WHATS THE CORRECT ANSWER

[SQ4MN]

My trike does not track perfectly straight on a straight road with no crown. It pulls to the right slightly. Some have said to move the wheel on the side it pulls to forward towards the handlebars. Some have said the opposite. Some have said I'll never get a trike to track straight with hands off the bars. Some have said to quit riding trikes and just ride my bike. Some just change the subject and one just told me to get fucked.

[Iron Maiden]

It sounds like you have had all kinds of responses so here is another one....... I have been told to reduce the air pressure or maybe it was increase (Either way Bill is not going to have 2 different air pressure in my rear tires) in the right rear tire to compensate for the crown. Do you do this? If so will this cause the trike to not track straight when there is not a crown?????

[Oil Man]

If your trike pulls to the right you will have to push the rr away from the bars. Just imagine the trike would rotate around an imaginary pin in the center. change the angle of the rear relative to that point and that is where the front end will go.

David

[Oil Man]

It sounds like you have had all kinds of responses so here is another one....... I have been told to reduce the air pressure or maybe it was increase (Either way Bill is not going to have 2 different air pressure in my rear tires) in the right rear tire to compensate for the crown. Do you do this? If so will this cause the trike to not track straight when there is not a crown?????

This will have an effect if the rear axle is locked or coupled by a limited slip clutch. In that case the tire that has the larger circumference will push more than the opposite tire.

I do not know if Dave has that type of rear end. If not then the only option is alignment of the rear axle.

[Sonny]

My trike does not track perfectly straight on a straight road with no crown. It pulls to the right slightly. Some have said to move the wheel on the side it pulls to forward towards the handlebars. Some have said the opposite. Some have said I'll never get a trike to track straight with hands off the bars. Some have said to quit riding trikes and just ride my bike. Some just change the subject and one just told me to get fucked.

Maybe this vid will give you some tech insight on what to do, but if not then I vote for what the last guy said.

phpBB [video]

[SQ4MN]

What my trike has is a stock Boss Hoss rear end with a different ring and pinion so i have a higher ratio. So David can I just move one side of the axle forward or backward and have the bike veer off in a different direction. How else can you align the rear end besides that adjustment. I run the same tire pressure in both sides. Should I be concerned about the u joint alignment? I have a 700R transmission in the trike and I don't know if there's a slip joint or not. I'm in Los Angeles right not near my trike.

[Gila]

Buy a horse ,,,

I kill myself ,,,

Hackin on ya Brother ,,, still lookin like I could make Vegas for SB ,,, will let you know when I arrive home ,,,

[Clint44]

This will have an effect if the rear axle is locked or coupled by a limited slip clutch. In that case the tire that has the larger circumference will push more than the opposite tire.

I do not know if Dave has that type of rear end. If not then the only option is alignment of the rear axle.

I'm pretty sure his trike has an open differential,David. Agree with you that it's a minor alignment issue. Boss Hoss sells a tool to adjust it. However,every trike I've ever ridden tended to wander some with my hands off the handlebars.

The other site's Tech archives has a few threads on how-to correct rear end alignment,if you choose to venture over there.

[SQ4MN]

Clint, what does the BH tool do? When you let go of the bars on the trikes you rode did it normally only wander in one direction such as to the right or to the left. I'm trying to end up with a trike that only wanders due to the crown of the road, on flat road it wouldn't wander. Do you think this is possible or probable?

[hdtrader]

Dave,

if you ride the centerline...your problem would be over!

[randy burkey]

Now I am no trike expert and only rode a boss hoss trike one time..But would it be possible to do a laser wheel alignment similar to an automobile and make rear axle adjustments accordingly..Or Dave, if it just started wandering,,Could steering neck bearings cause this?? Or possibly Heim joint wear on axle linkage? Randy

[sharp1]

change pockets with your wallet

[Carl La Fong]

^^^^^Sometimes the answer is so simple^^^^^^
I like to call it, "Overlooking the obvious in search of the obscure"

[Clint44]

Clint, what does the BH tool do? When you let go of the bars on the trikes you rode did it normally only wander in one direction such as to the right or to the left. I'm trying to end up with a trike that only wanders due to the crown of the road, on flat road it wouldn't wander. Do you think this is possible or probable?

