Got my Rake kit!!!!

[2Trikez]

Hi ya'll, been a member on here for a while and use this forum a whole lot. Got another bike (1989,GL1500...I know it's old!!) but I still drive the GL1200 trike...so there! But the wife wanted to get her own...soooooooo. Purchased Papa Zooks rake kit & it arrived on Tuesday of this week. Been reading the directions for install (glad it has pic's) and getting space & bike ready for install...maybe this weekend. Wife is patiently waiting.......

This unit looks GREAT and I do mean that!!!!!! Have purchased another but it looks nothing like this one. Great job Zook!!! I'm looking forward to seeing how this baby works with the 6 degree on the GL1500. Even though we live in PA and the weather is above freezing as of now, we should be able to get some "test sessions" on the "NEW RAKE KIT" after install.

Thanks for the decal & biz card Zook. AND, thanks for your "fast" delivery of the kit.

Barry Ness

York, PA

[AJ1500]

you should really like the results you get with kit. I bought one a few years back and installed it on my 97 1500 with a sidecar and it was like night and day. the install is pretty straight forward. I agree with the quality of the kit, I recently bought another 1500 with a trike for my wife and has a different brand installed, I have to say it doesn't look anywhere near as nice as the one I bought from Papa Zook

couple pointers, cover your faux tank with a blanket and then lay a 2x4 across it and rest the handlebars on the 2x4. this will keep them square and keep them from trying to slide off the side of the tank.

[Papa Zook]

Hi ya'll, been a member on here for a while and use this forum a whole lot. Got another bike (1989,GL1500...I know it's old!!) but I still drive the GL1200 trike...so there! But the wife wanted to get her own...soooooooo. Purchased Papa Zooks rake kit & it arrived on Tuesday of this week. Been reading the directions for install (glad it has pic's) and getting space & bike ready for install...maybe this weekend. Wife is patiently waiting.......

This unit looks GREAT and I do mean that!!!!!! Have purchased another but it looks nothing like this one. Great job Zook!!! I'm looking forward to seeing how this baby works with the 6 degree on the GL1500. Even though we live in PA and the weather is above freezing as of now, we should be able to get some "test sessions" on the "NEW RAKE KIT" after install.

Thanks for the decal & biz card Zook. AND, thanks for your "fast" delivery of the kit.

Barry Ness

York, PA

Thanks Barry. Call me if you have any questions.

Randy

[FuzzyWuzHe]

If Chinese crud ever dies ... I'm gonna get my Tri down to Zookeeper's and get the rake put on mine ...

[Gideon]

If Chinese crud ever dies ... I'm gonna get my Tri down to Zookeeper's and get the rake put on mine ...

Alan, "Chinese Crud"

[Marc H]

Your gonna love it.Thats whats on mine.

[CrystalPistol]

Six degrees huh?, you are gonna love it. When I did mine, I covered the windshield with padding and a towell and used a good bungie cord across it to hold handlebars up out of my way. Took my time, made a long punch to use to work the lower bearing race out evenly working around the race from above, take your sweet time.

Hard to see it but I also made brake caliper hangers from coat hanger wire. The forks already had Progressive springs #11-1152 in them which were good pre-rake but the 6 degrees additional lay down make life easier on springs just like it would you if climbing a ladder, later by accident, trial, error, etc, I found a far better set was the Progressive #11-1112. Here's why.

Progressive # 11-1112 is for Kawasaki KZ1200/1300 (in my 1500 trike)

20.75 " L <>1.19" OD <> 45/70 Lbs/In.<> near 0.210 wire <> 54 winds

Progressive # 11-1122 is for GL-1200 GoldWings

20.00 " L <>1.34" OD <> 45/70 Lbs/In. <> near 0.230 wire <> 50 winds

Progressive # 11-1152 is for GL-1500 GoldWings

20.50 " L <>1.35" OD <> 35/80 Lbs/In.Things happen for reasons.

In 2004 I puirchased my already triked 97 GL1500 SE / Lehman trike, I knew this bike since purchased new in Oct '96, it was first '97 delivered in H-burg. Original owner triked it in '98. He was a Lehman installer, they rode it for years as he built others for folks. It already had Progressive # 11-1152 as indicated by the reciepts they kept in a book of all items for it. Complete with records and a trailer!

I had it a month before I ordered a Champion EZ Steer in 6 degree flavor, got one of the last before they stopped making the 6 degree one he said. Near $900 shipped, I installed Oct '04, reused the Progressive # 11-1152 springs as all I had on hand.

