Rear End Issues ??

[Firea100]

Hi to all on the site! It’s been quite a while since my last post.

Family, new career, etc....

Anyway, I’ve been through three trikes since we last chatted! My third one is somewhat of a disappointment thus far. I found my 2001 Honda Valkyrie Interstate Motortrike trike in New Jersey about a year ago. Came with a beautiful color matched Thoroughbred Lil’ Deuce Trailer. I’ve yet to put 1,000 miles on it! Odo reads 26XXX miles.

As most all Honda Goldwing and or Valkyrie owners will attest to, when you saddle up and take off, it feels as though your riding on a sewing machine! Smooth, with no shaking or vibrations.

Shame on me for not test driving the trike more thoroughly before I loaded it up into my trailer. (I arrived at near midnight, took it for a quick spin down the street and back) I noticed that the bike had a slight back firing which was attributed to it being cold.

The more troubling issue seems to be more in the driveline someplace. I have a chatter, clatter or shudder as you let out the clutch and as you begin your acceleration in each gear. You also hear what could be described as “ball bearings bouncing around in a cast aluminum box”? I looked underneath and detected some slop in the driveshaft assembly and noticed that it appeared to not have been lubricated recently (or ever) that I could tell.

I read that Motortrike had developed a new and improved driveshaft assembly for my application. I thought well I’d better get one to eliminate that possibility. No luck!

I’ve just returned from a bike shop that supposedly had a mechanic that “specialized” in Valkyries, he also rides them. I asked them to look into my issue but at the end of the day they were as perplexed as I am. They did sync my carbs and it DID make an improvement as far as engine drivability is concerned.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this is somehow related to my transmission or possibly my clutch.

If anyone has any insite or experience similar to mine, please post your thoughts and any solutions that you’ve found.

Great to be back on the site!

Thanks,

Larry in East China Mi

[Gold Rush]

You didn't say anything about getting the driveshaft issue cured but hopefully you did.

As for the other symptoms I'd bet a LOT of $$$ your clutch is very sick. I have to be honest and say I know very little about GL1500s so it may be something as simple as a hydraulic clutch issue or as bad as having to rebuild the entire system. I had a friend with an '03 GL1800 that did pretty much the same thing. He became unable to ride at all before getting serious about the repair. New owner hopefully knew about it or will very soon...

[trike lady]

Do you know if the clutch assembly was worked on by the p.o.? I'm wondering if the 'B' plate is in there? Is the sound present when the trike is in neutral? When was the fluid last changed? Color?

[Firea100]

You didn't say anything about getting the driveshaft issue cured but hopefully you did.

As for the other symptoms I'd bet a LOT of $$$ your clutch is very sick. I have to be honest and say I know very little about GL1500s so it may be something as simple as a hydraulic clutch issue or as bad as having to rebuild the entire system. I had a friend with an '03 GL1800 that did pretty much the same thing. He became unable to ride at all before getting serious about the repair. New owner hopefully knew about it or will very soon...

Gold Rush,

As for the driveshaft issue, I replaced it to attempt a fix of the symptoms listed above, unfortunately, it had no affect.

Thanks for the reply,

Larry in East China Mi

[Firea100]

Do you know if the clutch assembly was worked on by the p.o.? I'm wondering if the 'B' plate is in there? Is the sound present when the trike is in neutral? When was the fluid last changed? Color?

Trike Lady,

I do not know if the clutch had ever been worked on, I’m sure at some point I will get into that. As for the sound, it is only present when the bike is under load or as you relax the throttle after you reach your intended speed. The clutch ”feels” as it should. The fluid should be changed in both the clutch and brake system.

Thank you for your response,

Larry in East China Mi

[FuzzyWuzHe]

When you did the drive shaft, did you check/replace the u joints? Under load and deceleration kind of sounds like a u joint issue.

[Sidecarbill]

Your decription sounds like my goldwing. Except for the shudder I didn't have that. The noise you describe was the same as mine. It turned out to be a bad connecting rod bearing. Does the noise change as it warms up? Mine would get louder.

[grumpy]

Did you get the green u-joint with the new driveshaft? Sounds like a u-joint going out from your description, or maybe a clutch issue. Popping/backfiring could be loose clamps between air box and carbs. They tend to loosen up for some reason. Could also bee loose nuts on the exhaust to head connection. Have you posted your issue on the VRCC forum? (valkyrieforum.com) Lots of good folks there with a world of knowledge about Valks. I'm sure they can help you determine if you have engine/clutch problems. Someone posted a link to a MotorTrike service manual on here awhile back. Maybe you can find that or maybe he/she will jump in with the link. Hope you get it resolved. Stan

[trike tech]

Trike Lady,

I do not know if the clutch had ever been worked on, I’m sure at some point I will get into that. As for the sound, it is only present when the bike is under load or as you relax the throttle after you reach your intended speed.

