Trike picture

[John Schmidt]

Had a good ride with my son-in-law this evening, the trike runs fine but sure is a stiff and hard ride. I tried to take a couple pics that didn't show the passenger area, that seat and backrest are in Ft. Worth for some leather work to go along with the front seat/backrest. If any of you trike owners/riders can shed some light on the ride comfort, me and my kidneys, spine, dentures & eyeballs would really appreciate it. Andy(SIL) took me down what must have been the roughest road in Brown County and my eyeballs felt like they were trying to swap sockets. Anyway, here's a picture taken this evening, I'll figure out how to put it into my signature line in place of my old bike.



Well nuts, I got the trike pic to show up but how do I delete the old pic of the 2-wheeler?

[Jess from VA]

John, I know nothing about trikes, but regarding hard ride, I wonder if you have a sense it is more the back end than the forks, and whether the trike conversion rear end is adjustable in any way?  Or what those people might have to say about it?

And what pressure are you running in your dual car tires, and could it be lowered?

When I got my forks rebuilt by a dealer years ago (with new springs) it came back way too hard.  The ride in the seat was OK (with 440 shocks), but my jolting arms, shoulders and head became part of the (bobble-head) suspension.  If that's it, suck out 1.5-2 ozs of fluid in each?

[DDT (12)]

John,

Nice looking ride! You sure found a winner with that leather work for your saddle, too! Just a few more kinks and wrinkles to work out now, then you'll be ready to hit the road. Looking forward to seeing you and your scoot in a few weeks...

DDT

[Chrisj CMA]

Looks good 

[hubcapsc]

If any of you trike owners/riders can shed some light on the ride comfort, me and my kidneys, spine, dentures & eyeballs would really appreciate it.

A lot of trike people can probably look at your bike and tell
what kit it was made from, but you could mention that anyway...
I think there's several different types of rear suspension being
used... independent suspension, straight axle suspension, stuff
like that...

-Mike

[3W-lonerider]

Had a good ride with my son-in-law this evening, the trike runs fine but sure is a stiff and hard ride. I tried to take a couple pics that didn't show the passenger area, that seat and backrest are in Ft. Worth for some leather work to go along with the front seat/backrest. If any of you trike owners/riders can shed some light on the ride comfort, me and my kidneys, spine, dentures & eyeballs would really appreciate it. Andy(SIL) took me down what must have been the roughest road in Brown County and my eyeballs felt like they were trying to swap sockets. Anyway, here's a picture taken this evening, I'll figure out how to put it into my signature line in place of my old bike.



Well nuts, I got the trike pic to show up but how do I delete the old pic of the 2-wheeler?

looks like a roadsmith kit to me. roadsmith i believe used an air ride system. some roadsmiths the customers elected to have a leveling valve installed. to keep from leading you down the wrong path i would look for a roadsmith dealer near you or call roadsmith themselves. if no leveling valve you could take some air out of the bags. if there is a leveling valve you would have to change the height of the leveling valve. but i would call roadsmith and get the correct answers. if the forks feel harsh. what i did with my motortrike was change fork oil and leave 2 ounces of oil out of the forks. that softened them up alot.

[old grouch]

What 3W said above is good advice.  When I had my trikes, (one Valk, no air bags, & one Wing, w/air shocks) the biggest thing that affected the ride was tire pressure.  Most folks said ~ 20-25 psi solo.  I found that to be too much.  I ran 17 psi, two up, w/o luggage/trailer.  20 psi with.  Never had issues with heat or under inflated tread wear.  Experiment with the tire pressure & see if you can find some relief.  Also the shorter the sidewall, the less cushioning effect with the same air pressure.  Hope this helps.

[hubcapsc]

If you can't make the forks do right with simple stuff... oil type and amount... progressive
springs... I bet the Traxxion folks could help you get a $et of their cartridges dialed in...

-Mike

[Serk]

Well nuts, I got the trike pic to show up but how do I delete the old pic of the 2-wheeler?

Go to this link:

https://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?action=profile;sa=forumProfile

Scroll down a bit, and highlight all the contents of the window area for "Signature" and paste it here (Or PM it to me) and I'll see if I can re-work it to just the trike and send it back to you to put back in that window...

[John Schmidt]

Well nuts, I got the trike pic to show up but how do I delete the old pic of the 2-wheeler?

Go to this link:

https://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?action=profile;sa=forumProfile

Scroll down a bit, and highlight all the contents of the window area for "Signature" and paste it here (Or PM it to me) and I'll see if I can re-work it to just the trike and send it back to you to put back in that window...

OK...got it done. Just highlighted the line for the bike pic and deleted, seems to have worked.  
Well...maybe not. I'll keep guessing and messing, shouldn't be that involved to post a picture.

[Warlock]

I had to take 2 oz out of each fork. On my motortrike with the advice of 3W lonerider I added bigger air bags. How much air pressure are you running in the back tires. I run about 25 to 26 lbs.
David

[John Schmidt]

I had to take 2 oz out of each fork. On my motortrike with the advice of 3W lonerider I added bigger air bags. How much air pressure are you running in the back tires. I run about 25 to 26 lbs.
David

Being an I/S and having the 6 deg. rake kit, doing anything with the forks is a major operation. It would first involve removing the fairing to get at the top tree which fits down over and covers the top of the forks, unlike the OEM configuration where the forks protrude up thru the top tree. Once freed up, the forks would have to be dropped far enough to clear the top tree, or the tree spindle that goes down thru the steering neck has to be loosened to enable you to pull the top tree off the top of the forks. Only then would you be able to get at the caps on the top of the forks. Fairly recently I had rebuilt the forks on my old bike and wanted to swap them to the trike over the winter, but after seeing the construction as described above I gave up on that idea. They also have Progressive springs and are polished so was a bit dismayed at the prospect of not being able to use them.

