85 sx questions

[mikey's250sx]

i want to know how to tell if my shock is blown. i have no basis of comparison as far as ride quality goes so can you guys tell from these pics or can i measure the shock? also do those look like stock handlebars? they seem a little low and swept back to me and sometimes in tight right hand corners i hit the thumb throttle on the tank. very very annoying.

[bigredhead]

For the thumb problem.. just loosen up the bolts that hold the bars and pull them up a bit to cleat the tank.

if you rolled it at anytime they usually tweak some.

[Tri-ZNate]

if your shock is blown you should be bottoming out when you sit on the trike and any time after that I believe.

[mikey's250sx]

i ma not bottoming but my 22" tires rub on my pipe every once in a while and it really looks like it is low. but i am not positive. i guess it could be my imagination.

[83200e]

Hey Mikey, You do know that shock is adjustable don't you?

[mikey's250sx]

no i didn't. i looked at it before i washed it a while back and of course it was covered in mud and gack. does it have a threaded pre-load collar or is it just compression that is adjustable?

[83200e]

It's got an adjustable collar.Clean it up good and you'll see how it works.

[mad_max]

i want to know how to tell if my shock is blown. i have no basis of comparison as far as ride quality goes so can you guys tell from these pics or can i measure the shock?

I believe I'm correct when I say that what holds up the rear of the trike is the spring... so a "blown" shock would have internal problems (like seals and valves) and it might be bouncy or leaking oil. If the spring collapsed (dont know how you'd get it to do that) then the rear would sag.



also do those look like stock handlebars? they seem a little low and swept back to me and sometimes in tight right hand corners i hit the thumb throttle on the tank. very very annoying.
Looks like a stock handlebar, might be 200X.

[mikey's250sx]

well i spent all last wek fixing stuff. got the shock collar all threaded down,fixed the bars, painted the battery box and fender supports and exhaust, fixed my front brakes and my electric start too.
now were rockin!!! i'll get some pics this weekend when i put on the new fender flares.

[trikezilla]

i ma not bottoming but my 22" tires rub on my pipe every once in a while and it really looks like it is low. but i am not positive. i guess it could be my imagination.

My cousin Paul had his 250sx do the same thing with his 22 x 11 x 8's....even when he got a rebuild/new shock (i dont remember which)...he does have an aftermarket silencer....

[Huffa]

i ma not bottoming but my 22" tires rub on my pipe every once in a while and it really looks like it is low. but i am not positive. i guess it could be my imagination.

HMMMMM :wondering It could be you have side to side play in the rear end that is causing it to rub. Put it up on a stand and check it out.

OR a bent or out of round rim? OR the pipe is bolted on wrong? OR a bent axle? Or bad swingarm bushings in the front that cause the swingarm to cock to one side? One more OR........a tweaked upper frame portion?

That should keep you busy for a while :D

[Tri-ZNate]

i ma not bottoming but my 22" tires rub on my pipe every once in a while and it really looks like it is low. but i am not positive. i guess it could be my imagination.


Is the muffler shinny where it is rubbing? If so you need to raise the shock preload up. It did it on one of my SXs and I didnt know why it did it on the one and not the others. It will eventually wear a hole in the muffler where it is shinny.

You'll know when it is too high for you. You either be leaning down when you grab the bars id its too high, or have an apehanger like feeling if its too low.

[Dirtcrasher]

It can't be "too high", that adjustment just puts more preload on the spring and doesn't affect ride height at all. Fully extended is fully extended.

[Tri-ZNate]

When you have it at full preload the shock doent go down as far when you sit on it. When it is adjusted all the way down it makes it lower when you sit on it.