Tire pressure ?

[LMX@749r]

Got a question about air pressure effecting a wobble on front end. I have a 86 Goldwing Aspencade 1200 trike. Previous owner said bearings have been replaced new seals and new fluid but still wobbles been told not safe to ride by others who have took it for a ride.

[Rambozo]

First thing is to jack it up and check everything for play.

[LMX@749r]

Thanks! Appreciate your reply been told that different times. I am not mechanically inclined,but that would be what should be done.

[Rambozo]

Thanks! Appreciate your reply been told that different times. I am not mechanically inclined,but that would be what should be done.

Well then, it's even easier. Take the bike to the shop and say, "the bike wobbles, fix the bike."

[LMX@749r]

LOL,wish it was that easy! Even the local Honda Goldwing dealer says they don't work on them as old as it is. And previous owner spent $1200 at an independent shop in the Dayton,Ohio area. Put a new Dunlop tire,replaced the bearings,put new seals,and put new fluid in the tubes. Shop kept it for over 5 weeks and he had problems with the shop. May have charged and never did anything? Trike was given to me as a gift. Might be the reason it was give to me because he couldn't get anyone to correct the wobble.

[Bike...and Dennis]

Most likely has nothing to do with the front end, but something misaligned with the training wheels.
Have someone take them off and try the bike. Bet it rides just fine...unless.

If you have Metzler tires on the bike, take them off first.

[LMX@749r]

Was thinking about same thing problem with alignment of the trike wheels. Also it has S10 rearend. Thought what little of the drive shaft could need to be balanced. What did you mean about Metzler tires?

[LMX@749r]

Trike has Bridgestone tires 205x60x15. Tires probably need to be balanced would help.

[Bike...and Dennis]

So it's not a "training wheel" setup? It sure looks like one in the pics. I've never seen a trike that kept the stock saddlebags like that. Do you know who triked the rig or the name of the kit?

That aside, I don't know how one would confirm the alignment of all three wheels.

[LMX@749r]

No I don't which trike kit was installed. It has an S10 rearend. Thanks,for your reply. It was give to me as a gift. Previous owner said he had the front bearings replaced and new seals and new oil,and new front tire.

[Bike...and Dennis]

Yeah it looks home made.
You could mosey over to goldwingfacts.com and post a thread in the Trikes forum and see if someone there has an idea. I know that real trike builders do something with the steering head. Not sure what, or why.

I do know that most steering head wobble, on bikes, is caused by the rear wheel or tire.

[Track T 2411]

I'm not familiar with the various kits available, but I'm thinking it may be home built. One easy check would be to see if either of the rear wheels are bent or have excessive runout.
One way I can think of to check the alignment (at least a ballpark check) are as follows: place a long straight edge parallel with one rear wheel (not the tire, the wheel itself) and measure the distance from the center point of the lower front frame crossmember (below/ behind the radiator) to the straight edge. Both sides should be the same. I suggest the front crossmember as a reference because the frame is actually asymmetrical in design because of the shaft drive.
This does require some precision in lining up the straight edge as a 1/8th inch error grows quickly over six or eight feet...

And after writing all this, one could purchase a laser level fairly cheap, which would make everything much easier, lol!

[LMX@749r]

Thanks,for your reply. I have someone that has a laser measuring device,that installed the backsplash under the kitchen cabinets. Might see he would check the alignment of the rear wheels. Everytime I mention the rear wheels alignment with my nephew he insist it the front bearings.

[Track T 2411]

That's just the thing... there are so many variables, especially when you are dealing with unknown history. It's easy for us, sitting behind a screen, to postulate on the issue. I look at the trike mod and assume they're 'home-built.' As I said above, a fraction if an inch variance can become significant, and the quality of the work is unknown (to me, at least.). I'm also making the assumption that the overall condition of the rest of the bike is up to par; jumping to conclusions. So, let's start over...
Yes, uneven tire pressure could be an issue. Wheel bearings, head stock bearings, worn fork springs, low or old fork oil, fork air pressure, etc. could all contribute to the wobble issue. It could be a combination of things. If it were me, I would start with the simplest or easiest things and cross them off the list.
Tire air pressure.
Tire wear.
Front wheel/ tire run (spin) 'true'?

