front end weaveing

[Hank62]

I have not rode trike much because I didn't have the strength in my arms yet to steer very well, ( due to past medical issues ) I have improved with exercise I have been doing around the shop and home. I ride a short round trip almost every day ( 17.3 miles ) to the only store that is close to our location. road is fun to ride because it has curves and hills with a few straight stretches. plus every mile I get helps improve strength in arms and riding trike.

But I have a small weaving of front end, not a high speed wobble it feels like front end is weaving back and forth but not enough to cause me to wreck, on a standard motorcycle this is usually caused because neck bearings are to tight. will this be the same on a trike? I had front bearing very tight, no swing if you had front end off ground and tried to bounce off a stop. I hope I am doing the right thing , tonight i took nachelle and head light, and other parts off triple trees and loosened the neck bearings, then I put most back together before quitting for the evening, I always torque everything to spec when working with any aluminum parts, will finish putting nachelle and headlight back on first thing in morning, I hope I have done the correct thing, could I get some input, doing neck bearings is not very hard anymore but aligning the nachelle house is a real pain in the back of my lap.

Hank

[desertclassic]

Time will work out many of the things. Once I learned to push the bars instead of pulling the bars my riding skills for the trike greatly improved. Jim

[tfdeputydawg]

We need to know if your front is raked and how much? Tapered bearings or not?

Do you know what torque setting you were using?

Posting all this info will help someone give you good info on what you need to do.

[ol' school]

Time will work out many of the things. Once I learned to push the bars instead of pulling the bars my riding skills for the trike greatly improved. Jim

+1 on that!

[Hank62]

I have the raked triple tree from frankenstein trikes I think it is 7 degree, i'm not sure . It has the tapered bearings that are stock on harley's and there is no torque setting or even a way to check what the torque is on the nut, it is the nut that holds lower triple tree in frame neck, you use a 5/16 rod to loosen or tighten the nut.

I loosened the nut 4 pin locations and rode it today, the weave is gone but now front end seems to loose so I will take it apart and tighten that star looking nut back 2 of the pins, and feel how it swings while tire off the ground, I am getting close my adjustment has to be with in the four pin locations to be correct.

and its still feels weird riding the trike. I throttled up to 70mph and no wobble as of yet,

Hank

[peteg59]

Sounds like you're addressing the major mechanical concerns that relate to handling of your trike, Hank.

Tire air pressures can also affect your trike's handling.

There are threads on this site that go deeply into what optimal air pressures to run, both front & back.

If you haven't already "experimented" with tire air pressures, it might be a good thing to try?

As far as any other issues you might be having switching from 2 to 3, "Seat Time" will get you past most, in most cases.

[ncbandit]

I have the raked triple tree from frankenstein trikes I think it is 7 degree, i'm not sure . It has the tapered bearings that are stock on harley's and there is no torque setting or even a way to check what the torque is on the nut, it is the nut that holds lower triple tree in frame neck, you use a 5/16 rod to loosen or tighten the nut.

I loosened the nut 4 pin locations and rode it today, the weave is gone but now front end seems to loose so I will take it apart and tighten that star looking nut back 2 of the pins, and feel how it swings while tire off the ground, I am getting close my adjustment has to be with in the four pin locations to be correct.

and its still feels weird riding the trike. I throttled up to 70mph and no wobble as of yet,

Hank

Hank, I also have a Frankenstein kit with their raked trees, however for my bike it was only 4 degree rake. I didn't do the install but I am assuming the installer followed the directions and tightened the steering head as instructed. I run 40 lbs. in the front and 25 in the back and don't have any weaving at all. What condition is your front tire in?

