Hi Guys, after two years of using thar poor little kz650 to haul my fat a$$ around I'm upgrading to a nice sportster 1200c with only 6k on the speedo. I ordered the mounts fron Jay at DMC and he got them done in less than 3 weeks. I was impressed with the quick turn around time. I needed different mounting hardware for my kliktronic electric shifter but the u.s. sales rep wanted 600 dollars for a new bracket and handlebar mount. Needless to say I passed on that and was able to find a barely used entire unit for 500, it pays to shop around. I'll keep you guys posted as the switch over starts.
That klicktronic looks neat and useful but terribly expensive. I may look around for a simple left over solenoid that can up shift for me cause my dead foot can still down shift pretty good.
When things have been bad in the past like when they took my knee apart, I got by with a piece of skinny rope, but that is not satisfactory on a long time basis.
Currently I up shift pulling up with my heel.
Or maybe I could weld on a heel shifter to the current lever.
newenglandjim - 2/18/2013 12:10 AM
Hi Guys ... I'm upgrading to a nice sportster 1200c ....Jim, Sportsters can make a good tug. From my experience, I suggest 2 modifications along the way:
1) Replace front belt pulley with smaller one from an 883 Sportster -- makes the gearing much more suited for sidecar duty, especially 1st & 5th; and
2) Replace your triple trees with proper "raked" trees -- easy steering, and essentially eliminates handlebar wobble and bump steer -- as suggested by Lonnie, a 1" spacer in the forks increases spring preload and restores proper ride height.
Please keep us posted.
Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox
Phelonius - 2/18/2013 12:39 AM
... maybe I could weld on a heel shifter to the current lever.Sounds like a good option for you Phel. Let us know how it works out if you give it try.
Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox
I also prefer the 883 gearing (and cams) as a tug needs low end grunt and the 1200's are set up for red line performance.
Constant shifting to a lower gear in town to keep from lugging the engine gets tiresome after a while.
Lonnie
You know it's funny how you guys mentioned the front pully. When I was looking at sportsters I was wondering if I would be better off with an 883 with a 1200 upgrade for gearing. I will be doing mostly solo riding so I'll see how the gearing works out for now. I'm also thinking about running 30 weight fork oil in the front end like I did with my kz. One of the main reasons i chose the sportster was for the low end torque, I have to use a kliktronic so I want to avoid constant shifting. Phelonius, you should look into a right side shifting conversion. It's a shame there isn't more options out there for hanicapped riders. When I retire I might try and start a small part time business dedeicated to handicapped riders. They really price gouge people who need adaptive work done to their bikes, and most of the time the can afford it the least.
Wow Phelonius, your hard core ...cheers to you....
I have used two soleniods used by the hot rod industry for remote door openers. They can be had in several pull force amounts. One can be used to shift down the other up. Normaly we just use these on more crude transmissions as we have found with some electirc shifters there is not enough force to work some transmissions.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
