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I’m new to the trike world. I bought an ’03 GL1800 with a Champion trike kit. Yesterday I was going real slow with my hands off the handlebars and hit a rough spot in the road, and the handlebars started slapping back and forth real fast. Scared the beegeebers outa me. I’ve been told two things. 1. The steering head nut is too loose. 2. This is not unheard of on a Goldwing. Any comments?
[QUOTE=controlu;670142]I’m new to the trike world. I bought an ’03 GL1800 with a Champion trike kit. Yesterday I was going real slow with my hands off the handlebars and hit a rough spot in the road, and the handlebars started slapping back and forth real fast. Scared the beegeebers outa me. I’ve been told two things. 1. The steering head nut is too loose. 2. This is not unheard of on a Goldwing. Any comments?[/QUOTE]
#3. which should be # 1.....Don't take your hands off the bars,
''Especially'' over bumps......And it won't happen again....:Shrug:...
Even with a rake kit, some trail is still present, meaning "like a caster". A trike has three wheels, bumps mean resistance. On a trike, if the right rear wheel encounters a bump, etc, the trike is pulled right … and that front wheel wants to follow. Rake kit will reduce this, but it is a fact with trikes.
[B]Keep hands[/B] ([COLOR=#b22222][I]at least one[/I][/COLOR]) [B]on handlebars. [/B]On uneven driveways & roadways, you'll still feel it but it'll remain controlled then.
[QUOTE=rhino 2;670145]#3. which should be # 1.....Don't take your hands off the bars,
''Especially'' over bumps......And it won't happen again....:Shrug:...[/QUOTE]
I was going all of 5 mph., in a parking lot, and had an itch.
[QUOTE=controlu;670204]I was going all of 5 mph., in a parking lot, and had an itch.[/QUOTE]
Thats all it takes........Good thing you weren't going any faster....:crossing:..
Remember experience is the best teacher...
A fork brace might help the situation.
I've had three wheel motorcycles since 1970. I always have one hand on the bars. I learned a long time ago prevention is the best in this case. Even if you've never experienced it. Well it can happen at most any speed. When it happens if you don't get your hands on the bars real quick, it can get ugly in a hurry. Once it starts they'll oscillate so fast you can't grab them. Thats how my friend flipped his sidecar. It finally darted to the right and he was goin down the road with the rig on top of him.
Seems like steering dampeners are called for. I know Harley is now putting them on their bikes.
Why would anyone not have at least one hand on the handlebars at any speed?
Your hands are the steering damper.
Just an opinion here! Steering dampers and fork braces are a waste of ones money:Coffee:
Yes, especially Gold Wings have a tendency to wobble on decel around 40mph and less. Yes, rake kits will lessen this condition.
This has nothing to do with your post of having a "tank slapper" at such low speed crossing a railroad.
In either case, one should never take both hands of the bars when moving!
First question is, does your trike have a rake kit installed? If not you need to add one. If it does have a rake kit, you need to retorque the steering stem to 40 ft lbs. If you dont have someone to do that for you, PM me and I can tell you how to do it.
Proper rake will reduce trail and will not only make any trike so much safer and easier to steer, it will eliminate head shake 99% of the time. Holding on to your handlebars will eliminate the other 1%.
[QUOTE=Sidecarbill;670363]Your hands are the steering damper.[/QUOTE]
Best explanation I have seen on the subject.