Super Cycle Three-Wheel Conversion
SUPER CYCLE THREE-WHEEL CONVERSION
Neither sand, nor snow, nor dark of night shall keep this bike from its appointed rounds...
Walt Fulton
AS EACH DAY passes, the two-wheeled vehicle becomes an increasingly viable means of transportation. The economy and freedom this type of machine offers assures it an ever-enlarging space in the normal traffic flow. But the fact still remains that a motorcycle's prime function is recreation. Fulfilling this need usually requires the warmth of the summer sun or at least the clemency of spring and fall days. Even the hard-core enthusiast is likely to park his single-tracker in the garage when it rains and content himself with polishing the spokes. And if it snows, there is no doubt about it. But the cold certainly isn't the reason, as witnessed by the mysterious appearance of all those snowmobiles—when that wet white stuff becomes sufficiently packed to support their excess weight.
A Seattle, Washington-based company has recently divested the snow of its power to put your motorcycle in mothballs the minute a few flakes fall by developing a dual-wheel conversion that bolts onto the rear of most bikes and a ski that adapts to the front forks. It seems obvious at first that the SnowKing Super Cycle is intended for the snow; a look at the company's literature will bear this out. But, as we soon learned, this tri-cycle offers more versatility than that. By retaining the bike's front wheel in lieu of the ski, the Super Cycle can be used to cover sandy or muddy areas that a regular motorcycle would find difficult.
We found that the three-wheel conversion had both advantages and disadvantages in the sand and snow, but, all in all, it offered change and challenge to the enthusiast who spends most of his time on two wheels.
To accomplish the snow portion of the test, our copy editor, Virginia DeMoss, and I hopped on a plane to Lake Tahoe. After a roundabout flight via Las Vegas (where we spent the hour-and-a-half layover foolishly feeding our hard-earned nickels to airport slot machines), we were met in Reno by Dick Bradford of SnowKing Enterprises. He had with him a 250 Husky with the conversion kit mounted, on which we set off to charge across freshly plowed roads and powdered fields.
The biggest advantage of the threewheeler over a snowmobile is in the weight department. The conversion adds only 1 5 to 20 pounds to a solo bike, keeping its weight considerably lower than a snowmobile's. And the suspension. . .is it ever neat. This thing can sail over terrain that would bounce a snowmobile to pieces. Just think of what a long-travel rear end would do!
The tires are inflated to roughly six pounds, which acts as a cushion in itself. Traction is good until it gets icy, then hang on; this three-wheeler will swap ends faster than you can believe. The ski does a fine job of pointing the front end in the necessary direction. Once into a turn, it is important to hold the throttle on and lean to the inside to hold that wheel down.
After a day of photos and spinning the Super Cycle around and around, we headed south to the big city. Our snow adventure on the bike was over.
After installing the three-wheel conversion kit onto Joe Parkhurst's XL350 Honda, it was off to the desert. The weather wasn't much better than it was in Tahoe, but it was dry. The wind howled at about 30 mph.
The stock and standard 350 suffered from too much weight and a wee bit too much trail. The conversion's smaller wheels lower the rear of the bike several inches and this pushes out the front. When riding in a straight line this wasn't much of a hindrance, but trying to turn required a great deal of effort. Bradford met us with his trusty Husky, which worked as well in the sand as it had in the snow. It steered easier and quicker than the Honda. In fact, Virginia even tried her luck on the Husky tri-cycle with surprisingly good results.
Testing in this area involved sand washes, rocks and lots of whoop-dedoos. To our expectations, the Super Cycle was somewhat more difficult to ride than a standard motorcycle, but nonetheless fun. Sand washes are no challenge, provided they are wide enough. Bouncing across the rocks is on the shaky side, as the wheel, any wheel, has a tendency to lift at the most inopportune moments. The rider has to be on his toes at all times.
Breaking the tires loose in the snow was no problem and equally easy in the sand, but over firmer ground one of the disadvantages reared its ugly head. The Honda tended to tip over more easily than the Husky on hard stretches because of the increased trail. Judicious control over the throttle opening is important at these times.
Regardless of how hard we tried to abuse the kit, it held up. The aluminum axle is built to provide a certain amount of flex, which it does, without bending. The only difficulty we encountered was in the rear brake set-up. Because of the bends required in the rod, there was too much flex to allow the brake to do its job effectively. The brains behind the Super Cycle are currently working on a revision that will allow a straight throw of the brake rod, thereby eliminating the undue flex. The newly-devised system should be available by the time you read this.
By now you're probably dying to read the price tag on the conversion kit, so. . .the rear end assembly sells for $341. If, in addition, you plan to purchase the front end ski for snow riding, that will cost you an additional $39 in cold cash. For a scant $380 the three-wheel conversion offers versatility and a form of fun never before available to the two-wheeled enthusiast.
If you're interested in the conversion, you may write to SnowKing Enterprises Inc. at 2621 Eastlake East, Seattle, WA 98102, or phone them at (206) 322-6090. As for installing the Super Cycle components on your own bike, read on.
