help with damper question?

[beachbumtroy69]

hey guys just finished my trike and it was a roller when i got it,it already had a 1982 kawasaki 1100 front end on it,my problem is the steering is awful heavy,meaning it takes alot of effort to hold it straight ive heard about some steering dampers but have no idea what to look at or for? any help would be greatly appreciated thnx bb

[BL3Manx]

Your steering should want to center itself. The damper should just help keep it stable (not oscillating) if you hit something uneven in the road surface.

Are your steering head bearings good and do you have enough trail?

http://trikerdon.50megs.com/raketrailtrike.htm

http://www.lehmantrikes.com/default.aspx?navid=60

http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/rakeandtrail.html

http://trikerdon.50megs.com/fork__geometry_1.htm

[beachbumtroy69]

well thats the second time i heard trail....lol i have no idea as i said this is my 1st trike and it was already set up with that front end,it will go down the road straight and smooth,but if ur sitting still and turn the wheel slightly ethier way it will fall to the left or right hard,unless u hold it from doing so....anyway what is trail? and how can i correct it without some kind of damper? thnx in advance bb

[BL3Manx]

Trail comes into effect when the bike is moving.

Having the front end flop to the side when its stopped is normal, as long as it wants to go straight when you move forward.

I edited my post and added a bunch of reference pages.

[beachbumtroy69]

thnx for the info and links that looks like it will actually do me some good,thnx again