Converting a Harley-Davidson Trike to Two Wheels
“I’ve never wanted a trike and my rigid-frame days are over, so I cut off the rear trike section and grafted on the Sportster swing-arm,” said Ernie.
NOW riding for 70 plus years; I keep imagining ‘this’ will be my last motorcycle; actually, this is my fifth last motorcycle. My first bike was a WLA back in high school and I’ve built several flatheads since.
Last year I had a hankering for a winter project (not wise for us adventurers to get restless) and a friend had a G model ServiCar in boxes. After selling several bass guitars, amps and various other sound equipment, I bought the engine, transmission and frame. My main riding buddy had a 1973 rusted-out XLH Sportster that had no engine that he was willing to trade out.
I’ve never wanted a trike and my rigid-frame days are over, so I cut off the rear trike section and grafted on the Sportster swing-arm — no small feat.
With small parts and much advice from Abe at 45 Restoration, the project came together quickly. Also with help and tools from family and friends, it rednecked together pretty smoothly.
There are around 10 different years of Harley parts. The engine, now sporting a VM34 Mikuni and auto advance timer, had not run for decades. It started in less than 10 kicks, and after reasonable tuning, it starts first kick every time (assuming I remember to turn on the fuel).
I’ve not run a suicide clutch for a few years so it took some getting used to and reminds me why they don’t build them any more.
The bike runs great and I ride it pretty much daily for sort rides. To help with final gear ratio, I went with the largest engine sprocket: 34 tooth.
In my small town the police don’t seem to notice motorcyclists much and running straight drag pipes is no problem. It’s no very fast but it is loud.
I started with no generator. So with LED lights and the Sportster coil I’ve only ran a lithium-ion battery which has never ran down on any ride. Cousin Tony sent me a generator recently which I will install this winter for the tear-down to pretty things up.
The insurance company needed a model for the policy and I described the combination of the XL and the G models and they designated it an XLG — the first I’ve heard off.
Ernie in Oregon
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