Pulling a Unigo

[TinyL]

Well I'm using this horror story as my motivation to stick my painter with my Uni-go. This thread as well as a couple others had me wondering if I could trust my trailer not to kill me. I bought a Uni-go in December and only pulled it a couple times before getting an offer by a friend of one of my fellow American Legion Riders. He said he would put a custom patriotic themed paint job on it if I would allow him to put his "signature" on it. His signature is a emblem about 5 inches in dia. I agreed and he took the trailer over 8 weeks ago. Every time I called him he said just a couple more coats of clear, or some other excuse. He liked to say he hadn't achieved the right "effect" yet.

Got tired of waiting and rode up to see it unannounced last Sunday. Heard from a friend he hung around the shop on Sundays. Walked in and he looked real stunned to see me. Asked to see the progress on my trailer. He told me my trailer was done and that a "buddy" of his had taken it to a Memorial Day bike rally. Needless to say, I don't think I have been that pissed in a long time. I got his buddy's phone # and called to tell him that if the trailer wasn't in my position by the end of the day I would call it in stolen. He them told me it was impossible to come in from Vegas by then. Second fact painter did not tell me. After further discussion with buddy I found out trailer had been complete for 5 weeks. He has traveled with it to a couple of shows in a trailer, and pulled it around with his bike when at the show locations. Lucky I haven't paid him anything yet, and I am demanding he purchase the trailer since the police say he either buys it or can be arrested for stolen property. I don't know if I should call this luck or bad luck. Now the trick is going to be on how to get the cash. I might need to enlist the help of some of my "buddy's".

 

[the_gr8t_waldo]

is it possible that the offending bolts were over torqued?

 

[Mellow]

is it possible that the offending bolts were over torqued?

That's a big possibility, this is the first I've ever heard of this happening to a unigo.. Those bolts are so small that they just don't 'look' like they're right considering they are bearing the weight of the trailer.. I never understood why that part wasn't welded to the hitch except you can unbolt that and bolt in the various adapters for other trailers.

If I keep mind, I'll be taking it to a welder.

I don't want to sound naive or crass but wouldn't a lightweight two wheeled trailer be a better option stability wise?

Yes, it's a trade off.. You get a 1-wheel for some very specific advantages that a 2-wheel trailer won't have... and visa versa..

When work eases off some, I'm going to get some different tires and try some more testing.

I agree w/Sue that it seems very obvious that dirty air is the issue... it's just hard to believe it's so different than the wing... however, my GL1800s were always much more solid anywhere near large trucks so it makes a lot of sense.

There are other ST Owners pulling unigos that are fine in the tripple digits.. I know Mac was fine as well... but, I think the more you pack, the better and it could be having that passenger or large duffel on the back and top box might make a lot of the difference.

TinyL - dude, that sux!

 

[MAC_JD]

Sue I am glad you are OK!!

JD

 

[MAC_JD]

Does anyone have any info on Third Wheel Trailers? http://www.thirdwheeltrailers.com/

JD

 

[Capt_Gruuvy]

Eee-gads.

I'm very glad you are OK after all of this. You are a barave soul for hooking up a trailer to the ST.

I do hope that this adventure figures itself out and becomes something you are happy with.

 

[acedantinne]

Joe & Sue try pulling your loaded trailer with saddle bags removed. Dirty air.
Also, the shorter wheelbase of the ST might be the problem. Have the hitch extended. Any welder could do that.
As far as dirty air. Use Duct tape folded on itself stuck on saddle bags to break up air flow. It doesn't take alot to change air flow.

 

[CBOrwig]

Sorry to hear about your misadventure. Glad you're OK. I read this whole thread and I apparently missed or misunderstood which part let loose. 1)Bolts holding the hitch to the bike. Or 2)Bolts holding the hitch mechanism to the hitch. I'll admit pictures would help. I had thought about looking at a Uni-Go because I have an ST1100 and ST1300 and could alternate between bikes.

 

[bdalameda]

Some of you may know this but Joe(mellow) and I have been working on a project. I developed a Unigo hydraulic sway dampener and made one for Joe to try on his ST1300 as he was experiencing a wobble problem. He has done some testing and the damper does work though not quite as well as I had hoped. His bike does begin a wobble above 80 mph and then the damper stops it pretty fast. I have been towing my unigo on my ST1100 with the damper now for about 1500 miles. I have to say I like it a lot better with the damper as it is rock stable even in severe cross-winds and behind trucks etc. It is also much less affected by weight distribution on the cargo you carry. I never really had a problem towing the Unigo with my ST1100 as the 1100 is a pretty stable bike and I never had a wobble. I have to say it is much nicer with the damper and inspires confidence having it. Handling is not really effected much if at all with the damper. I have tested my ST1100 to 112 mph with the Unigo and damper carrying about 60 lbs. without any sign of wobble. I have been thinking about putting together a damper kit but I really hope that first can help totally solve the wobble that people are experiencing on the ST1300 with the Unigo. I will report as things progress. Joe may want to chime in again about his experience with the damper. He has some video of it on another thread.

