I have a gl1800 with an escort sidecar and I find to get the best tracking and handling I have to lean the bike a lot to the left. Does this mean I do not have enough toe in?
check your toe in first. If it is in the ballpark area between 1/4 and 1" it should be ok.
the lean out sounds OK if it isnt drastic. lean out on every rig varies depending on the weight of the bike, SC, wheelbase of the rig.
If your toe-in is correct you may have about 1 degree of lean-out (not lean-in) from the sidecar when loaded. This is easily guaged by a magnetic angle guage placed on a front rotor with the steering straight ahead.
You are looking for neutral steering and that is achieved by a combination of toe-in and lean-out.
At first even a little lean-out may feel like you are falling over but one gets used to it in a short while.
Check your sidecar for an even wear pattern. If so your toe-in as OK. If there is signs of feathering or scrubbing on either side of the tread edges of the tire your toe-in needs adjusting.
In some cases, if your car has "Tilt" you may have to realign the attitude of the car so as to take full advantage of the capabilities of "tilt" in controlling road camber differences.
In some cases the suspension adjustment has been at it's upper or lower extreme when the car was installed. If so, that will limit the effectiveness of that option.
Lonnie
Thanks Guys I shall check my toe in again.
