Passenger comfort on CSC Cobra xl

[dadztoy]

Hey guys,

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a conversion and leaning toward CSC. The wife is concerned as we have talked about the longer wheel base of the Roadsmith and Hannigan, although Hannigan is pretty much out of my price range.

Any inputs from your co- riders would be appreciated.

Dadztoy

[BrokenBackJack]

We have one on our 2010 and my bride has no complaints at all.

[cScjhb]

Your Avatar shows you have a Honda Goldwing and I assume that is the bike you will be converting. A couple of things to consider. The CSC kit has different shock spring rates that can be ordered to fit your normal load. You also retain the OEM pre-load adjustment so you have the ability to fine tune your suspension at your finger tips. Make sure you upgrade the Honda preload system by replacing the rubber hose with a braided steel one and re-time the system.

I have an older CSC Cobra (2008) and it rode well but not as good as I would like. This last year I had the drive shaft update kit installed along with a suspension update kit. Both these items are included with the 2012 CSC models and newer. My bike now handles like it is on rails and I can't imagine how it could be any smoother or comfortable. Hope this helps. Good luck..... Jim

I also want to add that if you do go with the CSC conversion, I highly recommend including the (optional) aux. fuel tank. It adds 3.6 gallons giving you a total of 10 capacity. On my previous 2 wheel GL1800s I usually averaged right at 40 MPG. The Cobra trike averages 33-35. So with the extra fuel I actually have more range than I did with my 2 wheelers.

[tourman]

Ride both trikes and see what YOU like. Nobody here can tell you what you'll like to ride

[bikerbillone]

I agree, but he was only asking input from others, nothing wrong with that. If I had to it over again, I'd probably opt for the CSC at the price point with upgrades, hopefully CSC has the shaft drive fixed on the the the new model. No matter what I did, my RoadSmith never was a smooth ride that I expected.

[BrokenBackJack]

cScjhb

Trying to send you a PM and it says i don't have permission to send a PM to you. Wanting to ask you a couple questions about your rear suspension update.

It is turned on, on my end. Am i doing something wrong?

Thanks,

John

[paws]

cScjhb

Trying to send you a PM and it says i don't have permission to send a PM to you.

It is turned on, on my end. Am i doing something wrong?

Thanks,

John

Only Gold Club Members can send PM’s to each other.

[cScjhb]

I gotta get my rear in gear and become a Gold Member. To answer a couple Questions.....

Yes, CSC did address the drive shaft problems starting with the 2012 models. And older trikes can be retro-fit with the new drive system which is what I did. All indications are that it is bullet proof. The suspension upgrade that was done is CSC Suspension Kit #33358. I believe that kit includes a new sway bar system but I can't find any information about it on line or from CSC web site...... Jim

[tourman]

After adjustments, My Roadsmith HTS1800 is as smooth as can be. I played with shock settings, Road Force balanced the rear tires, (Best thing I did) tried different tire pressures etc

I agree, but he was only asking input from others, nothing wrong with that. If I had to it over again, I'd probably opt for the CSC at the price point with upgrades, hopefully CSC has the shaft drive fixed on the the the new model. No matter what I did, my RoadSmith never was a smooth ride that I expected.

[ahoover123]

Hey guys,

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a conversion and leaning toward CSC. The wife is concerned as we have talked about the longer wheel base of the Roadsmith and Hannigan, although Hannigan is pretty much out of my price range.

Any inputs from your co- riders would be appreciated.

Dadztoy

Well, I can and will, give you the "whole truth and nothing but the truth" since you asked. In April of 2018 I purchased a 2012 Honda Goldwing Roadsmith Trike with 33,000 miles. It was a beautiful Candy Apple Red with a matching Escapade Trailer. Thought it was a "match" made in Heaven until the day I got rid of it which was 5 months later. It pulled to the right really bad all the time no matter what road I was on.

Next, the brakes were terrible even after thorough bleeding several times. And finally, the right rear inner hub bearings had to be replaced due to excessive wear. Found out that excessive wear is what was causing my brake pedal to become spongy even after bleeding the lines. It allowed the rotor to "wobble" between the inner and outer pads causing a poor pedal and even poorer stopping. And although all my friends who said I had purchased a super trike due to the wheelbase, it road like a log truck.

