need steering dampener for 2010 Roadglide with Motor Trike conversion

Sloride · Apr 20, 2015

need steering dampener for 2010 Roadglide with Motor Trike conversion

Guy,

Does anyone make a steering dampener for a 2010 Roadglide with a Motor Trike conversion?

I know Harley makes one for the 2010 Tri-Glide, I am wondering how well it works and will it fit with my 6 deg rake

RoadKingTrike · Apr 20, 2015

Check Amazon and eBay. And Google "motorcycle steering dampener". I'm puzzled though. Why a dampener ? I have a MotorTrike conversion on my Road King with a 9° rake kit. My riding buddy has an Ultra with the 6° rake. No head shake noted on either, and rock steady all the way up to 80 (that's as fast as we've gone). Just curious.
Respects,
ed

Sloride · Apr 20, 2015

Thanks for the reply,

There is noticeable wobble at slow speeds and the steering is incredibly sensitive at speed 65-75 MPH

Maybe I am just brand new to trikes and this is the way it is supposed to be.

Gorilla · Apr 20, 2015

It might have just a little to much rake in it. Check with Bazooka but I always thought that 4 to 5 degrees was plenty on the HD

Sloride · Apr 21, 2015

Gorilla said:
It might have just a little to much rake in it. Check with Bazooka but I always thought that 4 to 5 degrees was plenty on the HD

Motor Trike provided and installed the 6 deg rake kit, I sure hope they knew what they were doing

RoadKingTrike · Apr 21, 2015

Sloride said:
Motor Trike provided and installed the 6 deg rake kit, I sure hope they knew what they were doing

Yeah, they have the right rake. Hundreds (if not thousands) of HD-MotorTrike conversions out there, most with 6° rake kits from MT. I'm running 9° with no problems at all. Be sure to keep your pressures (tires and suspension) correct.

Sloride · Apr 21, 2015

RoadKingTrike said:
Yeah, they have the right rake. Hundreds (if not thousands) of HD-MotorTrike conversions out there, most with 6° rake kits from MT. I'm running 9° with no problems at all. Be sure to keep your pressures (tires and suspension) correct.

Thanks,

what PSI do you keep your rear suspension at for single riding and or two up?

skuuter · Apr 21, 2015

Check the tightness of Your Headset Bearings on the Fork.....

RoadKingTrike · Apr 21, 2015

Sloride said:
Thanks,

what PSI do you keep your rear suspension at for single riding and or two up?

I weigh 215 pounds. I run about 15 - 20 PSI for single riding, and with my 130 pound wife on board, usually about 35 PSI. Keeping the rear tires at 24, and the front at 36. Skuuter is right, make sure the headset bearings are set correctly. Should be OK there, though, if your installer did a good job. Might want to mention this wobbling to them and get their take.

Sloride · Apr 22, 2015

skuuter said:
Check the tightness of Your Headset Bearings on the Fork.....

Good advise,

I am going to take it to Bikes 2 Trikes in Ft Worth and have them go over it front to rear. It will cost me a few hundred, but will be well worth it

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RoadKingTrike said:
I weigh 215 pounds. I run about 15 - 20 PSI for single riding, and with my 130 pound wife on board, usually about 35 PSI. Keeping the rear tires at 24, and the front at 36. Skuuter is right, make sure the headset bearings are set correctly. Should be OK there, though, if your installer did a good job. Might want to mention this wobbling to them and get their take.

Thanks RKT, it's good to have some baselines to go off of

Harley Don · Apr 22, 2015

Sloride said:
Guy,

Does anyone make a steering dampener for a 2010 Roadglide with a Motor Trike conversion?

I know Harley makes one for the 2010 Tri-Glide, I am wondering how well it works and will it fit with my 6 deg rake

I purchased Bazookas 5 degree rake kit for my 2013 Tri Glide and found that I had to completely remove the dampener. It has had no bearing on the performance of the trike. If you can use the dampener off mine-let me know.

FLTR2008TRIKE · Apr 22, 2015

Do you have the stock 18" front wheel on your trike? If so, Im guessing your issue has more to do with the 18" wheel combined with the raked front triple tree. The 18" front tire being slightly narrower can effect the sensitivity of the steering...... Just a thought

Sloride · Apr 23, 2015

FLTR2008TRIKE said:
Do you have the stock 18" front wheel on your trike? If so, Im guessing your issue has more to do with the 18" wheel combined with the raked front triple tree. The 18" front tire being slightly narrower can effect the sensitivity of the steering...... Just a thought

I do have the stock 18" front wheel...that makes a lot of sense. I am fixing to buy a front tire and wheel. What is the largest tire I could put on a 18 x 3.5" wheel? or do I need to step down to a 17" wheel and a larger tire. I really like the look of your setup, would you mind sharing what your sizes and makes are?

tfdeputydawg · Apr 23, 2015

Sloride said:
Motor Trike provided and installed the 6 deg rake kit, I sure hope they knew what they were doing

MT offers 4.5, 5.5, 6 and 8 degree rake kits. Who picked the 6 for you????
The consensus from several threads on several boards is the shorter wheel base trike are good w/4.5 degree rack. The longer wheel base trikes can tolerate 6.5 degree rake.
One thing to check with a low speed wobble, is you front tire cupped???
A dampner only makes steering harder, IMO.
As stated, Zook is "the man w/the plan"! Message him w/your concerns.

