Las Vegas Trikes is well known for their custom V8 powered trikes. What is a trike? Well at Las Vegas Trikes we make a three wheeled vehicle that is powered by a Chevrolet engine, like you would find in a car. So think of it as a tricked out kids tricycle. Well trikes have been around forever I believe the first motored trike was done sometime in the early 1900’s.

 

There are many type of trikes which we will discuss now. First type we will go with is called a conversion trike, this is like motor trike or Lehman trikes. What these companies do is take an existing motorcycle like a Harley Davidson or a Honda Goldwing and they “ Trike it” this is done in a professional manner most of the time. Watch out for garage built trikes of this nature because your not quite sure where they got the parts and how the parts were designed. But in simple terms they take a motorcycle and add another wheel. My personal experience is that it takes away from the “motorcycle experience” and adds a lot of push and pull in the steering. Still a lot of people do this and love their trike kits. A well-known company that makes a v8 conversion is called Boss Hoss Motorcycles. This is a V8 powered motorcycle, which means it has a car motor on two wheels and is converted to a three-wheel trike. Now besides Boss Hoss, because they have a motorcycle frame designed for a V8 power plant, you have companies like Motor Trike and Lehman who will take your Honda Goldwing or your Harley Davidson Road King and make it a trike. I have seen all sort of motorcycles that have become trikes in this manner even custom chopper trikes. They have great packages for the VTX or the Goldwing and even seen some old Silverwings out there with three wheels. Some of the Harleys look great some look kind of funny, for example I saw a Harley Davidson 883 Sportster with a trike kit. But even the sport bikes, or crotch rockets as they are called, having trike kits, such as a GSXR or a CBR.

 

The next type of trike kit I want to talk about is the “from 2 to 4” kit. They consider this a trike but it has four wheels. Not sure what the professional term for this is and for the companies out there, please correct me if I am wrong. But the term putting training wheels comes to mind. This I saw in Daytona Beach a few years back and again my personal experience from watching them is they are unsafe and there are some crazy people out there.

 

VW trikes have been around forever. I would say these trikes have the biggest following because they are so inexpensive to build. By far I have seen more home made VW trikes then any other. A VW trike is basically the front end is a motorcycle and the rear end is a Volkswagen. Now this has been done by cutting a car in half and welding the front end of a motorcycle on it which to some people is the coolest looking thing. There are a few companies that make VW powered trikes such as Rewaco here in Las Vegas and Boom Trikes. Now on some VW trikes the front end has been known to come up. This can be a problem if the front end was not designed for the weight and impact when that front end comes back down. You will notice on some older trikes that there are cracks in the neck from excessive wheelies. Now I would also like to point out after doing a show this weekend in California  a lot of VW trike builders are what we call garage builders. They tell you they have built ten or more trikes and that VW is the only way to go and they wouldn’t mess with a V8 if you paid them. Well truth of the matter is they have probably built that many trikes as VW components are rather inexpensive. But are they safe? Not sure the few I saw this weekend had no front brakes because they could not figure out the engineering aspects of it. If you are going to go the VW route then I suggest you buy from a builder who has been doing it for awhile and are an established business. Like Rewaco or the Trike Shop or Boom Trikes these are all great VW powered trike companies.

 

The next class of trikes I would say would be oddities. Because there are not a lot of them but they are fun to look at for example the Jet Trike (Helicopter Jet Engine) or the Merlin (not sure if it has 3 or 4 wheels) the T-rex and a few others. I know nothing of these trikes other then I don’t fit to comfortably in a T-rex. For those that don’t know what a T-Rex trike is, I’ll explain. It has three wheels but two wheels are in the front and one is in the back and is powered by a motorcycle engine. Not that popular, not sure why they look neat.  Now I would also like to put a little note about another subclass of oddities which I would like to call Freak Shows. These are the wonderful people who make your day at a show because they are so outrageous that they draw attention.  I saw a Honda Goldwing once that had several dozen animal horns and about 10 electric horns and even a bathroom seat on the rear of the trike. This trike was also covered from top to bottom in what I would think was animal fur. Not just one type of animal either. The man that drove this thing could have stepped out of a time machine. He looked like a caveman crossed with Grizzly Adams with a Davey Crocket coonskin hat on. The man was great he had a dog that was dressed up as well. Now why does he do this, not a clue. But he sure put a smile on my face, and the faces of many children. Not to mention their moms whom he was being extra sweet too.  So I guess the lesson I guess we learn on this is to buy something that fits your personality.

