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Post by crwford on Oct 3, 2015 12:14:18 GMT -6
What a lot of people seem not to understand and it isn't a 35,000 HD trike. What you need to think is you get what you paid for. Even Harley's shake and vibrate many times it's the nature of the beast and remember it's a 1 cylinder engine not a way to balance it without a lot of money and most people want cheep. So my advise if it runs use it and enjoy even with my problems we got over a 1,000 mile and when axle broke we had to park it till Rapid Jim jump in and got it shipped to me too me about 10 minutes my wife snatched and off she went. Remember summer is only so long some good days in winter time get out and use it enjoy the ride while weather lets you.
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Post by ellpee on Oct 3, 2015 17:29:32 GMT -6
It is hard for me to explain the reverse problem. It goes into reverse easily - no jerk - but it does take some pressure to get it into reverse. Now, whenever some throttle is given - then it jerks - and goes back at a high speed - really fast. When breaks are applied and the Zodiac stops - then give it some throttle and it goes back in reverse at a reasonable and safe speed. The idle: When I got the Zodiac and tried to ride it - every time I came to a stop sign - it would die - so I had to set the throttle a higher to keep it running. Now maybe it is, in fact - too high. I will need to keep that in mind when I get to ride again. Maybe with a throttle adjustment along with the possible reverse linkage adjustment I will be able to get the reverse issue resolved. I have been the owner of the Zodiac for 6 weeks now - and have not been able ride it much at all. Bummer! Sounds like my Magnum, my solution has been avoid situations where I need reverse! Except in really steep situations, I can usually muscle it backward enough to where forward gear will suffice. Don't know how the Zodiac compares weight-wise, I do know it's longer and wider. |
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Post by crwford on Oct 3, 2015 18:57:20 GMT -6
seniorcit keep a medium size Phillip screw driver about 10in long are longer drive it till warm open seat and on right side look between seat and outer wall you can see adjustment for Idle if you can't while shut off twist throttle grip look down and see it move then adjust idle turn to right little at a time till it stay adjusted running. On weight of Zodiac it is about 780pounds. I don't have much trouble moving it meaning pushing with motor not running. I believe the Magnum is about 80 pounds lighter. But as-long as brakes aren't being applied shouldn't be a problem in less you have a pretty steep grade. I never tried that way but all in all reverse seems better then before but when my wife uses hers she holds brake till she feel it ready to move and slowly releases it. We know have 3 2 which engage good #1 is the one which is the one which does it. But one thing I found with hers is if It put it in reverse first then start it problem isn't there.   |
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Post by ellpee on Oct 4, 2015 9:01:01 GMT -6
Ah, that last part is useful and should have been painfully obvious to me. As I wrote, I try to avoid getting into situations where I would need reverse, but if I ever do I'll keep that in mind.
Interestingly, I originally ordered a 2012 Zodiac, and they didn't have one available so I settled for a Magnum. From this thread, sounds like maybe I dodged a bullet!
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Post by ellpee on Oct 4, 2015 9:06:55 GMT -6
What a lot of people seem not to understand and it isn't a 35,000 HD trike. What you need to think is you get what you paid for. Even Harley's shake and vibrate many times it's the nature of the beast and remember it's a 1 cylinder engine not a way to balance it without a lot of money and most people want cheep. So my advise if it runs use it and enjoy even with my problems we got over a 1,000 mile and when axle broke we had to park it till Rapid Jim jump in and got it shipped to me too me about 10 minutes my wife snatched and off she went. Remember summer is only so long some good days in winter time get out and use it enjoy the ride while weather lets you. I disagree. The kinds of on-delivery problems discussed in this thread are horrendous in my book, never mind it cost under $5K. Yes, vibration will happen. Yes, screws and nuts and what have you will loosen (loctite is your friend). Yes, Chinese fluids suck. But the basic mechanical and electrical systems, and rear wheels and axle would certainly fall in that category, ought to be good to go on delivery, and ESPECIALLY if customer paid for a full PDI. Would I expect a 50,000 mile warranty for $5K? No, but a few thousand mostly trouble-free miles ought not to be too much to ask. |
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Post by seniorcit on Oct 4, 2015 18:36:53 GMT -6
The sun shined - sky was clear - good time to test the Zodiac. When I started out the front end shimmed a bit - like it twisted - but not to an extreme. I can handle that! Then I got the bike up to cruise - 55 miles per hour for a short distance - and it was rock solid! As a matter of fact it was solid from about 15 mph but there was a slight bit of a twisting motion at the front end at slow speeds. What a joy! This is how it should have been on delivery. I am now a happy camper!
crwford - I already had a flash light and a long screw driver in the trunk - but I could not get to it until the trunk latch was fixed.
ellpee - basically I think the Zodiac is a pretty good machine for the price. I do think the dealer did not do a very good job with the PDI and I doubt if he did much of a test drive before delivery otherwise he would have caught the problems I was having before delivery. Maybe he has learned something from this experience. I do believe he was glad to see me go because I kept insisting that it be fixed right.
