Information about our Steerite Triple Tree Modification for Motorcycles with Sidecars or Trikes

by : Kempol Modification
Side Effect has led the way in North America designing and supplying the sidecar and trike industry with unique performance products. Extremely successful, and the most popular, is the system known as STEERITE. We take your triple trees and reduce the factory trail value to suit your sidecar or trike, it's available for almost every motorcycle and the steering difference is like night and day ----- so enjoyable!!

With over 30 years experience in this industry and vast technical resources we are able to reduce the active trail (caster) for sidecar/trike use resulting in a power steering effect, which eliminates wobbling, the constant pull to one side with sidecars and the heavy steering associated with many trike conversions and all work is done in-house to our extremely high standards. We also index into each individual steering conversion, a small degree of camber to offset the natural camber on most roads, to give you the sure footed confidence and pleasure when operating your converted motorcycle. The degree change will vary from model to model but the 'constant' here is a common reduced trail value, resulting in all models 'feeling' the same.

Also, let us clarify that our STEERITE conversion is not called a 'rake kit' as it is sometimes referred to. A motorcycle with a 'raked' (changed angle) front end has been done by cutting the steering head/frame to usually increase the steer tube angle and the amount of trail at the wheel (a decrease in this angle will result in reduction of trail but with undesirable quick steering). That procedure has nothing to do with the triple trees being modified. The STEERITE conversion increases the angle (sometimes wrongly referred to as 'rake') of the forks not the steering head and this results in a hardly noticeable appearance change caused by the small difference in angle between the frame steering head (steer tube) and the fork tubes. 'Raking' the frame (as is popular with custom V-twin show bikes) will increase trail; 'raking' the forks using modified triple trees for sidecar or trike use will decrease the trail, therefore we rake the forks, not the front end (the steer tube). Our STEERITE system lets us do a minimum angle change and we don't need fork spacers because allowing the front end to drop slightly, steepens the steer tube angle at the frame which contributes to trail reduction and keeps the triple tree angle change to a minimum. This should clear the air on terminology.

Article sourch : Side Effect