stallion alert

[jimc]

reposting tmigala called wing stuff they said. the back part of the drivetrain broke at the hind joint.i will see it for myself tommorw they are about 60 miles from me.i will take pics . i was on a smooth road and didnt run over anything when it happened.to be honest im spooked . i wish i didnt buy it.with the cruise control issues, mpg issues,seat issues,hood issues etc. i dont belive they did enough testing. worst yet i will feel guilty selling it

 

[Nana]

Jim, it seems you have a serious issue with this Stallion right now! And you absolutely do need to get it repaired where it is safe to ride!

I am hoping you have been very proactive in contacting TBMS right from the beginning. In my opinion they should be given the opportunity to be part of this right away, if you have not already contacted them. I am sure they will want to be part of determining how in the world this happened -- if it is unique to just your Stallion, or is of concern in the wider picture. This matters not just for you and your own safety and peace of mind, but for all the other owners who love their Stallions, and also for TBMS as a company.

The Stallion is a wonderful vehicle that has met the needs and been a joy to many people. TBMS has shown repeatedly that their customers' satisfaction, and the quality of the vehicles are very important to them. I would fully expect they will do the same in your case too.

Please keep us posted on the progress of this unfortunate adventure!

 

[Gorilla]

jimc I have no doughts that your problems are real. And I hope that your are getting help from your dealer and TBMS. With that being said there are 56 Stallion owners registered on this forum. There has been only you and one other that has had some real serious issues. Thats about 3.5% of our group. The rest have all made minor issue, but all machines have problems after all they are machines. Harleys like to shake things off. My wifes first stallion was not near as good as the one she has now. It is a new product and there are going to be teething problems. This does make yours any less serious, but it also does not mean the whole production is bad. Good luck and hoping they have a good reason as to why it happened like installer error, and they take care of it to your satisfaction.

 

[Mattel]

Jim, it sounds like you need a Honda or somethign that is stock, something that everybody has, and something that is in it's 10th year of production. Stallions are not for everyone. They are for people who want something that very few people are driving, it is unique and in it's 3rd year of production. Some Stallions have mechnical issues, but the company stands behind their product, and they fix them under warranty. TBMS has been great replacing parts that have been redesigned even when nothing was wrong with the old part. I have experenced TBMS going out of their way to make sure I was happy with my Stallion when I had a warranty issue.

I believe your statement is not very considerate to TBMS, as they don't post on this site, and they cannot present their side of the story. It is borderline slanderious. This site was not set up to rag on the manufacture, it was set up so we could share things about the Stallion. Over the years we have had some mechanical problems discussed. We have tried to encourage members to post only after they have the whole story and had a chance to bring it to their dealer to fix. Your statement is not very complete, and I can understand you have alot invested in your Stallion, so it is also understandable that you are emotional about it.

Please try to understand the damage you can do when you makes posts like the one in this thread. If you decide you don't want your Stallion post it for sale, and I am sure you will find someone who will be happy to drive it. If you decide to keep it, enjoy it and ride safe.

 

[jimc]

it turns out that im not alone with the same problem .. and according to nick at tbms. they have new equipment as of a month or so ago, they are having both sides of mine replaced.i urge you and any others to do the same.i think he said there were 3 other cases.my left thumb has been killing since tues morning.as my steering wheel wrenched it . if you were me you might have a different opinion my last post

 

[ed norris]

jimc i have a new stallion on order@ should get it about the first of may, are you saying they have done a up grade on the new trikes? this trikes is for my wife and i dont want her hurt.

 

[silverdevil]

jimc

I think what broke on you stallion was a HIME JOINT, there are 6 of them with 3 on each side.
there is one on each side about in the middle of the trike and from there they are on a "A" frame to the back and attached to the top of the rear axle on both sides, this is how the rear axle is attached along with the air shocks.

I took my stallion in last month (March) for another problem (air pump was laying between the trunk and the gas tank) (it came loose from where it was attached) (air pump was working but I could not get my fat fingers in there to fix it so I took it back to TBMS)
while I was there they ask me if they could replace my heim joints, it would take more time of course and I said yes at no charge to me.
when I left they were starting to put them into the new stallions on the assembly line.

a HEIM JOINT looks like an "eye" bolt with a bushing in the middle, it is the pivot point for the rear suspension. the new ones have a hard rubber inserted between the "eye" bolt part and the bushing.

as far as the cruise control goes I had mine go out several time, part of the problem for me was where I live, down a dirt road. the dirt got into the switch and it would not work anymore. TBMS fixed mine so that does not happen anymore and I have put more than 10,000 miles on it since the big fix with no problems with the cruise.

how many cars, trucks, bikes ever got the mileage the government agency that figures the mileage, ever got that mileage. I did get 44 MPG once, I was on a trip to Alaska and went from Glenn Allen, AK to Valdez,Ak and back, the speed limit for that 250 mile trip was 55MPH. I very seldom go that slow for that long of a distance and usually I get around the low 30's for MPG. I am just short of 23,000 total miles in 11 months now.

