North East Trikes

BROTHERS BUILDING A BUSINESS FROM REAL-LIFE SOLUTIONS

It all began in 2006 when Bobby Guglielmo decided to trike his bike after back troubles made him concerned he might drop the bike with his wife on it. Having worked in the auto-body business for years, Guglielmo wasn’t satisfied with parts of the trike install, even though the manufacturer helped him as much as possible. Guglielmo ended up taking his trike apart and rebuilding the entire thing.

Triking bikes became a passion after that. He built a couple more. While riding his new trike, brother Richard saw “how cool” it was, and the pair built a trike from Richard’s Honda Valkyrie. Oldest brother and businessman, Anthony, who hadn’t ridden in years, then came on board. The three brothers began riding together on their trikes and participated in Bike Night at their local Suzy Q’s every Tuesday. When other bikers realized the brothers were a wealth of information, after
rides the trio was bombarded with trike questions and requests for trike builds.

Word spread and folks even came knocking at their Rhode Island homes. The requests pushed the knowledgeable and capable brothers into business in 2010 – and North East Trikes was born. As Bobby Guglielmo explains, “Building trikes is challenging and fun.” He adds jokingly, “We kind of enjoy it.” They enjoy it enough to work on nights and weekends after a full week of work. Unfortunately, Anthony died in 2014, but Bobby and Richard continue to put in the hours past their 40 hours on their day jobs. Business continues to grow.

North East Trikes applies experience to perfectionism. Bobby admits he’s a “picky person,” who further states that Richard is as “picky, if not more” than he. “We are particular about what we do. We live what we preach. If I’m not going to do it with my bike, I’m not going to do it with yours.” Bobby continues, “If I see something I don’t like, I make it better than it needed to be.”

Seventy percent of their work is on Gold Wings though they work on any motorcycle and install any manufacturer’s trike kit. They’ve moved from a small shop in part of Bobby’s house to a new 1800 square foot shop. The pair remodeled Richard’s 146 horse powered Triumph Rocket. The two brothers are a lot like Gold Wing Road Rider Association Members – They own multiple types of bikes. Bobby explains that he’s ridden every Gold Wing available, but he likes things “out of the ordinary.”

That’s why he triked his ’09 Harley- Davidson Electra Glide Classic recently with a Hannigan Transformer kit. They discovered the kit at Americade and choose it based on “its unique styling and versatility.” “It has a removable tour pack, alternate rear cover, and removable side skirts, so you can change its appearance in minutes, depending on your preference. I was looking for something different from the rest, so we had Eagle Eye Paint apply some realistic flames.” The trike also features chrome wheels, auxiliary 4-gallon gas tank (10 gallon total), Rockford Fosgate amp and speakers, Rinehart mufflers with custom-made tips and Champion reverse gear.

The brothers’ work ethics are becoming legend. Who wouldn’t want your bike triked by perfectionists who “won’t let the trike out the door” if “it’s not OK”?