Harley Handling

I don't even have a Harley, but from what I read around here, you need a different top clamp that shortens/brings in your front wheel some. Since I decided to not be embarrased about my memory anymore, I think it's called either rake or trail. Also, your tires should have more air pressure. Those things should really improve your steering effort.
On the other hand- yeah, rigs are a lot harder to steer and push around in the garage or out of parking spots.
Who set up your rig? I used to wonder about the wind resistance thing, but then sometimes when I get bored I wonder if the wind resistance from a bar-end mirror will kill me in a cross wind. Someone will correct me, but I think the only thing it could be is lean-out, or the lack thereof. Do you find yourself pushing with your right arm more in general?

David,
Hey, don't mind Uncle Ernie I think he is medicated..LOL. Anyhow, yes, as Ernie said there are steering mods that can be made to reduce the trail and allow for easier steering. These are actually triple tree modifications and there are various companies out there that do this. If you decide to go that route you may want to find a different set of triple trees to send in for the mods and keep the stock ones you have. That way you will have no real down time and still retain the stock 'solo mode' trees for reasale time.
But...before going to all of that you may want to play with the setup of your rig. Pulling to the right can be the result of wind on the hack or the crown of the road changing or even going up a hill under load. Loading in the sidecar is also a factor on most rigs but not so much on a harley sidecar due to the rigid suspension.
To compensate for this pulling to the right we typically lean the bike out (away from the sidecar)a little more. Lean the bike left to go left and right to go right..pretty simple. If it helps to think of the sidecar as a huge saddlebag with a wheel on it so be it.
Also try to run as little toe in as possible. Also after you adjust lean out recheck the toe in because it may have changed some. Too much toe in will require that you buy tires weekly almost. Toe in kills tires, typically the rear tire of the bike.
Do not be too concerned with what 'the book' says nor what someone elses setup may be. Play with lean out and test it...check and recheck toe in and keep it down as much as possible. After a while you will begin to feel your rig get happy and just cruise along. Steering may seem lighter along with this but still will not be as good as it can be with the triple tree mods. I would still hold off on the tree mods until you are sure you want to cough up the bucks as there are many rigs like yours with stock trees and happy riders.
Note that tire air pressure can also make a difference in handling and steering effort as Uncle Ernie said. Heck he aint all bad just a little off the wall...but ain't we all.
Hey Ernie..just kidding ..

Dave,

Having a 01 twin cam with a Cal. 3 double wide car or any setup You may think about downshifting a bit more often.

Don't let your motor lug,keep the rpm's above 2000 and you should have no problem.

Thanks to all,

A little more info on the symptoms, which I am beginning to think are just the way the bike handles.

The lean out and toe in were set up by the dealer. The bike tracks true with very little effort at anything other than highway speeds. I have been running some balast, about 80lbs so maybe thats part of it. I think I'm okay taking it out at this point so I will give it a try.

I do keep the RPMs to keep the bike moving along smoothly. The only problem with that is how load the bike is. I've talked to the dealer about putting the stock pipes back on (I'm running SE touring slip ons) and he says the power will drop off.

Their recommendation is to increase the displacecment to 95cu. It's not that expensive and seeing as I was considering trading the bike for a SE EGlide with Sidecar and he talk me out of it, I think he's telling me the truth.

Has anyone made engine modes to a Harley rig? Didn't it make a noticable difference?

Does anyone run their HD bike with out the Sidecar or are all of them dedicated rigs?

And sorry to ask to many questions, but how exactly does changing out the triple tree improve the stear? Is it the reduce trail putting the contact patch more directly underneath the bars?

Thanks for all of your input. I really like this rig and would only like to make the acceleration and the stearing a little smoother.

I appreciate your help.

DBrochu,
I also recently purchased a new Ultra Classic with a TLE Ultra sidecar and have the same problem, except much worse. Mine pulls very hard to the right at all speeds, and even during decceleration when it should be pulling to the left. I think part of the problem is that Harley actually 'specs the setup to have the bike lean INTO the car, as opposed to away like most setups. There is a range of acceptable lean angle, but most HD dealerships have so little experience setting these up they really don't know if they have it right or not. The dealer I bought mine from is one of the largest in SW Ohio, and his master mechanic has only set up one other rig in the last two years, and has never ridden one for any length of time. I've ordered the sidecar shop manual which has all the 'specs and procedures for adjusting the setup and I've decided I'm just going to have to fine tune it myself until I get it just the way I like it.
As far as dismounting the sidecar, wellll, when I was trying to decide whether or not to get a side car for my '03 Ultra, that was exactly what I had in mind, and every time I saw someone with a HD rig I asked about that. The general consensus I got was that, yes, the rig is designed to be dismounted (you'll have to get a special fitting for the brake line though) but it is by no means something you'd want to do on a regular basis. Figure on spending the better part of an afternoon on the project and be prepared to thoroughly bleed the brakes and figure out a way to easily connect and disconnect the electrics. The impression I got was that if you knew you weren't going to use the hack this season, sure, take it off and remount it next summer, but don't plan on pulling it off for a poker run on Sat. and then getting it all set up again to go to work on Mon.-it's just not practical. And of course, if you do any front end mods to the bike (like decreasing the trail to get better steering) don't even think about riding it solo. After careful consideration, I decided to keep the '03 solo, forego the the new pickup I've been needing for the last couple of years, and get a new '05 side car combo for a second bike. If I'm riding by myself I take the '03, and when my 7y/o daughter is coming we take "her" motorcycle. Never once regretted the decision. After all, we do need to keep our priorities straight, right? (besides, who really cares what a truck looks like once you're out of your teens and the alternative is three wheelin' with someone special)
Joe

