Windwrap fairing part deux

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bikeboy999	Windwrap fairing part deux	Lead	[-]
Posts: 59 (11/08/09 19:07:01) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None Well I mounted the GX fairing a week ago and on it's second trip out, the trike started oscillating. It happens after a series of bad bumps in the roadway. Well I changed over to the XT fairing and the exact sames thing occured. It reminds me of the bridge at Tacoma (previous thread some place) . It is a brand new this summer Expedition, that had just completed it's periodic maintainence for the year. I have a bag I am carrying on a rack,. My main worry is, will this violent shaking break my frame? I can ride out the shakes, it gives a diff element of excitement to my ride, but I do not want to damage my cat either. B
Catnround		#1	[-]
Posts: 40 (11/08/09 21:23:37) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I have an 09 Expedition bought the end of July and put a Windwrap XT on it going on it a week ago and have over 100 miles and some 35 MPH descents and only get the usual shake when going over bumps in the road. For the most part the trike and fairing seem to be happy together. I picked the fairing up to help keep my feet out of the wind, rain and the miserable fog that will chill you to the bone here. I was surprised at the performance gain that I got just about 2 MPH I wasn't expecting that. If you like I will put up a photo of how I attached mine.
bikeboy999	Yes, please.	#2	[-]
Posts: 60 (11/08/09 22:36:30) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I would like to see the photos for sure. Can you tell me do you have fenders on the trike? I am wondering if the fenders, rack, bag and fairing mount up to make the trike oscilate. It is a very rough shake. I am glad to see that you are getting good speed with it. Lastly are the roads bumpy at all where you are? B
ffinklow	Look to your steering rather than fairing or fenders	#3	[-]
Posts: 1312 (11/09/09 00:48:16) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I have had fenders on both my catrikes and have used an XT fairing for two years. Neither induce any swaying or oscillation. Contrarily, if you are experiencing the dreaded "shimmy" problem, it likely has to do with headset adjustment. There are umpteen page threads on this subject on this Forum. As for lateral "wandering", this may have to do with your riding style or a frame issue. I suggest that you write down exactly when, where, and how each incident occurred, and what changes to the trike preceded each one. You might then send these to Paulo or one of the other Catrike team members for advice.
Catnround		#4	[-]
Posts: 41 (11/09/09 00:59:19) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Nope I don't have fenders ATM but will be on order this week no to the rack and panniers as well working on a rack and a set of Arkel GT 54's I know a Arkel sales rep (touring next summer and need larger bags). I do have the Arkel Catrike bags 1 side loaded with food stuffs and 1 side with cold/wet weather gear and my light if I get caught out after dark. I do ride in some what of a vacume I have a 2 mile ride to the middle of a 35 miles of well maintained bike trail along the American river form Historic Old Sacramento to Historic Old Folsom for a total of 70 miles out and back this trail is a real jewel. The roads to the trail are your average urban asphalt and have the usual bumps and pot holes. I'm currently running Kojak's closer to 100 psi. then the stated 95 psi. If I were you I would strip the trike down to the way it came out of the box and give it a test ride to see if it happens without any addons. If it does I would look at wheel trueness or if a tire isn't fully seated on the rim. If that wasn't the case start adding stuff back one thing at a time to see what the cause is. You might have to play around with your set up a bit to see if it's one item or a few things in combination together that cause the oscillation. I put my top mount below my front derailleur and cadence pick up because I couldn't get the fairing low enough with the mount above the derailleur to see over the top I was looking at the top support bar so I was always looking threw the fairing to see the road.
ffinklow	call Mueller Bros.	#5	[-]
Posts: 1313 (11/09/09 03:53:07) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Not seeing over a fairing is a common issue, one for which the Mueller brothers have created 2 solutions: first, a flat-top fairing that cuts off the bubble top and secondly, a tilting mechanism that allows getting the stanard XT's bubble out of the line of sight. I had suggested a third approach, which would employ a curved horizontal bar, lower in the middle, higher at the extremities as to reconcile foot clearance and optimum line of sight. If you try to wiggle your XT frame a bit, you'll know immediately whether it is a potential source of trike instability mounted as it is. Last Edited By: ffinklow 11/09/09 03:55:49. Edited 1 times.
bikeboy999		#6	[-]
Posts: 64 (11/09/09 08:06:06) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	With regards to looking over the fairing. I found that mounting a 200 lumens light below the fairing on a space grip. Puts out enough light that I can see the road through the fairing. Like riding in a car, the fairing is so clear. B
BCtriker		#7	[-]
Posts: 19 (11/09/09 10:26:48) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I own a Cat Trail since July '09, but have only recently (4wks) bought the Windwrap GX with classic mount. I have another trike that also had a fairing when I bought it, so I've had some experiance. I've found that in those extreme conditions ( potholes, curbs) the fairing has got to flex, I think, otherwise the sheet would fail and break. Just my thought....but I've the had the same thing happen a couple of times as well, I don't like to see that happen too often. The Windwrap works well in the headwinds we have here on the coast of B.C., also we tend to get some rain. The fairing works well in keeping my feet and legs dry. Overall, I couldn't be happier.
KirkCTR537		#8	[-]
Posts: 406 (11/09/09 13:24:25) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I've had an XT fairing on my Expedition for over a year with no problems at all under any circumstances. You should check your wheels and steering first probably, as those are the most likely culprits I can think of.
Action Lad	GX on a 700	#9	[-]
Posts: 708 (11/09/09 17:16:45) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Mine was installed by the shop at make-ready. Rock solid performance. Regarding the perspective, I have been looking through the fairing for about 4,000 miles. It's almost matter of course with a 27 degree seat, but I would not want layers of fairing under my line of sight. I'm in the minority, I know, but day or night it works just great. Moreover, I use the cross bar as a dashboard.
BiscuitTaylor	weight distribution	#10	[-]
Posts: 45 (11/09/09 22:45:18) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I know that the fairing doesn't weigh much, but I suspect that the fairing changes the weight distribution on the trike just enough to aggravate your trike's tendency to shimmy. But I think that the real cause of the shimmy is one (or more) of the standard causes: most likely asymmetry somewhere on the front wheels, or loose headsets. Back when I was having shimmy issues, I felt like the fore-aft weight distribution was a factor, and that the shimmy was more likely to start up when my fairing was on, because of that. Now my shimmy is resolved, and the fairing does not cause any problems.

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Windwrap fairing part deux

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