Rear suspension adjustment on CSC Cobra XL

dadztoy

300+ Posts
Dec 12, 2011
309
95
Georgetown, TN
Name
Les
When my bike was converted to a trike (conversion shop will remain nameless 🤬🤬🤬) among a myriad of other things, it would appear that some of the oil in the suspension actuator was allowed to leak out. Before the conversion the actuator started to load up immediately... After the conversion the actuator loading is not detectable until 4or 5... I spoke with Will about it when I had the trike at CSC but they didn't want to do it... I guess I complained to much about one of their high volume installers "effing" a lot of things up!! 🙄🙄

The question is - - - do you think it is possible to remove the actuator WITHOUT removing the trike body? I haven't jacked up the right side yet to check, but wondering if anyone has encountered this issue and has successfully refilled the actuator without removing the trike body? which I REALLY DON'T WANT TO DO!!!

As always, thanks in advance for all comments...

Les
 
That's a good question. It's definitely a lot easier to access before the conversion or before the trike body gets put on. There isn't a lot of room to get in there because of the trike body but there's gotta be a way. That is one of the things I'm going to look at once I finally get my hands on mine.
 
I honestly don't have the answer.That is a know complaint and the fix is a bit more involved than just adding fluid.It would think it would easier to access it through the right wheel well or under the seat.Maybe a combo of right side cover and wheel well. I did mine while the body was of doing the gearbox removal.
 
Thanks for the comments Marc and Mike... Yeah, access is going to be limited for sure,but I think it can be done with an unknown degree of difficulty... I need to pull the right wheel and see of I can get to the 2 lower bolts... If I can get it off, I know I can refill the reservoir... I'll keep y'all in the loop... I may try it tomorrow or Friday as it's supposed to rain here... Finally got out on the bike today after a long dry spell - - - felt really good!!! 😁
 
That had some good info but still doesn't solve the accessing the actuator behind the trike body. One thing I would mention though is that some fluids can have problems when mixed. I know he only added a small amount but used power steering fluid. The proper fluid to use is Honda SS-7 suspension fluid.

I did mine on my old 07 when it was still a bike. Mine would start to work around 8 or 9. In my case I completely removed the actuator/reservoir and drained it completely. I also opened it up to clean it out but really wasn't that dirty. But I felt better having fresh fluid in there.

I used this site for tips and clues


I will say that just undoing the fitting and hose looks like it would be much easier like the video @Marc H posted though.
 
That's the same article I used when I first did it on my 09 Mike. I'll have to get the right wheel off and see if I can access the bolts and if the hydraulic line has enough slack to actually refill the reservoir... When I did it the first time, it wasn't starting until it hit 9 !!!

Les
 
When my bike was converted to a trike (conversion shop will remain nameless 🤬🤬🤬) among a myriad of other things, it would appear that some of the oil in the suspension actuator was allowed to leak out. Before the conversion the actuator started to load up immediately... After the conversion the actuator loading is not detectable until 4or 5... I spoke with Will about it when I had the trike at CSC but they didn't want to do it... I guess I complained to much about one of their high volume installers "effing" a lot of things up!! 🙄🙄

The question is - - - do you think it is possible to remove the actuator WITHOUT removing the trike body? I haven't jacked up the right side yet to check, but wondering if anyone has encountered this issue and has successfully refilled the actuator without removing the trike body? which I REALLY DON'T WANT TO DO!!!

As always, thanks in advance for all comments...

Les

Wow, You must of really pissed Will off if they wouldn't fix it at the factory. People need to keep their cool when problems arise. Everyone is human and makes mistakes.
 
I think it was more of a situation where they didn't want to pull the trike body. The shop that did the conversion did a TERRIBLE job. Head bearings were burneled and the large metal ring dust cover was bent and showed screwdriver pry marks, a ton of hardware was so tight I couldn't get it off without stripping the heads. Floorboards were misaligned, and the list goes on. 4 years later and I am STILL finding things that were done improperly!!!

Here's the thing, according to Will. When a dealer is first taken on, the employee that will do the conversions is trained at CSC... If that employee leaves the conversion shop, training of another convertor is not required or even known by CSC...

I think the guy that converted mine was blind and had two left hands and was just a newer employee that was never trained at CSC.... If I would have known what a lousy job this shop was going to do, I would have went straight to CSC...

My feelings on CSC not taking this dealer to task is that because this was a high volume dealer ($$$$$) CSC didn't want to pi$$ them off and possibly lose their business...

CSC did correct a lot of their mistakes but would not do the actuator refill for whatever reason. I was quite polite with Will and I bare no ill will towards him or CSC... I love my conversion, but I wouldn't send my worst enemy to the shop that did the conversion...

Yes, I am a perfectionist and only I work on my bike!!! I would have done the conversion myself if CSC would have sold me the kit... There is no excuse for bad workmanship when you are paying thousands of dollars for a product... CSC stood behind most of the rework required but would not do the refill... Whether Will was pi$$Ed off or not I do not know, but I was the perfect gentleman when I was there!!!

Les
 
It's funny you mention steering head bearings. A few years back it was time to service my forks and I decided to investigate a popping feel that I had recently began to experience. I would get it when making turns at speed. When stopped and turning handlebars it was fine. I also decided to replace the bolts that secured the handlebars to the risers that were then secured to the top bridge. Several of them had the heads stripped out. Most likely by you know who. I figured I would also inspect the top bearing.

The top bearing seemed ok from checking but noticed that our "favorite" builder never reinstalled the lock washer. I picked up a new one and by chance had a spare All Balls bearing for the top. The race seems fine and no defects. So I replaced the old bearing with new, installed new lock washer and put the top bridge back together. I got handlebars and risers all reinstalled with new bolts. Once front end was all back together, took it out for shakedown ride and the "popping" was now completely gone.
 
SUCCESS!!!! I got'er done and now the actuator starts just before #1 and goes all the way up to 25!!

Ya know guys, I'm a pretty fair "wrench", but I gotta tell ya, this one was really tough and really taxed my abilities. Not because the refill task is so difficult, but getting that dang actuator in and out was a MAJOR task... Due to the fact there is very little room and it's tough to see the bolts, and getting them out, and then back in again, was very, very, very, difficult... Took me nearly 2-3 hours just to get the actuator back in... It came out fairly easy, but again, do to poor workmanship on the conversion and wire routing and wrapping cables around the frame and other things, removal was more difficult than it should have been... Needless to say, there was a LOT of "blue language" in the shop today!!! 😉

I began by jacking up the right side of trike and removing the wheel... Then the fun began... All totaled, it took me somewhere between 6-7 hours to complete the job and I still have to clean up the shop and reinstall the seat, backrest, etc...

If your going to attempt this, better make sure you have your "journeyman wrench badge" and a good assortment of socket extensions, wobble attachments and standard and deepwell sockets...

I cleaned the actuator throughly and installed 5w fork oil... Can't wait to try it out at a maximum of 25 on the actuator gauge to see if the trike corners any better... I usually run the suspension in the 15-20 range and all the way up if I'm carving twisties on the Dragon or running the Cherohala, both of which are about an hour or so away from me...

Glad I finally got it fixed but I sure don't look forward to doing it again!!!😲😲😲

Les
 

Welcome to the Trike Talk Community

Join our vibrant online community dedicated to all things Trikes! Whether you're a seasoned rider or just starting out, this is the place to share experiences, tips, and stories about your three-wheeled adventures. Explore modifications, maintenance advice, and rides, all while connecting with fellow trike enthusiasts from around the globe

Forum statistics

Threads
55,143
Messages
797,324
Members
23,534
Latest member
wingbuck
Back
Top