raked yokes

[Tom-madbiker]

anyone ever used raked yokes and what do they handle like cos i was going to trike my gixxer and i want to rake the front end but the frame is alloy and was not sure whether to go through the hassle of cutting and welding cos i cant weld alloy myself

[Taff]

Chick i know got 'em on her FXR it handles brilliantly.
On paper they should handle far better than the normal method of raking, never read or heard nowt to dispute that.

[Blackjack]

Bit of an open ended question.

Simply raking the yokes moves the front wheel spindle forwards in relation to the steering stem. That will reduce the trail, possibly even making it a negative value.

If you've got say a 45 degree rake and 22" over telescopic forks, then you're going to have a LOT of trail, so a set of raked yokes will bring the trail back down to a sensible figure. Which is why a lot of the Swedish stuff you see runs Tolle yokes which have adjustable rake.

The Seeger cycle kit isn't a set of raked yokes as such. What it does is replace the top steering stem bearing with a ball joint, and then there's a thingamy-jig that moves the bottom bearing forwards too. So essentially it moves the axis of the steering stem without cutting anything about. They're designed to work as a kit with the longer fork legs that come with them. (Is that what the chick has got on her FXR Taff?)

That said, if you look at Pre-unit Triumphs there was a set of "sidecar" yokes available for them, and they were raked yokes.

So, yeah they can handle OK, better than standard, or be completely unrideable. As a way of raking a stock bike they're not a good idea (unless you go mad and copy the Seeger set up, but that might not be a very happy bunny on a trike), as a means of altering the trail to make things work then they can be pretty good.

[dracken1]

a hd runs more rake as standard than a gixer. a set of slightly raked yokes would reduce the trail on a hd. but those same yokes fitted to what is essentially a race bike with quite a steep rake, could well put the trail into negative figures.... very nasty.

try entering some figures into here at the bottom of the link.
http://rbracing-rsr.com/rakeandtrail.html

[hermann]

I thought you could have negative trail on a trike?

[BigBod]

I know bugger all about the physics of it all, but there is a trike builder in Hampshire who mostly trikes Valks and Wings, he fits either a 4 degree or 6 degree raked kit to the front. Makes the handling much better and lighter.

(Any one who was at Brightona last weekend and saw the 'Baron Trikes' stand, he's the one.)

Like I said, no idea how it works but it does.

[Jus1]

got em on me VT600 - handles ok now i sorted them out ... have stud extensions and the yokes on full tight were not gripping the fork leg, took me to about 60mph before I found that out (you couldnt really see by looking at them)
used all 4 lanes of the M25 inc hard shoulder.

always get loads of comments on them at rallies ..

[rob]

i'm making a set at the moment, with 10' of rake built in for this..
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/flumpkins/Picture044-1.jpg

this is the design i've come up with, cut by hacksaw from billet...
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/flumpkins/Picture053-1.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/flumpkins/Picture054.jpg

i can't see why you'd need raked yokes, unless you're lowering it alot as well as triking it??

[shaggy696969]

I know bugger all about the physics of it all, but there is a trike builder in Hampshire who mostly trikes Valks and Wings, he fits either a 4 degree or 6 degree raked kit to the front. Makes the handling much better and lighter.

Dunno about that, I was talking to Steve Taylor, and he reckons on pushing forks forward on standard angle, i e 3" further forward both top and bottom yokes, would lighten the steering and adjust the trail in the right maner.

[Tom-madbiker]

its being lowered raked and getting a set of girder forks and a stainless hard tail bolt on backend with a set of 12" wide wolfrace slot mags at the back and the gixxer rear wheel at the front with a car tyre on it just started to mod a granada diff to fit a sprocket