Like most people who ride, I never gave a lick of thought ta dealin’ with a handicap while still keepin’ yer knees in the breeze. That is, until last August, when my wife, Reggie, had a spinal cord surgery go bad, resultin’ in the loss of all feeling in her left side from mid-rib cage down. Still out of it from the anesthesia, she kept telling me that she couldn’t feel her shifter foot.
Well, as it turns out, that was just the tip of the fuckin’ iceburg. She also can’t feel her leg, or half her ass. She can’t balance, or put her foot down at stops, so two wheels ain’t an option anymore. She thought she’d never be able ta ride again, but I promised her that she’d by-God be ridin’ by Christmas, an’ this ol’ dog don’t lie! (Well, not about that, anyway). We started lookin’ at options, an’ she told me she damn-well wasn’t gonna ride a bike with trainin’ wheels, so that eliminated a possibility right from the get-go. She said no ta the sidehack theory too, so that left trikes as the only logical option. We talked about gettin’ a ready made trike, but there was no way in Hell she was gonna turn loose of her beloved 100th anniversary, gold key package, blinged out Heritage, so I started lookin’ at kits.
I found a bunch of great lookin’ components, an’ a couple of kits that looked promising, then my ol’ amigo, Red Baker, showed up on his, an’ Reggie was in love. I asked him what breed of cat it was, an’ he said it’s a Champion.
I went through Foster, at Foster’s Bike Shop in Fresno to order the kit. He’s the Champion dealer for the area, an’ a long time friend of mine, too. It took about a month ta get the thing shipped here, but when it arrived, I was duly impressed. All the hard parts were powder-coated gloss black, an’ the differential was a billet unit with disc brakes that looked bullet proof. Coil over shocks an’ nice mag wheels an’ Dunlop tires rounded out the package. It even came with stainless steel Bassani mufflers.
After strippin’ the ass-end off the Heritage, I started by transferrin’ the swingarm bearings over ta the trike swingarm. Ya use all the stock swingarm spacers an’ bolts, too. Everything went together as smooth as if they were factory Harley parts. The differential mounts went on next, an’ it’s a pretty slick setup. The differential slides onto 1-inch dowels, an’ the plates have alignment slots to true everything up. The differential splits in the middle so ya can get the belt on, an’ then slides onto the dowels one side at a time.
The top shock mount goes on next, an’ mounts ta the stock frame horns for the fender struts. With the shocks installed, the body mount goes on, an’ mounts ta the fender strut holes, an’ to the shock mount. Once everything’s on an’ in position, ya just align the differential, snug up the belt ta specs, and tighten it all down. Ya better bleed the brakes now, ‘cause it’s tougher with the body on.
Last, the body sits on the mounts, an’ stays put thanks to six 3/8-inch bolts. They offer several options on the body, from bare gellcoat to fully painted, but we opted for the gellcoat, since she wants me to paint it black an’ pink.
The body comes with all the wiring installed, an’ ya just plug it into yer stock wiring harness.
The kit calls for “true dual” header pipes, ta use with the included mufflers, but with the modifications I had ta make to the shifter, I couldn’t use ‘em. I stuck a set of Jesse James “Hellbent”s on it, an’ they worked fine with the body clearance.
I was really pleased with the Champion kit. Everything looked great, fit just like it was supposed to, an’ lined up without a problem. It’s a bit pricy at around eight thousand bucks, but shit… What’s it worth ta be able ta ride again?
You can contact Champion at:
Champion Motorcycle Accessories International Inc.
(800) 875-0949 or (714) 847-0949
Or, ya can contact ol’ Foster at:
Foster’s Bike Shop
2217 N. Pleasant
Fresno, Ca. 93705
(559) 486-5656
For those of ya who’re interested, I’m gonna tell ya about the other modifications I made so Reggie can ride.
I had ta move the shifter to the right side, so she shifts and brakes with her right foot. I could’ve gone to a centrifugal clutch with a jocky shift, but with a trike, I wanted both of her hands on the bars at all times. I used a cable ta operate the shifter, an’ I had ta play with the length of the arms ta get the shifter throw right, so the shifter pedal moves about as far as the stock one did. I used an old forward control brake pedal I had layin’ around for the shifter, an’ it worked out great.
I had ta make a foot retainer for the left foot board, an’ because she can’t feel one side of her butt, she wanted arm rests ta make her feel more secure. I used an old passenger foot peg mount for a rigid frame chopper, an’ some scrap metal ta make the arm rest mounts, then made the arm rests out’a 1 X 2-inch steel tubing, shimmed the pivot bolts with fiber washers for tension, an’ covered ‘em with ½-inch foam. I incorporated a backrest between the armrest mounts, an’ painted everything with black wrinkle finish paint that I baked in the oven ta cure. (Yeah, it fuckin’ STINKS!)
With a little ingenuity an’ a big box of scrap parts, she was back in the wind.
It took a lot of time an’ effort, but it’s damn-well worth it ta look over an’ see her grinnin’ at me again while we’re ridin’ down the road!
