Welcome to the Worldwide V8 Bikers Forum

John...heard about your crash while I was at Biketoberfest..shitty news..but the good news is it could have been way worse...you are here!

Honestly...It is time for a trike!!!!! I have never had so much relaxed fun in my 44 years of riding than the last 4 with the trike. Forced to the trike due to Gwen's health but I am 100% happy to be riding a V8 trike...shitloads of fun. I never wish I had a bike instead..not once.

All it takes is to spend some time on one and you will change your mind.

All the best my V8 friend.

You guys can stop with trying to get John on a trike. It aint gonna happen. He is a good rider and could ride a regular bike for many more years if he wanted to. The Boss Hoss is not a Ducati and we were on roads made for Ducati's, there was hardly ever a straight section and the turns were tight. It was the worst possible road for the Boss Hoss because it was a ride with our club and we tend to ride fast, not necessarily safe but fast, thats a fact. Normally no one crashes but we have had SEVERAL guys crash over the years on these type of roads. Some guys can't ride as good as others but its usually a case of a big road bike trying to keep up with smaller bikes like FXR's or DYNA's. It don't matter how good a rider you are there becomes a time when the thing you are riding can't compete with the thing the other guy is riding. We as a club have discussed this but we are ALL hardheaded and other than a lot of yelling nothing changes. We are motorcycle guys and we have attitudes. I am 75 years old, LaFong is a kid. He can ride just fine but it wasn't his day, he just didn't want to be last. Everyone has a time when they want to quit, even trike guys. Trikes are not safer, thats a fact. John might change his mind some day, I've seen it happen. In either case our club will miss him but we love him and respect his decision. He will still be witty, he broke his arm not his attitude.

SQ4MN wrote:You guys can stop with trying to get John on a trike. It aint gonna happen. He is a good rider and could ride a regular bike for many more years if he wanted to. The Boss Hoss is not a Ducati and we were on roads made for Ducati's, there was hardly ever a straight section and the turns were tight. It was the worst possible road for the Boss Hoss because it was a ride with our club and we tend to ride fast, not necessarily safe but fast, thats a fact. Normally no one crashes but we have had SEVERAL guys crash over the years on these type of roads. Some guys can't ride as good as others but its usually a case of a big road bike trying to keep up with smaller bikes like FXR's or DYNA's. It don't matter how good a rider you are there becomes a time when the thing you are riding can't compete with the thing the other guy is riding. We as a club have discussed this but we are ALL hardheaded and other than a lot of yelling nothing changes. We are motorcycle guys and we have attitudes. I am 75 years old, LaFong is a kid. He can ride just fine but it wasn't his day, he just didn't want to be last. Everyone has a time when they want to quit, even trike guys. Trikes are not safer, thats a fact. John might change his mind some day, I've seen it happen. In either case our club will miss him but we love him and respect his decision. He will still be witty, he broke his arm not his attitude.

Just curious and I don't want to start an argument...a short discussion maybe...but I need to ask how can you point blank say trikes are not safer?? are there any stats to back that up?

La Fong,
HATE it that you crashed.
Glad you will mend.
We all want you to be well.
Keep us posted on your healing,
keep your attitude "singing" to us,
and let us know whatever your next project may be.
We are SURE you'll come up with "something" !

CanuckHoss wrote:

SQ4MN wrote:You guys can stop with trying to get John on a trike. It aint gonna happen. He is a good rider and could ride a regular bike for many more years if he wanted to. The Boss Hoss is not a Ducati and we were on roads made for Ducati's, there was hardly ever a straight section and the turns were tight. It was the worst possible road for the Boss Hoss because it was a ride with our club and we tend to ride fast, not necessarily safe but fast, thats a fact. Normally no one crashes but we have had SEVERAL guys crash over the years on these type of roads. Some guys can't ride as good as others but its usually a case of a big road bike trying to keep up with smaller bikes like FXR's or DYNA's. It don't matter how good a rider you are there becomes a time when the thing you are riding can't compete with the thing the other guy is riding. We as a club have discussed this but we are ALL hardheaded and other than a lot of yelling nothing changes. We are motorcycle guys and we have attitudes. I am 75 years old, LaFong is a kid. He can ride just fine but it wasn't his day, he just didn't want to be last. Everyone has a time when they want to quit, even trike guys. Trikes are not safer, thats a fact. John might change his mind some day, I've seen it happen. In either case our club will miss him but we love him and respect his decision. He will still be witty, he broke his arm not his attitude.