Dave,when I get the chance,I'll wander over there and do a search to see if I can find the thread(s).

Our trike tenders to wander to the right but I'm sure that's because of the crown in our roads.

[Clint44]

Ok,I found Neil Webber's guide to BH trike rear end alignment. Hope you find it informative.
http://www.v8bikeriders.com/forums/show ... +alignment

Bill,if it's not ok to post this here,accept my apologies and just delete it.

[SQ4MN]

Thanks Clint, I read Niel Webers directions. He advises canting the rear axle slightly to the right to make trikes not pull to the right. I'm gonna try it this week and see what happens. You still need to tell me what SPECIAL tool Boss Hoss sells to adjust the rear axle, I can't figure out what it does or where it fits or why there is one.

[Clint44]

I'll post the link to the tool needed tomorrow,Dave. I'm at work,right now. IIRC,the cost from Boss Hoss is around $100.

[V8Bikers]

Ok,I found Neil Webber's guide to BH trike rear end alignment. Hope you find it informative.
http://www.v8bikeriders.com/forums/show ... +alignment

Bill,if it's not ok to post this here,accept my apologies and just delete it.

No Problem at all Clint. That is a great tech write up. If it can help Dave or anyone else, I'm all for it!

[Clint44]

Here you go,Dave. http://www.v8bikeriders.com/forums/show ... +alignment

[SQ4MN]

Thanks Clint, I see the bar that Adrian made which is not a rear axle alignment tool. Adrian mentions a rear axle alignment tool for 100 dollars from Boss Hoss but there are no pictures of one nor is there a part number for such a tool. Hawk88 asked to see a picture of one but none was ever posted and the tool was never explained.

[Clint44]

So,that bar does not go through the yoke and the trailing arm heim ends,to line them up?

[SQ4MN]

Clint, the bar goes thru everything you described but that just checks the transmission height so that the u joint doesn't bind. It keeps the swing arm pivot point centered with the yoke pivot point. You would adjust that by raising or lowering the transmission. The rear axle ANGLE adjusts the direction the trike tends to go and is adjusted by the heims joint threads. Adrian claimed there is a 100 dollar tool to get the rear axle ANGLE correct but I don't think there is any such tool. The rear axle in theory should be 90 degrees to the front wheel if the front wheel is perfectly straight and the front wheel is exactly 90 degrees perpendicular to a flat road. If the front wheel is perfectly centered between the rear wheels and the above angles are perfect then the bike should track straight. However two things upset that scenario. One is the crown of the road. The other is without posi or the lack of both wheels being driven with the same force the trike in theory will not go PERFECTLY straight. By adjusting the rear axle ANGLE the trike should be forced to counter the direction it pulls to because of the road crown and the lack of equal torque on both driven wheels. If the Ford rear end in our Boss Hoss trikes was a posi traction instead of a limited slip the only force to counter act would be the crown of the road. The V8 Chopper trikes have 9 inch Ford rear axles with posi so its easier to get them to track straight at least on a flat road. I'm determined to get my BH trike to track straight with as little effort as possible, its not bad right now but I feel it could be better.

[CanuckHoss]

Dave , are you strictly talking about bad tracking with your hands off the bars?

My guess is most trike guys will not even have experience to tell you about that because taking your hands off a Boss Hoss trike's bars could lead to a bad case of casket sores! Especially 2006 and down without a steering dampner.

Also...how do you know that the road you are testing the trike on is perfectly flat?? or has not vehicle groves..albeit small to fuck things up?

I think that unless you are fighting the bars when one handed steering then you are probably alright the way it is.

I have a trike alignment tool coming from the factory soon and can take a picture. I have no idea what it looks like.

PS...Have a great Xmas day

[SQ4MN]

Barry, yes and no. If the bike goes to the right without hands on the bars than of course it will take some sort of pressure to keep that from happening when you put your hands back on the bars. I am anxiously awaiting a picture of the factory tool. All major roads are normally built with a crown for drainage. Some smaller roads don't have any crown, its not always obvious. I can let go of my bars on the freeway and although the trike will track to the right it doesn't shake or wobble or feel like its my last moments on earth.