I'm going to ask a VERY specific question here & it may seem trivial overall but quite the opposite as it will be a critical piece of information.

You mention the noise is there under load, under heavy load like hard acceleration, or a mild load like a casual acceleration to maintain speed?

ALSO, when the noise is present & audible - simulate changing lanes or slaloming in your lane. Does the noise stop when you do this?

[Firea100]

When you did the drive shaft, did you check/replace the u joints? Under load and deceleration kind of sounds like a u joint issue.

FuzzyWuzHe,

When I mentioned the driveshaft, I meant to say the entire shaft assembly. All u-joints and all related pieces end to end are brand new.

Thanks,

Larry from East China Mi

[Firea100]

I'm going to ask a VERY specific question here & it may seem trivial overall but quite the opposite as it will be a critical piece of information.

You mention the noise is there under load, under heavy load like hard acceleration, or a mild load like a casual acceleration to maintain speed?

Load, both slight and hard, it doesn’t matter. It does intensify as you twist the throttle.

ALSO, when the noise is present & audible - simulate changing lanes or slaloming in your lane. Does the noise stop when you do this?

Trike Tech,

No slaloming doesn’t matter. Thinking axle shaft bearings? The more I’m riding and listening, the more its coming from the back of the engine where the clutches and drive/driven gears are. I hear something like a chain rattling as if it has too much slop. The chatter sounds like/ feels like maybe clutch, although I don’t detect any slipping.

I hope I’ve answered the questions with enough information.

thank you,

Larry Gill in East China Mi.

[Firea100]

Your decription sounds like my goldwing. Except for the shudder I didn't have that. The noise you describe was the same as mine. It turned out to be a bad connecting rod bearing. Does the noise change as it warms up? Mine would get louder.

Sidecarbill,

No, the noise is constant, cold or warm.

thanks for replying,

Larry in East China Mi.

[Firea100]

Did you get the green u-joint with the new driveshaft? Sounds like a u-joint going out from your description, or maybe a clutch issue. Popping/backfiring could be loose clamps between air box and carbs. They tend to loosen up for some reason. Could also bee loose nuts on the exhaust to head connection. Have you posted your issue on the VRCC forum? (valkyrieforum.com) Lots of good folks there with a world of knowledge about Valks. I'm sure they can help you determine if you have engine/clutch problems. Someone posted a link to a MotorTrike service manual on here awhile back. Maybe you can find that or maybe he/she will jump in with the link. Hope you get it resolved. Stan

Grumpy,

Yes, the driveshaft set is the new “Green” u-joints.

Popping has been addressed, lean conditions in two of the six carburetors. Syncing took care of that!

thanks Grumpy,

Larry in East China Mi.

[trike tech]

Trike Tech,

No slaloming doesn’t matter. Thinking axle shaft bearings? The more I’m riding and listening, the more its coming from the back of the engine where the clutches and drive/driven gears are. I hear something like a chain rattling as if it has too much slop. The chatter sounds like/ feels like maybe clutch, although I don’t detect any slipping.

I hope I’ve answered the questions with enough information.

thank you,

Larry Gill in East China Mi.

IF the noise doesn't stop when you slalom or change lanes that pretty much eliminates the heim joints from being the cause (if the noise stopped they would be the cause).

[Firea100]

IF the noise doesn't stop when you slalom or change lanes that pretty much eliminates the heim joints from being the cause (if the noise stopped they would be the cause).

Trike Tech,

Thank you for your input.

Larry in East China Mi

[Firea100]

Trike Lady,

Is it possible to leave out the “B” disc and still have the bike leave and accelerate without slipping?

[trike lady]

Yes, you substitute additional plates. It's being done a lot on older Goldwings where the 'B' plate cannot be found, the engaging isn't as smooth. Not too long ago we were discussing it on a Goldwing forum, the B plate came apart and sent brass rivets everywhere. Odds are the original may have came apart and someone substituted two plates. It may slip a little as it is two steel plates with no cushion.This was our discussion and I located an original part: https://www.goldwingfacts.com/forums/2-goldwing-technical-forum/663677-loose-rivets-clutch-housing.html