Jeez, the list goes on...

[LMX@749r]

Finally found a motorcycle shop,that was willing to check things out for me. As far as the front end wobble and the alignment of the rear wheels on this trike. Will wait and see what they find out.

[kwthom]

<...>
I know that real trike builders do something with the steering head. Not sure what, or why.

I do know that most steering head wobble, on bikes, is caused by the rear wheel or tire.

The rake/trail is adjusted in order for the force required to steer the trike is reduced.

https://www.cycleworld.com/2015/05/22/c ... and-trail/

If the original triple tree is still on the trike, it might be a bit harder than it should be to steer the machine, particularly in low-speed maneuvers, where more input may be required.

For the OP - any idea of how many miles were put on this machine after this trike modification was made?

[LMX@749r]

Not sure of the mileage after the trike conversion. It has 90,500 miles showing on the odometer. Previous owner said the fork bearings,and new oil in the forks,new seals,and new front tire less than 100 miles on the new tire,which is a Dunlop.

[newday777]

Put the front tire pressure at 40 psi.
Put both rear tire pressures at 25 psi(trike tire pressure recommended by most trike conversion companies).

[kwthom]

Suggestion?

Contact 'Wheels' on this forum, probably by Private Message. He's not by here on this forum often, but if there's anyone that he may be able to help you with identifying the history/provenance of that machine, it'd be him.

Most likely, he'll know of people that could help you sort that out, if you choose to go down that path.

Luck to ya!

[musicianstrike]

Greetings all,
I thought I would share a contact for a helpful trike person. Rick is with SoCal Trike Center, San Marcos, CA. He might be able to answer your question regarding the wobbly front end of the trike. I drive a '95 Honda Aspencade Trike. The conversion was done by California Side Car Co.
Below is the contact information/website for SoCal Trike Center. Maybe they can help you out or at least direct you to someone who can.
Safe travels!

www.socaltrikecenter.com
(760)744-1688

[trike lady]

The trike is a home made unit, I've seen pictures of some from overseas that leave the original motorcycle intact and use a Jaguar rear end.
Raked triple trees can be found for it. https://www.customtripletrees.com/Honda ... l12005drsa
If anything is off it would be in the welding and/or machining. It's a short wheelbase trike and so there would be a wobble. Lower the tire pressure on the rear as there is no real weight like a car. Are the tires both the same in size and type, not mismatched radial & bias-ply? Since an S-10 Axle was used a set of S-10 rims can be found in an auto salvage yard. The driveshaft is probably custom made and the U joints need to be in phase.

[trike lady]

In the above post I mention driveshaft phase and this website will explain it: https://powertestdyno.com/proper-drives ... alignment/

[kwthom]

Hey, a person that's got some real-life knowledge on trikes weighs in!

My opinion, for what it's worth...

The person that fabricated that beast, did they actually know what they were doing? If a person was to go do some Internet sleuthing, decades ago, when there really weren't companies that were building trikes out there daily, there were small shops (or even the proverbial guy-in-a-garage) that would do these one-off types of designs. From there, the limitations were learned (things like changing the rake angles in the triple tree, etc.) were learned and understood by those that could actually *do* the fabrication.

Just a glimpse of the side view on those photos tells me that thing still has an OE triple tree installed. The link that Trike Lady provides shows a replacement is available for $1200 or less. Next would be drive shaft woes it may or may not have. Only having someone actually confirm balance could that be eliminated from the list of things it might be.

Now, I'm just thinking out loud now...but what level of effort might there be to restoring that machine back to original two-wheel configuration? It looks fairly pristine otherwise; it might bring a decent bit of coin if that attempt at three-wheels is reversed for someone that might want a nice, restored, nearly 40 year old motorcycle.

Not sure that is the answer, but it's an answer. Luck to ya!