I feel like I am highsiding on my bike all the time unless I can find a road that is so humped up I can even out my ride.
Most of the information I have gatherd says that this is normal.
What happens if I set my bike up so it is neutral when I am setting on it?
I can always re set the bike up to having an outboard lean, but it is a bit of work.
I keep thinking of the corvair and the cambered in wheels. I am ready to take my lumps now. I just don't get the set up. When I can find the sweet spot in the road it is oh so good.
I also saw wher some racers were neutral in there set up, but could not find out why?
Thanks in advance for anyones input.
A road rig is not like a race rig. You want to set up a bit of lean to the left side as you set on the bike. Put the rig on a flat slab then take a framing squair and set the long leg on the slab if to is on the out side of the bike put ie next to the rear tire with the short leg touching the tire set lean so there is i/4"gap at the bottem at the tire. If on the right the gap will be on top. That is a good place to start. Then go for a ride on the normal road that you ride and see if it puls in one direction. If ir goes RIGHT lean out a bit more if left lean in a bit. Hope this helps.Look in Hal's book for a picture of what to do
one thing to add...this setting should be made with you ON the bike. or someone with similar weight, and the normal weight you would be carrying in the SC.
If you set the lean with no weight on the bike,or in the SC, the bike will lean out more when you climb on. might be too much.
But, aa Ron Mentioned, ride it and try, then go home, reset, and try again.
you will get used to the slight lean to the left after a little while.
Some bikes require a lot of lean to compensate for a heavy SC.
Some need almost none if the SC and bike are well matched.
I had a BMW /5 with a heavy MV FII on it and it needed a lot of lean to counter the heavy SC.
Now it is on my K100 bike..about 100 pounds heavier, and longer. I need almost NO lean with it.
Ok, now I have a clearer picture. I think I will take a little lean out of it, to see what happens. In louisiana our roads have a lot to be desired. I appreiciate the feed back.
Lean/road to track. A paved track rig is set up with a square profile tire, smaller than the road tires. Look at the old pictures. A road rig needs larger tires for potholes etc.. A race hack is also set closer to the road, lower balance point and a monkey to put the wieght outboard or inboard over the rear wheel to keep it down. A road sidecar can be run with or without weight. The lean is compensated for adding a person into the sidecar to bring it back to less lean out..
If you want to try rough roads, try Canada. You can't find a paved road without lots of potholes. We use old Volkswagonsin theholes and put fill over the top. They seem to fit very well and last a few years before the road sinks again. My trip south last summer was exceptionally good because of the U.S. roads and the condition. Sort of makes me want to move south.. Stop in at a truck stop sometime and ask a trucker what Canadian roads are like. Once he stops swearing at you, you'll understand how good your roads are. All my trips are south because of the roads. Most are not off camber or darn close to level, so the lean is very little. After you ride awhile, you'll forget about the lean.. Doug/AKA Manitoba Manny
you get to run less lean and less toe in if you have a front end with very little trail - ie a raked tree or a swing arm front end. you also get less lean and less toe with radials.
im running a raked front end and radials - about 1/4" of toe in and less than 1deg of lean
the factory setting with 5" of trail and bias tires is 1 deg of lean and 3/4" of toe in
to
I'm running my Road King/TLE with a minor lean IN towards the tub. It pulls ever so slightly to the right at highway speed, which suits me just fine. I like a little pull to the right...especially on long right hand high speed sweepers.
The Harley rigs with Harley cars will track better with a 1 degree leanout.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
The lean OUT is to compensate for weight in the car and on the bike..all squash down some with weight , neutralizing the lean some. Along with the lean, adjust the toe -in. With enough toe-in you can make any set up go straight, but you may sacrifice tires and mpg. The solution is to get the lean out to work with as minimal toe in (and vice versus) as it takes to go straight w/o
having to maintain a lot of handlebar pressure. Unless you have an expensive constantly adjusting system set-up, most likely there will be steering changes with varying road surfaces and or load changes on the rig. Here in the south, the afternoon winds affect the steering as well.
I believe it ends up being a compromise. Keep on trying 1/2 turn adjustments while you determine the solution. You gotta drive 'em not ride 'em.
In appreiciate all the input. Took out some of the lean out, bike feels alot more comfortable, and I have not noticed any big pull to the right or the left. Also took out some of the toe in. Looks like I will get about six thousand miles to the rear tire, About the same as I have always gotten. the boys love the hack, me I am getting one of my old bikes, back in shaope for the road, I like the hack and it gets me more than my share of attention, but I miss hammering through the twisties. Not comfotable with hard curves on the hack yet.
