Motor Trike not reputable IMO

[Pastor Ron]

Long story short: Only after 8,000 miles (of my 50,000 mile warranty), my tech. ( who installed the kit), says I have to replace the chain, front and rear sprockets, AND, he called Motor Trike who said it was wear parts AND THEY WOULD NOT REPLACE UNDER WARRANTY ! REALLY ! Only after 8,000 miles....I learned a very expensive lesson, that I may turn over to my attorney.

 

[sgmdudley]

I am confused (what else is new). I have a 2017 GL1800 w/MT Adventure kit. It does not have a chain and/or sprockets. Is it a different motorcycle?

 

[Pastor Ron]

Yes, this is a Honda SilverWing...automatic belt driven..MT came out with a kit for it a few years ago that uses a chain drive from belt hook up

 

[Jack Klarich]

WOW, only 8K miles and chain and sprockets need replacing

I guess I would be a bit torqued over that

 

[radismukes]

Sorry to hear about your chain problems. Chains have always been a wear and tear item on motorcycle. Roller chains need adjusting often and lubrication. If they aren't properly adjusted they will wear sprockets and chain quickly.

I would look at the Tech who installed you kit. They would be the one who should verify the proper tension was set. But in the end the rider should check chain tension regularly.

 

[Pastor Ron]

I DID check chain and cleaned and lubed every third fill up. I just had my trike on last week for front tire and brakes, air filter and plugs. Chain looked at, all ( Supposedly) was ok !

 

[peteg59]

Sorry to hear of your premature chain/sprockets wear Pastor. There is no real # of miles a chain/sprocket set will run before replacement is needed, as there are too many factors that can contribute to early wear. Something caused your set to wear faster than normal. That "something" could be difficult if not impossible to determine at this point, however.

As said above already, these are considered "wear" items by 99.9% of manufacturers.

If they indeed need replacement, you'll have to bite the bullet and replace them.

If it were me in your situation I'd now look at a good/quality chain maker, (Diamond, or Tsubaki comes to mind), and spring for their top of the line o-ring chain. Going cheap will get you by for awhile, but for long term happiness, quality overrides economy when it comes to chain life in my opinion.

Additionally, correct installation/alignment/chain tension are three critical components that must all be right in order to get max life from the new chain/sprockets you need.

Some o-ring chains require very little lubrication but cannot be run dry or failure could occur, perhaps prematurely, again.

Good luck going forward but I wouldn't waste my $$ on attorney fees for this issue, if I were you...​

 

[Pastor Ron]

I understand about the possible wear issues, however, to install this kit Motor Trike only allows those who have been through their training course to install. I used a Honda dealer who puts trikes together everyday. I was just in their shop last week and have in the past asked them to check chain....what else can I do short of driving to Shelby to another dealer?

 

[Downtown Cowtown]

your tech set the chains too tight

 

[Gorilla]

point of forum rules. manufacturing bashing in not allowed. please keep it to stating a problem and getting help to resolve.

 

[stacebg]

Long story short: Only after 8,000 miles (of my 50,000 mile warranty), my tech. ( who installed the kit), says I have to replace the chain, front and rear sprockets, AND, he called Motor Trike who said it was wear parts AND THEY WOULD NOT REPLACE UNDER WARRANTY ! REALLY ! Only after 8,000 miles....I learned a very expensive lesson, that I may turn over to my attorney.

yrs ago had a gs 750 and the chain was pretty well gone at 16k replaced it with a non oring chain all they had .. i was in omaha in the middle of an 8k mile trip,,, and at 4k it was worse than the original

point is there is a big difference in chain..

when u get your new chain i would check the alignment side to side an twist as well at the tension... if there was a little mismatch some where along the way chain would wear quicker

 

[Pastor Ron]

yrs ago had a gs 750 and the chain was pretty well gone at 16k replaced it with a non oring chain all they had .. i was in omaha in the middle of an 8k mile trip,,, and at 4k it was worse than the original

point is there is a big difference in chain..

when u get your new chain i would check the alignment side to side an twist as well at the tension... if there was a little mismatch some where along the way chain would wear quicker

I will do just that, Thank you.

 

[Pastor Ron]

I was just in contact with Motor Trike receptionist (who I called yesterday for info), the reply she received from their Tech. 8,000 miles is a NORMAL WEAR ISSUE ! Wow, I hate to let the trike go, but, with this as a reoccurring issue every 8,000 miles. Trike will be for sale ASAP

 

[Pastor Ron]

I received info from another forum site, that a Burgman 650 owner had the exact same problem at 8,000 miles, and SHE NEVER used kerosene on her chain!

