New Rake Kit

[Paul_Trike]

Hey I just want to give thankful shout out to Bazooka on excellent service on my new rake kit.

I have made arrangements to have it installed on Saturday morning and doing some riding Saturday afternoon.

 

[skuuter]

You definetly went to the Right Place, and Saturday Afternoon, You are gonna' be TOTALLY AMAZED at the Difference...Your First Thought is gonna' be "Why Did I Just Now Do This".....ENJOY IT and CONGRATS.....ThumbUporag:

 

[TexasGuy]

Good decision! I just recently had a rake kit put on my '08 Wing - the only thing I'm sorry about is that I waited so long to do it.

 

[Memnoch451]

I have rode trikes with out them and it's just not as much fun. You might even call it work at low speeds and over rough roads... Rake kits on every Trike and sidecars make the going that much more easier! ThumbUp

 

[rmrc51]

Like so many have already said, adding a rake makes the world of difference. When I first bought my Valk Trike, she didn't have a rake. I eventually had a 6 degree rake installed. She felt like a completely different trike afterwards. You did the right thing! It's the best aftermarket addition you can do! ThumbUp

 

[Lucky]

You made a decision that you will earlly be pleased with.RIDE SAEF

 

[Papa Zook]

Hey I just want to give thankful shout out to Bazooka on excellent service on my new rake kit.

I have made arrangements to have it installed on Saturday morning and doing some riding Saturday afternoon.

Thanks so much for the order Paul. I appreciate it very much. I guarantee you'll love the rake kit! BTW, please report back with your impressions after the install.
Zook

 

[skuuter]

Thanks so much for the order Paul. I appreciate it very much. I guarantee you'll love the rake kit! BTW, please report back with your impressions after the install.
Zook

Definetly on the Impressions....gonna' be a very, very pleasant surprise...ThumbUp

 

[Paul_Trike]

O I will, I found a road that has a lot twist in it. So on Friday I am going to hit it pretty hard.

Then Saturday Morning I carry it in for minor surgery and when she gets out I am going to hit the same road again to compare.

 

[dsifford]

I am sold on getting a rake kit. However, I am concerned about a reputable installer in Colorado Springs that will not rob me and do a poor job. Going in to the local dealer for 4K service soon so I'll wait and see if I get a warm fuzzy feeling.:AGGHH:

 

[Blackwillow]

Having my GL kitted at this point a lot of you all have the advantantage of what the steering was like before and after the rake kit. what was it like before rake kit and how is it now??

 

[Nana]

Having my GL kitted at this point a lot of you all have the advantantage of what the steering was like before and after the rake kit. what was it like before rake kit and how is it now??

If you've ever driven an older pickup truck or car without power steering, then felt the relief when you moved over to a car with power steering..... well, that's what a rake kit does to the steering of a trike

 

[Paul_Trike]

Due to small glitch I was not able to install when planned.

But I dropped it off this morning and went back to work and wondered all day long I just wonder how much would this change the ride.

Well the evening rolled around I took off work as fast as I could and went to get my trike back. It was parked on a small incline so I pulled the clutch rolled straight back then turn to cut the rear end to the right and it was so effortless. I mean never a difficult move to start with but still could feel the differance.

All this did was wet my Appetite to hit some curves at cruising speeds. So out the parking lot I go and onto the roads and then it happen the road was a parking lot due to wreak so stop and go traffic for the next 15 minutes. I could not believe it, after all, I just wanted to ride man.

Road cleared, exited to my curvey road and off to the races, hitting one curve and just waiting for next and all I can say it was amazing. You really have to feel it to truely understand it.

Thanks Zook for your product.

 

[RRSCOTT]

What degree did you get?

 

[Paul_Trike]

6 degree

 

[Teal]

Torquing the stem nut is the final key in the assy.

for ex; my 1500 stock torques to abt 14ft ( if i rem corr)
with the rake i had to go to 30 ftlb to keep it tight (thur some progressions)

 

[Paul_Trike]

I took it to a Honda dealer who converts goldwings to trike.

I truely love the way it handles so I am assuming it is torqued properly.

 

[HonkytonkVTX]

Quick question. Do folks suggest fitting 'progressive springs' in forks, as well as 6 degree 'rake kit'.

I'm just about to order my rake kit from Zook, but am thinking of fitting progressive fork springs too.