RoadKingTrike said:
Yeah, they have the right rake. Hundreds (if not thousands) of HD-MotorTrike conversions out there, most with 6° rake kits from MT. I'm running 9° with no problems at all. Be sure to keep your pressures (tires and suspension) correct.

WOW, never heard of a 9 degree rake before

Where did you get one? Would love to try one!

RoadKingTrike · Apr 23, 2015

tfdeputydawg said:
MT offers 4.5, 5.5, 6 and 8 degree rake kits. Who picked the 6 for you????
The consensus from several threads on several boards is the shorter wheel base trike are good w/4.5 degree rack. The longer wheel base trikes can tolerate 6.5 degree rake.
One thing to check with a low speed wobble, is you front tire cupped???
A dampner only makes steering harder, IMO.
As stated, Zook is "the man w/the plan"! Message him w/your concerns.

WOW, never heard of a 9 degree rake before
Where did you get one? Would love to try one!

Hawg Halters

Sloride · Apr 23, 2015

tfdeputydawg said:
MT offers 4.5, 5.5, 6 and 8 degree rake kits. Who picked the 6 for you????
The consensus from several threads on several boards is the shorter wheel base trike are good w/4.5 degree rack. The longer wheel base trikes can tolerate 6.5 degree rake.
One thing to check with a low speed wobble, is you front tire cupped???
A dampner only makes steering harder, IMO.
As stated, Zook is "the man w/the plan"! Message him w/your concerns.

Talking with Motor Trike, For the HD they only offer a 6 deg rake kit. Looking at their website, that is all I see offered also for the HD.

The front tire is original and has 13K on it and is in need of replacement. I am going to start there and have the front fork bearings checked for correct TQ and see if that helps.

With the tire change and making sure the TQ on the Fork bearings are right...if that does not change my issues...maybe I need to shut up, man up and start riding

FLTR2008TRIKE · Apr 23, 2015

Sloride said:
I do have the stock 18" front wheel...that makes a lot of sense. I am fixing to buy a front tire and wheel. What is the largest tire I could put on a 18 x 3.5" wheel? or do I need to step down to a 17" wheel and a larger tire. I really like the look of your setup, would you mind sharing what your sizes and makes are?

I'm running a 16" HD Thunderstar front wheel with a Dunlop MU85B American Elite Rear tire mounted in reverse.

My last front tire was my original Dunlop D402 MU85B rear tire and took it off with 30k miles on it. I could have gotten another 5k miles out of easily but since I was taking it off to powder coat the wheel. I went and installed my new tire

tfdeputydawg · Apr 23, 2015

1. From MT's web sight:
"Since Motor Trike conversions do not add any significant amount of static weight to the front of the conversion, less rake is needed to achieve the desired steering effort. Tire wear is also decreased. Motor Trike's custom rake kit provides the correct amount of steering assistance without compromising the steering feel for our trike conversions."

Missed the fact 6degree is shown as for the Harley!
Maybe it depends on the degree of the neck on a bike as to which rake is recommended!

Sloride · Apr 23, 2015

FLTR2008TRIKE said:
I'm running a 16" HD Thunderstar front wheel with a Dunlop MU85B American Elite Rear tire mounted in reverse.

My last front tire was my original Dunlop D402 MU85B rear tire and took it off with 30k miles on it. I could have gotten another 5k miles out of easily but since I was taking it off to powder coat the wheel. I went and installed my new tire

Did you run your Dunlop D402 in the normal rotation or was it reversed also?

I think I am going to buy a 16" wheel from Willy Shiny and put the Dunlop
D402 MU85B rear tire on it.

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tfdeputydawg said:
1. From MT's web sight:
"Since Motor Trike conversions do not add any significant amount of static weight to the front of the conversion, less rake is needed to achieve the desired steering effort. Tire wear is also decreased. Motor Trike's custom rake kit provides the correct amount of steering assistance without compromising the steering feel for our trike conversions."

Missed the fact 6degree is shown as for the Harley!
Maybe it depends on the degree of the neck on a bike as to which rake is recommended!

No worries, I appreciate everyone's response. It's amazing how much I have learned from you guys over the last couple of weeks.

Papa Zook · Apr 23, 2015

tfdeputydawg said:
As stated, Zook is "the man w/the plan"! Message him w/your concerns.
WOW, never heard of a 9 degree rake before
Where did you get one? Would love to try one!

OK this is where it can get confusing. What he is calling a 9 degree rake is actually what has previously been called a 5 degree rake, or more specifically a +5 degree rake for a total of 9 degrees.

As for a steering dampener, Harley installs a dampener in lieu of adding more rake to their front in. Why? Because the front end shake has to be canceled one way or the other and they choose less rake and a dampener. If you install a rake kit, you will not need a dampener.