Rough ride and front end sagged. Look at spring rates above, see why? I do. And the fact that I had just laid the front fork tubes down by 6 more degrees only made it worse as any stiffness in the spring as the rate changed is only exaggerated. Couple years ago, tired of the beating, being a procrastinator too, I looked around and found a set of springs listed for a 1200 on Ebay, I ordered them, as number sounded familiar to what I was looking for 11-1122. Got them, slipped them in place .... and .... WOW!, it was wonderful. They fit a little loose in the bore, squeaked at first, but oh ... What a Ride they gave! Looking later on box, see they were really Progressive # 11-1112 springs, not the 11-1122 springs I thought I ordered. The squeak went away first ride.

Speed forward, I keep eyes open on Ebay, one day picked up a set of the 11-1122 springs for a GL-1200 cheap, new in box. I get them and put on a shelf. March 20th, we take a ride over to the Maple Festival, great trip, fun ride. That evening or the next, while cleaning the trike I decided to slip the recently acquired 11-1122 springs in place and removed the 11-1112 springs. I made up 5/8 spacers and that with the shorter 11-1122 springs held the front up near top of stroke at rest. These are the springs Progressive sells for the GL-1200 and the OD is very nearly the same as stock 1500 springs. Took several rides since, still a comfortable ride, 10X better than those 11-1152 springs originally in it, and front set up ... but memory told me the "wrong" 11-1112 springs rode better, swallowed bumps better, and held the front up as well as the 11-1122 springs with spacers ... even without spacers.

Saturday we had a near 250 mile ride planned, we went. Saturday night as cleaned it up from what was a dusty ride, I decided to slip the "wrong" 11-1112 springs back in. It's really easy now, can do it in 30 minutes.

Jack under front of motor and set on wooden blocks.

Remove schrader valve and drop 5" long smooth 1/4 bolt in hole to keep it all together when loosened, just loosen top clamp and bring out cap & tube extension as one unit (I have fork tubes mounted so about 3/8" of top extension protrudes above top clamp so that top of original fork tube is inside bottom ... so now the top clamp helps allign the cap & tube extension with fork tube as I stand over with speed wrench and chest board I made up). Remove springs one at a time, I wipe new springs with fork oil and insert, put back together.

Sunday, we take another 268 mile trip. Yep. memory was right, these Progressive # 11-1112 for Kawasaki KZ1200/1300 will now remain in my GL1500's 6 degree raked front fork tubes from here on out. I might play with fork oil weights, have a 50/50 mix of 7 and 10 wgt Belray Fork Oil in it now, about 8.5 weight, 350 CC each. 325 CC is enough though though.

The 1122s were good, and if not for a mistake I'ld be using them and not know any better ... but for a mistake in reading a number on my part and the shippers (the listing showed 11-1122, the numbers on the box so simular upon reciept that I just didn't notice, and the length looked right!). These 1112s work bumps and bridge joints and ripples and etc ... even better.

[stacebg]

generally i like to have at least the lower bearing on hand and just put it in rather than fighting to get the old one off.. they are not a lot of money

if it gets mess up trying to remove it now i have the wait a couple days to get a bearing

[CrystalPistol]

Reason I even mentioned the bearing is that as far as I knew, all "rake kits" came with a new lower bearing pressed on the kit's new stem with a new outer race loose packed, so knocking out the old race as straight as possible was not so much to save the race, but rather, to not egg the frame's stem tube.

All the 1500s came OEM with tapered roller bearings, it was with the 2001 1800 when Honda went to ball bearings in the GL's stem. The lower race was the only one needing replacement as it had a new bearing on the stem in the kit. The upper bearing was simply reused so no need to change that race, just left it.

[Papa Zook]

Removing and replacing both of the original lower and upper bearing races is not an option on any GL1500 or GL1800 when installing a rake kit. The stock factory bearings on both are the round "bicycle" style bearings, where the replacement bearings are tapered and have to use the supplied matching tapered races or they will not fit/seat properly.

[AJ1500]

Removing and replacing both of the original lower and upper bearing races is not an option on any GL1500 or GL1800. The factory bearings on both are the round "bicycle" style bearings, where the replacement bearings are tapered and have to use the supplied matching tapered races or they will not fit/seat properly.

hmm, that makes we wonder, when I did my 97SE it had the tapered bearings in it.