Hello. I'm Carl in Houston, TX and I have just put together my first sidecar rig. It's a Bonneville Special with a new Velorex on it. I'm on a steep learning curve, but all is going well so far. Hooking up the hack was a real challenge because I have to be able to use the kick starter. A sub-frame is probably the best solution one day, but I have it solidly mounted with 5 mounts. I have about 30% lead on it, but that is all the farther I can move it back and still make it work with the kicker. Any and all constructive criticism is welcome. Seems to drive well at speed on the freeway. I'll try to post some photos here. I'm looking forward to participating in the website and getting to some rallies.
30% lead will guarantee excessive tire wear and hard turning, but good high speed stability.
Make sure the struts have at least 1 1/2" of threaded bolt in the tubular section for safety's sake (the front upper looks questionable).
The moveable lower strut works better if the clamp and eyebolt are placed as the attached pic shows. Less chance of slippage and movement.
Lonnie
Hi Carl: Welcome to the offset world of sidecars. I admire your spunk for mounting your first sidecar. 
We invite you to come show off your new rig at the East Texas Sidecar Muster scheduled for May 4-6, 2012 at the Brookeland/Sam Rayburn KOA. More details here: http://www.sidecar.com/mbbs22/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=9884&posts=3&start=1
Also: Marcus at the Pineywoods Motorcycle Academy up in Lufkin instructs the S/TEP sidecar training program. His email is: marcuscycleshop-at-aol.com Jena & I both recommend it; there are some techniques you just can't quite teach yourself, or make yourself do.
Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox
Thanks for your suggestions. The photos do make it look like that top brace may not have much thread within the tube, but it has between 2 and 3 inches threaded inside the tube. I will give it a second check just to be sure though. I can also slide that mount down farther on the frame to allow me to shorten the brace.
I will follow your suggestion and flip around that moveable brace. I was wondering about that myself. I initially had it the way you suggested, but I was only running 4 mounts at that time and it seemed stiffer in this configuration. Now that I have that 5th mount going from the passenger footpeg mount to the rear corner of the sidecar frame, I should be able to reverse that clamp mount. It will be easier to adjust then, too. Now that I have that 5th mount, I may be able to move the car back a small bit, too. It is difficult, because my frame tubes do not run parallel to the bike, and a lot of the frame tube has welded bracing or other mounds underneath that make it impossible to put a frame clamp on it. I saw on the web where a guy in the shop at Middleburg, PA made a subframe for a similar bike, and that seems to be the way to go one day. If you have any other ideas, let me know.
Thanks.
Thanks for the welcome and the info about the East Texas get together. I look forward to being there. I will look into the sidecar training course. I have read the yellow book cover to cover, but I have discovered that some instruction would be a lot of help.
Welcome aboard Carl. I have a bit newer Triumph and have been practicing riding the rig. I can see your challenge with the kick start. One suggestion I might add is to have the cross bolts on the clevis fittings, HORIZONTAL. Less chance of the clevis bending.
Best wishes for the holidays.
Boatzo - 12/16/2011 10:52 AM
Welcome aboard Carl. I have a bit newer Triumph and have been practicing riding the rig. I can see your challenge with the kick start. One suggestion I might add is to have the cross bolts on the clevis fittings, HORIZONTAL. Less chance of the clevis bending.
Best wishes for the holidays.
Thanks for the tip and the holiday wishes.
Beautiful rig, the hookup looks secure, welcome to the world of sidecaring!
Bob Hunt - 12/16/2011 9:01 PM
Beautiful rig, the hookup looks secure, welcome to the world of sidecaring!
Thank you. I'm having a good time with it.
As recommended, I turned the sliding clamp upside down and was able to move it towards the back of the rig by six inches or so. I also added a Mercedes steering stabilizer and an air horn. It's getting better every day.
Take another look at the pic post #61989. The eyebolt and strut are in a straight line and by having the bolt installed from the top as shown allows less possibility of slippage as it locks theclevis and eye in place.
Your angle of attachment allows two separate places for potential slippage (rotation) which is the main complaint from Velorex owners in regards to the rear lower clamp assembly. Even the US Velorex Handbook shows the wrong method of attachment.
After hundreds of Velorex installtions we've had no complaints using my method of attachment.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Hack'n - 12/20/2011 11:15 PM
Take another look at the pic post #61989. The eyebolt and strut are in a straight line and by having the bolt installed from the top as shown allows less possibility of slippage as it locks theclevis and eye in place.
Your angle of attachment allows two separate places for potential slippage (rotation) which is the main complaint from Velorex owners in regards to the rear lower clamp assembly. Even the US Velorex Handbook shows the wrong method of attachment.
After hundreds of Velorex installtions we've had no complaints using my method of attachment.Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Your advice is much appreciated! I can see how I am letting my available mounting positions dictate how I've assembled the rig, rather than planning mount placement based upon best engineered position. I suspect that it is about time that I consider making a subframe, at least for the bottom mounts, so that I can have them spread apart, perpendicular to the frame, and still clear the kick starter. I am still really challenged in reducing the wheel lead that I have. If I slide the hack towards the rear anymore, my top mounts will not be at opposite angles anymore, and will be approaching parallel. Perhaps I can come up with a subframe that shifts just the rear upper and rear lower mounts back. If you follow this link and scroll to the very last photo, there is a nice example of a solution. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15187205
The upper struts are "ideally" opposed, just as sidecar lead is "ideally" 6 to 8 inches As sidecaring a solo bike is always a compromise a lot of sidecar rigs have the upper struts nearing parallel with both pointing forward. Whether sub-frame mounted or not. A lot of this is due to the short lower frame and suspension layout on most bikes these days. When placing the sidecar back to reduce wheel lead the upper strut mounting points are to the front.
This is not a problem as long as the mounts are rigid.
L.
Hey Hack'n I noticed your front upper mount has an arch in it ...is that for peg clearance? I have theat issue with my Sporty , its a tight fit to get my boot under the bar and ride comfortably.
We use the curved front strut for bikes with forward controls so there is clearance for brake lever access.
Lonnie