 

[radismukes]

Ron check out this youtube link.

 

[rhino 2]

Thats how i always cleaned chains, [Kerosene]......I even use it to unbind chain saw blades......And it is important to lube any medal that was cleaned with kerosene or it will immediately rust.....

 

[trike lady]

By chance are the sprockets made out of aluminum instead of steel?

 

[Pastor Ron]

That is EXACTLY how and When I cleaned my chain. This problem (turns out) is a manufacturer flaw that occurs( most likely) every 8,000miles.

 

[peteg59]

By chance are the sprockets made out of aluminum instead of steel?

^...Now that would cause premature wear for sure!

I hope his answer is no..:Shrug:​

 

[Pastor Ron]

I will double check, but, I am almost positive they are steel.

 

[Douglas44]

Highly unlikely the sprockets are anything other than steel .

Look carefully at both sprockets , look for any teeth that have a sharp edge or a sign of more wear on one side than the other. Check the spacing on the teeth and the depth of the teeth at their lowest point.

I suspect the sprockets are not aligned properly. This will cause very rapid wear of both the chain and the sprockets. A clear sign is a hook at the top of the teeth. Is the chain binding at it's loosest point or at it's tightest point ?

Normally at the loosest point on a two wheeled bike the chain flex is about 1/2 to maybe 3/4 inch.

Modern chains are sealed units that have internal lubrication at each link. Cleaning them really only removes the outer crud, check with the chain manufacturer about what type of solvents they recommend.

How best to align the sprockets should be addressed by the trike maker/installer.

I know how to do it on a motorcycle , but not on a trike ,Yet.

 

[rhino 2]

Chains do stretch .....So they do need routine adjustments....With my ATC's ATV's when i would run out of adjustments.....[Now i wouldn't do this with a street bike.]..But i would knock a link out of the chain to shorten it...

 

[trike lady]

I visited a website of a company that makes motorcycle sprockets and they do make aluminum ones but they are used primarily for racing applications. http://www.rebelgears.com/officialrebelgearshome.html On another site they did list that a steel sprocket should last between 10,000 and 30,000 miles before replacing.

You can read that here: https://www.solomotoparts.com/blog/Aluminum-v.-Steel-Motorcycle-Sprockets

 

[CrystalPistol]

My Triumps had steel transmission sprockets and aluminum larger rear sprockets, My Norton was steel at each end. Used roller chain and often pulled chain off with old one to leave in place to pull good one back on weith, thourough cleaning in kerosene, then I'd hang it by a wire, slather Marfak grease on it and heat with a propane torch just enough to see Marfak drawn into rollers & links at pins … let cool and reinstall and adjust.

Later years, when it got harder to find Marfak, I used spray on chain wax which was applied to warm chain. Was easier to apply on bike after warm up ride, but still pulled chain off for good cleaning.

Now, they use O-ring chains that are fatter and can chew into trans housing in places, but there is no cleaning, just use lube meant for O-ring chain I'm told.

 

[Pastor Ron]

Thank you all for your comments, I will definitely check old parts to check wear and or breakage.

 

[Douglas44]

Thank you all for your comments, I will definitely check old parts to check wear and or breakage.

Please keep us informed as you progress through this project. I see from your home page (( or what ever it's called) that you are in Ashville, NC . I'm a couple hours east of you in Lewisville, NC. maybe we can arrange to meet up and I could look at your machine. Sounds interesting , what ever the problem is.

 

[Pastor Ron]

Sounds good to me, whenever I get it back ( still waiting on parts to arrive ), I will give you a shout and try and hook up. THANKS !

 

[Pastor Ron]

Get in touch

Please keep us informed as you progress through this project. I see from your home page (( or what ever it's called) that you are in Ashville, NC . I'm a couple hours east of you in Lewisville, NC. maybe we can arrange to meet up and I could look at your machine. Sounds interesting , what ever the problem is.

Douglas, Donna and I will be out your way tomorrow 4/24/19; if you want to meet up and look at my GT3 and/or old parts give me a call at H- 828-367-2142 or cell 828-275-0215. Thanks, Ron

 

[Pastor Ron]

It turns out when all is said and done, the combination of cleaning with kerosene and lubing with teflon lube, was the worst thing I could have done. It caused premature wear of chain, which caused premature wear of front sprocket. THIS WAS MY FAULT NOT MOTOR TRIKE. Some (so CALLED experts on YouTube), advised this was a good thing to do, in MY case. It was not. I learned a very valuable (and expensive) lesson.