There’s not much Dan Herstein doesn’t know about motorcycles, but it’s his niche business of converting two-wheel bikes into customized trikes that has established him as a conversion guru in the bike world.

Herstein moved his business, H & H Trikes & Custom Baggers, from Helena to the Flathead Valley a year ago. After operating his one-man shop in Lakeside for the first three months, he outgrew that place and headed to Kalispell to set up shop in the former Brass and Bullets building at 27056 U.S. 93 S.

He’s already contemplating expanding into more space within that building — and hiring help for the first time. His son, Daniel, is helping him get a shop up and running in Nashville, Tennessee.

Herstein tapped into the trike conversion business 20 years ago and has seen an explosion of interest in the three-wheelers in recent years. Some of the uptick no doubt is from baby boomers wanting the stability of a trike, but Herstein said riders of all ages are choosing the safety and comfort of the three-wheel motorcycles.

Some bikers choose three-wheelers because they’re able to hold more gear while providing stability.

When a group of motorcyclists roll into a community these days, “one or two in every batch is a trike,” he said, explaining that trikes once were a specialty reserved largely for disabled riders. “They’re a lot more prevalent now. They’re so popular.”

Herstein, 58, has been building and selling bikes since the 1970s and got his start in Southern California. After visiting Montana he fell in love with the Big Sky State and moved his family and bike shop to Helena in 1984.

It was a chance meeting with a trike specialist at the Sturgis, South Dakota, motorcycle rally in the early 1990s that sparked his interest in conversions. He had ridden into Sturgis on a chopped low-rider and was walking a little stiffly when he approached John Lehman’s booth that showcased trikes.

Lehman told Herstein he looked like he could have used another wheel on his bike for the long haul. They became good friends, and Lehman, a pioneer in establishing modern-day motorcycle trikes, was Herstein’s mentor until his death in 2012.

Herstein wasted no time in starting H & H Trikes in 1995 in Helena. Trike converters are few and far between, and Herstein has the only certified trike conversion shop in the region. He has sold more than 1,000 trikes over the past 20 years to riders around the world.

An average conversion costs about $11,500 while customized builds can go as high as $20,000 or so.

The H & H stands for Harleys and Hondas, but Herstein works on Indian and Victory bikes and whatever customers bring his way. About two-thirds of his work is done on Harley Davidson bikes, still the icon for those pursuing “the American Dream,” he said.

In addition to his custom work, Herstein is an authorized dealer for Lehman Trikes and Champion Trikes and also recently became a dealer for Baggster, a product line that features hard-surface side compartments that can transform a stock cruiser into a custom bagger.

Herstein was featured in the September 2014 issue of Bagger magazine, in an article called “Mutant Bagger” that show him riding one of his customized builds.

His Kalispell showroom is lined with custom trikes.

“I always keep an inventory and keep some in stock,” he said.

Herstein is a real diplomat when it comes to pledging allegiance to any one brand name.

“I like ’em all,” he said. “As long as it has a motor and wheels, I’m happy.”

His affection for motorcycles might be hereditary, he added.

“My grandfather met my grandmother on a motorcycle,” he related. “She was on a hay wagon and he kept circling around. By the third pass grandma was on the back of the bike.”

Herstein’s children also are into bikes. His daughter, Hannah, a senior this fall at Flathead High School, owns three bikes that he expects she’ll sell to help pay for her college tuition.

He and his family don’t get too attached to any one bike.

“I can always build more,” Herstein said. “Besides, someone’s always gotta have it worse than me.”

For more information about H & H Trikes & Customer Baggers, go to www.trikeit.com or call 406-458-4762.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.