Roadhawk ride

[starrider1946]

I've had my Roadhawk about three weeks now. I had posted on the forum about my front end starting to bounce from around 47 to 55 then after that it seemed to level out. Ended up the front tire was bad. Had a new one put on and thought I had my problems fixed. My wife and I rode yesterday and it seemed like when I got up to 45 or so the front end wanted to shake sort of but not a bounce.<br />
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I would like to know how other owners of Roadhawks ride as far as the front end goes. Does it seem smooth at all speeds? I had said in my other post I know it isn't going to ride as smooth as a bike with shocks but I would think it should do a lot better than it is. Yesterday it was just uncomfortable over 45. The handle bars hardly moved. Of course I know these Louisiana roads don't help any.

When I had the new tire put on the man put 40psi in the tire and I had lowered it to 30psi. Don't know if that would make that much difference. What psi do you guys run all around? I just may be looking for to good of a ride out of this springer front end. My wife loves is on the rear.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

I run 40 in the front of my triglide, I feel a little more stable there ... Less sidewall flex. Don't know if it's the same for your ride.

[stinger608]

Like Fuzzy, I run my front tire at 40psi.

I don't know if there is a way to do it on the springer type front ends, but you could get a fork brace. That might help a ton from the "shake" in the front end.

[Loner]

I'd approach your situation by first tightening the stem nut on your front forks (the primary bolt going thru the neck of the frame). If it is not obviously too loose (sloppy handlebars), then raise the front wheel off the ground and tighten until there is a distinct binding when you turn the handlebars, then back off slightly to remove binding. (Your statement regarding the handlebars hardly moving when the shaking comes in makes me ponder, though).

If that doesn't subdue your problem, then I still would be suspicious of the balance and possibly even the mounting of the new tire (is the tire guide line near the rim perfectly roundly seated in the rim?).

Finally, the amount of impact that rear tires have on the front end ride of a trike is tremendous. Check the balance and pressure (maybe 20-23 psi) of the rear wheels and tires. The recommended 40 or so in the front is OK.

Good luck - hope one of these steps cures what ails you.

[starrider1946]

Thanks Fuzzy, Stinger and Loner. I think 40 in the front is probably wha I'll try.I'll jack it up tomorrow and adjust the front forks like you said.I wil also look at the front wheel and make sure it is seated. I have been running 30 in the rear but I will try less. I also need to have them balanced to make sure they are good. I didn't realize the rear wheels would have that much impact on the front. I'll check all these things and hope it helps. If it doesn't I am going to take the trike back to the guy I bought the wheel from and get him too recheck it. I'l post what happens and thanks again for the help.

I'd approach your situation by first tightening the stem nut on your front forks (the primary bolt going thru the neck of the frame). If it is not obviously too loose (sloppy handlebars), then raise the front wheel off the ground and tighten until there is a distinct binding when you turn the handlebars, then back off slightly to remove binding. (Your statement regarding the handlebars hardly moving when the shaking comes in makes me ponder, though).

If that doesn't subdue your problem, then I still would be suspicious of the balance and possibly even the mounting of the new tire (is the tire guide line near the rim perfectly roundly seated in the rim?).

Finally, the amount of impact that rear tires have on the front end ride of a trike is tremendous.

Check the balance and pressure (maybe 20-23 psi) of the rear wheels and tires. The recommended 40 or so in the front is OK.

Good luck - hope one of these steps cures what ails you.

[starrider1946]

I jacked the trike up and tightened the bolt tight and now I have some drag on springier. I checked the front tire and looks to be seated good. I also rigged something so I could look at the roundness of the tire. It looks good to me. I lowered the air pressure in the rear to 23 psi. They both have weights on them so I am not sure about the balance. I will have them balanced tomorrow. I rode it up the road and the same thing. Seems like from 47 to 55 is where my problem is . Seems like it does it worse at time then other times it doesn
't seem to bad.

I am probably going to end up taking back to the guy and getting him to recheck it. I may let him take a ride on i and se what he thinks I know it's aggravating me to death. I'll keep you posted.. tig

Thanks Fuzzy, Stinger and Loner. I think 40 in the front is probably wha I'll try.I'll jack it up tomorrow and adjust the front forks like you said.I wil also look at the front wheel and make sure it is seated. I have been running 30 in the rear but I will try less. I also need to have them balanced to make sure they are good. I didn't realize the rear wheels would have that much impact on the front. I'll check all these things and hope it helps. If it doesn't I am going to take the trike back to the guy I bought the wheel from and get him too recheck it.

I'l post what happens and thanks again for the help.

[Ozarkryder]

All of the above checked, do you have spoke or cast wheels? If the wheels are cast, are they round and true? A hard knock can bend the rim so slightly, and cause problems either in roundness that may be hard to tell by measuring the tire instead of the rim or in side-to-side runout. On spoke wheels roundness, runout and centering the wheel to the hub all make a difference in handling. Having all the spokes equally tight is also important.

[starrider1946]

I have a spoke wheel. The best I can tell I have a slight amount of run out ( .030 up and down and .045 side ) runout. I would like to see it perfect but it's not. I don't know if what I have is enough to make a difference. All the spokes are tight. Going tomorrow get the rear wheels balanced tomorrow to see if that helps. Thanks for the help.

All of the above checked, do you have spoke or cast wheels? If the wheels are cast, are they round and true? A hard knock can bend the rim so slightly, and cause problems either in roundness that may be hard to tell by measuring the tire instead of the rim or in side-to-side runout. On spoke wheels roundness, runout and centering the wheel to the hub all make a difference in handling.

Having all the spokes equally tight is also important.

[DeathBySnuSnu]

I have been staying out of this one.
I have not ever set anything up with a light front end like this. Mine has a lot more weight distribution over the three wheels.

The car rear tires get old, sit a long time and get flat spots or rot damage. The back tire shake can be felt as odd vibrations just all over.
After fully knowing all your tires are right and neck bearings are good then check your springer.
Check all the bushing for wear and grease.
Check the springs for wear and even hieght both free and installed. As a last thing, is changing the preload on the rebound springs.

[starrider1946]

Yes it is very light on the front end. If I thought the fairing could handle it I would add some weight and see if that made any difference.As far as the tires the front one is new so I hope it is good. The rear tire looks good nd have what looks like new tread but that probably doesn't mean anything so I don't know about them. I am having them re balanced tomorrow. The bearings in the neck feel good.I can't feel any slack. As far as the springier goes I have tried to see if I could feel any thing out of the ordinary and I can't. I don't know about the springs. I don't know about the preload on the springs. I was going to call the trike shop and talk to them about the springier. They told me they built the springier when they were making the trikes so maybe they could give me some information.

Sounds like I got myself in a mess again which isn't unusual. Just hope I can get it fixed. If not I'll just have to avoid riding at the speed I have trouble.

I have been staying out of this one. I have not ever set anything up with a light front end like this. Mine has a lot more weight distribution over the three wheels. The car rear tires get old, sit a long time and get flat spots or rot damage. The back tire shake can be felt as odd vibrations just all over. After fully knowing all your tires are right and neck bearings are good then check your springer. Check all the bushing for wear and grease. Check the springs for wear and even hieght both free and installed.

As a last thing, is changing the preload on the rebound springs.

[DeathBySnuSnu]

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