Sadistic Trike to Re-Ignite

DANNY WAS always very keen to own a Harley-Davidson but all his hopes were dashed when, on the way to work as a passenger in a work truck, the worst happened—a severe crash. The aftermath left Danny in a wheelchair. But he didn’t give up on owning a Harley-Davidson and started to search around, talking to different shops. He told me of his frustration when many shops were not interested in helping him. Eventually, he phoned Gosford Custom Cycles and spoke to Mick who showed Dan a very neat custom he had for sale. Nothing seemed to be a problem for Mick, even organising a trike conversion and all the bits to help Dan get on the road.

“I can’t believe how helpful Mick was,” said Danny. “It went from a fading plan to full-steam-ahead.”

Mick called in Merv to measure up and build a custom-made diff assembly.

When the diff was finished, Tony (Ozbike contributor) helped Merv fit it and wire the rear lighting and reverse, fit the steering dampener and Kliktronic electric shifter.

Learning to ride a trike

This took care of all the basic things to get Danny on the road so he could start learning how to ride the trike.

“I had in my mind the customising that I wanted to do on the trike from the early stages,’ said Danny, “but my first priority was to get it on the road.”

After riding around for a while and becoming familiar with the trike’s characteristics, Danny knew exactly the changes he wanted. This time he went to see Mark and Scotty at Pacific Harley Trading Co in Gosford. Scotty had quite a big job in front of him as Danny wanted some major changes.

The electric reverse was removed

The electric reverse was removed and Scotty fitted a reverse gear to the transmission which gives Danny a lot more freedom to get the bike in and out of steep places.

The swingarm had to come out for some tidying up and all the bracketry was removed from the diff housing; other parts were sent to the chromers. Repainting for the diff and guards was taken care of by Blake at Killer Customs after extensive metal surgery.

Indicators are now fitted into the swingarm ends. A belt drive primary was fitted which makes things a lot smoother. Twin Mikunis were fitted for some extra grunt. Braided cables and lines were also fitted as were many polished stainless dress-up surrounds.

Danny is over the moon with the finished product; it turned out just how he wanted.

“Without the positive attitude from Mick at Gosford Custom Cycles, and Mark and Scotty at Pacific Harley Trading, my dream of getting on a Harley-Davidson would just not have happened,” said Danny.

All the damn hard work paid off when Danny took out Best Trike at the Silverwater, Maitland and Bankstown shows.

“My extreme thanks go to all involved,” said Danny. “The trike is a real head-turner.”

words & pics by Tony Sewell