at Motor Trike, the admiration is mutual. These folks aren't just fellow employees, they're good friends who work hard and like doing good work. Again, that American work ethic our grandparents used to talk about.           
    Back on the assembly floor next morning, I found technician Richard Graham once again up to his elbows in our silver GL1800. He'd installed the pneumatic lines and on-board air compressor to feed the air bags. There's a handy air gauge, toggle switch for the compressor and relief valve so the trike rider can increase or decrease the air in the rear suspension while on the fly. Motor Trike made their patented adjustable air bag suspension, now standard throughout all their kits, an optional upgrade available for all older Motor Trikes. A significant percentage of current Motor Trike owners have retrofitted their machines to take advantage of this system that means a comfy ride one-up or two-up, with the option to stiffen the suspension for a sportier ride, suitable for twisties and long sweepers.
     By mid-morning, the tail lights were installed and checked, the 3.2 cubic-foot trunk's lid mechanism was operational, the color-matched trunk lid and interior light were in place, the Wing's stock travel trunk was back in place and the rear wheels were on. Next on were the license plate bracket, the tubular nerf bumper and the original exhaust system and mufflers.                                                      
    By mid-afternoon, the trike was down off the lift and firmly planted on its own three wheels, Richard sprawled out beneath it to fine-tune the heim joint adjustments of the ladder bar suspension, verifying that all measurements were spot-on. This adjustability compensates for inherent variations in what motorcycle manufacturers refer to as "non-critical tolerances" in the manufacture of their frames.                                                        
    We opted for a set of Aqua Shields, so another tubular frame was attached below the Wing's cockpit. To this, the colormatched

 fiberglass shields, complete with adjustable foot vents and rubber floor mats, were solidly attached. Like running boards on your grandfather's Ford, the Aqua Shields will support your weight climbing on and off the trike, and will deflect rain, pavement heat, gravel and road debris. Their sculpted lines flow smoothly into the rear fenders.                                                    
    Our trike also got the full treatment up front with a gleaming Cruise Concepts billet wheel to match the gleaming wheels on the back. Cruise Concepts of Texas, Ltd. makes a variety of motorcycle dress-up features, including custom rear swing arms, fenders, fuel tanks, handlebars and wheels. What began as a sideline for Motor Trike is quickly growing into a respectable profit center on its own merits. Once again, the company's talented staff widened its horizons and expanded its product line.                  
    With the conversion process complete, Richard donned his helmet, hopped on the trike and gave it a brisk run down the road. We both wanted to be sure everything was as it should be, as my maiden voyage on the trike, the 1200-mile trek back to Arizona, would begin the following morning, and rain showers were likely en route. Richard returned satisfied, so we pulled it out in front of the showroom and I took delivery.     
    "Hold it!" cried Jeffrey. He hurried inside and came out with a can of tire dressing. I protested, pointing out that his efforts would be for naught after I hit the first puddle. "Sorry," Jeff said, "but I want every trike that goes out of here to be up to our standards." A cynic might suggest the gesture was for show, knowing I'd be writing this article, but I don't think so. Too many times, and in too many small ways, I noticed the Motor Trike culture carried out when nobody was aware I was watching. Stuff like clean, orderly workspaces, replaceable drip papers in the fiberglass
rooms, frequently emptied trash bins and technicians that were free to walk back to the welders, point out a better way to weld an assembly, and come back in two minutes with the welding done and no protest.                 
                                       

    Richard gave me his personal Motor Trike business card and scribbled his personal e-mail address on a scrap of yellow paper. "Let me know if you ever have any kind of problems with this trike." Again, genuine, personal concern for the customer's well-being.                    
    Now at the end of the workday, Richard and I headed from the Motor Trike plant to Sweet Sue's, a restaurant where GWRRA's Chapter TX-Y2 holds its monthly dinner meeting. Blasting along on two GL1800 Spyder Motor Trikes, we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves. The trike handled tautly through the corners, briskly down the starightaways, and with all the quiet, comfortable, understated elegance of the host machine.                                                       
    At a traffic light, a well-dressed lady in a Lexus with Texas plates pulled up in the lane alongside me. She slid down the passenger window and called out to me.                                          
    "That a Motor Trike?"                                 
    "Yes, M'am," I replied.                        
    "Jeff & Diane Vey?"                                    
     "Yes, M'am."                                               
     "Good people!" she said with a big smile. "Good people."                                            
     With that she slid up the window and turned left when the light changed, leaving me with one more witness to how these people and their presence in their community is perceived.
    Not a bad legacy.                                       
    Not a bad legacy indeed.