New member, New Trike

[Joey]

Hello everyone<br />
I am Joey Fletcher from Durham NC. I bought my first trike 3 days ago, it is a K1200 LT BMW with a Hannigan Trike kit (Black). I also have a 2001 K 1200 LT and a 2005 Rocket III Triumph.<br />
<br />
First impressions, It is not a motorcycle! I bought it in Fl. close to Alabama. I rode it home, the long way around 885 miles. Down I-10 E to I- 95 north this past Thursday and Friday.<br />
<br />
I am not sure if I like it or not. The ride is very nice at high speed 75+ but kills the fuel milage 27 at best. The main thing I hate about the trike is head shake at low speeds. It is awful from 0 to anything less than 50 mph. The dealer told me that this was normal for BMW and Harleys, but not GW's.<br />
I do ride with light hands if you know what I mean by that, but my Rocket III is a Darkside motorcycle.

I run an 11 inch car tire on the back of the rocket which changes the handling of the motorcycle alot. way more steering input.<br />
<br />
No wonder there are not many BMW trikes around if this is the norm. It does have the 6* rake from Hannigan. I can not guess what it would be with out it.<br />
Great on the interstate but really sucks in town and back roads where you wish to ride at slower speeds.<br />
<br />
Maybe I will get use to it and feel better about the trike in the days to come.<br />
<br />
Anyways, Just hello from a New Trike owner and nice to meet all of you<br />
<br />
Stay safe have fun <br />
<br />
Joey Fletcher<br />
Durham NC

[rmrc51]

Welcome to Trike Talk! You'll find a wealth of information here along with the best group of people from all walks of life!

[Bikerbozo]

Welcome Joey. Normally I would say give it 500 miles for you to get used to it, but you have that covered already. The bit about shaking below 50mph sounds like horse puckies (I just learned that the Trike Talk software censors "bad words". I had typed something different than "puckies") from the dealer. I have an H-D Tri-Glide. As purchased, maybe a little shaky under 5mph. The Harley's have a stabilizing shock mounted from frame to front end that seems to help alot. You mention the rake that you have. I replaced brackets on back of my trike that lifted rear up about 1 1/4". This actually made a big difference for the better in front end.

It couldn't have changed the rake angle more than a fraction.<img src="images/smilies/joker smilie.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Joker3" class="inlineimg" />

[Gorilla]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Joey</strong>
<a href="showthread.php?p=92685#post92685" rel="nofollow"><img class="inlineimg" src="images/buttons/viewpost-right.png" alt="View Post" /></a>
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<div class="message">Hello everyone<br />
I am Joey Fletcher from Durham NC. I bought my first trike 3 days ago, it is a K1200 LT BMW with a Hannigan Trike kit (Black). I also have a 2001 K 1200 LT and a 2005 Rocket III Triumph.<br />
<br />
First impressions, It is not a motorcycle! I bought it in Fl. close to Alabama. I rode it home, the long way around 885 miles. Down I-10 E to I- 95 north this past Thursday and Friday.<br />
<br />
I am not sure if I like it or not. The ride is very nice at high speed 75+ but kills the fuel milage 27 at best. The main thing I hate about the trike is head shake at low speeds. It is awful from 0 to anything less than 50 mph. The dealer told me that this was normal for BMW and Harleys, but not GW's.<br />
I do ride with light hands if you know what I mean by that, but my Rocket III is a Darkside motorcycle.

I run as 11 inch car tire on the back of the rocket which changes the handling of the motorcycle alot. way more steering input.<br />
<br />
No wonder there are not many BMW trikes around if this is the norm. It does have the 6* rake from Hannigan. I can not guess what it would be with out it.<br />
Great on the interstate but really sucks in town and back roads where you wish to ride at slower speeds.<br />
<br />
Maybe I will get use to it and feel better about the trike in the days to come.<br />
<br />
Anyways, Just hello from a New Trike owner and nice to meet all of you<br />
<br />
Stay safe have fun <br />
<br />
Joey Fletcher<br />
Durham NC</div>

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</div>Welcome aboard Joey. I do not know about all BMW's but Harleys do not have head shack if built correctly as most are.

[CASALUV]

Welcome to TRIKING............You should have bought a Gold Wing......I have none of those problems at all.....Gas and Go.................

