Chasing a fender vibration problem on my InstaTrike

[dadztoy]

Hey guys,

So normally, I usually don't ride at 70MPH or above on our beautiful twisty Tennessee roads, but on a recent trip out west with some buddies, we were running Interstates to make some time, and I was limited to 70MPH due to violent fender vibration... Below 70, things are fine, but at 72/73 mph the fenders start to shake violently... The bike is a 2009 Level Goldwing and the trike kit is a Tow Pac InstaTrike...

I'm running the standard 12" bias ply tires although I am running them at 32PSI for a more compliant ride... Trike down force is set so that it takes a good upward tug on the wheel spoke to break the trike tire loose...

Today, I decreased down force by 2 turns on the adjustment and didn't see any difference although the bike seemed to wallow more in the turns so I'm tempted to go the other way and increase down force some to see what happens then...

Tomorrow, I'm going to raise tire pressure on the trike to 40PSI and see of that makes a difference... If not, I will then increase down force to where I was before plus an additional 2 turns on the adjustment...

Oh, BTW, I am running double dark side on the bike with a Yokohama Avid Envigor run flat on the rear and a Bridgestone BT-45 Battlax on the front... Tire pressures are 24 rear and 41 front...

If anyone has any words of wisdom, I would appreciate any and all comments... Overall, I have been extremely satisfied with the Tow Pac and I could live with this limitation if I have to, but would prefer to solve this issue of shaking fenders above 70 MPH... I havce spoken with Jeremy at Tow Pac and he has given me the things to try as described above so that's where we are at currently...

Les

[rhino 2]

Is there a chance that one of the tires might be out of balance..Lost a wheel weight .ETC

[wehrme]

You might check the tow-in/out to see if the wheels are pointing true forward.

Being off just a hair could cause a vibration.

Also, I don't think I ran that much air pressure when I had mine.

[dadztoy]

Thanks for the replies guys... To answer a few comments... I used to run Centramatic balancers that I had made for the Tow Pac but since chasing the vibration, I took them off and had the tires manually balanced at my tire shop - no change in vibration...

I am pretty anal about tire alignment and my toe is less than 1/16" on both sides so I don't think that is it... I don't quite understand the comment regarding tire pressure though - are you saying you ran lower tire pressure than the 32 PSI I am running??? And if so, what pressure did you run???

Thanks for the comments - appreciate all thoughts and ideas...

Les

[Pooch]

How many miles on the bike? Driveshaft maybe?? Just a guess.

[dadztoy]

About 60K on the bike but it is a trike fender vibration at speeds over 70... Further update - tried a test ride with trike tires at 45PSI - no change...

Just fabricated some steel brackets that go from the bike to the adjustment plates on the trike... Will try again tomorrow weather permitting and if they work, I'll post some pictures of them...

Les

[wehrme]

Les, I ran 25lbs in my tires.

I had a '12 GW and the whole Tow-Pak (outside stuff) was located 4" rearward...may be a difference.

I'm pretty sure that all units probably create at some speed, a resonance which will cause some sort of vibration/noise.

Hope you find it.

[dadztoy]

Thanks Mike - appreciate the comment... I'm not sure at this stage if it's vibration/resonance problem or just plain excessive wind on the fenders at 70 MPH... I haven't been able to test ride with my brackets yet but as soon as I can I'll report back...

[dadztoy]

Still chasing this problem after trying the brackets, both increased and reduced down force, low and high tire pressures... Might try manufacturing some fender braces tying them from top of fender to tow pack frame where the fender mounting bolts are...

Might be a problem I just have to live with... Trying to figure out how to manufacture some braces using aluminum rod...

Les

[dadztoy]

Tried another set of brackets yesterday - this time on the outside of the fenders, basically from bolt to bolt - no love!!

Realigned wheels - both are within 1/16" of an inch - actually, left side is dead nuts even and right side is within 1/16"... Will test ride again tomorrow but not hopeful on fender vibration... Probably just going to live with the issue...

Les

[HarleyBob]

Les did you get it fixed?

[jmk865]

I have a '94 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 with shaft drive. It has 40,000 on it. I too, have fender shake on the right side which I have not been able to correct. Tried all sorts of things , tire pressure, fender bracing etc. Nothing worked. I just put new tires on it and that seemed to help some, but didn't eliminate it. I also noticed toward the last few hundred miles with the old tires, the front tire seemed to be wearing more on the right edge and the trike was pulling to the right a bit. After I got the new tires that went away. I run Pirelli Route 66 tires. Balancing is accomplished with Dyna Beads.

[dadztoy]

Les did you get it fixed?

apparently I did - when I changed trike tires... Same make and size but the vibration seems to be gone... I also did a realignment of the trike tires to the bike tire and found one side to be off quite a bit so maybe that had something to do with it too...

Just finished a 7 day trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway with my daughter... Aside the fact I enjoyed the trip with my daughter, what a bummer of a trip... 6 out of 7 days in the rain, and I don't mean a light rain either... Had a short develop in my lighting and lost my dash instrumentation so that complicated things like watching my mikes so I didn't run out of gas!!!

Finally got the lighting issue squared away but now I have to troubleshoot my heated seat and grips which also crapped out on the rainy trip...

Just about have everything working again and spent the day finishing the lighting repairs and cleaning this very dirty bike from 6 days of rain riding!!!

How are things wth you Bob???

[dadztoy]

I have a '94 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 with shaft drive. It has 40,000 on it. I too, have fender shake on the right side which I have not been able to correct. Tried all sorts of things , tire pressure, fender bracing etc. Nothing worked. I just put new tires on it and that seemed to help some, but didn't eliminate it. I also noticed toward the last few hundred miles with the old tires, the front tire seemed to be wearing more on the right edge and the trike was pulling to the right a bit. After I got the new tires that went away. I run Pirelli Route 66 tires. Balancing is accomplished with Dyna Beads.

