Just got my '05 1800 Motor Trike back from having one of Zook's rake kits installed. WOW! Is all I can say. Should have done it 10 years ago.
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Just got my '05 1800 Motor Trike back from having one of Zook's rake kits installed. WOW! Is all I can say. Should have done it 10 years ago.
A good rake kit certainly ties the entire trike together.
Now it's time to enjoy it.ThumbUp
[QUOTE=msrvpeig;628261]Just got my '05 1800 Motor Trike back from having one of Zook's rake kits installed. WOW! Is all I can say. Should have done it 10 years ago.[/QUOTE]
Just like power steering.
YEP! I HAVE TO AGREE, Much easier to ride for sure! :)
It's actually quite fun now to ride the bike!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ronnie
whats really funny, to me anyhow, built my 1st trike in 78-79 rake was around 20 something so it handled pretty good...
the next trike in 89-90 honda magna v65 with about 5" trail the steering was hard and almost had tank slappers at about 30mph.......
started talking to local sidecar people and learned about trail and different front ends still they say i am crazy but the principal is the same for a side car and a trike (not reverse trike) two wheel geometry is not the same as required for the extra wheel
built my 1st leading link for my trike, lost count on how many since then, ..side car people were 110% correct altogether different, no wobbling, easy to steer.. made it fun... course back then i was a tad stronger
i tried to tell others about what i learned mostly guys in brothers of the 3rd wheel , where most trikers i knew were online at that time ... they ALL said i was crazy....
. this was old tech across the pond where they drive sidecars before they can walk and some have hacks and no cars..
a friend had an old servi car with steep rake an long front end, builder told him it was too heavy in the front so to make less weight on the front end he cut the frame , raked it more an added longer tubes... made it way worse.. my friend saw me ride up the road with one hand couldnt believe it..
his steered so hard just coasting i almost ran into the garage trying to turn that beast so i "un"raked his frame an made a set of raked trees... made him a believer ..
. but most said i was nuts..... well i still am :) still think its funny how long it can take for the word to get around
off my box now :)
Hello,
Read your post a couple of times, I'm pretty good mechanically but felt a bit behind the curve in your post. :confused:
I guess I'm lucky, the trike I just bought already has a raked front and steers very easy, just needs a lot of room to make a turn.
Thanks for the post, newbie to trikes myself,
David Hilton Ret. USN ETC/SS
[QUOTE=stacebg;628531]whats really funny, to me anyhow, built my 1st trike in 78-79 rake was around 20 something so it handled pretty good...
the next trike in 89-90 honda magna v65 with about 5" trail the steering was hard and almost had tank slappers at about 30mph.......
started talking to local sidecar people and learned about trail and different front ends still they say i am crazy but the principal is the same for a side car and a trike (not reverse trike) two wheel geometry is not the same as required for the extra wheel
built my 1st leading link for my trike, lost count on how many since then, ..side car people were 110% correct altogether different, no wobbling, easy to steer.. made it fun... course back then i was a tad stronger
i tried to tell others about what i learned mostly guys in brothers of the 3rd wheel , where most trikers i knew were online at that time ... they ALL said i was crazy....
. this was old tech across the pond where they drive sidecars before they can walk and some have hacks and no cars..
a friend had an old servi car with steep rake an long front end, builder told him it was too heavy in the front so to make less weight on the front end he cut the frame , raked it more an added longer tubes... made it way worse.. my friend saw me ride up the road with one hand couldnt believe it..
his steered so hard just coasting i almost ran into the garage trying to turn that beast so i "un"raked his frame an made a set of raked trees... made him a believer ..
. but most said i was nuts..... well i still am :) still think its funny how long it can take for the word to get around
off my box now :)[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=SubDude;628589]Hello,
Read your post a couple of times, I'm pretty good mechanically but felt a bit behind the curve in your post. :confused:
I guess I'm lucky, the trike I just bought already has a raked front and steers very easy, just needs a lot of room to make a turn.
Thanks for the post, newbie to trikes myself,
David Hilton Ret. USN ETC/SS[/QUOTE]
admittedly i dont explain myself the best.. but will try to explain more if you have questions
Hello, thanks for the reply, sorry I was really just trying to understand the whole big deal about having a raked front end.
Like I said I just got my trike and it has this mod done already, before reading your post I just didn't see why it needed it is all.
Thank you for posting the post, it is very helpful. :goodjob:
Take care,
David Hilton Ret. USN ETC/SS
[QUOTE=stacebg;628640]admittedly i dont explain myself the best.. but will try to explain more if you have questions[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=SubDude;628707]Hello, thanks for the reply, sorry I was really just trying to understand the whole big deal about having a raked front end.
Like I said I just got my trike and it has this mod done already, before reading your post I just didn't see why it needed it is all.
Thank you for posting the post, it is very helpful. [/QUOTE]
Adding a rake truly depends on the taste of the owner, but more importantly....
The model of the trike
Shorter wheelbase models like MT, DFT can be piloted very well without a rake, however it is almost a requirement for larger/longer models like hannigan, and roadsmith.
As for me... my 05 Motortrike has never had a rake, and it will not have one as long as I own it.