Roadsmith rear shock issues

[VictroEcho]

Hello all, thank you for letting me join.

I have a 1999 Goldwing GL1500SE / Roadsmith trike that I bought this February and drive it home March. I have since fixed a few issues but this issue with the rear shocks has me puzzled.

First, there was an air leak somewhere in the system so the shock circuit would not hold air. I was going to replace the air shocks with coil overs but when I pulled one of the wheels to do some measuring I found that only about 2 inches of the shock absorber shaft extended from the top of the shock when the wheel was at the bottom of the stroke. I measured full travel of the wheel hub center from full travel bottom stop to the highest it would move upwards, I got a total up / down travel of 3 inches using only 2 inches of shock stroke. Does this sound right? It seems to me there should be considerably more travel to account for the rougher roads.

Please comment.

Thanks Victor Echo

 

[rhino 2]

Hello all, thank you for letting me join.

I have a 1999 Goldwing GL1500SE / Roadsmith trike that I bought this February and drive it home March. I have since fixed a few issues but this issue with the rear shocks has me puzzled.

First, there was an air leak somewhere in the system so the shock circuit would not hold air. I was going to replace the air shocks with coil overs but when I pulled one of the wheels to do some measuring I found that only about 2 inches of the shock absorber shaft extended from the top of the shock when the wheel was at the bottom of the stroke. I measured full travel of the wheel hub center from full travel bottom stop to the highest it would move upwards, I got a total up / down travel of 3 inches using only 2 inches of shock stroke. Does this sound right? It seems to me there should be considerably more travel to account for the rougher roads.

Please comment.

Thanks Victor Echo

Richard, Welcome to Trike Talk…

 

[Gorilla]

Hello all, thank you for letting me join.

I have a 1999 Goldwing GL1500SE / Roadsmith trike that I bought this February and drive it home March. I have since fixed a few issues but this issue with the rear shocks has me puzzled.

First, there was an air leak somewhere in the system so the shock circuit would not hold air. I was going to replace the air shocks with coil overs but when I pulled one of the wheels to do some measuring I found that only about 2 inches of the shock absorber shaft extended from the top of the shock when the wheel was at the bottom of the stroke. I measured full travel of the wheel hub center from full travel bottom stop to the highest it would move upwards, I got a total up / down travel of 3 inches using only 2 inches of shock stroke. Does this sound right? It seems to me there should be considerably more travel to account for the rougher roads.

Please comment.

Thanks Victor Echo

You need to remove the shock to check its travel. There maybe a strap or something preventing the shock from fully extending while still on the vehicle. But that maybe all that there is.

 

[VictroEcho]

Roadsmith suspension

You need to remove the shock to check its travel. There maybe a strap or something preventing the shock from fully extending while still on the vehicle. But that maybe all that there is.

Hi Gorilla,

I tried responding but I don't know if you got it so will try again:

I placed a scissor jack under the wheel hub to check vertical travel. The low travel is limited by a steel bracket that contacts the swing arm. Jacked the hub up to compress the shock but as I jacked I started lifting the trike while there was still 3/4" of shock stroke AND the bump stops were no where close to contact. Total travel = 3".

I read somewhere that vertical travel is somewhere between 4" ~ 6".

Is this a design flaw by Roadsmith or did the installer of the kit do something wrong??

 

[Gorilla]

Hi Gorilla,

I tried responding but I don't know if you got it so will try again:

I placed a scissor jack under the wheel hub to check vertical travel. The low travel is limited by a steel bracket that contacts the swing arm. Jacked the hub up to compress the shock but as I jacked I started lifting the trike while there was still 3/4" of shock stroke AND the bump stops were no where close to contact. Total travel = 3".

I read somewhere that vertical travel is somewhere between 4" ~ 6".

Is this a design flaw by Roadsmith or did the installer of the kit do something wrong??

Hi I'm not a Roadsmith owner so I can't answer those questions. I just posted what I have done in the past when faced with the same question.

Hope it works out for you.

Gorilla

 

[Burnerboy]

Victro,

What did you find out about, the vertical travel?? Any good news about fixing this problem??

Maybe give Roadsmith a call, they may be able to help you, or at least give you a helpful suggestion..

Ronnie

9/29/23

PS I also ride a 2010 R/Smith TRIKE