Well Lon has opened a bucket of worms when he tried to get a 195/50-
R16 on the back of his 1800 with a Hannigan hack on it like many of us have done even up to 205/55-R16's.
It seems that the bottom rear Hannigan Mount has a cross arm that
goes from the bottom of the mounting bracket across the folded up
Centerstand to connect to one it's left foot.
That arm is hitting his tire making it's use impossable.
Quite a bummer. Restricting the GL1800 to normal M/C tires on the
rear isn't reasonable for the high use owner's like me IMHO.
I was considering the Hannigan 2+2 but with this development that
option is now out. I like the Hannigan body but the so-so mounts
seem to be even worse than and less user friendly than the Champion
mounts that I now have. I'm not a happy camper with the Champion
Body (Many Voids and Cracks even in the first year), Paint (Missing
the Pearl in the Yellow paint on the trunk lid --- Verrrry Tacky),
Brakes (Massive Squeal caused by off center disk and mount) or
Mounts (Broken front subframe and weak rear mount bolted to a weak spot on the 1800 frame that broke). Over the long haul the champion is a big Thumbs Down IMHO. I
had better hopes for hannigan but not now.
.
.
.
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This brings up the larger question about Mounts for the 1800's.
What works with what? Can you Mix-n-Match?
Which Mounts will allow Car Tires on the rear?
Which Mounts prohibit Car Tires on the rear?
Which Mounts will work with which Sidecars?
Which Mounts are better suited to use with the Aluminum 1800 frame
that has a history of failure both at the Crossmember and in the
Rear Triangle behind the Passenger Footrests?
And one Final Question; Should the Aluminum Framed GL1800 even be
used with a Sidecar at all? I'm thinking NOT!
Or is it simply a lack of attention to Detail by all the old line
Hack builders that are spending much more time and attention to the
Trike market leaving Sidecars off on the side of the road in the
past.
There has to be a Sidecar builder out there that actually pays close
attention to Detail, User Friendly Hardware and Long Term Durability
as well as Functional Features.
Maybe Jay is the only real Sidecar builder left.
Jerry
