just got a rig its a kawasaki voyager and motorvation spyder . having a major problem in right hand turns keeping car down and extremely stiff steering at same time . is this common ? heres what i have noticed with the bike and rig . with wife and myself on bike we lean away from rig pretty good. i have my 2 yr. old son in rig and nothing seems to change . of course he is only 30 lbs. we are average weight for our age around 310lbs for wife and i. what can i do to keep car down ? im already way down in speed about 15mph under posted speed for corner and need to decrease more . please help i dont feel the least bit safe in this situation
I have a Honda Valkyrie with a Motorvation Spyder and I'm also new to sidecaring. The Spyder is a light car for the Valk. The Valk weighs about 900 with me on it and the Spyder weighs just a little over 200 pounds. I have added permanent ballast of 80 pounds and have moved the sidecar out as far as I can. I have also changed the trail for easier steering.
IMHO I'd say that you have an UNSAFE condition having a sidecar that's too light, coupled with rider AND passenger on the tug. Have you done any reading about sidecars, Kendall, Hough, etc? Please listen to others on this site for advice.
I'll let the experts help you out here.
First thing GET THE WIFE OFF the back of your bike and put her and the kid in the car .Then try it you will see a BIG change in handeling
Sidecar 101 put your wife in the sidecar with your son before you all get killed. We have downloads here to help you learn how to ride / drive it.
can i add weight to the rig with my son and still keep wife on bike? where are the downloads you speak of
car is tight for two people to sit in comfortably
The link you need is reference and education .... . You will find it near the bottom of this heading. It explains a lot.
You will need to get a biger car your bike is TO BIG for that car ,it is NOT SAFE to have your wife on the back of your bike.You can do it IF you want to lose your wife when you make a quick turn though.Go to the USCA Home page then look for the books link you will find them there.PLEASE DO NOT ride the way you are trying to it is NOT SAFE fou you or your famley
You're absolutely right. The Spyder is a small and very tight sidecar but that's where your wife should be. Please go to the links on sidecars as noted and learn, especially about tipover lines. You're not only flying the chair too easily but you can highside in left turns riding with your wife as your corider.
Add Wifes weight X 3 and you may be alright. PUT YOUR WIFE IN THE CAR !!!
If your wife and sidecar are 1/3 of the loaded bike weight and you are good to go. Just the two of you. If you want junior along you will probably need a larger car for your two passengers since the young'un is too small to ride behind on the bike.
If you can rig a child's carseat behind you on the bike, that would be workable for balancing the weight ratio.
Lonnie
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Better safe than sorry.
thanx to the people who are trying to help and nothanx to sarcastic remarks
If you are refuring to my remark about losing your wife it was NOT ment to be SARCASTIC it was a stament of truth,hopeing you would understand more about what you are doing
nope not you ron this person already knows who they are sorry for the mess up
could you please enlighten me on adjusting the rig out further . as said im completely new to this and kept my leaner just in case it doesnt work out . but i need to try every avenue before aborting this mission . im going to add weight to the rig for good measure probably around 100 pounds where did you put the weight in the rig ? please send info to longgoat@yahoo.com thanx solo1
