New member Ady here

Hi everyone, my name is Ady and I am the founder member of Free Spirit Trikers over here in the UK. My trike is an XJ900 which I bought already built, even though my occupation is trike builder. However this one was a bargain not to turn down, so against my normal way of thinking, I decided to have it.
As I am not very familiar with this bike, I would like to ask you for some advice. Firstly could someone tell me the right grade of fork oil to use and how much, and secondly is there an idle speed adjuster, as I think it is running a little too slow at about 800 rpm's.

Here is a You Tube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdDF-AZQHc0

Oh PS, that's my 13 year old son sat on the trike, not me. :lol:

 

Let me start off by saying welcome! that's a beautiful bike.... I'm glad you know how to build trikes, as we've got some members looking at making trikes...

luckily for you there are a good bit of UK and Aussie members here, in the USA we only recieved 2000 seca 900's in 84... but you guys got them for many years.

I'm not sure of the fork oil , however, if your carbs are anything like the other xj's which they should be, the idle is in the middle of the carb rack, its a little knob that stick out below them... you turn this to the right to increase idle, but you only turn it a little bit and blip the throttle to see where it settles

 

Hi Shooter, cheers for the welcome.
I have had a look at the underside of the carb rack but can't see anything that resembles a knob. I'm just wondering now if it is missing.
The carbs I have got have a pull out choke lever on the left. I'll take a photo tomorrow and post it on here for you to gander at.

Here is another trike I'm working on. It's a VW 1600 that I have just bought a fibreglass body for to replace those ugly seats.

The bike is a Virago 535 that will be triked as soon as I finish the VW.

 

Yes, my bike is a 600, yes these are upside down and yes, I know the float bowls are wrong.

The knurled knob puts pressure on the bottom of the throttle linkage to open the butterflies and speed up the idle.

 

Hi ady1 welcome, can you spare a few minutes to explain why you want to take a perfectly servicable bike & turn it into half a car.
I have pondered this for a long time, now an expert can enlighten me. Wiz.

 

some people do it because they cn no longer handle a bike... but I think SOME of them look cool, like that 900 seca and that VW, but I think goldwing/ harley trikes are lame..

 

Correct idle is 1050RPM +- 50. Possibly, there wasn't a spring on the idle screw and it fell out.

 

WELCOME!!! IMHO VW engines, best engines ever built by anyone 8) ...

skillet

 

One of my coworkers has a bug that is carburated and makes 253hp. Really punched out to get it but what a screamer.

 

Ey up Wizard, thanks for the question.
The reason I got into trikes was because after spending 6 months on refurbishing an XS750 that I bought off Ebay, I found the seat hieght was just a little too high for me, and on it's maiden voyage, the beast popped out of first gear after reaching about 2 mph (yes 2mph), and the bike decided to topple left. With my legs being a little on the short side, and the road cambering away from me, I had to gracefully lower the bike to the floor, and in doing this I twisted my leg muscle so badly that I almost fainted with pain at the roadside. After a while I looked at the bike laying there and thought I have 2 options here, sell it and get back a lot less than it owes me, or stick another wheel on the back. So that is what I did and how I got into the trike scene.
Now that is just my story, but another reason people go for trikes is because of a disability they have received either through a bike accident or through old age. Some trikers have been bikers all their lives and don't want to give up the freedom that they have come to love, so an alternative for them is a trike, and some even trike the bike they fell off or had an accident on.
I don't know if you watch Emmerdale or not (and I'm sure if you did you wouldn't admit to it), but just in case you do, there was a trike on there last July and August, riden in by a character called Eddy Fox. Well that was my Yammy Virago trike and trailer, and it was me doing the riding on set as Health and Safety issues didn't allow for Eddy Fox to ride it.
So you have me to thank for driving Lilly off the set for good. :lol: :lol:

check out the piccys below.
1) me with Eddy Fox and Alan Turner
2) the Virago trike I built for the show, outside the post office on the main set.

 

Cheers Markie, I'll go and have another look.

 

I have got to agree with you there, and such an easy engine to work on too. :lol:

 

Cheers for the info KrS14, mine is running (after warming up) at around 800rpm's. I will try to find the adjuster this morning and see if I can get it to idle a little higher.

 

Thanks very much guys, I found the knob and it is now idling nicely at about 1000 rpm's. :lol:

 

Same thing happened to me last year on an old k75s I had bought Ady1. Bloody great pothole just round a right hand turn on a narrow farm track out in the sticks. I was a cripple for weeks but I think I was very lucky I was just about 18inches from the edge of the track and a 150 foot drop. Not allowed to even look at the bike now, her indoors has said she'll go home to the UK if I try riding it again and I don't know how to use the washing machine and it's years since I ironed a shirt.

Faighaigh

 

hello and welcome.. I like your XJ.. I am in cottingham england m8.. pm me and I will gladly pass on my mobile number..

are you going to bmf in may? I belong to another MC club which meets up there in may and tailend.

we camp out and have a blast.. anyway I am hoping my new project see somewhere on this general discussion for a few sneaky pics..

but welcome bud..

 

Sorry!!.........................washing machine, ironing, is this some Spanish thing??

Where abouts in the UK is the missus from?

 

Ey up jonrms, is that Cottingham, Northampton or Cottingham, Hull?
No mate, not going to the BMF, but might end up at the Trikes R Us rally at Ely Cambridge. I think that's in May, but I might be wrong.
You didn't happen to go to the Rally in a Chalet at Southport end of last month did you? Me and some of the club I run did and we had a blast. In fact my avatar was taken at that Rally. It's supposed to be a mohecan wig, but I put it on sideways and ended up looking like that French dude, Napolean Fall apart. :lol: :lol:

Thanks for the welcome.

 

cottingham hull!

no I didnt manage to get down there.. sadly my bike is off the road atm being hardtailed etc.. and getting ready for bmf..

the shop I use and are having do some work does alot of trikes... in lincs... anyway your not that far.. I think your near manchester .. so a hour or so away.

 

Bought my first pre trike bike from Hull, the XS750 that I fell off and then converted to a trike. Bloody long bugger that was because I didn't know how to shorten a propshaft at the time, so left it the full length. That meant that the axle was a long way back than the norm, but what a trike that was. (see below piccy 2)
Then I moved the top box forward and had a rack on the back. piccy 1

 

I also have a virago that I'm going to building into a trike for my wife who has Cerebral Palsy so any info you can share will be greatly appreciated.
OH, and welcome to the forum

 

Not a problem Frankenbiker. When you're ready just fire away. :wink:

 

Ady... just FYI.. I spoke to Dave at lincs bikes and trikes... he said that if your still having difficulty he will have a look next sat.. obviously not this one.. and OOOH my shaft should be ready by then.. horrah!

give me a bell when you have the fairing off.. and let me know if the noise is still there.

as we said no shooting it.. no burning it.. Dave will sort you out.. he is a dang good guy.

ooh btw almost forgot.. there is a big meeting on the 3rd of april.. which is the easter weekend.. the sat.. at lincs ... be there! bbq music etc.. plus 10% discount off stuff ordered there.. and they are cheap anyway!