[Papa Zook]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Joey</strong>
<a href="showthread.php?p=92685#post92685" rel="nofollow"><img class="inlineimg" src="images/buttons/viewpost-right.png" alt="View Post" /></a>
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<div class="message">Hello everyone<br />
I am Joey Fletcher from Durham NC. I bought my first trike 3 days ago, it is a K1200 LT BMW with a Hannigan Trike kit (Black). I also have a 2001 K 1200 LT and a 2005 Rocket III Triumph.<br />
<br />
First impressions, It is not a motorcycle! I bought it in Fl. close to Alabama. I rode it home, the long way around 885 miles. Down I-10 E to I- 95 north this past Thursday and Friday.<br />
<br />
I am not sure if I like it or not. The ride is very nice at high speed 75+ but kills the fuel milage 27 at best. The main thing I hate about the trike is head shake at low speeds. It is awful from 0 to anything less than 50 mph.<font color="Red"> <b>The dealer told me that this was normal for BMW and Harleys</b></font>, but not GW's.<br />
<br />
I do ride with light hands if you know what I mean by that, but my Rocket III is a Darkside motorcycle. I run an 11 inch car tire on the back of the rocket which changes the handling of the motorcycle alot.

way more steering input.<br />
<br />
No wonder there are not many BMW trikes around if this is the norm. It does have the 6* rake from Hannigan. I can not guess what it would be with out it.<br />
Great on the interstate but really sucks in town and back roads where you wish to ride at slower speeds.<br />
<br />
Maybe I will get use to it and feel better about the trike in the days to come.<br />
<br />
Anyways, Just hello from a New Trike owner and nice to meet all of you<br />
<br />
Stay safe have fun <br />
<br />
Joey Fletcher<br />
Durham NC</div>

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</div>There is nothing normal about extreme head shake up to 50MPH on any BMW or Harley trike conversion. I suspect that the steering head may need re-torquing and / or the bearings need to be re-seated. There may also be an issue with the front tire itself. Is it worn or cupped? What the current tire pressure? It should be aired to max air pressure per the tires rating.

[Joey]

Thanks Guys<br />
<br />
For the warm greetings. I see quite a few people looked at this thread but just a few replied to it.<br />
<br />
I am not sure if this if the correct place to talk about the issue I am having with the front end shake but Mr Bazooka can move it if he wishes<br />
<br />
The tire is new and has been balanced in my presents, on a real tire balance machine. No bent rim and only needed 1/2 oz in weight. the pressure is only 38 psi. I will bump it up to max 42- 44 .<br />
<br />
I will do my best to explain what I feel on the trike from 0 - 50 mph<br />
<br />
As it starts to roll 0 - 5 mph I get a small pulling on the bars from left to right, as I increase speed the wobble gets stronger and at 30 mph the bars has a strong wobble. if I let go of the handle bars they will instantly go into a 4 inch side to side severe head shake. It is like the damper is not attached. I have rode motorcyles for more than 50 yrs. and maybe only once have I felt anything like this. It was a H 1 Kaw with drag bars.

Once you pass 35 mph it continues to get better as the front wheel gyros faster unitl you reach 50+ and then it stops. <br />
<br />
I was told by the dealer the people that owned it had hit a alligator in the road and did some light plastic damage to the body work on this BMW. I guess I will pull the trike down and see what is there. I will put new bearings, races and seals back. The bike was triked out when new. (22K miles)<br />
<br />
OH, well that is about it in a nut shell.<br />
<br />
Thanks for any light anyone can shed on this issue.<br />
<br />
Joey Fletcher<br />
Durham NC

[Gorilla]

Joey as stated in another thread, it sounds like the stearing stem nut is not tight enough. It should be tight enough that the steering head will only move by gravity from a full over lock of the handle bars jut back to neutral. Never more than one full swing. If the front end hit something then it could have damaged one of the stem bearings also. I would suggest that you pull the front end down and see what you have.

[weewilly]

I have a 2000 BMW K1200LT with Hannigan 30th Anniv. conversion. I have never had any kind of steering/shake problems. Mine is rock solid at any speed. Wish I could answer what is wrong with your machine. I also would suspecion that it is in the steering head bearings...

[Joey]

Thanks Guys

I will start tearing it down today. I will try to post what I find out

Seems ashame to buy a (new to me trike) 2009 with 22K miles and have to do a complete teardown, with a asking price of $28,000.00

Well let the fun begin!!

[adaptolife]

Welcome to triketalk! No head shaking on my bike, just snapping.

[DonFor]

HI welcome, If you just purchased, was it from a dealer or a private sale? If it was a dealer he should make good on problem. You could chech to see if you have the right degree of rake on front forks,some have 31/2 to 6 degrees of rake which will help,if you find the correct angle. God Bless and Good Luck.