Last month, I bought a rake kit from Papa Zook, and had it installed on my triglide. It was out of desperation that I did it. I was having so much problem with my shoulders getting sore after rides (even just rides of 20 miles or so), then developing tension headaches as well, that I was considering selling it. The only thing that kept me from it was that my special needs daughter LOVES to ride, and I didn't want to take that away from her. She needs the more stable platform of a trike to be able to ride, or I would have just traded for an ultra glide.
So for the last two years, I've just basically put up with it. Then I read in Papa Zook's signature area talking about sore shoulders, and that a rake kit was a sure fire cure. I called him and bought one. It has been a God send to me. I've ridden about 600 miles total since it's been installed, including a day where I rode 200 miles, and I'm yet to have any shoulder pain. It's nice to come home after riding and not be hurting and then get a headache. It reminds me of having power steering. At road speed, going around curves, it takes about half the effort to steer. At low speed on parking lots or just doing a 180, there's about a 80-90% reduction in effort. I can literally steer with one hand at low speed. It's really amazing to me. The more I ride, the happier I am.
You don't have a need for the dampener anymore to prevent headshake, and that in itself takes away some of the effort it needs to steer. However, DO NOT remove the dampener and try to ride without being properly raked, or the resulting headshake during deceleration at high speeds will end up getting you killed! I have not experienced any headshake whatsoever, and I've even taken my hands off the handlebars during deceleration at highway speed to test it out. I don't recommend trying that however. My mechanic tightened everything to HHI specs for a trike to prevent headshake from happening.
The only modification that had to be done were the rear brake reservoir had to be moved a couple of inches down closer to the crash bar. Also the brake lines had to be mounted back with what the mechanic described as a half inch 'block' added to give them clearance so they wouldn't contact the new triple tree when turning. I suspect that both of these will be eliminated, because HHI is using my old triple trees to make a 'match' for the Triglide triple trees with the correct angle, so the clearance will be the same as they were from stock...is that correct Zook?
This is the best way I can describe the experience of having the rake kit...it is much more like riding a two wheeler in that when going around curves, you aren't fighting with the handlebars. (By the way, I've had a DK lift kit since nearly day one, and it didn't help me a whole lot--no offense, Kevin.) Of course you still have the centrifugal force a trike has, but not the concentration of the push-pull like you have when it's stock.
Any questions? Just shoot if you do...
Order Papa Zook's TriGlide rake kit from his shop Cut N Shoot Customs HERE.
So for the last two years, I've just basically put up with it. Then I read in Papa Zook's signature area talking about sore shoulders, and that a rake kit was a sure fire cure. I called him and bought one. It has been a God send to me. I've ridden about 600 miles total since it's been installed, including a day where I rode 200 miles, and I'm yet to have any shoulder pain. It's nice to come home after riding and not be hurting and then get a headache. It reminds me of having power steering. At road speed, going around curves, it takes about half the effort to steer. At low speed on parking lots or just doing a 180, there's about a 80-90% reduction in effort. I can literally steer with one hand at low speed. It's really amazing to me. The more I ride, the happier I am.
You don't have a need for the dampener anymore to prevent headshake, and that in itself takes away some of the effort it needs to steer. However, DO NOT remove the dampener and try to ride without being properly raked, or the resulting headshake during deceleration at high speeds will end up getting you killed! I have not experienced any headshake whatsoever, and I've even taken my hands off the handlebars during deceleration at highway speed to test it out. I don't recommend trying that however. My mechanic tightened everything to HHI specs for a trike to prevent headshake from happening.
The only modification that had to be done were the rear brake reservoir had to be moved a couple of inches down closer to the crash bar. Also the brake lines had to be mounted back with what the mechanic described as a half inch 'block' added to give them clearance so they wouldn't contact the new triple tree when turning. I suspect that both of these will be eliminated, because HHI is using my old triple trees to make a 'match' for the Triglide triple trees with the correct angle, so the clearance will be the same as they were from stock...is that correct Zook?
This is the best way I can describe the experience of having the rake kit...it is much more like riding a two wheeler in that when going around curves, you aren't fighting with the handlebars. (By the way, I've had a DK lift kit since nearly day one, and it didn't help me a whole lot--no offense, Kevin.) Of course you still have the centrifugal force a trike has, but not the concentration of the push-pull like you have when it's stock.
Any questions? Just shoot if you do...
Order Papa Zook's TriGlide rake kit from his shop Cut N Shoot Customs HERE.