Need a little help

[Big_Steve]

My '06 VTX trike was shimmying a little and pulling to the right some. Dealer gave me a 50/50 warranty so I took it back. First, the service manager kind of poo-pooed the notion of either of those things. He said any trike will pull some if you let go of the bars, unless it's been raked. Mine is not raked.

Is that true, or balderdash? After he rode it, he agreed it wasn't right. They worked on it. It pulls to the right LESS than it did. They re-torqued the neck bearings and the shimmy is all but gone. The bike handles and corners MUCH better. I'll give them that.

The paperwork they gave me shows them spending 5 hours on it. And even though it was a 50/50 warranty, they refused to charge me. I'd hate to take it back and make a fuss if you experienced riders agree with him. I can live with it as is, trying to decide if I SHOULD live with it.

BTW, the way I've been testing the "pull" of the ride is by locking the throttle so that it's going about 15 mph in first gear in a flat parking lot. It pulls to the right no matter which direction you drive in the pking lot. It also pulls to the right on the road, but it's hard to tell if it's the crown in the road or not.

Any input??

 

[Smoken'JOE]

Mine doesn't pull. Let go of handlebars and straight as an arrow. But mine is raked. I don't understand what one has to do with the other. Raked or not.
If I remember correctly, you have the 1300, right? He basically tighten the flat bearing so tight he bound up the bearing. Probably how he got rid of the shimmy.
I would do the bearing change out. From a flat bearing to a cone/cup style bearing.
Xchoppers.com - All Balls - Steering Bearings for VTX1300/1800, Valkyrie, GL1500

Also if you are handy, get the raked kit from site below or do a search for a little cheaper cost. Then you wouldn't have to do the bearing swap. Not really that difficult to do.
Billet Triple Trees

VTX-TREME Triple Tree 1300C

Xchoppers.com - VTX-Treme - 6 Degree Raked Triple Trees - VTX 1300 (all)


Sure hope this helps

 

[Nauga Mok]

Check the rear tire presure. Some people raise the pressure on the right rear tire by about 2 or 3 lbs to compensate for road crown. That's ok If you only ride 2 lane roads & don't pass anybody. On a flat surface, with unequal tire pressure it'll pull toward the side with lower pressure. Just maybe, the right rear tire is a bit low. You didn't say who's trike conversion is on your VTX, but Roadsmith, like Smoken'Joe & I have, recommends the rear tire pressure be the same on both sides for just this reason. Like Joe, I don't see a connection between rake & pulling to one side. Some complain about low speed shimmy with the stock rake, but not pulling one way or the other. Joe's also right that changing out the tree isn't that hard to do -- especially if you don't have a fairing. Though I'm a Harley guy, from what I see in the bearing upgrade he supplied the link to, it'd be a REAL good idea to do that too. You can get the bearing & seal driver shown in the upgrade article from Harbor Freight. Mac Tools makes a bearing punch that'll knock out the cups with ease. The taper roller bearings will take a LOT more preload & abuse than a 3 piece ball bearings.

NM

 

[Big_Steve]

Trike kit is motor trike. They recommend 18~25 lbs in the rear. I run them both at 21.

I'm a little confused about rake kits. Do they come with replacement bearings, and do you still have to cut the old raceways out even if the rake has new bearings?

 

[Smoken'JOE]

Trike kit is motor trike. They recommend 18~25 lbs in the rear. I run them both at 21.

I'm a little confused about rake kits. Do they come with replacement bearings, and do you still have to cut the old raceways out even if the rake has new bearings?

Comes with everything you need. The old trees are discarded along with the original bearings.

I have some pictures of what we did. Done when still on 2 wheels.
6 Degree Trees pictures by smokenjoe46 - Photobucket

 

[Big_Steve]

Comes with everything you need. The old trees are discarded along with the original bearings.

I have some pictures of what we did. Done when still on 2 wheels.
6 Degree Trees pictures by smokenjoe46 - Photobucket

So, no raceways to dremel out, and press back in? What was the hardest or trickiest part of doing the rake yourself?

I'm going to call the dealer again today about the pulling. They worked on it for quite a while and didn't charge me, even though the guarantee is 50/50. I suspect he's either just going to tell me to live with it, or start charging through the nose to look at it. But, a phone call is free.

Like I said, the pulling is improved, and the bike really does handle better. So he did do something right.

 

[Smoken'JOE]

So, no raceways to dremel out, and press back in? What was the hardest or trickiest part of doing the rake yourself?

I'm going to call the dealer again today about the pulling. They worked on it for quite a while and didn't charge me, even though the guarantee is 50/50. I suspect he's either just going to tell me to live with it, or start charging through the nose to look at it. But, a phone call is free.

Like I said, the pulling is improved, and the bike really does handle better. So he did do something right.

Hardest part???????????? Putting all the wires back in the headlight.
There are no real instructions to do this as I have found. It's a seat of the pants thing.
If you order the trees from the site below. Call him (Daryl) and talk with him about install. He's a great guy.
Billet Triple Trees

 

[Big_Steve]

Thanks. Going to drive it the rest of the summer and fall then decide on a rake.

Called the dealer about the pull to the right. He told me he did everything he can, and had Motor trike on the phone confirming that the adjustments are correct now. He IS a Motortrike dealer, but I think they probably only do a couple of kits a year. At this point, I just said okay thanks. I'm afraid if they don't have the experience and keep digging they'll hose it up royally. As I said, they did help it and it does ride much better.

I'm going to look into it a little at a time. If I can't figure it out, there is a big trike dealer about 2 hrs from here. Hopefully they do free estimates

In the meantime, I'm going to ride around and have some fun.

 

[Ozarkryder]

Couple of thoughts,might help, might not. First off, get the rake. You will not regret it. We had ours done in less than a week, pinned the dealer down and took it in when there was a period of rain forecast. Rode it to the dealer on a Tuesday, rained for the next 3 days and picked it up on Saturday. If the techs know what they are doing, the rake can be done in a day or two.

Second, on a MotorTrike, you have a ladder bar suspension, the bars, Hiem joints and axle can be adjusted so each wheel can be moved front to rear. One of the wheels may be a little off, or one can be adjusted front to rear to take out the pull. Ours pulled to the left even after the rake, and they moved the left wheel forward about 1/4 inch and the right wheel back the same. Runs straight and true on level ground now.

 

[Big_Steve]

Couple of thoughts,might help, might not. First off, get the rake. You will not regret it. We had ours done in less than a week, pinned the dealer down and took it in when there was a period of rain forecast. Rode it to the dealer on a Tuesday, rained for the next 3 days and picked it up on Saturday. If the techs know what they are doing, the rake can be done in a day or two.

Second, on a MotorTrike, you have a ladder bar suspension, the bars, Hiem joints and axle can be adjusted so each wheel can be moved front to rear. One of the wheels may be a little off, or one can be adjusted front to rear to take out the pull. Ours pulled to the left even after the rake, and they moved the left wheel forward about 1/4 inch and the right wheel back the same. Runs straight and true on level ground now.

When I looked up under the rear end it didn't look like rocket science to me. But I had the warranty, and they are supposed to be pros. I will tackle this myself. Just won't be able to get to it for a few weeks.

How hard was the pull to the left? Mine slowly goes right, but I don't have to fight it, and if I lock the throttle to shake out my right hand, I don't feel it while holding only with the left hand. I ask, because 1/4 inch sounds like a lot to me (??) Was yours pulling hard?