Just curious and I don't want to start an argument...a short discussion maybe...but I need to ask how can you point blank say trikes are not safer?? are there any stats to back that up?

First off let it be known that I built my first trike in 1964 with a PANHEAD motor in it. I also have owned and ridden V8 BOSS HOSS Trikes and V8 CHOPPER trikes. My logic is this. Trikes are wider and therefore your escape options from a bad situation are cut way down. Trikes handle worse and require you to use brute strength in order to
make them turn, when they do turn the front wheel skids or plows as it is being forced to to something it does not want to do. A bike leans and the front wheel is under very little stress. Bikes normally stop quicker as they weigh less, this could be argued if one is riding a V8 bike as all of them have shity brakes. Folks get a false sense of safety on a trike because the don't fall down when stopped, it is very rare for a guy on a bike to just topple over when he comes to a stop so this is not a big advantage. I always hear guys say their knees are weak so they can't ride a bike anymore. You shouldn't have to hold a bike up with strength, it should be balanced so that it almost holds itself up. However if your mind tells you that you are to old or weak to ride a bike then you probably are. In the event of a collision with anything either a bike rider or a trike rider will most likely be ejected so they are probably equal in the amount of injury they will suffer, however if a bike lands on top of you it will most likely do less damage than if a trike lands on top of you, in the case of a Boss Hoss bike since it already weighs to much it probably won't matter. The worst thing about a trike compared to a bike is it handles worse and takes up to much room cutting down escape options. As far as safety goes neither one is a good thing to be on if it crashes but the chances of crashing instead of avoiding a crash are greater on a trike if both are in the exact same situation. Most wives think if their husband gets a trike they will live a long and happy life where as if he gets a bike she will not have a husband very much longer and their children won't have a dad. When I am selling bikes or trikes and I hear that from a wife I try to tell her that maybe she should nip this motorcycle shit in the bud and try to get her husband to just collect stamps, no one has been injured or died doing that. Its something they both can do together without the stress of falling over.

[/quote]

First off let it be known that I built my first trike in 1964 with a PANHEAD motor in it. I also have owned and ridden V8 BOSS HOSS Trikes and V8 CHOPPER trikes. My logic is this. Trikes are wider and therefore your escape options from a bad situation are cut way down. Trikes handle worse and require you to use brute strength in order to
make them turn, when they do turn the front wheel skids or plows as it is being forced to to something it does not want to do. A bike leans and the front wheel is under very little stress. Bikes normally stop quicker as they weigh less, this could be argued if one is riding a V8 bike as all of them have shity brakes. Folks get a false sense of safety on a trike because the don't fall down when stopped, it is very rare for a guy on a bike to just topple over when he comes to a stop so this is not a big advantage. I always hear guys say their knees are weak so they can't ride a bike anymore. You shouldn't have to hold a bike up with strength, it should be balanced so that it almost holds itself up. However if your mind tells you that you are to old or weak to ride a bike then you probably are. In the event of a collision with anything either a bike rider or a trike rider will most likely be ejected so they are probably equal in the amount of injury they will suffer, however if a bike lands on top of you it will most likely do less damage than if a trike lands on top of you, in the case of a Boss Hoss bike since it already weighs to much it probably won't matter. The worst thing about a trike compared to a bike is it handles worse and takes up to much room cutting down escape options. As far as safety goes neither one is a good thing to be on if it crashes but the chances of crashing instead of avoiding a crash are greater on a trike if both are in the exact same situation. Most wives think if their husband gets a trike they will live a long and happy life where as if he gets a bike she will not have a husband very much longer and their children won't have a dad. When I am selling bikes or trikes and I hear that from a wife I try to tell her that maybe she should nip this motorcycle shit in the bud and try to get her husband to just collect stamps, no one has been injured or died doing that. Its something they both can do together without the stress of falling over.[/quote]

I appreciate your reply. Interesting read.

BUT..without statistics you and I only have our opinions based on our experiences about the safety of bikes versus trikes. We differ and that is truly OK....it is what makes us individuals.

Have a an awesome SAFE day regardless of your choice of ride.