I'm now driving a '98 FLHRCI with factory TLE sidecar. The last of the Evolutions, with the Stage II Screamin' Eagle package and it pulls fine.
After wearing my arms out even on straight roads, I have a set of Liberty Sidecar 5% raked triple trees on it now and it's like power steering. The steering damper is no longer needed so that eliminates the drag on the steering and it drives like a sports car.
The stock late model H-Ds with sidecar have no steering modifications to ease the steering and a heavy damper to slow it down and eliminate wobble.
The raked triple trees reduce trail which eases steering on a sidecar rig or a trike but are not to be used on a solo bike.

Lonnie @
Northwest Sidecar

Dbrochu,
One other thing, you talked about engine mods. Take a look at the torque curves in the newest HD parts and accessories catalog. Although the mod is a little more expensive, I think the 103 is definately the way to go. It gives significantly more boost in the 2000-3000 rpm range where we do most of our driving, and if you're like me, you're probably planning on keeping this rig for a while. (my daughter has already decided that when she turns 17 it's hers, so I guess I get about 10 years to play with it.)

Thanks everybody for the suggestions.

I really like this rig and now I feel pretty confident that with a few tweaks she'll be handling and accelerating the way I'd hoped.

So next question if you all don't mind, where is the best place in New England to have the triple tree modified. I'm thinking about going that route so as to not mess up the look of the bike too much; gotta a big investment in chrome here.

I also think I'll be going with the 103, came to the same conclusion myself.

I just wish I had better skills to do this work myself but the bike is way to expensive to practice on.

Thanks again to everybody.

HELLO, I HAVE BEEN THERE TO, 94 FLHT TLE SIDECAR. THE LIBERTY SIDECAR 5% RAKED TREES ARE THE WAY TO GO , THEY ARE REALY WELL BUILT AND NO MODS NEEDED TO THE BIKE. THEY MAKE STEERING FUN AGAIN AND YOU GET TO KEEP YOUR OLD TREES.GOOD LUCK RIDE SAFE. JOE C.

I've been seriously considering this mod but I'm really kind of obsessive about the looks of my bikes. You wouldn't by any chance have any pix posted would ya?
Thanks,
Joe

Check Liberty Sidecars website. There are pix with the mods. Hard to tell the difference by appearance.

Thanks for the tip Lonnie. You're right they do look good. I think that is definately going to be this winters project.
Couple of questions if you don't mind:
What effect, if any, does it have on tire wear?
Does the lean or toe in have to be reset to different specs?
Since you are significantly reducing the trail does it have any adverse effect on straight line stability?

Once I get the lean fixed (after I got the HD sidecar manual I figured out why I had so much pull to the right. HD calls for 0-1 degree lean in. The dealer had it set at over 5 degrees), and the raked triple trees installed it should be a pleasure to take on trips. I have to tell you I have been very reluctant to take any kind of road trip. I've been in the saddle of my solo Ultra for six hours at a stretch and hated to see the ride end, but with the hack my arms been gettin' kinda sore after just an hour or so. Feels like I've been lifting weights. Come to think of it, the upper arms have been lookin' buff lately.
Anyway, thanks for the help.
Joe

Joe,
Front tire wear should be better since you are no longer pulling against the tendency to go straight ahead in the turns. The steering is so light that it will go where fingertip pressure aims it except in hard turns where it will naturally increase somewhat, but not anything like stock Harley steering effort.
A minimal leanout can also be used with the raked trees if desired.

I don't notice much difference in steering with or without a passenger.

My best description is that it's kinda like driving an MG TD with power steering. It won't be hands off straight line driving, but it never is really with a sidehack. Also the steering is no longer slowed down by a Volkswagen (Harley) steering damper. You won't have to fight that anymore and can put a running light on the damper bracket instead and a nice H-D Chrome deflector (Bling) replaces the other end shock mount plate.

Lonnie

OHMAGOD!
Finally got around to taking the rig down to a buddy of mine tonight who's a first rate bike wrencher and we set it up to 'specs. From the dealer it had almost 5 degrees to much lean in and nearly 1 1/2 inches too much toe in (probably to compensate for all that lean) as well as the tires being 14 lbs underinflated. NOW I understand what all the fuss is about. I could ride this rig all day now! For anybody new to this aspect of the sport let me just repeat what several of you guys have advised me: get your rig to a good shop that KNOWS SIDECARS, or, failing that to a good mechanic with the patience to take the time to get the 'specs just right and tweak it until you're satisfied. It makes the difference between a "yea this is kinda neat" experience and "once you hack you'll never go back." (OK so I'm still going to keep my solo bike but you get the gist)
Joe