MotorTrike drive shaft

[cjmitch]

I had a Motor Trike drive shaft that was going out.

How did I tell??

I heard chirping/clicking when ever I used engine breaking.

SOOO Took it to the dealer, and we both got under the bike. Neither of us could find the problem.

Took it down and went up the incline out of his shop, and the thing let loose.

LOUDLY!!! Chirp,Chirp,Chirp,Chirp,Chirp, Click , Click Click



So back in the shop we went and REMOVED the shaft. and the inner yoke had been hitting the outer yoke of the front Ujoint

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You can see what happened.

So he went into his ROOM-O-PARTS and got me a front u joint from a 1500 (i understand they are the same parts between a 15 and 18)

OffI went, and boy was it smoother, Ujoint just don't go bad, they gradually make your ride miserable, until they completely go.



But by then I was totally spooked about the drive shaft, so I ordered me one of MT's NEW drive shafts. and after putting it put... BOY was it a better ride.

Visually the front u joint is about 30% to 50% bigger than the one it replaced. and the drive shaft is notched... no more timing issues. Slipped right oon and it has been great so far

 

[bsdblues]

Motor trike vibration

Originally Posted by Woolie



First, if your dealer didn't think you needed a trike, would he not have installed the kit. I agree that sounds like an excuse. I don't understand why someone can't just say, crap I forgot or didn't understand. I would have a lot more respect for them, nobody is perfect, anyone can make a mistake, it is how they handle it that matters.



You didn't mention what brand and model kit you had installed, or maybe I missed it. As Gold Rush said, these vibration problems are linked to the Motor Trike Adventure Kit and I had no vibration problems before I replaced the shaft. I guess there was a little but it didn't affect my mirrors and I never expected Cadillac smooth. I have a Bridgestone BT 45 rear tire on the front (not reversed) and since I put that on I have a little vibration or more like road noise at about 25 or 30 mph. I just get passed it. If the thing breaks I'll just get a convertible or maybe a stick horse, I have always found them to be pretty tame. I use the Centramatic balancers on the front and regular wheel weights on the rear.



I had no problems with the drive shaft.

It was either remove the original shaft to service it or install the new one to make the job easier next time. I chose the latter. BTW I used Blue Locktite on the bolts. I very seldom ever use Red, just Blue, Green or none.



Finally, if you have a little vibration it will probably be hard to eliminate but if it is bad enough to bother you I would stay after it. If you are riding a Motor Trike and suspect the drive shaft, just remove the right engine cover and look at the front U-joint, if it is blue it is the old shaft and the joints could be 1 tooth out of time, that will cause vibration, but if it is the green joint and yoke, then it is the new shaft and it cannot be out of time, it will only fit the rear part of the shaft 1 way. With a new kit, I would be willing to bet you have the new shaft. I would try the balance beads before anything else. With it being a new kit I really don't understand why you might have got a bad shaft and it needing to be replaced the first time, I would take a look at that front yoke. It should be green and it should have a grease fitting sticking out the side of one of the needle bearing cups.







Think we have a communication problem LOL. He didn't say I didn't need a Trike he said I didn't need a new front tire.

Then he blamed the vibration on the front tire because it was slightly cupped. That excuse would not have been there if he would have installed the front tire as I had instructed . Besides I had no vibration issues when I rode the bike the 100 miles to his shop. Converting it to a trike should not affect the front tire as far as vibration .My kit is the Motortrike Razor IRS. Previously I had asked him if he had checked the rear tire balance .He told me that was not necessary because they had balance beads in them. He is now telling me he had a problem with the balancing beads and tomorrow I have an appointment at his shop to have them removed ,and have the tires spin balanced. I have no high expectations that this will solve the problem. Motortrike was scheduled to appear at a rally near me . I thought I would take the trike to them to have them evaluate it , to my surprise the person representing them was the guy who sold me the trike kit. He took my trike for a ride ,and had me take one of Motortrikes display models, a 2015 Goldwing Razor ,for a ride.

It had a very very slight, almost un noticeable vibration, in fact I probably would not have noticed it without looking for it. . I would say mine was at least 3 times worse,and easily noticeable. However The installer tried to convince me that they were about the same. I think Motortrike has quality control issues. For instance the paint job on the frame is so poor that areas are already rusting,and I can see it is due to areas that received little or no paint. There was a brand new kit being installed at the shop where I had my kit installed, and it already had a considerable amount of rust on the bumper bracket. There is a light oil coating on my differential. It's not dripping ,just wet. The trunk leaks and the gap is much bigger on one side , due to the warped fiberglass mold job.I agree with a previous post that motortrike has a problem admitting when they have an ugly baby.

They seem to want to blame their problems on everything else. I had two other dealers say would not work on my trike under warranty, and if I wanted to have them check it out I would have to pay for it. Motortrike told me that their dealers are independent and they do not have to honor the warranty!

This is the same guy who told me that the vibration in the mirrors was always there, I just didn't notice it because you can't look in the mirrors long enough when it is a regular motorcycle because the MC will go where you look. He said the trike is different that it will stay straighter. I have been riding steadily for over 50 years ,and have owned and ridden everything from tank shift Harleys, Triumph choppers [ I still have one] 650 Yahmaha,750 hondas,550 hondas, to three different gold wings and can look in the mirrors long enough to see if they vibrate with out leaving my lane.

Oh yea the front yoke was green on both driveshafts. Motortike apparently uses used drive shafts and alters them. My installer said he could not give me my original drive shaft back because he had to send it back as a core. I appreciate your comments ,and look forward to your reply.

 

[skuuter]

I had an original Type I Driveshaft.....it was replaced on a recall with a Type II.....it broke after 3 years and 48,000+ miles of usage.....replaced with a Type III over 2 years ago. Still running around somewhere with New Owners. The Newest MT Driveshaft is the ONLY Way to Go......ThumbUp