Re. the rear suspension, it doesn't have airbags. It does have some fairly heavy appearing coil springs, larger slightly adjustable shocks and independent suspension. I think I'll experiment with lower rear tire pressure first and see what happens. I'm running short on time before IZ so don't want to begin any major project. At the moment, I'm more interested in cutting down on the blast I'm getting in the face from air passing over the front of the tank.

[Serk]

At the moment, I'm more interested in cutting down on the blast I'm getting in the face from air passing over the front of the tank.

I can't quite make it out form the photo, but are the small clear(ish) air deflectors still installed hanging under the fairing?

Might also consider Baker Air Wings or fork lowers too to help with the wind coming in under the fairing and beating you up?

[3W-lonerider]

Fairing does not need to be removed to get the forks out. Remove front wheel and fender. Loosen pinch bolts on the tree and slide the forks out. I know which tree you have and thats the way i done mine. Btw. I run front tire air pressure at 36. And rear tires at 24.

[Jack B]

Fairing does not need to be removed to get the forks out. Remove front wheel and fender. Loosen pinch bolts on the tree and slide the forks out. I know which tree you have and thats the way i done mine. Btw. I run front tire air pressure at 36. And rear tires at 24.

Yes easy job.

[thedon]

John,
You can mosie down to my house and ride both my trikes for compairison. Both have 8 degree rakes and air wings.
Let me know if that is possible.
Don

[John Schmidt]

Fairing does not need to be removed to get the forks out. Remove front wheel and fender. Loosen pinch bolts on the tree and slide the forks out. I know which tree you have and thats the way i done mine. Btw. I run front tire air pressure at 36. And rear tires at 24.

Apparently not, the pinch bolts are one thing which I'm aware of and are accessible w/o removing the fairing. However there are small set screws on the front of the tree that are not. I've already tried to remove the forks by just loosening the pinchers, to no avail. Later when I removed the fairing after I had already mounted the fender and wheel, I noticed the set screws...a call to the factory confirmed my suspicion. By that time I wasn't inclined to go through the tire/fender R&R thing again.

Serk...yes, they are on the bottom of the fairing. I removed them early in my experiments and mounted my Baker Air Wings which helped some on the outer fringes of air flow but not over the tank from the front. I reinstalled them and removed the Bakers since the two apparatus interfere.

Don, thanks for the offer. If you bring one or both to IZ I'll check them out there, too many irons in the fire at the moment.

[thedon]

John, You got it. We are bringing one to Inzane. You are welcome to ride it anytime.

[Rams]

John,
You can mosie down to my house and ride both my trikes for compairison. Both have 8 degree rakes and air wings.
Let me know if that is possible.
Don

thedon,

Your comments about an 8* rake got my attention.   May I ask why an 8*  versus a 6* rake?
I currently have a 6* rake kit on order for my (new to me) Valkyrie trike.  I’m advised that a 6* is what I need.   I’m new to the triking world and would like to get it right the first time.   Rake kits ain’t cheap and I’d hate to not get it right.

Rams

[3W-lonerider]

Ok. Mine didn’t have set screws. But was designed the same way. So I don’t see where the set screws come into play. Mine had 1 pinchbolt on the top of the tree and 1 on the lower. Each side. I never had issues with the forks moving. Can’t understand why the set screws.

[Warlock]

I had to take 2 oz out of each fork. On my motortrike with the advice of 3W lonerider I added bigger air bags. How much air pressure are you running in the back tires. I run about 25 to 26 lbs.
David

Being an I/S and having the 6 deg. rake kit, doing anything with the forks is a major operation. It would first involve removing the fairing to get at the top tree which fits down over and covers the top of the forks, unlike the OEM configuration where the forks protrude up thru the top tree. Once freed up, the forks would have to be dropped far enough to clear the top tree, or the tree spindle that goes down thru the steering neck has to be loosened to enable you to pull the top tree off the top of the forks. Only then would you be able to get at the caps on the top of the forks. Fairly recently I had rebuilt the forks on my old bike and wanted to swap them to the trike over the winter, but after seeing the construction as described above I gave up on that idea. They also have Progressive springs and are polished so was a bit dismayed at the prospect of not being able to use them.

Re. the rear suspension, it doesn't have airbags. It does have some fairly heavy appearing coil springs, larger slightly adjustable shocks and independent suspension. I think I'll experiment with lower rear tire pressure first and see what happens. I'm running short on time before IZ so don't want to begin any major project. At the moment, I'm more interested in cutting down on the blast I'm getting in the face from air passing over the front of the tank.

You shouldn't have to remove the top triple tree. Only remove the front wheel, fender and loosen the pinch bolts to remove the  forks. Before I removed 2 oz of fluid out of each one mine would just about shock my hands ever time I hit a bump. Once I done that it took that pain away from my hands. Wouldn't think just doing that would help so much.JAT
David

[flsix]

John your new scoot is looking good. 

[thedon]

Rams,
I think it really comes down to the rider. I did have another Valkyrie trike that had a 6 degree rake and it was fine. The steering is just as good as the 8 degree. Both of my trikes are California Side Car, which are no longer mage, and I believe that was their standard rake.
You'll do just fine with 6 degrees.
Don

[John Schmidt]

I agree with Don re. the 6 deg. rake. That's what mine has and I'm fine with it, makes it rather easy to make a turn while moving.

[Rams]

Rams,
I think it really comes down to the rider. I did have another Valkyrie trike that had a 6 degree rake and it was fine. The steering is just as good as the 8 degree. Both of my trikes are California Side Car, which are no longer mage, and I believe that was their standard rake.
You'll do just fine with 6 degrees.
Don

Ok, thanks.