Hi Folks,
I changed the rear tire on the bike today, and noticed that the wear was just a bit off-center, and to the right of the tire, looking at it from the back of the bike. Meaning, I guess, that I'm leaning into the chair a bit, right? The thing is that I love the way the outfit feels, and the steering is neutral on a freeway or slightly crowned road.
So--any opinions? Should I go for adjusting to the center of the tire, or stay where it is, since it feels comfortable?
The more I learn about these things, the less I know....
How is the sidecar wear pattern?
It may be that you have a bit too much toe-in if you are leaning in toward the sidecar and still have neutral steering.
Excessive toe-in will push the rig to the left and overcome inadequate lean-out but the wear pattern on the sidecar tire after several miles will not be even.
The sidecar tire may show rounding of the right edge of the treads and perhaps some feathering or a sharp edge on the left side of the treads. This is caused by the rig actually dragging the sidecar tire sideways to a slight degree.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
What bike and sidecar combination do you have and how many miles were on the tire you changed?
Hi Guys,
Well, let's see: no unusual wear on the chair tire that I can see. It is worn a bit flat, but it came with the sidecar and I've put just under 5000 miles on it, not knowing the grand total.
The outfit is my avatar: a 1977 XS650 Yamaha and a 1965 Spirit of America Sport. It came from a Harley and I modified the mounts to suit the Yam. (And yes, it took forever...)
Maybe I'm chasing ghosts: it isn't very far from center on the bike rear tire, and it lasted a long time, many thousands of miles. It's fairly easy to alter the toe-in and lean-out at the same time, and right now I have the fairing and instruments off (changing the master switch and lock) so I'm not using it for daily transportation. I could try a little less toe-in and a little more lean-out?
It's sort of fun to play with it anyway, and now with a brand new tire on the bike, I can watch wear and know exactly many miles I get from it.
Thanks for the input. Any other ideas?
Hi All,
What y'all should be aware of is that both the motorcycle tire and side car tire on Barb's rig were made from Dinosaur hides!!!
HiBarb,
I'm glad to know that you are replacing those tires . . . it gives me one less thing to worry about. 8^)
Sonny
If that were accurate, then she sure gets good mileage out of them, considering how long the dinos ruled the earth. We ain't been here long at all in America, and I'm already a bit threadbare on the pusher of my rig. 🙂
Hi Guys,
Pat, Sonny may have gone a bit overboard to make a point....he saw the tires on my bike and chair, and his reaction was largely unprintable...and justified. (I like to get my money's worth from my tires; tread equals dollars, so I spend all I can..)
She sure looks good with a brand-new tire on the rear wheel of the bike! Now I need to finish up a little Honda project, and I can get a new chair tire, and I'll be set for next season...what riding I do over the winter won't amount to over one or two thousand miles, so I should be good to go for the Summer!
Still a bit concerned about being a tad off-center, but I'm going to refrain from judging until I have some miles on it. And the beat goes on....
Barb....
In my next life i wanna have a wife who can wrench and appreciates the wind in her face. It does sound as though you waited till the bitter end on that "dino" tire. As you know, thats a greater safety concern when you are on a solo bike. I always give a double take to all women riders, but i've never seen a lady piloting a hack.
Hi Leo,
There are quite a few of us around, and actually, quite a few right here on this site! I originally got into sidecars because I had kids and still wanted to ride, so my kids rode in the chair--I used to pick my youngest son up from pre-school with the sidecar bike, and he loved it. I had a little helmet for him, and he made sure other kids watched as he put his helmet on and we rode off...great bonding experience! Now my grandkids enjoy the new chair just as much.
The bike I had then is the bike I have now--among many others--and she has 60,000 miles on her. Sadly, while she can be rebuilt, her owner can't, so when I finally shuffle off this mortal coil, she will go to my youngest son, who is the only one of the three who is into bikes.
Meanwhile, she has a great new tire I'm scrubbing in right now! And today is a great day for riding.......
Hi Barb and sidecarleo
I ran into a woman hack rider yesterday(K1200 BMW w/Hanigan 2+2 SC), she said she has had the rig for years, got it so she could take her two boys with her riding. Now they are grown up (youngest is 17) and do not want to ride anymore. Real nice lady, owns her own insurance business too.
I was asking her if she knew of any local clubs for sidecars, to which she replied that there really are not many sidecars in our area ( Pensacola, FL./Mobile, AL.) Anyway, she makes about four rigs I have seen in my area, that makes female drivers around her at about 25%. Enjoy Y'all and be safe.
