Hello Trike folks,

A friend's husband had some medical complications and had to have his right foot amputated last year. Prior to the surgery he just purchased a new 2008 Ultra ElectraGlide that he just loves. Lately he has been considering selling it and it is really depressing him. I noticed someone at a stop sign on a goldwing have retractable wheels and that made me think that he could do this. I noticed an ad from www.landingear.com in the back of HotBikes and figured that this might be the ticket for what he is looking for.

Has any of you used or use this setup? He will still be able to put his feet down, but he will need the added stability of something like this. From everything that I read and the vids from the www.landingear.com website the system looks like it would work pretty good. I want to push him towards this solution, but I don't want him to get hurt because I didn't do enough research on the topic. So feedback from users of the product would be greatly appreciated. Or if you use something similar from someone else please chime in and give feedback on your setup.

Quick responses would be appreciated due to the fact that he is getting very excited about riding again.

Thank you in advance for your responses, Ralph

 

I think your friend is throwing himself under the bus so to speak. I have a buddy who lost his foot and lower shin and he still rides 2 wheels up on both a Roadking and Softail with no assist from a something like this.

Thinking about your buddy losing his right foot he may need to change the angle of the brake pedal slightly to make it easier for him to press. That is easily done by cutting the brake pad plate off and re-angling it.

Tell your buddy to think positive and try not to give up so easily

Just so you, Im a above the left knee amputee ( thanks to a hit n run driver in 07) and had to go to a trike.

PS heres another kit that works the same way>>> http://www.trikealternative.com/ghostwheels.shtml

 

My husband is a below knee amputee on the right side and still rides his '08 Dyna CVO. He had a dealer change the angle and and move the brake pedal out a little and add mid foot pegs in addition to forward controls and is having the time of his life riding again! Tell your friend it might take a while, but not to give up!

 

i'm missing my right arm at the shoulder, courtesy of a drunk driver in '06, and have found a way to ride. it has to be his choice and nobody would think any less of him if he decides to stop riding, but there are many resources for him to research so as to get it done if he chooses that he wants to ride again.

good luck and any of us that have been there can attest that it won't be an easy journey, but that makes it all that much more special when he takes that first ride.

ride hard and safe...

grimm

 

Thanks folks for the encouragement and sharing your issues. Would you folks be willing to chat with my friend if I get him to join this forum.. maybe private chat with him to give him the encouragement that he needs to try this without the legup setup. His wife is telling me that he really is excited at the prospect of being able to ride again... maybe he just thought that it would be too dangerous to try this on his own.

Plus help me understand how someone with their right foot gone would function. Would they just hold the foot brake and hold the bike up with their left foot while at a stop sign? That is my guess.

Thank you again for your help..... and god bless you folks for not giving up on your passion and getting back out in the wind again! I'm pretty sure that I'd be their with you folks if god forbid anything bad ever happened to me on the bike... something about riding the bike just soothes my soul better than anything else!

Ralph

 

Myself I wouldn't put 100% trust in this product. If it fails to come down or it just fails your going to fall over, you can't help it because your not going to expect it and may not be able to catch it when it happens. If you happen to stop in the right place on the street with a dip or pot hole on either side there is a good chance you may fall over. Just not something I would put much faith in. I've seen guys with prosthetic limbs ride a bike I'm sure your friend could with some practice. If I was him I would take a motorcycle training course where they provide the bike this way if it gets dropped its not his.

 

Because your friend has no flex in his prosthetic he can no longer tilt his foot forward. If you look at the brake pedal pad angle now its not flat enough for him to make good contact when pressing it. Depending on his height and leg inseam the angle of the pad will be determined by thise 2 factors

As far as hold the bike up, I figure at the moment hes most likely dealing with a lot of nerve pains ( I know all to well about them ) if the he lost his foot recently
But if he continues to walk and become use to his new prosthetic he will adjust

Has he tried sitting on the bike and seeing if he can hold the bike up with someone there to help?

If wants to ask question there are many people here with experience and advice for him to listen to and make a decison about what will fit his needs the best.

I have been through several modification to make things work for me since my hit n run. Overcoming Adversity is the path to better ideas!!

 

I just found out today that he also has Nuropathy (sure I spelled that wrong), but when that hits him he wouldn't be able to hold up the bike. He talked to the vender of the legup gizmo and will do more research this week. He is really determined to get this for his bike. I'll let you folks know what else he finds out.

Thanks again, Ralph

 

If he is that determined then he should try the product. If worse comes to worse he could always trike his present bike. That certainly would be better than not riding at all.

I have no issues with a trike. They are certainly comfortable to ride. I don't bar hop. My wife and I generally log 15,000 miles per summer touring. I also log several thousand miles touring with my son. It doesn't get and better than that

 

15K plus a year is more than most people do in the lifetime of having a bike.. keep it up man.. you rock!