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