dadztoy
300+ Posts
When I first picked up my Tow Pac, I lived about 90 miles north of them so I simply took the bike down and had them install it - seemed easier that way...
After removing it once or twice it was clear to me that a re-install would be necessary as I had to put the Tow Pac wheels up on shims to get the tongue to align with the receiver... I'm not sure why they let it go out of their shop this way but so be it, I will simply readjust it... So today, I had a little time on my hands and decided to tackle the project...
The first thing I did was to take a series of measurements from both the bike and the trike cart to determine what was needed... Even with the stinger all the way up on the cart it was still too low so I decided to lift the front end of the bike and shim the front wheels so that the rear tire was on the ground... That did it - the receiver was lowered to a point where the stinger on the trike cart mated nearly perfect with the receiver on the bike...
I then leveled the trike cart with the wheel adjustments so that the top of the frame was about 11 1/2 " on both sides at the front of the cart (12" wheels used on my trike)...
The next thing to do was to readjust the lean stops on the trike cart as they were also too low... When I was measuring I noticed that the bike does not sit perfectly level on the center stand and the left side measurement at the lean stop on the frame was about 1/4" higher than the right side... I didn't think this would be a problem so I set the lean stop brackets on the trike cart to their highest position which IIRC was very close to 14"...
I then backed the bike up to the cart and slid the cart into the receiver and tightened up all bolts... I then removed the bike off the center stand and did a visual check... Everything looked level and square so I took her for a little ride and all seemed well...
I still haven't squared the trike wheels to the bike rear wheel during this most recent exercise, but I currently have about 1200 miles on the trike and there is no sign of abnormal wheel wear so I think they are close, but as soon as I get a chance to pick up some square steel tubing so I can jig things up, I'll double check the parallel alignment on the trike wheels...
For those wondering, I ride a 2009 GL1800 level III and am currently running Bridgstone rubber front and rear - these are stock MC tires not car (darkside) tires... I run my bike tires at 41 front and 43 rear and the trike tires are at 45 PSI which seems to yield a decent ride...
I have been quite satisfied with the Tow Pac kit and so far it has done everything I want it too... With the exception of the higher effort required for steering, it is just about the perfect answer for me, and even with the higher steering effort, it is a very affordable alternative to a full trike conversion... I love having the ability of removing or installing the trike kit which is now cut down to a 5 minute job with a few pieces of wood under the front wheel...
Mine is color matched to the bike (of course) and I have installed extra lighting for running, brake, and turn signal lighting which ties into my trailer wiring on a 6 position Hitachi plug...
Les
After removing it once or twice it was clear to me that a re-install would be necessary as I had to put the Tow Pac wheels up on shims to get the tongue to align with the receiver... I'm not sure why they let it go out of their shop this way but so be it, I will simply readjust it... So today, I had a little time on my hands and decided to tackle the project...
The first thing I did was to take a series of measurements from both the bike and the trike cart to determine what was needed... Even with the stinger all the way up on the cart it was still too low so I decided to lift the front end of the bike and shim the front wheels so that the rear tire was on the ground... That did it - the receiver was lowered to a point where the stinger on the trike cart mated nearly perfect with the receiver on the bike...
I then leveled the trike cart with the wheel adjustments so that the top of the frame was about 11 1/2 " on both sides at the front of the cart (12" wheels used on my trike)...
The next thing to do was to readjust the lean stops on the trike cart as they were also too low... When I was measuring I noticed that the bike does not sit perfectly level on the center stand and the left side measurement at the lean stop on the frame was about 1/4" higher than the right side... I didn't think this would be a problem so I set the lean stop brackets on the trike cart to their highest position which IIRC was very close to 14"...
I then backed the bike up to the cart and slid the cart into the receiver and tightened up all bolts... I then removed the bike off the center stand and did a visual check... Everything looked level and square so I took her for a little ride and all seemed well...
I still haven't squared the trike wheels to the bike rear wheel during this most recent exercise, but I currently have about 1200 miles on the trike and there is no sign of abnormal wheel wear so I think they are close, but as soon as I get a chance to pick up some square steel tubing so I can jig things up, I'll double check the parallel alignment on the trike wheels...
For those wondering, I ride a 2009 GL1800 level III and am currently running Bridgstone rubber front and rear - these are stock MC tires not car (darkside) tires... I run my bike tires at 41 front and 43 rear and the trike tires are at 45 PSI which seems to yield a decent ride...
I have been quite satisfied with the Tow Pac kit and so far it has done everything I want it too... With the exception of the higher effort required for steering, it is just about the perfect answer for me, and even with the higher steering effort, it is a very affordable alternative to a full trike conversion... I love having the ability of removing or installing the trike kit which is now cut down to a 5 minute job with a few pieces of wood under the front wheel...
Mine is color matched to the bike (of course) and I have installed extra lighting for running, brake, and turn signal lighting which ties into my trailer wiring on a 6 position Hitachi plug...
Les
