Roadsmith HTS Suspension Settings

[jayhawkokie]

I just rode my new trike home yesterday, a Roadsmith HTS on 2010 Goldwing, has the Adjustable Pre Load system and Performance sway bar, 51/2 rake and MPA front tire in reverse rotation. When the service guy did the walk around he didn't mention the suspension settings and I forgot to ask. When I was riding it home it felt like the trike wanted to body roll to the outside of the curb. When I got home I checked and the pre load was set at 6 and I looked underneath and the adjustable spring over shocks were on the low setting. I went for a short ride this morning with the preload set at 14 and it felt better in the curves but I'm far from comfortable, will take several miles of practice. I'm looking for suggestions at how I should set up the suspension, both shock setting and preload, both for single rider and 2 up, most of my riding is in eastern OK and Western AR and MO so there are a lot of twisty roads.

[mhgoldwing]

I have the Accuride system on my RS so not exactly sure what to tell you. However, if you're riding two-up most of the time in the twisties I would raise the shock settings up to start. (TIP: Jack up the trike to take weight off of wheel and shock will be much easier to adjust.) From there it's going to be trial and error with the preload setting (and shocks) to find what feels best for where you ride. Also, I run 28 psi in rear and 30 psi two-up here in north central Ar. If fully loaded for trip with all baggage and trailer I run 32 psi in rears.

With the performance sway bar your trike will do a lot more in the twisties than you feel like it will at the start. give it time. After a few miles you can breeze through those curves right with your Goldwing or Harley buds on two wheels.

[jayhawkokie]

Thank you for the tip, I was thinking about jacking it up tomorrow and move the shocks up one notch to start with, 99% of my riding will be 1 up with the Missus only going on occasional rides with me. The system adjusts using the OEM Honda ride adjust controls with two memory presets.

[wiredgeorge]

i have a GL1500 Roadsmith conversion and the shocks were set on softest preload when I picked it up. I have since moved the preload to the stiffest position and ride comfort; especially for my missus is MUCH better plus the trike handles better... doesn't roll as you described. The secret to tuning the rear of a motorcycle is to select the correct spring rates. The rear shocks on my conversion were made by Progressive and I could get no help from them on the shock length, spring rates or if it would be possible to put better shocks on... the shocks look very much like Progressive 12s... decent but bottom of the line. It would be great to use some 440 type shocks.

[jayhawkokie]

I had to take my trike back to the installer this week to get couple very minor issues taken care of and I had him adjust the shocks to the middle setting, and he gave me a spanner wrench if I want to change it later. I'm running the adjustable Pre load on 6, the ride feels a slight stiffer but it handles great in the curves. 99.9% of my riding is one up, the Missus will only be on very short rides, and not in the twisties, she hates them even in the car.

[Solidbob]

I had to take my trike back to the installer this week to get couple very minor issues taken care of and I had him adjust the shocks to the middle setting, and he gave me a spanner wrench if I want to change it later. I'm running the adjustable Pre load on 6, the ride feels a slight stiffer but it handles great in the curves. 99.9% of my riding is one up, the Missus will only be on very short rides, and not in the twisties, she hates them even in the car.

I try to keep the Pre-load on the sway bar as low as possible. I have adjusted the shocks also to the stiffer position to stabilize the roll then adjusted the preload to 8-10 when 2 up or 12-14 with our Cargo Trailer....

[sekanbob]

JJ hates the twisties but she is always along for the ride.

[DWATC]

JJ hates the twisties but she is always along for the ride.

I don't think JJ has to get all excited about twisties unless you take her across state lines. Hopefully she is over 18 so you will be safe there.

[jayhawkokie]

I don't think JJ has to get all excited about twisties unless you take her across state lines. Hopefully she is over 18 so you will be safe there.

Get your mind out of the gutter DWATC