 

[CAS]

reposting tmigala called wing stuff they said. the back part of the drivetrain broke at the hind joint.i will see it for myself tommorw they are about 60 miles from me.i will take pics . i was on a smooth road and didnt run over anything when it happened.to be honest im spooked . i wish i didnt buy it.with the cruise control issues, mpg issues,seat issues,hood issues etc. i dont belive they did enough testing. worst yet i will feel guilty selling it

What actually happened. Did you crash? You indicated that your thumb was hurt, did the steering wheel or trike take off in one direction?

 

[Gorilla]

silverdevil. Did they give you a reason for changing the Heim joints? Did they happen to say that they were going to change them all on the past production?

 

[jimc]

cas no i didnt crash i was only going like 35 miles an hour.the steering wheel went left snd right like crazy and twisted my thumb luckily im right handed.if you have a stallion do yourself a favor and get the new himes or whatever. when they snap or break the body flops around like a fish.

 

[CAS]

cas no i didnt crash i was only going like 35 miles an hour.the steering wheel went left snd right like crazy and twisted my thumb luckily im right handed.if you have a stallion do yourself a favor and get the new himes or whatever. when they snap or break the body flops around like a fish.

Yes, I have #530. Thanks for the info. Have you taken any pictures of the problem?

 

[rudedogg]

has anyone who has a good working relationship with Nick contacted him regarding this problem?.....any talk of a recall?

 

[jimc]

ed norris im sure the upgrade will be done on yours

 

[silverdevil]

tmigala

the reason they gave me for changing out the heim joints is that they came up with a new style and that I put a lot of miles on my Stallion (23,000 miles in 11 months) and ride it hard. they also said they wanted to test them out and they were getting ready to start putting them on the assembly line for all new ones.

mine was not the first one, they had put them on several that they were testing.

I did have one break on me some time ago and you will lose control over about 20 to 25 mph if it is one of the 2 in front. the fix that time was to replace both of the heim joints in front, one on left side and other on right side. when mine broke the trike started swinging side to side in the rear.

the 2 on either side of the axle, the top one will move the tire up or down when adjusted so if the top one goes out the body will drop over that rear wheel, the bottom one is to adjust the rear wheel front to back, if one of those goes out I'm not sure what would happen, I guess the rear wheel on the side that broke would move back but putting on the brake it would move towards the front, again I guess.

 

[Gorilla]

My concern is if this is an issue then it is a real safety one that deals with control. My wife is the primary driver and we put about 10k to 12k a year on her stallion. Why would they change it unless they have a concern? If they have a concern then they need to protect the owners. We the current owners are their best promoters. <br />
<br />
Has anyone else out there have issues with the Heim Joints?

 

[Mattel]

no, not me.

 

[tomg]

I was at the factory on Monday(4-19-10) and asked Nick about the joint issue mentioned above and he did not indicate that there was any problem to warrant a recall. He thought that something might have been struck/run over to cause the problem. Mine are fine and we have 12,500 miles on it.<br />
Tomg

 

[Gorilla]

Thanks for the update Tom. I also spoke with Nick today. He was at the Motor Trike booth and he gave me a complete run down on this issue. I am satisfied that these are isolated events. The new ladders that they were testing and now installing does not change the heim joint part at all. They are adding a rubber cushion that helps smooth out the ladder movements in the suspension making for a smoother ride. We are all ready quite happy with the ride. As with anything mechanical parts occassionally fail. Stallion as always has repaired the broke parts on the couple of trikes that needed repair. We Stallion owners I feel can relax, there is not quality problem.

 

[ephogg]

where is the stallion factory?? we met a man with a stallion in ark. and he said he had taken his to a place in texas. i've been to tbms web site but no locations that i can find

 

[Nana]

Stallion and Motortrike are based in Troup, Texas, ephogg. Hope that helps you out

 

[ephogg]

thank you. one more question - we currently use progressive for our insurance - is there a bike/trike specific company or is it pretty much each state for its' own??? thanks again for the response

 

[Nana]

We have several threads discussing insurance for riders all over the US. Click on SEARCH above and to the right, and do a quick search for threads relating to insurance. You'll find more than one pop up. Take time to read through them for some help, but don't hesitate if you need to ask additional questions

 

[Gorilla]

thank you. one more question - we currently use progressive for our insurance - is there a bike/trike specific company or is it pretty much each state for its' own??? thanks again for the response

Here in Florida the GEICO people would not insure the Stallion when I just checked their rates. They were going to pawn the coverage off to a sister company. We currently have Progressive and are staying with them this year. Best rate for the 3 trikes by $400 over all else I've check this past 2 weeks.