I had a nasty scare last night on my new converted VTX1800C Trike. Its a 'naked' trike with all engineering showing, as I didn't want all the detailed engineering covered up with a rear trunk ect. (Hope I've got the correct American terminology right, as it seems strange for a Limey). Anyway, I've spent a lot of money on this project, having bespoke reverse made, additional fuel tank made to fit where rear wheel was etc. It's also adapted especially for me as I can't use my left leg due to disability, so I have had rear brake moved to a heel brake on left side. She's got 10" Billett rear rims and low profile Falken tyres. When finished she weighs 520kg.

Anyway I've only had her back from engineer for 2 weeks and straight away I realised that the front forks were looking low and deduced this was fron extra weight. They were also bottoming out on rough roadways. I decided to order progressive springs to make the forks firmer and to stop the 'nose dive' when using front brake at slow speeds.

Probably my own stupid fault for going too fast last night, but I was with friends on a highway doing somewhere between 85-90 mph, when I get a front end wobble and am fighting to hold on to the bars, the more I slowed down the worse the wobble got. I decoded to take drastic action as we were approaching an Island Junction (Roundabout - I know you don't have them in the US, sometimes I wish we didn't have them here) and I was running out of road. I opened her up hard, to straighten the front wobble whilst also taking weight off the front end. At the same time I used my heel brake to slow down from the back end. I can tell you honestly my heart had stopped and I was full of adrenaline.

I knew the trike had a low speed wobble and couldn't understand why the engineer had the front tyre pumped up so hard, so I softened the front tyre, but now I realise that this would have lowered the front end by 1" and changed the whole dynamics of the trike by lowering the front end and making the forks even more invertted. I should have also reduced the rear tyre pressure too.

So whilst I'm waiting for my rake kit to come from Zook, I'm gonna pump up that front tyre real hard again and soften the rear tyres to keep that front end as high as possible.

But the most important thing I'm going to do is SLOW DOWN and drive a little bit more sensibly.

HonkytonkVTX

 

[keepinon]

But the most important thing I'm going to do is SLOW DOWN and drive a little bit more sensibly

Awfully hard to do on that VTX. LOL, but I know what you mean.

I have found thru experience, from Goldwing's past & Valkyries I have now, air pressure lower than 40-42 PSI in the front tire sure seems to cause a high speed "wobble" at the most inopportune times. I now run 42 in both machines. The Valk 2-wheeler has seen 125 mph, smooth as silk. I do use Ride-on as a balancer in all tires.

And like you, I did not add progressive springs when I added a rake kit, but it is definitely on the "to do" list. Too much dive when hard braking.

 

[keepinon]

I would also like you to tell about the additional fuel tank, and it's plumbing. That's something I want to do to the Valk trike in the near future. I ride in some lonely areas in West Texas.

 

[HonkytonkVTX]

Hi Keepion, My engineer made a bespoke additional fuel tank that is placed where the rear solo wheel used to be. Its conected directly to the main top tank via ordinary fuel pipe, so basically instead of the top fuel tank pipe connecting straight in to the usual fuel injection system, it is just connected to the top of the aux fuel tank, so when filling up with fuel, the fuel just gravitates to the aux tank. AS the trike remains fuel injected, the rear aux fuel tank is connected to the fuel injection system - so basically it s exactly th same process as before, but from the aux tank and not the top one. Oh, we have also fitted an additional fuel filter under the seat to keep the fuel clean.

However relying on gravity to fill up the aux fuel tank gave us a little problem, because there was not enough room to fit a 1/2 " conecting pipe, so we had to keep to the original size fuel pipe, which meant it could take forever to fill up the bottom tank. So we fitted an ordinary additional sealed fuel cap, so if I'm in a hurry, I can fill the bottom tank first, replace the sealed cap and then fill the top tank. I haven't found out what my total range is yet, but I've done 230 miles so far and there's still plenty of fuel in the bottom tank. i used to hate having only 100 mile fuel range and it spoilt my riding experience, as I was always looking for gas stations from 70 miles. You certainly dont want to push a VTX far and you definately don't want to even consider pushing a VTX Trike.

Oh by the way, my VTX is a 2001 C model and its the only model that you can't buy an afterstock reverse kit for, so my engineer made me one using a fantastic reverse kit made in Scotland. they make these reverse kits for any Ford axle based trike, also some others too see Westgarage Engineering Services - Westgarage Services.
Great value at about $750.

 

[new2valks]

I concur. I had the 6 degree rake kit I bought from Zook installed on my Valk near my son's home in SC and when I got back down there and rode it - Man! What a difference! Best money I ever spent. Thanks, Zook!