handle bars shaking

[mustbemad]

hi trike people
picked up trike from the welders today and the front end ,handle bars shake pretty bad , goes from side to side does anybody have any ideas please .mustbemad

[Blackjack]

What sort of forks? What type of trike? What sort of speed?

From what you've said so far it could be too much trail, to little trail, a badly made frame, or about nine million other things.

If its a low speed waggle that clears up with speed, then its probably perfectly fine. If on the other hand it gets worse as you go faster..................

[xjtriker666]

try fittin steering damper ..get one from m&p bout 40 quid ..kawasaki universal fit.. they will help ya then fit wider bars..

[davesatan]

take off grips put as much roofing lead in the ends as you can to stop the initial ossilation starting if you are running a 19 inch front wheel try dropping it to 16 inch to change the trail

[Yoda]

dont know if this helps but when i had the front tyre changed on my trike
the guy asked me if i had any shake of wobble (i didnt so he fitted a a standard tyre)
but he said if i had shake or wobble the a Squarer walled trye would have to be fitted... i am not an expert but its worth checking out

Yoda

[Nitrowing]

What sort of forks? What type of trike? What sort of speed?

From what you've said so far it could be too much trail, to little trail, a badly made frame, or about nine million other things.

If its a low speed waggle that clears up with speed, then its probably perfectly fine. If on the other hand it gets worse as you go faster..................

Yes. Could be all manner of stuff - need more details!

[mustbemad]

blackjack
regarding trike front end problem ,trike is cx 650 with suspension everything all lined up and welded up correctly ,but noticed quite a bit of osselating movement from front wheel ( quite bad) shaking left to right not sure where to go with this at the moment any advise would be welcome ,mustbemad

[Odin]

wheel bearings perhaps?

[Simon]

blackjack
regarding trike front end problem ,trike is cx 650 with suspension everything all lined up and welded up correctly ,but noticed quite a bit of osselating movement from front wheel ( quite bad) shaking left to right not sure where to go with this at the moment any advise would be welcome ,mustbemad

Need more details about WHEN the oscillation occurs.
What speed does it start at, and ease off?
During the wobble, is it an uncontrollable shake, or a fairly slow weave?

I've got a combo which has a shake from about 20 - 25 mph. If I accelerate hard through that speed range, its no problem. If I have to ride at that speed for some reason, pulling back equally on both bars stops it. If I try to control it by pulling for each shake, it gets worse.

[dracken1]

if you remember mecanno sets then take a look at that comstar wheel.
that is the mecanno set of the 21 century

[Blackjack]

Comstars aren't ideal for a trike as they aren't very good at handling lateral loads. Actually they're not very good at handling loads.

Though you still haven't said anything about the sort of speeds this wobble occurs at.

But in the meantime jack it up so the front wheel is off the ground and check that the wheel isn't collapsing (seen that happen to Comstars on trikes), the wheel bearings aren't worn, the sliders aren't worn (seen that on trikes too), that the steering head bearings aren't over or under tightened and have a close look at the front tyre for uneven wear and lack of roundness (as its been stood for some time its possible that the tyre has deformed).

A steering damper will only mask the problem and shouldn't be resorted to until you are 100% sure that the cause is the steering geometry.

[Alik Windrush]

All the information you've been offered is absolutely right.
You could also try experimenting with tyre pressures (too much on the front?) Remember not to overlook the rear wheels. Anything that happens to either one of them will transmit through to the single front wheel. Soft or dodgy rear dampers can really cause obscure problems....
Loads more just ask....