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Post by frog760 on Jul 13, 2011 16:42:41 GMT -5
Last week I received my wife’s Magnum 300, 2011 model, which I ordered from Jim at Rapid Repair. I did the PDI myself. Nothing to note about that, except I added a fuel cut off valve next to the tank fill so I can run the carb empty for storage. When I test drove the trike, I noticed a serious wobble—something others have written about. I’m also having trouble with the transmission grinding when going into forward and leaping when going into reverse. I’ve been working with Jim to try and diagnose the exact problem and would appreciate another opinion (or several for that matter). Here’s what I’ve tried. I did replace both oils during the PDI. I had both wheels balanced at a Goodyear tire center—they used the clip-on weights and not the stick-on kind. I jacked up the back end and ran it to see if the wheels wobble and didn’t see anything noticeable. I jacked up one side and ran it to see if I could narrow down a side causing the problems. I raised the left ran it, then raised the right (opposite side was on the ground so only one wheel was spinning) and they both are the same—lots of vibrations and I would say a grinding noise too. Then I took off both wheels to see if there would be a difference—no change, still vibrating and grinding. Today I tried some other tests. I started by removing both wheels and the rear fender. I disconnected the shift linkage at the gear box. I moved it by hand into forward and reverse. I placed the linkage up to the box and the linkage seems to work fine. It is tight and puts pressure on the mechanism to hold it in either gear. I started the magnum and ran it for a short while. There is still a noticeable wobble left and right. It also is still grinding into forward gear. I removed the chain. I started the magnum again and ran it for a bit. Ran great. Smooth compared to before. Some vibration, but what I would expect when compared to my ATVs and riding mower. Shifts into forward and reverse with no problems or grinding. While sprocket is moving slowly, I shifted into opposite gear and it went in without any noise at all. I reinstalled the chain. I started it again. Same wobble and same grinding when shifting into forward. I noticed when I shift into reverse it doesn’t go all the way in and when I give it some gas it slips in without grinding and leaps back. I looked at the sprockets and did not notice any wobble—they appear not to be bent. I did notice that looking from the rear, the rear sprocket is all the way on the right side of the chain and the front sprocket is all the way on the left side—don’t know if that is within specs or not. The only other thing I can think of is get another sprocket and run just the rear end from an external source to see if there is still a wobble—but I can’t explain the gear box grinding?  Unless it’s bad and only shows when under load—but then the rear may be bad or sprockets out of alignment thus causing the wobble? ?? Thanx for helping me with this. Here’s a link to some videos I took so you can see and hear what I’m talking about. You will need Apple’s QuickTime viewer to watch them, www.apple.com/quicktime/ if you need it. digitalvault.cox.net/invite/login?c=6678626c616b65&i=7688-1309a1be1dd-coxprod_gemini_canniff31&t=20758ea0d85dc864&r=mg&lang=en |
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Post by mike6736 on Jul 13, 2011 18:33:58 GMT -5
Hang in there friend Jim knows his stuff and has good factory contacts. What state you live in? Just do not try to run that thing is you got binding or grinding. Shame your not close to Jims shop
Mike
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Post by edfr on Jul 13, 2011 19:28:19 GMT -5
What WOBBLES the whole rear end or the tires? How much weight did EACH TIRE TAKE TO BALANCE IT?
One other Thing DO NOT CHANGE to REVERSE OR FORWARD while the TRIKE is moving or HIGH REVs. That will damage the gears in a flash.