And to really turn me away from Roadsmith, when I called the factory and told them about the bearings being worn out, they didn't even offer to send me the parts for free or offer to pay the shipping. And my reason for mentioning that is because the trike had something like 3 years or one million mile warranty. Remember, it only had 33,000 miles in 6 years and they didn't feel the need to compensate me for anything. I paid the full price plus shipping and just told them they should rethink the warranty description since a million miles was light years ahead of reality.

So, after spending money for 3 new tires and rear hub bearings, I traded it in for a 2018 Honda Goldwing DCT. Then 14 months later, I traded that in for the 2018 Honda Goldwing CSC Encore DCT Trike and love it. The wife and I just love this trike and can't stay off of it. I would like to think that Roadsmith does manufacture a good trike and not to many people had experienced what I had to. So in summary, I really think that you and your wife will love the CSC Encore Trike without any doubt.

Big H

[brianl]

I rode my '97 Goldwing Roadsmith from 2013 to 2019 and loved every minute of it. I traded it in last year for a 2017 with a new Roadsmith and like it even better. As many people have said, it's all in who does the install. I bought the 2017 from a dealer and all he does is search the country for low mileage wings and converts them with Roadsmith kits. It's hard to find a reputable installer. Do the research and if you have to send the bike somewhere to get a good job done, it's probably worth it.

[BrokenBackJack]

I gotta get my rear in gear and become a Gold Member. To answer a couple Questions.....

Yes, CSC did address the drive shaft problems starting with the 2012 models. And older trikes can be retro-fit with the new drive system which is what I did. All indications are that it is bullet proof. The suspension upgrade that was done is CSC Suspension Kit #33358. I believe that kit includes a new sway bar system but I can't find any information about it on line or from CSC web site...... Jim

We upgraded our driveshaft several years ago as it had the welded shaft when we bought our Trike. It sure sounds nice when shifting and dropped off quite a bit of weight too.

We would like to get our rear suspension to soften up some and was just curious on what they all did to your Trike when they did the rear suspension upgrade. We always ride two up.

Who did your rear suspension updated install and was in down in the Valley?

I have no idea what was installed in the rear when it was triked.

We are having Traxxion springs put in the forks this week, we took the Trike down to a guy in Glendale, AZ yesterday that Traxxion recommended for the install.

[bikerbillone]

ahoover123, interesting post on the RoadSmith, sort of mirrors my bag of problems with the RS.

[cScjhb]

Seems this thread has gotten off track a little. For those interested in the CSC rear suspension, I will start a new thread..... Jim

[bikerbillone]

I can delete my comment if necessary, thought the OP wanted input, I tried to keep it low key.

[BrokenBackJack]

It was my comment about the suspension.

[bikerbillone]

OK, hope all the information works for you. Maybe mine was off the wall, if so, apologies....I was not real happy with mine after a a lot of dollars, but it is what is and I have moved on to the Canam Spyder with no regrets.

[dadztoy]

Not to worry about some slightly off topic comments guys, all comments are appreciated.

Dadztoy

[ahoover123]

I don't really understand what went wrong here. Dadztoy was asking for input on a CSC trike ride comfort when compared to a Roadsmith. I simply gave him some information that was of interest to both brands and let him know some of the problems as well. Seems to me anyone asking his type of question would welcome those comments. Not sure why cScjhb made that comment and wanted to start a new thread when it wasn't even his thread. I'm just trying to understand what was out of line and why the need for a new thread. That's all. Not trying to piss anyone off. Just give helpful information to those that ask for it.

Big H.

[cScjhb]

I don't really understand what went wrong here. Dadztoy was asking for input on a CSC trike ride comfort when compared to a Roadsmith. I simply gave him some information that was of interest to both brands and let him know some of the problems as well. Seems to me anyone asking his type of question would welcome those comments. Not sure why cScjhb made that comment and wanted to start a new thread when it wasn't even his thread. I'm just trying to understand what was out of line and why the need for a new thread. That's all. Not trying to piss anyone off. Just give helpful information to those that ask for it.

Big H.

I think your input is exactly what the OP is looking for. I just started another thread about the CSC suspension because it seemed to me that the questions about upgrading the CSC were off topic from what the OP was originally asking. Sorry if any were offended. Just trying to not hijack. It's all good..... Jim