Trike newbie questions

[dubmeister]

Just in the process of finishing a Kawasaki z1300 trike that was pro built years ago but not so well looked after
I have so far taken out the xs 650 front end and replaced it with the upside down front end from a zxr 750 and resprayed it and generally tidied it up by putting better rear lights(had god awful trailer lights in) different bars etc and am sorting out a scratch built stainless exhaust system too
Trike is registered as a 1979 z1300 kawasaki tricycle

Now what i need to to know from you knowledgeable chaps on here is

Do i need Hazard warning lights

Do i use a bike or car sized number plate

Got twin headlights do i use one for dip and one for main or can i have both on each

Do i need to wear a helmet

That will do for now
Any help you can give is good as i have read a few books and rules etc and am now more confused than ever
:rolleyes:

Will post pics when i manage to get them of my poxy phone
Cheers for your help

[shaggy696969]

Well done

Yes


Either would be legal


You can have both on both

No but recomended on motorways, a flying stone kicked up will go straight through a skull

NO rules as such just as with anything start slowly get used to it ..........

[dubmeister]

Cheers for the quick reply
Was more bothered about the legality of the helmet issue as i intend to wear a helmet anyway but it was more just to take my kids round the block on the back and not have to go hunting there helmets out if they weren't needed

Don't suppose anyone has a diagram for the inner working of a reliant back axle as my diff is completely fubar
Cheers again

[dubmeister]

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m247/dubmeisteruk/09052008083.jpg
The afore mentioned trike ,work in progress

[Nik]

Looks nice. :)

[dubmeister]

Its not a very good picture as the paintwork has been flatted off so i can put a few coats of lacquer over the stickers on the mudguards ,the back wheels are only on so i can roll it round the unit if required (got a choice of 3 different sets of Porsche wheels ) :)
Got a set of rear wheels off my old 911 that may go on but i am a bit worried they will make the trike hard to get round corners (run wide) as they are 15 inches wide
:eek: and take a 345/35/15 tyre or i could put some 245/45/17s off my beachbuggy on

Does anybody know where i can get cheap 330 wide bike tyres as seen on a lot of pro build chops ,i know taylormade wheels do the conversions but the tyres are a fortune which is a shame coz they would allow me to have the wide wheels but not a huge contact area so stopping the trike wanting to go straight on and no aquaplaning in the wet

[dubmeister]

Looking a bit better now :D
Need to get the avon 300/40/17 tyres on and it'll be almost done
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m247/dubmeisteruk/20052008111.jpg

[madtriker]

Hi and welcome mate always nice to see more trikers, ive gotta say thats a great looking trike and looks like your making worthwhile improvements, one question though are you fitting a disc break convertion if not i think you'll have fun stopping with those wheels, as reliant drums are a bit crap lol

[dubmeister]

Will probably fit discs on the back when i have a few quid spare but just getting on the road asap as i am going on a 750 mile trip round Scotland on it this friday :eek: and it aint mot'd yet :eek:(need to find somebody in Carlisle or thereabouts to do it)
Went to get the 300/40/17 tyres fitted today and the useless git tyre fitter fucked one of the tyres:( managed to snap the bead clean in two:( )

[dubmeister]

Will use my usual criteria ie if the brakes scare the **** out of me it will get discs if not it wont and too be honest correctly adjusted drums shouldn't be any worse than discs and standard z1300 brakes weren't exactly fantastic
No doubt my first ride on the trike will be an eye opener or an arsehole clencher but either way i'm sure it will get my heart going:D

[spookbass]

Hope your first ride's both!:D:D

[madtriker]

yeah but the drums were designed for 10" wheels not 17"

[Dexxie]

No requirement for a crash hat - sorry that's all I know for definate ... but I would recommend decent clothing and at least moderate protection - loose stones on the road/insects etc still hurt when they hit!!

[Bodge]

Nice trike there, hope you got a wheelie bar!
Bodge

[Skates]

mate as u aint got much experience riding a trike i would say that u wear a skid lid for the 1st time u take her out and deff if on the M roads. i was doing 70mph on the M2 and a stone flipped up and hit my lid. left a bloody great chip in it. if i had'nt been wearing it that stone would have taken my face off. plus just take it easy and enjoy.