Does your trike kit have the 12" or 14" tires??? New tires and realignment seemed to eliminate my issue...

Les

[HarleyBob]

I hate riding in the rain!

Les I have 14" tires on the Tow Pac

My rear tire is flat with a cut in the tire.

I posted here looking for a rear car tire that would fit but no one got back to me on what will fit my Harley!

I posted in two places here hoping to find some one who has done it but got nothing!

In my two post I posted some info. I found on the net, but want to make 100% sure before buying a tire!

[dadztoy]

I hate riding in the rain!

Les I have 14" tires on the Tow Pac

My rear tire is flat with a cut in the tire.

I posted here looking for a rear car tire that would fit but no one got back to me on what will fit my Harley!

I posted in two places here hoping to find some one who has done it but got nothing!

In my two post I posted some info. I found on the net, but want to make 100% sure before buying a tire!

What size is the rear tire on the HD??? Should be able to find something that will work... Probably the larger issue will to find someonbe who will mount it for you (liability issues)...

Les

[HarleyBob]

Les, My stock Harley tire is a Dunlop D404 130/90-16 Rear tire?

This tire is what I found on the net and someone said it would work175R16 Austone Taxi Black wall Popular for Use as Rear Tire on Large Touring Bikes (Check Clearances Before Ordering)This tire is intended for use on passenger cars manufactured before 1976.Details/OptionsSKU U66235 Construction Tubeless 6 Ply Poly/Steel Load Capacity 1650 @ 36 psi Overall Diameter 26.90"Tread Width 5.50"Suggested Rim Width 5-5.5"

[dadztoy]

I searched that size at tire rack and the only tires that came up were temporary spares... The Austone is a popular replacement for the GL1500 Goldwing and has been proven on that bike... I would be a bit concerned regarding the size as compared to your bike tire (130 compared to 175) but you could give it a try...

I consistently get 17K plus miles out of my rear tire (Yoko Avid Envigor) with the Tow Pac on so I am pretty happy with that... I just purchased a Bridgestone Drive Guard run flat and have it mounted on my spare rim but haven't mounted it yet... My buddy is using one and says it is better than the Yoko...

Good luck with the Austone... I don't know anyone that is unhappy with performance or tire wear after going darkside (car tire) on the rear of the bike...

Les

[TowPacer]

Hey guys,

So normally, I usually don't ride at 70MPH or above on our beautiful twisty Tennessee roads, but on a recent trip out west with some buddies, we were running Interstates to make some time, and I was limited to 70MPH due to violent fender vibration... Below 70, things are fine, but at 72/73 mph the fenders start to shake violently... The bike is a 2009 Level Goldwing and the trike kit is a Tow Pac InstaTrike...

I'm running the standard 12" bias ply tires although I am running them at 32PSI for a more compliant ride... Trike down force is set so that it takes a good upward tug on the wheel spoke to break the trike tire loose...

Today, I decreased down force by 2 turns on the adjustment and didn't see any difference although the bike seemed to wallow more in the turns so I'm tempted to go the other way and increase down force some to see what happens then...

Tomorrow, I'm going to raise tire pressure on the trike to 40PSI and see of that makes a difference... If not, I will then increase down force to where I was before plus an additional 2 turns on the adjustment...

Oh, BTW, I am running double dark side on the bike with a Yokohama Avid Envigor run flat on the rear and a Bridgestone BT-45 Battlax on the front... Tire pressures are 24 rear and 41 front...

If anyone has any words of wisdom, I would appreciate any and all comments... Overall, I have been extremely satisfied with the Tow Pac and I could live with this limitation if I have to, but would prefer to solve this issue of shaking fenders above 70 MPH... I havce spoken with Jeremy at Tow Pac and he has given me the things to try as described above so that's where we are at currently...

Les

I have the Insta Trike Advantage Kit on my 2005 Yamaha Vstar 650. Have had nothing but problems since it was installed 2 weeks ago. Now I understand why the installer in Phoenix took his fenders off completely, just running the tires. I have had to have both fenders "shimmed" and put the tire pressure @ 41 psi. It came with 60 psi in the tires. Nobody wants to even work on it locally where I live. Out of luck here, may have to have it "uninstalled" and go back to the "2 wheels up"....Oh well.....

[TowPacer]

Just had the kit installed 2 weeks ago on my 2005 Vstar Yamaha 650. Nobody was familiar with the installation here locally. The closest installer was 100 miles from me. So had a shop do it, paid a arm and a leg to do it for me. Well, here are the "long and shorts" of my personal experience with the whole shabang. The owner of the shop picked it up took 4 days to install it. Rode it back to me. I got on the bike my right rubber floorboard was missing, a special statue I had mounted on my rear fender was completely broken off. I rode the bike around the park where I live, it shook like no tomorrow, left rear trike tire was totally rubbing into the fender and was slightly "ground down" from him riding it and I could not believe he could not feel that, let alone hear it! One of the lug nuts was missing. After him telling me "lady I am done with this "piece of ****" don't call us again. So, I checked the tire pressure it was 60 psi, I lowered that to 41 psi per Jeremy @ Tow Pac....A friend came over and had to put "shims" on that rear left trike fender and I had to order another replacement rubber insert for my right floorboard. Now it is just sitting under my carport with the cover on it. I am thinking about perhaps just taking all of it off and going back to "2 wheels up." It rode great prior to this. I thought I was doing myself a favor for more stability! Oh, I did see there is an installer down in Phoenix, 100 miles from me....He took his fenders off completely. Haha! This is like a bad dream for me....My bike now looks like a "spaceship!"

Good Luck with your venture now....