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Interesting Tire and Driveshaft Info.
At first glance this may look like a RANT but really it is hopefully a resolution to a problem we’ve chased for a long time. Sorry it’s a bit long but sometimes it is necessary. This will be more helpful to Motor Trike Adventure owners but I suspect all trike owners could benefit.
From time to time I’ve been known to express my less then satisfied experiences regarding my 2011 Motor Trike Adventure (IRS) drive shaft. NO BIG SECRET THERE – I like things to work the way they are suppose to and will figure it out eventually. Since my ’06 Wing’s conversion a year ago this past June my mirrors have buzzed and seat vibrated. Sometimes so bad I could hardly determine what, let alone who, was behind me.
About this same time I was already communicating with the tech folks at Motor Trike attempting to help them and us understand why some have problems and others don’t. I was also doing lots of research to identify the correct front U-Joint replacement because Motor Trike did not have this information. The result of that search was: The front joint is a Neapco 1-0153 and the rear is a Neapco 1-0170.
Several months ago several like affected owners and I determined what we believed to be the cause as a short drive shaft not fully engaging the front yoke assembly. Some had very good success resolving this issue by simply machining a spacer to move the shaft forward and in effect take full advantage of the front yoke spline. My own success was not 100 percent but enough that I was satisfied after I had also rebalanced and added Dyna Beads to the tires.
While exploring the Dyna Bead application I discovered a condition called lateral imbalance which manifests more in tires wider then 65 series. I then visited with the owner of a local tire shop he explained to me that the tire Motor Trike installed is actually very well suited to the trike. The BF Goodrich Radial T/A has a wide sidewall reinforcement band which reduces side roll and there-by helps lateral control issues. Armed with all this new found tire smarts I determined the BF Goodrich Advantage T/A in 205/65-R15 to be the best replacement option. Several guys have been installing 215/65-R15 HydroEdge and others but that tire is almost half an inch taller then the OEM tire while the 205/65-R15 is only about one eighth of an inch shorter.
I also took into consideration tread patterns of different tires and found the BF Goodrich Advantage has four very nice rain grooves while still maintaining the extra sidewall support and rigid shoulder blocks for improved handling
Preparing for a “Bucket List” trip I will be taking beginning October 3rd, I started and completed some maintenance yesterday and today. I removed the OEM U-Joints and installed the new replacements. In doing so I discovered the front joint was severely galled on two opposing journals. My rear tires were getting close to worn out so they got replaced but I also went the extra step and had them “Road Force Balanced” instead of just normal spin balanced. I don’t pretend to know all there is about this process but I have read up on it some and there appears to be a good argument to using this process on wide tires.
All good jokes have a catchy punch line and all good stories have a happy ending. Believe me, this vibration never was a joke so here’s my happy ending. After getting all the repairs done today I went for a ride. I did not have anyone behind me but I can tell by the clarity of the mirrors and the lack of vibration in my butt that we have a fix at this point. Will it stay fixed? I don’t know but sure hope so. I am going to wait a week before posting this and see. If it does remain as I expect then possibly someone else will benefit from the year long journey.
Well, here we are a week later and I’m even happier. Not only is the vibration issue still resolved but I’ve had plenty of saddle time to observe a few things. 1 - I notice the tires are quieter. 2 – I’ve gained an average of .8 mpg over the 648 miles riding the exact same roads I always do. 3 – High speed sweepers and tight twisty control is better. I didn’t notice any change in straight line handling but did not expect to.
Originally Posted by Trent