[dubmeister]

Cheers for the kind words about my trike:D pleased you like it

I will be wearing a helmet at all times on the trike coz as it has been pointed out a stone chip on a windscreen is hole in the head when you're on a trike(aint got much brains but i would rather have them on the inside)

I am expecting this trike to be a bit strange to ride but hopefully 25 years of experience on bikes will help there

On the brakes front i am hoping the two discs on the front will make up for the crappy little drums and big (but very light) wheels on the back but i will just have to be careful and ride within the limits dictated by the brakes

I have a set of Porsche 944 four pot calipers and discs sitting in the garage :D mmm wonder if i could get them to fit over the standard reliant drum then i would only need to make a caliper mounting bracket and i could just use the reliant drum as the handbrake (which by the sound of it is about all its good for):D

[v8_trike]

On the brakes front i am hoping the two discs on the front will make up for the crappy little drums and big (but very light) wheels on the back but i will just have to be careful and ride within the limits dictated by the brakes

I have a set of Porsche 944 four pot calipers and discs sitting in the garage :D mmm wonder if i could get them to fit over the standard reliant drum then i would only need to make a caliper mounting bracket and i could just use the reliant drum as the handbrake (which by the sound of it is about all its good for):D[/QUOTE]



You will be fine with the drums on the back, im running lada axle with standard drums, 265 tyres, no servo, brakes operated by right hand master cyl on the bars, and that stops a 13ft V6 ford engined trike (not light by any sense of the word)

The key is to keep the rear brakes 100%, adjust regularly, change fluid yearly helps too!

If you want to go for discs on your reliant, use vented vauxhall ones, and nissan calipers, (tried & tested) :D

[donovan51]

teeeheeee I have no front brake at all, saves all that palava.;)

[dubmeister]

Why will i lose the front end under braking (lock the front end up) i can understand it if it was a rear engined trike or something of that nature(all the weight behind the axle) but this is just a z1300 with two wheels at the back surely the front end just works as it would in a bike

[v8_trike]

you should be ok with the fromt brakes, only ever had a problem locking up on a vw engined trike in the wet :eek:

[dubmeister]

Finally got the the trike into a rideable condition :D and took it up the road and fuck me it's awful :( the steering is unbelievably heavy and i could bearly get the thing to turn.
Questions
1 Could the heavy steering be down to the fact i have flat drag style bars with zero pullback that are giving me no leverage or is it something more serious

2 Do all trikes similar to mine have fairly heavy steering

3 Where would i get a set of wide bars (beachbars ) with a bit of pullback built in (quite like the ones that have the risers built in and form a v at the front but all seem to be 1" ones for Harleys)

[shaggy696969]

Finally got the the trike into a rideable condition :D and took it up the road and fuck me it's awful :( the steering is unbelievably heavy and i could bearly get the thing to turn.
Questions
1 Could the heavy steering be down to the fact i have flat drag style bars with zero pullback that are giving me no leverage or is it something more serious

2 Do all trikes similar to mine have fairly heavy steering

3 Where would i get a set of wide bars (beachbars ) with a bit of pullback built in (quite like the ones that have the risers built in and form a v at the front but all seem to be 1" ones for Harleys)

Yup its a shock to the system huh......

The steering will be down to 2 things Geometry and handlebars, the geometry is a twat to play with but the bars will change things big time, I bought pullback z bars from a chap deals on ebay bythe name billy the kid he makes em in the US, reasonable too as you can see fromthe attached pic they give a good width and good pullback, and believe me they made a big difference The mrs reckoned it was like having power steering on it compared to before. The other option is to have stepped out slabs wich adjust the trail or leading link wich IMHO look crap.

[donovan51]

If it feels anything like riding a combo, basically shaking its head. I fitted a pair of Yammy us custom bars and a kwak steering damper. It worked.:)

[dubmeister]

Its hard to describe really but if you have ever ridden a motorbike when the steering head bearings are too tight thats what its like (Mine aren't)
It also felt a bit like the back left brake was binding ie wanted to run towards the kerb (it wasn't binding) but that may be just be coz the steering was iffy

[shaggy696969]

The stiff steering shouldnt make the bike run one way or another, that would be down to alignment, make sure all 3 wheels are true, you only need run off in one to throw it out.