[Hank62]

Hank, I also have a Frankenstein kit with their raked trees, however for my bike it was only 4 degree rake. I didn't do the install but I am assuming the installer followed the directions and tightened the steering head as instructed. I run 40 lbs. in the front and 25 in the back and don't have any weaving at all. What condition is your front tire in?

checked at frankenstien and the rake for flh is 7 degree

new balanced tire on front, there are no instruction on tightening steering head, I have even search their site for some, i was told by franken... to tighten it up till it would not turn then start loosening up till it will turn, the harley swing method does not work with trike, from what I have been told, I have tighten up bearing nut 1 -1/2 of the little star like things on nut. this is after I loosened it up and got rid of weave but then it felt to loose, its all trial and error. the nut on top of triple tree is at 65 torque lbs. I am betting this last adjustment is it, or I sure hope because I am getting dan mad at taking it apart putting back together so many time.

I am putting up on bench in morning to do fluid and filter change. engine, tranny , and primary.

[soberjoe32609]

checked at frankenstien and the rake for flh is 7 degree

new balanced tire on front, there are no instruction on tightening steering head, I have even search their site for some, i was told by franken... to tighten it up till it would not turn then start loosening up till it will turn, the harley swing method does not work with trike, from what I have been told, I have tighten up bearing nut 1 -1/2 of the little star like things on nut. this is after I loosened it up and got rid of weave but then it felt to loose, its all trial and error. the nut on top of triple tree is at 65 torque lbs. I am betting this last adjustment is it, or I sure hope because I am getting dan mad at taking it apart putting back together so many time.

I am putting up on bench in morning to do fluid and filter change. engine, tranny , and primary.

Don't stop talking now. Did it work?

[brattrike]

If you've tried all the regular methods of fixing that slow speed wobble and nothing's worked, maybe it's time for a steering dampner.

HD Tri-glides come from the factory with dampners and they're almost mandatory equipment when you build a hack.

If you have some skills, you can make one using an old VW unit, or you can get an aftermarket unit made for your bike.

[pcombe]

I have not rode trike much because I didn't have the strength in my arms yet to steer very well, ( due to past medical issues ) I have improved with exercise I have been doing around the shop and home. I ride a short round trip almost every day ( 17.3 miles ) to the only store that is close to our location. road is fun to ride because it has curves and hills with a few straight stretches. plus every mile I get helps improve strength in arms and riding trike.

But I have a small weaving of front end, not a high speed wobble it feels like front end is weaving back and forth but not enough to cause me to wreck, on a standard motorcycle this is usually caused because neck bearings are to tight. will this be the same on a trike? I had front bearing very tight, no swing if you had front end off ground and tried to bounce off a stop. I hope I am doing the right thing , tonight i took nachelle and head light, and other parts off triple trees and loosened the neck bearings, then I put most back together before quitting for the evening, I always torque everything to spec when working with any aluminum parts, will finish putting nachelle and headlight back on first thing in morning, I hope I have done the correct thing, could I get some input, doing neck bearings is not very hard anymore but aligning the nachelle house is a real pain in the back of my lap.

Hank

I hate to tell you but did exactly opposite of right.

A trike needs to have tighter settings on the neck bearing.

Look up the standard torque as two wheeler and increase the tightness by about 40 ft. lbs. to start, It may need more?

Before you get carried away make sure your front tire is inflated to it's max pressure.

You don't need the flexibility in the side walls that a two wheeler requires and your whole weaving problem just may be inflation.

When you build a trike you must understand that the ( FALL AWAY ---( the front end off the ground, turning the front end all the way and letting it come back past center and return to center? )

Throw the fall away rules out the window, they no longer apply on a trike. OK?

Seen it and lived it!

next time you change your front tire consider mounting a REAR tire ( The exact same size as your CURRENT FRONT tire and mount it BACKWARD ROTATION.

The rear tire is a harder rubber compound, the sidewalls are stiffer, it handles beautifully on all road surfaces AND you get insane mileage, Again, run it max inflation.

May offer an idea on steering?

Riding a trike is an exercise in push pull.

to assist yourself in steering with much less fatigue, learn to lock the elbow you are pushing with so you are using your upper body strength rather than so much arm strength?

If needed, learn to shift your butt on the saddle as you would a snow machine.

It plants one foot more solidly on the floorboard helping to deal with centrifugal forces.

Let me know what you find out?