 

Last but not least are the Car Engine trikes, these trikes are built from the ground up to be a three wheeled vehicle not converted. Yup that is what Las Vegas Trikes build and we believe we do a great job at it too just come by the shop. Ok enough on the shameless plug. V8 Powered trikes are built with a 8 cylinder car motor. A V6 Powered trike would be a 6-cylinder car motor and a V12 would be a twelve cylinder car motor. There is also a difference between small blocks and big blocks. The main difference in all this is the horsepower. For example we have a model called a Thunder ES, the small block motor that comes with this trike is built from the ground up and produces around 300-horsepower. Where we have a big block that produces 880 horsepower.  There are many companies that produce car engine trikes. One of the oldest is Ecstasy Trikes, also cheetah trikes. Kopavi and Apex Trikes are two other companies. Who could write this without mentioning Las Vegas Trikes who purchased a company called Iron Horse Trike Works of New Mexico.  Now most of these trikes are different but similar in other ways. Most difference is done in the finished product. Las Vegas Trikes is the only company that CAD Engineers its trikes, but that is because we have a lot more resources to help us build our trikes. Our parent company is an ISO 9000 medical manufactures the produces analytical medical supplies.

 

Hopefully you have gained some knowledge about this without too much of my rambling. But a word to the wise, Ask many questions, and test drive more then one type of trike. Let me explain to you a few things you might notice, where most of the companies I have mentioned are good companies and build a solid piece of machinery. Some companies out there lie, and mislead. It could be something simple such as horsepower. Will you feel the difference in 5 – 10 horsepower probably not? But I have seen some companies saying they can produce 600-700 hp out of a blown Chevy 350 motor. Now that’s and awful lot of horsepower coming out of that motor I would be really interested in seeing a Dyno sheet on that one. Not saying its impossible just improbable will you as a consumer notice a difference between a 700hp trike and 500hp trike. YES but only if you have two models to compare with. But ask another person several engine builders around you could ask an impartial person. Thus lets say you drove a Extreme Machine with a 500hp engine then drove a Las Vegas Trike Cyclone which is also 500hp. There should not be much difference in the power, depending on the gearing of the rear end. But lets say you took their 700hp. Model and tested it against our 500hp model their should be a lot of difference.

 

Also another thing to look for when shopping, ask to see pictures of different models or other trikes they have made. For example there is a trike company called The Extreme Machine that has a 2003 model, which is black. The 2004 model is the same black trike now with graphics on its fenders and yellow seats. The 2005 model is ” all new “ with the same black trike with graphics and a nosepiece with graphics added and the black seatbelts are red. This is false advertising this is the same trike, which you have changed slightly to the eye and are calling it a new model. I can show you several different trikes and different colors even pictures with several trikes in it.

Buyer beware make sure your going to deal with a company that can produce the vehicle you want. Look at there shop. Is it a shed in their backyard? How many have they built? Do you feel comfortable on it? Did you feel pressured when you were talking to them?

 

Why would someone do this? But there are many reasons for people to get one. Some of those reasons are, do not feel stable on a motorcycle, disability, never been on a motorcycle, looking cool. Many people have the idea that they have to be old to enjoy a trike. That is not true just like teenagers and people in their early twenty’s believe you have to be older to own a Harley Davidson. Now lets put this myth to rest. Our trike is not built to replace your motorcycle. This trike has a different feel and a whole lot of fun. It doesn’t pretend to be a motorcycle its just classified as one.

 

Here at Las Vegas Trikes we want you to purchase something that is right for you. Sometimes that means someone else’s product. We want you to be happy and be safe. Most importantly get out on that road and have a wonderful time. Because I know that for the past few years I have been with Las Vegas Trikes I have had the chance to ride these trikes in some of the most incredible states. I have been in the down the beaches of Daytona Beach during Bike Week. I have been thru the Black Hills of South Dakota riding feet away from wild buffalo herds and to Mount Rushmore and even thru needles highway on a Las Vegas Trike. Nothing compares to riding down the Las Vegas Strip. I rode in the mountains of New Mexico and even in rush hour in LA. I have been to Neiman Marcus in Dallas to Katie Couric in New York City for the Today show. 