[dubmeister]

The road camber wont have helped with the running towards the left and i know the wheels are all running true because i checked when i fitted the zxr750 forks and yokes
The headstock angle isn't too far off standard (may be standard)
The trike has been a trike for at least 8 years and probably a lot longer so it should have had any problems ironed out a long time ago although when i got it it did have an awful set of high pull back bars fitted (i'll refit them and try it)

[v8_trike]

Camber in the road does not help, try and find a nice flat carpark and see what happens on there, as others have said, fit a steering damper and try some wider bars, also you could try a fron tyre with a flatter section, failing all that, fit a set of leading link forks (drastic, but transforms the handling of a trike)

Just remember though, trikes are nothing like riding a bike, may be worth getting an experienced trike rider to take your trike out for a spin, it may be that you are just used to the handling of a bike ;)

[shaggy696969]

What forks were on it before, and how do they compare length wise, changing the length makes the steering steeper/heavier check this maybe you need longer forks to get it to what it was, and a flat road really does help. Dont give up its a prety trike and needs to be sorted. I wpuld much rather go for Tiller style bars over Leading link (bloody awful looking)

[dubmeister]

This isn't a lack of experience on a trike problem i think its alot more serious than that coz it took me all my strength (and i'm fairly strong) to get the thing to turn at all ,a set of bars will help no end i am sure and i have got new steering head bearings ordered coz maybe we have damaged a roller with taking the front end out loads of times
Gonna check everything over and fit the bars that came with it and see if it is any better

[shaggy696969]

Did you check your fork length/wheel height, ie if you had the original Z1300 forks and wheel set up previously then the steering geometry will have been dramatically altered by puting shorter forks and a smaller diameter wheel in. In that case you will need to lengthen the forks or step the Yokes to ake up for the shortfall. Plus the handlebar swap and all will come right.

[dubmeister]

The forks that were in were out of a xs650 (i think) and the zxr 750 forks have been lengthened by about four inches to compensate and level the bike up so it wasn't front end heavy so hopefully a set of bars and new head bearings will sort it out (have ordered a set of beachbars (wide as fook) to see what happens)
Cheers for all the help its appreciated

[Mistress Maker]

if its still heavy with the wider bars, try a set of risers that pull the bars back, or a set of yokes more triangular to move the forks further forward from the spindle.

[dubmeister]

The yokes will be a last resort coz they cost a bleeding fortune, hopefully the wide bars will sort it

[chrisw000]

Hi Guys and Gals. We (more accurately, my partner Sara) bought a Z1300 Trike today - amazing machine! Just got it back to Dunstable from Stoke on Trent after a great ride down the A50 and M1. Several questions if anyone can help?

It has an Astrodon remote (supposedly auto start, immobilser etc.) - Can't find their website (looks like it's defunct), so can anyone tell us how to use it, (or does anyone have a manual for it)?

It has been modified, with a Harley tank added (amongst other things). The front wheel is not a Harley. Is their a conversion kit to get the Harley speedo working on the existing front wheel, or do we need to buy a Harley wheel? (and also how does it work - are there any workarounds)? Also can we fit a petrol gauge to the Harley tank, or do we need a new tank?

Anyone know of a chromed checkerplate supplier? (or rather I mean a checkerplate supplier and a chromer - no point in buyin chromed checkerplate then trying to bend is, is there - sorry it's been a long day and a long ride!) - we'd like to add some footrests etc.

Nice to meet you all - look forward to replies, and maybe meeting some of you (Ace Cafe perhaps).

Cheers

Chris (and Sara) :thumbsu:

[trikerdrew]

how do,

seems the front end/bar scenario has been done but no one mentioned those luverly discs for back end.

try this for size

http://www.mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/Trikespageimages/discbrake/disc.htm

makes front brake into ornament /for mot only

Enjoy the torque on your Z!!!!

drew

[matthewmosse]

On reading this thread one thing caught me attention a bit, I think someone was talking about fitting car rims with bike tyres, Apparently this is dangerous because the actual sizes ar not truly interchangeable, car ones are slightly larger? could be other way round, any how several sources have said that using car tyres on bike rims or visa versa can case the tyres to blow out either when fitting or at speed, It's something to do with the seating of the tyre and tyre beading being different shapes on cars and bikes due to the different forces involved I belive. Folks who told me this know their onions, one of the guys is an expert witness (in courts) on sidecar safety in the states so I'd not ignore his advice. Proceed with caution and measure everything really carefully including the correct rim and the one intended for use.
As to chequerplate suppliers, just find your local steel supplier and ask. Not a clue as to harley stuff or chromers, try your local agrcultural suppliers:D:gone:
Sounds like a really cool trike, enjoy it:thumbu:

[ratwing]

Re the above - fork length and wheel diameter - fitting shorter forks will drop the front end reducing trail and resulting in lighter not heavier steering; fitting a smaller front wheel will again reduce trail by both lowering the front end and putting the spindle closer to the ground.
Car tyres have a smaller diameter than the 'equivalent' bike tyre. I tried to get a 15" car tyre onto a 15" Goldwing wheel and no way would it ever fit, the rim is much too big. But, I have seen outfits with low profile car tyres on bike wheels so maybe the difference is less on 17/18" tyres?

