May 23
Stem post with plug
Today I had a interesting fix.
Way who is an avid rider, yeh he rides 20 miles at a pop every time he takes his trikke out, had a clicking in the column. Well I always go right to the bearings in the steering head and give it a tug back and forth on the column. And usually I am right, hmm not this time. His column was tight as can be. So I then took it for a test spin and sure enough there was a small click. Now we have to really take a close look at things to start eliminating. First off the trailing arm was a tad loose when fully extended. the bolt were tight but it produced a squeaky noise like that of a floor. So we have to remove the trailing arm from the Cambering Mechanism so the we can remove that plunger in the arm lock. Needless to say that was not it. After careful thought I began to disassemble the column and found the culprit. The riser or stem post that the bars and gooseneck are attached to has a small plastic plug inset into the bottom of the post. It had worked loose and fallen into the bottom of the column. I turned the trikke upside down to retrieve the plug. The plug was a bit loose so I added a small piece of eletrical tape to the plug and stuffed it back into the post. Once together the noise and click was gone. You see what happens is the clamp that locks the post becomes like a seesaw for the post allowing it to swash back and forth. If you have a simular sound which seems faint, this is most likely your issue.
If you have a question that needs answering – send me and email at southbaytrikke@gmail.com.
Tagged with: clicking • noisy steering column • plastic plug • stem post clicking
Feb 09
Steering head clicks or seems loose.
Every now and then one slips by. You get your Trikke all set up and take it for a spin only to find it loose in the steering or a clicking noise. What the heck is going on? Well in the simplest terms the head locking clamp is not snug up to the back of the bearing set located at the bottom of the steering head. This is an easy fix. First off lower the bars to their lowest position and flip the Trikke upside down so that the front fork can be removed. Loosen the 2 bolts holding the fork assembly and remove the fork. Now the next clamp you see is the silver steering head clamp. You have a couple ways of doing this. First off make sure that the gooseneck is supported on something preferably not on the bars. Put a 4×4 or something like that to rest the neck end on so that the blunt force you apply will be solid. You may need a second set of hands to hold the Trikke as you complete these steps. Next loosen the clamp bolt a hair (not all the way loose) and then use a hammer and punch or screwdriver to work your way around the clamp tapping downward towards the steering head. Snug the bolt a little tighter and repeat pattern. Do it a third time and make sure the bolt is tight on the clamp when last attempt is complete. I actually use the end of a transmission yolk which slides over the steering end and proceed with the same routine as before. You may have a pipe piece or something of that nature to do this. Reinstall the fork assembly and tighten the 2 bolts.
Your steering should now be tight. The factory compresses these columns to 175lbs of pressure and then they secure the bolt. I have seen T12’s on occasion missing the compression ring to center the bearing. At this point you need that compression ring. You can also purchase a Column Compression tool which we sell from Jeff over at MidWest Trikke. I really like this tool since you can gauge the force applied more easily.
Tagged with: clicking • column • column tool • loose steering • tools