Lefty
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Post by leeinark on Jul 14, 2011 8:52:31 GMT -5
Frog: Most of us lock OUT the reverse...in other words we don't use it. I just locked mine out about a month ago because the trike would come out of gear on its own. Depending on how far out of alignment (and it doesn't take much) I might try spacing one of the sprockets so they line up better. You did change gear box oil correct?? Was there any metal fragments beyond what would be considered normal wear? I would keep close look on that gear box oil and change it frequently so that you can readily see any big wear on the gears. In my opinion the tires that come with the trike are crap. Many have arrived from China out of round and they don't wear very well. If you search the trike forum there is a really great posting on Mike changing his gear box out and some great pictures from Alleyop. Go thru all those posts and you will gain a great deal of general knowledge. Hang in there and like the guys have said we will all help you get this thing right. It will be a ton of fun when you do trust me. vr, Lee
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Post by leeinark on Jul 14, 2011 9:03:03 GMT -5
Frog: One other thing ... my Magnum vibrated pretty badly and ran poorly until I set the valves and changed the air fuel mixture. Also went with iridium plug and high performance coil and it runs like a charm every since. vr, Lee
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Post by parsonsj11 on Jul 14, 2011 9:48:52 GMT -5
Lee
Another change to look out for.. if he's got the 2011 the F/R isn't in the rearend anymore it's moved to the engine box and has the side shifter. i think he stated he took off the chain and it shifted without problems.. if they reworked the read end/ differential then whole new sets of problems and answers...... sounds to me like the rear end / differential has a problem but could be the fuel / valve stuff under load......
and to frog
I hope you changed all three oils.. motor, gear box and rear/ end/ differential.....
Looks like we're going to have to get specific on which Magnum we have A, B or C.. different problems can arise from each model....
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Post by leeinark on Jul 14, 2011 9:52:12 GMT -5
Parsons: Ok I was unaware that the Magnum had changed again...I thought there was just a new model called the tornado with the side shifter. I stand corrected. vr, Lee
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Post by parsonsj11 on Jul 14, 2011 9:58:01 GMT -5
her is pic i got from IB site showing new shifter and linkage to gearbox. Attachments:
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Post by leeinark on Jul 14, 2011 10:13:42 GMT -5
Thx bud! I don't know if I really see that as an improvement though. That bar has "bend me" written all over it. It appears that the bar goes to the same gear box but with a lower connection to the rod that goes on the gear box. In addition if I remember correctly my connection (cable) is at the top of my gear box. Icebear seems to be concentrating on just changing designs versus fixing what they have out and that is unfortunate. Don't get me wrong I really like thuis little trike but lucky for me that I am handy with a wrench and a lot of folks that would like to own one of these don't buy them because of their lack of mechanical skills. This is the only vehicle I own that I wouldn't dare travel very far without a decent selection of tools. Thx for the info!!! vr, Lee
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Post by parsonsj11 on Jul 14, 2011 10:19:20 GMT -5
lee
I think if you enlarge it it looks like it goes to the gearbox side where the clutch is on the front engine box not back to the rear end/ differential box.
also looks like the improved the upper A Arms on the Suspension to eliminate the rub from the CV Axles wish i could get a couple my left upper is rubbing down to the shineys.. lol
JAMES
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Post by leeinark on Jul 14, 2011 10:27:28 GMT -5
James with the right amount of money I'm sure they will be happy to sell them to you! Ha ha. vr, Lee
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Post by ustacould on Jul 14, 2011 10:46:25 GMT -5
frog,
I have the old style Magnum with the straight axle and when I first made my purchase I had a front end wobble left to right when I would start out. What RapidJim did was to adjust the rearend to be sure that the rear was square with the rest of the trike. This did in fact help with the wobble. As to the the two sprokets, I added washer spacers between the two bolt heads and the sproket in the rear sproket to correct the alignment. The washers moved the sproket to the left about a sixteenth of an inch. As I drive down the street when I hit uneven spots in the road there is a small but definate shake in the front but it is understood and expected with the straight axle.
ed
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Post by mike6736 on Jul 14, 2011 21:07:09 GMT -5
Lee I had a 2011 Magnum here t the house the other day....Your right it has it's problems too. The shifter, with netural is a buzzard the shop says. The bike belongs to a lady that has only had it to 50 mph once. She drove itto New Port Richey were the shop is she got it and saw me turn a corner followed me.
She is driving the seller batty...she can do nothing and expects them to fix all rattles and so far they are tryng but too much time on the trike, and it is new to them too....Now they are done she has to pay. Was me I would never had sold her the trike. She told me she is going to sue.
The rear axle looks better than ours but the this thing was so nise from rattles everywere when I went taround the lock reminded me of the Bullet when I first got it. She wants me to fix her's like mine.....well...like I told her I am retired and unable and not willing so forget it....