 

One more thing I think I will touch base on. This is for the homebuilders and the closet engineers out there. I do a lot of shows a year and meet a lot of people at them. Like Sturgis with hundred of thousands of people to Exotic Gentleman’s show here in Vegas. To swap meets in California and Arizona to maybe even the fair in New Mexico this year. But there is a type of person out there whom all the custom builders dislike. This is the negative know it all, whom walks up and tells you how to make your trike, your motorcycle, your bicycle better then you built it. This is usually a person whom is not very wealthy and cannot afford the product. Some ideas are worth listening to, but on the most part you are just talking to here yourself talk. It is rude to walk up and call someone’s baby ugly, do not walk up and say “ Ughhh who would buy that”. Well hate to tell you this but people do and I know you may be able to make it better but its easier to show me that you can instead of telling me. But no people have bad manners and want to walk right up and talk smack about something they know very little about.

 

Now the other kind of Garage builder is someone who can not afford a trike that is made by a company and they have the basic skills to attempt at building one. So first thing you want to do is buy parts. Ok fair enough so you call companies and get a hodge podge of parts and want to make them work together, well that makes for a fun time. It can take several years at that rate to put it together. Reminds me of that song “ I got it one piece at a time “. You want to use your frame with our front end and want it to work well. Being that this is the time that everyone sues everyone our lawyers have advised us not to sell parts to home builders. Why? Well it is pretty simple that if you have a frame our front end is not designed to work on your frame it is designed to work on ours. In fact Las Vegas Trikes ran their whole frame and front end thru a C.A.D. program to come up with and equally weighted machine at all points. Also in doing this the handlebars are self centering like power steering. Now do you think this front end will work the same on your frame. No probably not infact if you do not know what you are doing you may kill yourself at which time your family will try sue because of your stupidity. That is how a women made over a million dollars suing McDonalds over spilling coffee on herself.  People buy frames and front ends all the time, I mean really what is a trike other then a frame a front end  a transmission and an engine. Oh yeah throw on a few tires and its time to go. A lot of people think they are saving money by building it yourself, you might but what is your time worth. If you took two years building something that cost you ten to twenty thousand dollars have you saved anything? Are you happy? Is it safe? Will you ever ride it? I knew a guy who built an airplane in his garage. The amazing thing is he did a great job then even flew it around. Nothing bad happened and for some of you nothing bad will happen, so long as you were careful.

 

Well I guess I should mention those wonderful two wheels things out their called motorcycles. There are many great motorcycles, Harley Davidson, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki. You get the picture but there is a special type of company that takes something from frame and builds it up to be a masterpiece. Hey kind of like that Las Vegas Trikes Company does.  I had a chance this year to see the wonderful Orange County Choppers team up in Sturgis. Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. and Mikey were all there along with a few others selling gobs and gobs of t-shirts. Wow when you become successful in the motorcycle business you sell 18 wheelers full of T-shirts. So rule of thumb if you see a shirt of a motorcycle builder in Walmart they are doing well.  Next is Jesse James and the whole “ WEST COAST CHOPPERS” seen these guys many times at show never Jesse though. West coast choppers makes some cool stuff and when they set up for a show they got a big inflatable iron cross and a bunch of couches and everyone is just hanging out. Another person I did not get to meet but has a large following is Indian Larry. God rest his soul.  But it seems they now have the Indian Larry Foundation that is selling stuff. Not sure if its family or just a rip off, Ill have to get back to you on that. Then we go with some old timers in the business that would be the Ness brothers and Paul Yaffee. I personally met Arlen Ness and Paul Yaffe a while back in passing. Seemed nice enough. Arlen had some of his bikes up in Sturgis and Thunder Road and the lines of people just gawking at them were unreal. Smaller companies coming up are people like Mid-West Choppers and Big Bear Choppers and Voodoo and even Big Dog. Ohh yeah cant forget Redneck Choppers nice guys great gimmick. Also another person I met in Sturgis that people went crazy over was Rick Fairless from Strokers Dallas.