Yes it was an interesting read from Dave and a nice reply from Barry.

Dear New Friends,

Most respectfully, there is scientific info on the REVERSE trike configuration that proves it out corners and out brakes two wheelers of equal weight. The THREE tires have flat bottoms, hence more road contact. The stability is maximized with correct frame design, (Can Am- like); here is one extreme way: https://youtu.be/ZX9sqb5JayI?t=1m / Though it's true LARARETH chose a close-coupled, twin rear wheel design, we can surely build this sort machine with a single, fat, low profile/tire wheel. Escape routes for two wheelers being more numerous over trikes due to width, sir, with utmost respect, I humbly will not put that idea above braking and cornering. Even if I took the LAZARETH design and sedated it 25%-50% making it more of an upright cruiser or tourer, the C & B abilities will dominate the two wheeler. The physics does not lie. Again, all due respect. I called this fellow and he is familiar with Boss Hoss bikes and can build his product for them: https://endeavortrikes.com/ I would submit that such a modification is far better than leaving these machines to others...

Bottom line is that it doesn't matter.......bike,trike,unicycle, I'm done. My wife has never been a biker chick. She worries about me every time I climb on that thing. We've been a couple for 54 years. It's time to respect her wishes and find another amusement. One could get a severe paper cut from a stamp, so I will seek out a safe hobby. I may start to collect Hummel figurines or spoons from all of the National Parks.

AdvenJack wrote:Dear New Friends,

Most respectfully, there is scientific info on the REVERSE trike configuration that proves it out corners and out brakes two wheelers of equal weight. The THREE tires have flat bottoms, hence more road contact. The stability is maximized with correct frame design, (Can Am- like); here is one extreme way: https://youtu.be/ZX9sqb5JayI?t=1m / Though it's true LARARETH chose a close-coupled, twin rear wheel design, we can surely build this sort machine with a single, fat, low profile/tire wheel. Escape routes for two wheelers being more numerous over trikes due to width, sir, with utmost respect, I humbly will not put that idea above braking and cornering. Even if I took the LAZARETH design and sedated it 25%-50% making it more of an upright cruiser or tourer, the C & B abilities will dominate the two wheeler. The physics does not lie. Again, all due respect. I called this fellow and he is familiar with Boss Hoss bikes and can build his product for them: https://endeavortrikes.com/ I would submit that such a modification is far better than leaving these machines to others...

I will admit that a trike can out corner a bike as I have many years of experience doing just that when I was in my twenties. It can be done but you better be a real athlete not the average up in age overweight motorcycle or trike rider that is normally riding the road on these things. If the turns are tight you are in for a harrowing ride. Don't discount the width as being no big deal, the rear tires can easily snag on something in a problematic situation that a bike will narrowly avoid. Bikes today can stop quicker than trikes and easier no matter what the tire foot print is due to weight. I have ridden both for sixty years and ridden them hard for many of those years, a bike on the road can easily out handle a trike because its easier on a bike. A Boss Hoss or V8 Chopper bike is not what I am talking about as they are to heavy to ever handle really good, they just do fine for what they are. NORMAL bike weighing under 600 pounds are safer than trikes, thats my opinion from 60 years of input. Stats can be twisted and usually are for whatever purpose but nothing beats experience.

Let us not forget that the trikes of yester year most likely had solid axles and not differentials. That is unless you put a dtive shaft on thet old Harley, or figured out how to spin the final drive with a belt. Let us also not forget how bad the Honda big red trikes were and how many people they killed/injured. Why? Solid axles,hence the plowing in corners. Having a limited slip final drive helps alot with corners as we all know from trike building 101, inside wheel spins faster than outside wheel in a corner to keep wheels from hopping. Torsion bars would help too. We used to weld the spider gears in the rear diffs to dirt track them and give true posi. Lol, those were the days.
I think by design the Hoss' dont lend themselves to cornering well or fast at the best of times. So, rider eror combined with bad design, was a crash waiting to happen.
If the man wants to hang up his chaps, so be it. No prodding will get the man back up on any horse. I think respectfully this subject should be put to bed.
As far as trikes vs bikes, apples and oranges.
Ulyssesj

Here's Carl taking his new ride for a spin around the block..