Oh, the trike is blue and looks so smallnext to mine as I have the tall windshild and high lights on the fenders and the rack......Love my Silver Bullet.
I will be leaving this Saturday and will stay for 1-3 months in the Ft Smith area so Lee let's ride down town with the 2 Magnums....
Mike
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Post by rapidjim on Jul 14, 2011 22:46:30 GMT -5
Just info.
I have been in touch with IB several times to get to the bottom of this problem. Hard to diagnose this issue without seeing the trike in person. However, I think the problem lies in the transmission under a load condition. The reason I think this is because with the chain off, no load on the tranny, it goes into gear without incident. Now add a load and it grinds and does not go into gear or pops out of gear. The grind is in the tranny not the rear diff. Either a bad bearing or bad output shaft.
We have had several phone conversations and emails over this and he seems to know what he is doing. I did offer to find the problem and fix it without a labor charge if the customer could bring it to me. Problem is he is 12 hours away.
More info as we get more.
Jim/Owner
Rapid Repair
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Post by rapidjim on Jul 15, 2011 11:37:14 GMT -5
Got some more information this morning from both Ice Bear and another dealer. The problem is mostlikely to much play at were the shifter meets the rod. This was causing another trike to do what yours is doing. It works fine without a load but is not engaging the transmission gears completely. Remove the play at the point where the shifter and rod meet at the hand shifter end , not the transmission end, and it should take care of the issue. You will mostlikey have to remove the bottom panel to access this area.
Jim/Owner
Rapid Repair
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Post by mike6736 on Jul 15, 2011 12:52:03 GMT -5
Cool....Jim daaaa Man... It is more than hard to try to call the shots on something not in front of you even with pictures and sound. Hard to figure what hammer to use and how hard to hit it....
They are toucheeee is what I heard, I hope not as bad as the gear box shifter we got.......Mine is a charm I have never used the reverse it is locked out and can not bounce out....Hee Haaaaw
Mikey
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Post by leeinark on Jul 15, 2011 14:28:16 GMT -5
Mike I locked mine out too. Trike's so light I don't need it anyway...just one less thing to worry about.
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Post by edfr on Jul 15, 2011 18:06:34 GMT -5
Ditto on my 150 Trike, never use the Reverse.
The BAD RABBIT
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Post by frog760 on Jul 16, 2011 15:14:49 GMT -5
Okay, after several days of trial, error, and sweat, here's where we stand.
There is still a shifter problem with the Magnums. The shift lever on the side does not provide enough pressure for the gear to slip in. I found that by disconnecting at the trans, I can move the lever by hand only about ¾ of the way and when I open the throttle, it slips in just fine. When the rod is reattached, it seems that the shifter does not apply enough pressure to enable the gear to slip in correctly. Apparently IB still has not found a working shift mechanism. I’ll play with the shifter someday to try and resolve this issue. In the meantime, I’ll just leave it in forward and only use reverse when absolutely needed.
As for the other issue. I put everything back together and drove it up the street. At 20-25mph, when I take my hands off the handlebars, they wobble violently. I’ve rechecked everything. I found nothing loose in the front end. All engine mounts are tight. Rear tires were computer spin balanced. It does it when the back end is raised off the ground. It does it when the left tire is off the ground, it does it when the right tire is off the ground, it does it when both wheels are removed. It stops when the chain is removed. The drive shaft and the front/small sprocket are not loose. The chain is tightened correctly. The sprockets are not bent or warped. I do not see a bent or warped driveshaft or rotor. Tire pressure is correct. I raised the front and hand spun the tire and there is no visible warping or wobble.
I plan on taking it to a motorcycle/ATV/Scooter shop on Tuesday (they’re closed on Monday) for a check by someone more experienced than I. Hope it turns out to be a stupid overshight on my part--hate it when that happens, but my wallet will be happier.
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Post by frog760 on Jul 16, 2011 17:39:34 GMT -5
I'm not an engineer or any good with geometry, but could this be a rake or trail design flaw? Does anyone else have a wobble problem or been able to fix one they had?