Dan

 

[fanatiker]

Dan, do you any more detailed information on your hydraulic sway dampner for the unigo? I have some sway with my unigo and BMW R1100RT and was thinking about trying to build something similar.

Jerry

 

[Mellow]

Dan, do you any more detailed information on your hydraulic sway dampner for the unigo? I have some sway with my unigo and BMW R1100RT and was thinking about trying to build something similar.

Jerry

I sold the trailer and the dampener went with it. However, MY issues seemed to be that I had an aftermarket delkevic exhaust installed which did not provide as stable of a connection point for the lower parts of the hitch compared to the oem pipes.

On the RT, it looks like the hitch isn't attached to the same points as the ST, but I couldn't tell much by your pic in your intro post. Can you post more pics of your hitch? That may give folks some ideas for you.

 

[fanatiker]

Thanks for the reply and the pictures. Do you have any information on the dampner itself, where to get one, part number or etc. This would help to get something that might have a better chance of working than my experimenting, if I choose to try to duplicate the setup.

Attached are some photos of my hitch. It is the standard hitch sold by unigo for the R1100RT, I think it is a bushtec hitch.

One additional item, the u-joint in my drawbar has some play in it. It had this from the very start, when new. I can shake the trailer back and forth considerably when it is hitched up. There is no play in the hitch connection because I replaced the thumb screw with an allen bolt and tighten that up very securely. I understand the u-joints have nylon bushings instead of bearings and are supposed to be really tight but mine doesn't seem to be tight. I bought it in Dec 2008 and schoolhouse indicated that it would have the nylon bushings. I am goint to try to get some new bushings and rebuild the u-joint to see if that helps. I'm not sure why the nylon bushings would be better than neddle bearings, I'm not a u-joint expert and never had one apart. Maybe there is some experience on the list with the u-joint and could give me some recommendations.

Also I had a full size license plate on the trailer, (California) and I thought that might be causing some of the wobbling. I took it off during my last trip and it helped some but I still have the wobble. While on that trip I was ridding with my brother who has a Goldwing and a 2 wheel trailer. He is a truck driver and one of his truck driver colleagues was by chance driving behind us in PA for awhile. He indicated that my brothers 2-wheel trailer tracked straight and true while my unigo wobbled and wiggled that whole time. The wobble is not excessive but it limits my speed to 70-75 mph, especially when passing trucks, and it is disconcerting. I have learned to live with it but would really like to eliminate it.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions,

Jerry

 

[Mellow]

You may want to PM Dan as he may not be following this thread, I don't remember where he said he sourced it from.

 

[RealST]

I can't believe it myself, but I just got off the phone with Mark at Uni-Go. YES I actually got to talk tot someone there. Maybe things are improving for them. Mark also told me why the website is out of date, but I'll post that in Vendor Reviews.

Anyway, Mark and I were talking about the hitch as we are considering making hitches for the ST1300. He knows of an issue with new hitches and older trailers. The issue specifically is a wobble. Its due to the fact the the original hitches and trailers were built for one another and once they were no longer matched up these issues developed. I'm wondering how old BrigheyeSue's trailer /hitch is. (PS. I have her hitch right now as a template)

The original Uni-Go NZ began installing a tension knob on the bike side that you would screw down to eliminate any play in the hitch.

Looking at Brighteyesue's hitch, this is not there.

If you have a wobble, look for this or consider upgrading to a new bike side receiver: http://www.schoolhousemcacc.com/product_info.php/cPath/18_23/products_id/96?osCsid=49d0025cfc215ffac53f323736ebfe42

 

[Mellow]

I can't believe it myself, but I just got off the phone with Mark at Uni-Go. YES I actually got to talk tot someone there. Maybe things are improving for them. Mark also told me why the website is out of date, but I'll post that in Vendor Reviews.

Anyway, Mark and I were talking about the hitch as we are considering making hitches for the ST1300. He knows of an issue with new hitches and older trailers. The issue specifically is a wobble. Its due to the fact the the original hitches and trailers were built for one another and once they were no longer matched up these issues developed. I'm wondering how old BrigheyeSue's trailer /hitch is. (PS. I have her hitch right now as a template)

The original Uni-Go NZ began installing a tension knob on the bike side that you would screw down to eliminate any play in the hitch.

Looking at Brighteyesue's hitch, this is not there.

If you have a wobble, look for this or consider upgrading to a new bike side receiver: http://www.schoolhousemcacc.com/product_info.php/cPath/18_23/products_id/96?osCsid=49d0025cfc215ffac53f323736ebfe42

Interestingly enough, when I first got my unigo and noticed the thumb screw wasn't there like it was on my NZ unigo he said 'they' didn't feel it was necessary.. not sure who 'they' are.. anyway, the hitch I got from him didn't even have a hole for a thumbscrew.. he sent me a replacement.

However, in the end, my wobble issues were related to aftermarket pipes being used causing a weaker attachment point for the lower part of the hitch. Thanks to Gene and Kries for finding that out.