I got into sidecars because my wife wouldn't ride on my 2 wheel. No way. She has the idea a sidecar is safer than a 2 wheeler and doesn't want me riding anything but. Just trying to keep harmony in our relationship.
Other than increased visibility to other drivers and not going down due to slippery road conditions I don't know if I would totally agree. More mass= greater stopping distance. less manueverability, harder cornering .
What about the safety issue? Whatdauthink?
Trust me. It's safer than you think. The only problem is on a tight right turn. If you go too fast in a turn, you might "fly" the hack. That means the sidecar could lift off the road. Stay with the recommended speed limits and you'll have no problem. When I got my HD Road King I read about sidecar safety. There's a couple of great books on the forum.
Stopping is not a problem. Use your front and rear brakes.
Originally written by scrinch on 10/25/2008 8:25 AM
What about the safety issue? Whatdauthink?
Mine sure stops straight and true when executing a panic
stop and locking up the brakes. Try that on 2 wheels and
chances are you are going kiss the pavement, at least I did
and have the Xrays to prove it........8^)
That depends on who you ask. My wife just thinks that less than 4 wheels and no seat belts, air bags, and crumple zone is unsafe.Period, end of discussion. I think it's safer than 2 wheels, but not as safe as 4 wheels. The problem with 4 wheels is that the drivers tend to become overconfident and drive faster and take more chances or try to multi-task (cell phone),while driving a car. We all know where that leads.
With regards to sidecars, if you are cautious and pay attention, it's safe. If you are not cautious and don't pay attention, it's no longer safe.
Mark in Idaho wrote:
>>With regards to sidecars, if you are cautious and pay attention, it's safe.
If you are not cautious and don't pay attention, it's no longer safe.<<
Yep and same is true with horseback riding, canoeing, mountain biking, fishing, and even watching TV if you try to controll the remote too much.
Seriously sidecars are safe. The comments on many discussions on the net tend to make them seem otherwise but all in all they are a very safe vehicle.
Get a well balanced rig that has a sidecar that is heavy enough for the bike...practice with it and take a course if possible and all will be fine.
Learn you limits and practice to expand them and learn the limits of your rig. Not as diffcult as it sounds honest.
Read Hal kendall's books offered for free here as well as other spots on the net. See link to them in my signature below.
I wish I could say that mine stops straight when jamming on the brakes. My Ural did but with the Road King Classic and Liberty sidecar I get a pronounced right hand pull if I don't get enough front brake on first. I bled all the brakes, that helped a little. then bought a proportioning valve but can't seem to find the fittings I need to connect it to what I have for lines.
Have others had this problem with the Liberty and Road King and if so what did you do?
Originally written by scrinch on 10/25/2008 5:17 PM
I wish I could say that mine stops straight when jamming on the brakes. My Ural did but with the Road King Classic and Liberty sidecar I get a pronounced right hand pull if I don't get enough front brake on first. I bled all the brakes, that helped a little. then bought a proportioning valve but can't seem to find the fittings I need to connect it to what I have for lines.
Have others had this problem with the Liberty and Road King and if so what did you do?
Most sidecars will pull to the right under hard braking if a sidecar brake is present. Steer through the skid same as you would on any other vehicle. If I need to panic stop then I usually use the rear brakes first and steer through the skid first because the front brake tends to remove steering options by locking up the steering simply because the front wheel stops rolling. I did that today and only thought about using the front brake after skidding to a stop safely. There was never a question in my mind that I could control it. Check the brake adjustment on your bike's rear wheel. It may be loose if you have drums. Your heavy bike will normally try to pivot around the sidecar wheel. Just steer through it then apply front brake slightly. Do not lock the front wheel. It quickly becomes a reflex action to apply the rear brakes first and is easy to control.
On a solo bike locking up the front wheel is a recipe for a high side as the bike's inertia tries to over run the front end.