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Post by frog760 on Jul 17, 2011 12:45:01 GMT -5
Last night I stayed up late doing even more research. Trike owners state they have a wobble when the rear wheels are not aligned. I checked it, but must have had a "tard" moment cuz when I checked again today, they seemed off. I played with it and only made things worse.
How would one go about aligning the rear wheels on an independent rear Magnum?
Thanx...
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Post by rapidjim on Jul 17, 2011 21:32:36 GMT -5
I sent you an email frog.
Jim/Owner
Rapid Repair
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Post by chtent on Jul 19, 2011 20:07:49 GMT -5
Frog, I just purchased a new 2011 Magnum, although it may be a Tornado because it has the forward/reverse shifter down on the side. In any case I have the wobble and it is present until I get above 35 mph. It is very annoying and I would like to find a fix for it. I also am trying to figure out how to get to the battery and storage area under the seat. I have contacted the seller and they can't tell me how to get to it. Amazing, huh. I was told by the seller that the Trike would go 75 mph but that doesn't seem to be true. It's more like 50 mph. I am hoping that improves over time. If any body has any suggestions I would greatly appeciate it.
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Post by rapidjim on Jul 20, 2011 8:51:47 GMT -5
Frog, I just purchased a new 2011 Magnum, although it may be a Tornado because it has the forward/reverse shifter down on the side. In any case I have the wobble and it is present until I get above 35 mph. It is very annoying and I would like to find a fix for it. I also am trying to figure out how to get to the battery and storage area under the seat. I have contacted the seller and they can't tell me how to get to it. Amazing, huh. I was told by the seller that the Trike would go 75 mph but that doesn't seem to be true. It's more like 50 mph. I am hoping that improves over time. If any body has any suggestions I would greatly appeciate it. Take the rear wheels off and have them spin balanced at a local tire shop, make sure they are spin balanced not bubble balanced, it does make a difference. Opening the trunk, turn the key all the way counterclockwise. Make sure you aren't pushing the key in as you do it. If that doesn't work, then the cable is not adjusted or has come off. If you look under the front fairing on the right side you will see where the cable come into the ignition switch. Reach up and give it a pull that should open the seat. You will need to adjust the cable. The right top cover below the handle bars will have to come off. We see this time and time again, that some online sellers do not have a clue how to work on these machines. Most of them are drop shippers and have never seen a trike. let alone work on them. They also dream up their own specs. Without mods this trike will not do 75MPH. More like 60 - 65 cruising after it is broke in. Jim/Owner Rapid Repair |
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GrandpaBenTx
Junior Dawg
We have a 300cc Magnum Trike
Posts: 13
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Post by GrandpaBenTx on Jul 20, 2011 22:28:48 GMT -5
Frog we bought a new 300cc Magnum from ScooterDepot in Cal and had all your same problems. It's my wife's . We still don't have the correct owners manual to this day after many emails and phone calls. Any body have one??? We will gladly pay for it plus shipping if you email benanddeetx@yahoo.com. Any way about the front wheel and rear wheels and vibration. I had our original wheels balanced 3 times and still same problem untillllllllllll one day a shop took me into their shop and showed me that both rear tires were not only OUTOF ROUND HORIZONTALLY BUT ALSO VERTICALLY! We called ICEBEAR and ordered alll 3 new tires!! The new tires came and I took them back to the same auto spin balance shop and sure enough! Those were bad too! but not quiet so bad. I watched a couple of "frog' videos and if you look close you can see that the tire is OUT OF ROUND. We balanced alll of the 3 new tires put them on and to this day no more front wheel wobble and LOTS of the vibration gone. Finding the correct tires is one big pain. WE had "Kenda" on the rear, out of China ...we hear they are out of business. Any way ICEBEAR sent us two new Kenda's as stated up that were still bad. Good luck, hope we helped some. Any body know where the horn is on this thing? Ours stopped working. Icebear told us that we must get owners manual from ScooterDepot......that's like asking the Pope to fly down and hear my confession. Last night I stayed up late doing even more research. Trike owners state they have a wobble when the rear wheels are not aligned. I checked it, but must have had a "tard" moment cuz when I checked again today, they seemed off. I played with it and only made things worse. How would one go about aligning the rear wheels on an independent rear Magnum? Thanx... |
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