Ulyssesj wrote:
If the man wants to hang up his chaps, so be it... I think respectfully this subject should be put to bed.
Ulyssesj

I must say, you are RIGHT.
Maybe it's time for:
https://youtu.be/onc27WAeATk?t=33s

The simple truth about trikes, IMHO is that they can be seen a lot better by cars and trucks. With that being said, I tend to agree with Barry whole hearted. I know this doesn't apply while out on the twisties and away from cars and trucks, but all around riding, I believe they are safer. I will agree with Dave about crashing on a bike or a trike, the end results are NOT good. A friend of mine out here in Michigan, about a year and a half ago was cut off by a Mini-Cooper in city traffic while riding his Boss Hoss trike at about 35-40 mph. The trike was totaled and my friend who was not wearing a helmet at the time has brain damage today and no drivers license. It took about a year of physical therapy for him to be able to walk again. I doubt that he will ever ride anything ever again because of the brain damage. Sad story, but true.

Having road bikes and trikes for only 40 years I in my limited experience would like to say they are two completely different animals and cant be compared. It doesn’t matter what you drive or ride, a situation may arise in anything that will cause an accident. Take a BH on to an icy car park then take a trike. More fun on a trike. Then go find four lanes of stopped traffic. Now which one will you want to be on.
When the shit hits the fan if you stood in front your getting some !!!
Carl, how you’ve managed to defy your wife for so long and stay together is amazing. Let’s all buy volvos and be safe !!

Mr LaFong, I sincerely hope you heal Quickly and correctly with NO lasting side effects. That being said, Perhaps you could look into a 29 - 31 Ford to turn into something stupid cool. Maybe getting a 65 Bug and stuffing a V8 into it. Something not so main stream as a 1st or 2nd gen Camaro or Mustang but not SO off the beaten path that it would require 3 years of time 24/7 creating and fabbing thousands of 1 off parts. That way, mama can ride along in comfort and relative safety to a car show or a night out on the town to the local Burger hop ... Just a thought

fuck it, buy a rocker and a lap top and stay on this site and get it going! heal quick

So sorry to hear this Carl... Hope you heal well.. I'm sure you will (or have ) made the correct decision for you and your family...Please keep in touch here, We need your wit & wisdom!

Mr. LaFong, I wish you a speedy recovery. If in the future you find you miss the adrenaline rush associated with horsepower, there still are other options. A friend of mine built a Factory Five Shelby Cobra. He's constantly boosting its horsepower beyond sane levels. Kind of like Boss Hoss guys only on four wheels. Just saying.

I know both LaFong and his wife who is the sweetest lady you could ever meet pretty well. He has many interests and many talents. He will not be bored. He is a master woodworker among other things. John has always liked motorcycles and motorbikes and scooters, pretty much anything with a motor and two wheels. I don't know what he will do next but he has a 5th wheel trailer and a new truck and grand kids and they both like to travel so he will not be bored.

All of this is very interesting and completely uninformative. Let's all stop BSing each other and ourselves. Here is the unvarnished truth. Motor vehicles kill and maim people......period. Cars are safer. Motorcycles, not as much. That's the truth. Which are the most fun? For me, it's bikes. Always has been, always will. So, which is safer, two or three wheels? Both sides offer compelling arguments. The fact is, if you and your contraption, of choice, part company, well, you're gonna get fucked up. You may end up dead or you might scratch your pinky. When your ass hits the pavement, it doesn't matter what you were riding. I give the trikers a hard time because it's fun. Like Dave, I've built, owned and ridden them. They're OK, but they don't match my riding desires. Can't jam with a pack, can't split lanes so you're always Tail End Charlie. Between Dave and me, we have 115+ years in the saddle. My bullshit filter works pretty well. I've had a hundred people tell me why this is better than that. Usually, they're FOS. Bottom line is, fun can be dangerous. How much fun do you want to have? I'm still gonna have fun. Someone mentioned a Model A. I sold a Model T to buy the BH. I've been looking for an A since the crash. Looking for a stocker that I can do a period hot rod. 4 banger, hi comp head, cam, carbs, 16 inch wires, dropped axle. Just something to fart around with and drive every day. As to the reverse trikes, or lobsters as I call them, they're dumb












i



















/

Looks good enough to be on the next cover of the Boss Hoss magazine along with a little story about the miracles of modern medicine.