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TRIPLE TREES, ADDITIONAL RAKE??

Does anyone have any experience with triple tree rake and or Champion's EZ Steer??

I ride a 2007 xv-1700 RoadStar Silverado with a Friendship I sidecar with electric lift.
I'M a comfort rider and like the supine laid back riding style and comfort. Had comfort high back seats in all my aircraft. Now I want that comfort ride with a sidecar.

I'm considering buying a trike but none are comfortable so far. Closest would be a VW trike with pull backs and a good high back supine seat.

Thanks, the Sparechangeter

I did not use Champion's EZ Steer for my triple tree project, but it is best modification i did on my rig.

We installed modified triple trees on two of our rigs, and a fellow down this way installed modified triple trees on his XV-1100 rig, all with great results.

Lee / Summer Grove, Louisiana: Ural cT, CJ750, Burgman/Texas Ranger, Zuma 50F, MB5, TW200, CRF250L, GTV300

Triple tree's do not change rake! People who say they are "raking" their front end with tree's simply do not know what they are talking about. This even more so holds true with companies that are selling "Raked Tree's" While the tree's like the ones we make and the ones Champion makes change the angle of the forks, they do it in relationship to the steering head. NOT at the steering head. To change rake the angle of the steering head needs to change. What we are doing is reducing trail, trail is called castor with cars. By reducing trail we lower the over all steering effort with a three wheeled motorcycle. When done it looks exactly like we changed the rake but in fact we did not. In an ideal world where we could make any changes we would want or were building from scratch we would want to decrease the rake angle at the head stock and adjust the trail to where ever we chose depending on riding style and road conditions normally encountered. Usually this ends up to be around 2 inches of total trail, some people like less, others a bit more. With lots of actual "Rake" when ever you move the bars you are adding to your steering effort by causing the bike to raise or drop. Some people think that cruiser type bikes as to achieve the look they are after tend to have a lot of rake on the front end so as people confuse rake and trail they often think that this will make the bikes better sidecar bikes which as I just pointed out is any thing but true.
But your question is about comfort, tree's will not change this at all, all they will do is lower the steering effort. Most tree's come with some sort of fork extension to bring the front end back up to where it was as other wise the front end would sit lower. Also as to comfort, in gross general terms a sidecar bike will always have a better ride quality then a trike. Trikes tend to be very stiffly sprung in order to not lean the wrong way in a corner and as they are a three track vehicle if there is a pot hole, chances are you are hitting it with at least one of your wheels.

And lastly, this entire post should not be in the usca rally section. It should be in one of the other sections such as FAQ, General or Technical. Perhaps the moderator could move it.

Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793
http://www.dmcsidecars.com

Don Biker has reacted to this post.
Don Biker
Jay G DMC sidecars www.dmcsidecars.com 15616 Carbonado South Prairie RD Buckley WA 98321 866-638-1793 Hours Monday - Thursday 6-4:30

OK. Easier steering is exactly what I'm looking for. I was intending to seek help. This lends itself to a more comfortable riding experience when applied with bike modifications like seat, handlebars, etc.. (as best you can)..

Bottom line. Is it worth while to use a triple tree to extend the head and rake??

If you have done this, can you offer any insight and/or suggestions like who to order from, where etc for my RoadStar with 43MM forks? Anything to watch out for?

Thanks, the Sparechangeter

Please read my response again, Tree's DO NOT CHANGE RAKE! What they do is reduce trail which looks like changing the rake but is not changing the rake. It is very worth while to do as it makes for much easer steering.
We do not make a tree for your bike, Others may.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
http://www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793

Jay G DMC sidecars www.dmcsidecars.com 15616 Carbonado South Prairie RD Buckley WA 98321 866-638-1793 Hours Monday - Thursday 6-4:30

sparechangeter - 8/16/2017 5:11 PM

OK. Easier steering is exactly what I'm looking for. I was intending to seek help. This lends itself to a more comfortable riding experience...

Hi sparechangeter, properly modified triple trees for easier steering are "the berries" - much less tiring to ride (drive). A couple folks in our area have had good results with trees from MotorTrike - I suggest checking with a dealer in your area to see if trees are available: http://www.motortrike.com/TrikeAllTrikes.aspx#Yamaha. Another option might be Bill at http://www.customtripletrees.com/TREES/YAMAHA/yamaha.html. We've installed trees from both sources on Burgman rigs with good results, but preferred the MotorTrike kit.

Lee / Summer Grove, Louisiana: Ural cT, CJ750, Burgman/Texas Ranger, Zuma 50F, MB5, TW200, CRF250L, GTV300

OK, where did you put my previous post?? It should not be
moved without my knowledge! Think I saw something about suggestions for rallys?
C'mon ..... How do I get a refund on my membership?

Thom,

I moved your post because it is more about rally suggestions than the topic in which it appeared. Your ideas for changes in the rally are of value for the planners of the next rally and they could easily miss them here. As far as telling you ahead of time, I sent a PM but we move things all the time to make sure they are seen according to subject.

The definition of rake is repeated so often because, despite your assertion that "We know you have to modify the head to change true rake" the fact is most folks don't know. We're please to have well informed folks like you here to explain it.

Your ideas for the rally are interesting and we will take them as thoughts for the next rally. Some of them require "experts" that we may or may not have. I particularly like the "tech tent" but we'd have to limit the hours it was open. We can't expect a knowledgeable group to sit there all day waiting for someone to come in. They want to enjoy the rally as well.

Thanks for the input.
-----

On the 2K1200LT's Ihad,Hannigan did his magic on the front ends.Made a difference like between power steering and no power.Highly recommended.
J.R.
Tex. Rep.

While the path I took is not prefect it works. It allows me to use the sidecar and to remove it at will and still have a bike the handles great. Of course I like the new setup so much I may not ever remove it.

We used a Harley trike front end. The tree from a HD free wheeler and the 2 inch longer tubes from the Tri Glide. Also used the steering dampener from the Tri glide.   Bike ended up sitting as it should.