group. We have about 10 trikes in the Chapter so you won't need to feel bashful. Come see us or send me an email if we can answer any questions for you. Cheers:thumbup:

 

[WingChick]

Wow guys, this is great! Thanks for all of the congrats and well wishes. I thought that I would be cool with the wait but I actually think the wait is going to drive me nuts.

This is all so exciting!

You can bet that when she comes home I'll post some pics!

 

[cmore]

:congrats: The waiting is hard to do, but u will have her back before long.

:biker:

 

[FlashG]

Congrats Denise! !

I Love a Yellow Trike!

 

[Git-R-Done]

Wing Chick:congrats: good selection, hang in there the time will go by!!
Trikes are cool, you are going to love it.

Spencer 4 Free

 

[FireEater]

:congrats: and as stated above, remember when pulling into the fuel pumps that you ARE riding a wider bike...