Now I am looking forward to some great rides on my new Zodiac - before winter sets in!
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Post by ellpee on Oct 5, 2015 7:32:44 GMT -6
OK, and you did say somewhere along the line that the vibration damper rod for the front wheel is correctly attached, ja? Mine was not when my Magnum arrived.
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Post by seniorcit on Oct 5, 2015 12:15:56 GMT -6
Yes, the vibration damper rod for the front wheel is correctly attached. Although not to any extreme - the front end tends to twist at low speeds. Again it is not a major problem - just one that I am not familiar with.
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Post by crwford on Oct 5, 2015 13:26:42 GMT -6
I think you will find front tire not true I can't say that all 3 trikes same with problem. I really don't think they know how to make a good true tire for front. I ordered a new tire on E Bay will put it on when weather turns bad then we will see if and better. But till weather get bad I will be triking my wife and I just finished oil changes ready to roll this is the 4th change since new 1,200 miles.
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Post by crwford on Oct 5, 2015 18:43:51 GMT -6
What I was trying to state earlier about is you get what you paid for. While I did get the axle and it did break tings do happen and this is rare. But the Ice Bear isn't the real problem it's the dealers that sale them in my cast 2 of them. Now what I misunderstood from Rapid Jim . He does drop ship right to buyer I was thinking he got trike and PDI and shipped again. So I was thinking double shipping charge I would never been in a mess. But after everything I have learned after taking apart rear end and transmission priceless. After everything I have done I wouldn't change what I have gotten but I would never do business with the clowns I did do business. But what I said before after reading about theses things and you got one you better be prepared to fix and repair when needed and better understand the beast and tools are your best friend.
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Post by rapidjim on Oct 6, 2015 7:20:54 GMT -6
Let me set a couple things straight here concerning trikes. You have to understand that with 3 wheels instead of 4 there is going to be a bit of wobble or shimmy in the front wheel, this is called tank slap and it occurs on every conventional trike out there from Ice Bear, Honda, Harley and even the voyager trike kits. It is the nature of the beast. When Ice Bear first came out with the 300 trikes in 2010 it was really bad from zero to about 15/20 mph, then in late 2011 they added the steering damper that helped tremendously, Honda trikes had the same issue at 30 to 35MPH, most of that has been corrected. Also Ice Bear trikes are a great bit lighter than Hondas or Harleys and that adds to to the issue. Want a real scare and lots of tank slap, find an old Honda 3 wheeled ATV and go for a spin, and you will see why they were taken off the market.
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Post by seniorcit on Oct 6, 2015 13:45:14 GMT -6
Jim - I remember your writing about this same topic - and I recalled that the tank slap (where did that name come from?) you referred too was normal. I do believe that mine was excessive -but I really do not know what is normal.
I went out for a ride today - some slap at low speeds - but everything was rock solid at about 28 mph. I had it up to 60 mph for a very short time and it was solid. It seems to do best about 55 mph - but since it is new I did not want to hold it at that speed for very long.
I found that the steering damper needed to be tightened. When I took a ride after that adjustment the ride was considerably better at low speeds. I can live with that - it was not excessive - something I just need to get used to..
Jim - thanks again for your insight and for the time you gave to respond. It helps to give me - and others with trikes - peace of mind.
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Post by rapidjim on Oct 7, 2015 7:27:38 GMT -6
Jim - I remember your writing about this same topic - and I recalled that the tank slap (where did that name come from?) you referred too was normal. I do believe that mine was excessive -but I really do not know what is normal. I went out for a ride today - some slap at low speeds - but everything was rock solid at about 28 mph. I had it up to 60 mph for a very short time and it was solid. It seems to do best about 55 mph - but since it is new I did not want to hold it at that speed for very long. I found that the steering damper needed to be tightened. When I took a ride after that adjustment the ride was considerably better at low speeds. I can live with that - it was not excessive - something I just need to get used to.. Jim - thanks again for your insight and for the time you gave to respond. It helps to give me - and others with trikes - peace of mind. Glad to hear you got it taken care of. Since you are having these issues, I would suggest you take some time and double check all nuts and bolts to make sure that they are tight |
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Post by cyborg on Oct 7, 2015 7:42:41 GMT -6
late to the party,,i read that reverse is an issue and will go in easily when the scooter is not running,,,this tells me the clutch is not fully disengaged and power is being transmitted thru the drivetrain,,,very similar situations occur with motorcycles that have the clutch not adjusted correctly,,and are dragging a bit,,,very difficult to get into neutral or a gear when sitting idleing,,,shut it off it goes into gear easy peasy,,,,
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Post by seniorcit on Oct 7, 2015 19:23:57 GMT -6
I have already gone through all the nuts and bolts that I could reach and put locktite on them. I will tackle the electric connections next. I did a small adjustment on the reverse bar and using the reverse gear is much better now. I do not wish to overdo it but I will try another small adjustment next.
The Zodiac was used today to run some errands and although the front end shimmy was there it was slight and went away entirely when 26 mph indicated was reached. There were several lookers - all were impressed! I am now a happy camper.
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