[matthewmosse]

they can be fitted in an interesting variety of ways, you can for instance adapt a 2cv rim for spokes and lace it to a standard hub. Or as long as there is enough 'spare' metal on a alloy rim have the rim re shaped on a fugging great lathe to match the profile characteristics you want though this probably often isn't practical. It is very likely to be expensive. Apparently someone in the USA was killed when attempting to put a car tyre on a bike, got it on ok but when trying to seat the bead the thing exploded off the rim somehow. Not sure who when etc but did heed the warning. outfits with low profile car tyres are probably the subjects of some very nifty engineering. Oh yeah, you can also just swap the whole assembly round a bit eg want car tyre on bike, use car hub and wheel. want bike tyres on trike, adapt bike wheel to car hub etc.

[chrisw000]

We discovered today that the tank and speedo are Yamaha, and the speedo has a small white plastic connector (not connected).

Does anyone know how this speedo works (i.e. what is needed on the front wheel to make it work)? It's got no mechanical input for a conventional speedo cable. Don't know what machine the tank came from. The rest of the lights on the speedo (neutral, ignition etc.) seem to work.

We also think (after speaking to a Harley dealership guy who has owned a few trikes) that we need a new wider front wheel, as it's only 4-5 inches wide at the moment (compared to very wide rear wheels), and the bike judders on corners. This may also be because the previous owner lengthened the front forks, so the geometry is probably way out. Any ideas how to find wheels of the right size?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! :thumbu::)

Chris and Sara

[matthewmosse]

Any pics might help identify speedo, what front tyres, forks etc has it got? Before spending out on stuff check tyre pressures and experiment with them a bit.

[dubmeister]

It was me who started the thread and was attempting to fit the bike tyres to the car wheels and i can confirm what has been said
YOU CANNOT FIT BIKE TYRES TO CAR RIMS i now have a very expensive coffee table made from two 300/40/17 tyres and a skim board , the tyres split the bead and ripped the sidewall to bits when the guys tried to fit them (wonder if taylormade wheels have specially made rims??)

Also the handlebar horrible handling has not been sorted as i tried the trike up the road and discovered you could power slide it :D unfortunately discovered that the camchain tensioner was fucked when i backed off and managed to bend all the valves :(:thumbd: so the trike is in the corner off the unit until i find another head or save up for all the bits (£135 for a gasket set :eek::eek:£30 each for the valves :eek:)

[v8_trike]

welcome to the wonderful world of triking mate :(

just when you think you have fixed one problem, you get two or three more just to make matters worse...

is the head dead or just the valves bent? you can sometimes straighten valves if they are not too bad (may save you a few £)

[matthewmosse]

I'm inerested in the idea of streightening valves, if a little dubious:unsure: How many people have done it? ad of those how many got good milage from an engine afterwards? Valves do after all work bloody hard and take a hammering, and I've found, make a real mess if they 'drop' in an engine:eek: but I've never tried streightenig the buggers, mine dropped due to a clogged oilway:o

[matthewmosse]

Dubmeister, have you considered plating in a cheaper engine until you have the wonga to sort the head of the z1300, a jap 4 should be available and easy to fit.....................

[v8_trike]

mate of mine just straightened valves on a dohc mondeo after it 'lost' the timing belt, car is up and running fine once again, this is not the 1st time he has done this job, i can pm you his number if you want the finer details..


though i think the finer details involve a rather large hammer :D

[matthewmosse]

Hmm, if I'm in need of the head sat in my spares pile with bent valves I might get in touch, but I'd have to be quite hard up not to want new valves, which I am come to think of it............, glad the head is not currently needed:rolleyes:

[dubmeister]

welcome to the wonderful world of triking mate :(

just when you think you have fixed one problem, you get two or three more just to make matters worse...

is the head dead or just the valves bent? you can sometimes straighten valves if they are not too bad (may save you a few £)

Haven't got the head off yet as i have been working mad hours but a compression test shows no compression on any cylinders :( but may have got away with just exhaust valves

Not too keen on the straightening valves idea especially if they are standard, might have tried if they were stainless or titanium coz i have had some of them done on a couple of my old drag race motors