If no sidecar brake is fitted then rear brake to slow and steer then front brake added to stop the bike under control. Locking the front brake removes the control. You won't have any and the sidecar will try to pivot the bike left.
I've found that many older bike riders use a lot more rear brake than those who learned on newer bikes with dual disks. It's a habit but not a bad habit. I have discs all around so the rear wheels supply a lot of stopping power even used alone. Even drum brakes have a lot of stopping power if used correctly.
Originally written by claude #3563 on 10/25/2008 3:52 PM
Yep and same is true with horseback riding,
You and I have met different horses. I've known a few that redefine "Cautious" as being "Don't try to ride this horse because it's EVIL! If you absolutely must ride this horse, wear spurs!"
Originally written by scrinch on 10/25/2008 7:25 AM
Other than increased visibility to other drivers and not going down due to slippery road conditions I don't know if I would totally agree. More mass= greater stopping distance. less maneuverability, harder cornering .What about the safety issue? Whatdauthink?
Sidecar rigs can surprise you. They can be pigs if set up wrong or very nimble if set up properly and driven correctly. With three wheels on the ground and brakes on all three they can be hauled down to a stop very quickly. Like any other vehicle they're as safe as the person who drives them. They won't do stoppies however.
i have a all hd set up.
i find that the front brake does most of the work - but pulls left the harder you brake - the rear brake makes it pull right - if the sidecar is empty that is. if the sidecar is loaded just get the front on first and then cram on as much as you can and it will stop straight - the big problem is bikes behind you cant stop near that fast.
if its pulling right - you are using way way too much rear and not nearly enough front - so far ive never been able to slide the front tire on pavement - but it bottoms out the front end pronto. a harley combo has a gvwr of 1600 lb - you really wont slide the front tire, except on slick surfaces, in which case you were going too fast.
the factory harley bias is explained fully in the manual. you are supposed to use the front and rear together to go straight, mostly front with a empty sidecar and even application with a loaded sidecar - read the manual and then practice and you probably wont have much trouble.
to
I guess I am used to the lowly Ural where I had my brakes adjusted to go straight when applying just the rear and sidecar brake. The front brake did not affect that except to help me stop a lot faster.
I had originally thought the Harley would be safer and faster in a quick stop because of disc brakes all around, but I am often wig wagging down the road trying to get just the proper amount of front and rear brake in the correct proportion to come to a stop.
I guess I will proceed with the proportioning valve hookup to get the bike to stop straight with the rear brake alone.
Good Luck!
4 disc brakes are much better than 2 for a short stopping distance. Especially since weight shift will throw most of the load onto the front wheel where your other two disc brakes are.
I'd suggest practicing a few panic stops using all your tools before relying on the rear brakes only. That way you will know what to expect if an emergency arrives. Murphy's Law says: "One will arrive".
Just like flying the chair, this gives you the knowledge of what to expect when the unexpected happens and how to counteract it.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
I'm no expert by far but IMO trying to get the rig to stop in a straight line is ignoring physics. The rig is assymetrical so starts and stops won't be in a straight line. I'm already used to compensating for it. I use the front brake and the rear together. There is no brake on the car. It seems to me that the sidecar tire has varying weight on it due to the forces involved so it's hard to figure out how much brake to use.
Besides my brakes (discs in front and back) are enough to stop my rig and the car tire on the rear of the bike has more than enough traction. The only condition where I don't use the front brake is on gravel roads.
Hello
UK experience is that they have a very good safety record and do not figure in the statistics very much.
You can also add to 3 wheels etc the fact that sidecar riders tend to be a little older than your average so a lot more sensible (lol).
Regards
Barry
I am using both brakes front and rear ( which is on the same master cylinder as the sidecar) but the rig pulls severely to the right when braking.
Even though I have only been riding a sidecar for 2.75 years it seems to me that if I can adjust mechanical drum brakes so the rig goes pretty much in a straight line using just the sidecar brake and rear brake there must be way to do that with disc brakes also.
