New guy questions

[Dennis Murawski]

I just got my 2007 Harley FLHT back with the Champion Independent Rear Suspension kit installed. The build also included Champion's EZ-Steer rake kit. I've never driven a trike before this conversion. Two items that struck me most were the additional bouncing on rough roads and how "twitchy" the steering is. I'm guessing the extra bouncing is caused by the three tire patches each having their own track verses two patches on the same track. The additional rake of the EZ-Steer should mean less effort to turn the handlebars, but it shouldn't affect the quickness of the trike's response to the handlebar's movements, right.

It's a slow process of unlearning and relearning, but I think I'm getting there. Any suggestions on how to make the trike easier to ride (especially on long cross country rides) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dennis

 

[slick rick]

Dennis I think every trike , no matter the flavor has its own can of worms we just have to open 'em . Seems like in my case the sooner I realized I had to make adjustments in my riding style the better it was for me . I'm still not that confident in running hard into a curve but just the feeling of it being so much easier on the knees makes it okay !! I think in time it will feel a lot better to you , just give it enough time .

 

[Gorilla]

Hi Dennis, as you stated it,s a learning curve. The steering is twitchy because of the easy steer. Once you get used to the quickness the un-easiness will go away. Adjust your tie pressure down to 24 lbs and your shock pressure to around 30. Very it a couple of pounds each way on both until you feel the most comfortable. Most people take 400 to 500 miles to get the hang of it. Good luck.

 

[americanbadass]

Dennis I think every trike , no matter the flavor has its own can of worms we just have to open 'em . Seems like in my case the sooner I realized I had to make adjustments in my riding style the better it was for me . I'm still not that confident in running hard into a curve but just the feeling of it being so much easier on the knees makes it okay !! I think in time it will feel a lot better to you , just give it enough time .

Slick's right....for the first time! If the suspension is too bouncy for you, you might want to soften the shocks a notch or two, and drop tire pressure a bit. As far as the steering being super sensitive, yes it will be, especially at freeway speeds. Believe it or not, you will get comfortable on that trike....just get the feel of it around town...and with some miles you will begin to relax...it is that way for almost everybody.
I only have about a year on trikes (maybe 10K miles), if you want...look back to my posts when I first converted my Roadking, the transition to my ezsteer and you will see the evolution.
WE have a canyon here called East Canyon, it used to make the hair on the back of my neck stand erect, when I would think about riding it! Now I do it for fun, it has about six hairpin turns, as well as 25 miles of narley twisties.
What you are experiencing is normal....I had thoughts of selling my trike thru the first 500 miles I rode it.

 

[Lucky]

Welcome Dennis glad you joined us.It is a learning curve,but you willbe there in notime.RIDE SAFE

 

[Rick Kay]

Good advice from these guys, as they say, put on some miles, adapt your riding style and you'll be fine. I was lucky, my transition from 2 to 3 wheels was fairly easy. My biggest concern was trying to stay on the trike through turns...

 

[icedad]

Never have ridden a trike before and having no knowledge of adjustments, I bought my trike by Plant City, Fl and had to ride it all the way up to S/W Ga. All I could think about was selling the darn thing. I made it home after riding 380 miles. The next day, I was dropping the air pressure in the rear tires to 20 lbs. adjusted the shocks to about 20 lbs of air, and added air to my front tire 41lbs and she rode like a dream. It's all about learning how you like your ride to be for you. In a couple of days, weeks, or whatever. You'll love your ride.