Hey all. Name's Jae, and I'm a first-time sidecar owner as of last Thursday. Been on motorcycles for about 7 years, but this is my first with a car.
I have a few questions (and I'm sure I'll have more as I go), but first I know everyone likes pictures, so here are a few of my new ride.
It's an '86 Yamaha Venture Royale with CSC Friendship II
This isn't my first Venture, I also have an '87 that's been stripped down to no plastics and using 30mm ammo cans for saddlebags, right around 100k on the clock. It's kind of nice being back on a fully-faired bike though. The rig has quite a few neat options, such as an electronic on-the-fly sidecar suspension height adjust, and a tie-in to the main bike's communication (CB/radio/intercom controls wired into sidecar). There's a ton of work still to be done (replace the 10 and 18 year old tires, fix the wiring on some non-functioning lights and electronics, fresh fluids) and I've got a lot to learn, but it's fun so far.
Once you post, go back in and edit, you can at that time add the photo's.
So what questions do you have?
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793
Apparently attempts to edit are just messing up the format, so I'll work on that later.
-As the bike is over 25 years old, I have to insure it using an agreed value. I wasn't really "in the market" for a side car setup before this popped up, and I think that with what I paid I practically stole it. My main question is what should a rig like this be worth? I would value the bike (by itself, considering the condition of the bike, body work, and all accessories) around $3000, but don't know what value to add for the side car, especially considering that it's been painted in a matching two-tone scheme. I've seen prices on similar new side cars, but that doesn't take into account any of the upgrades I've got on mine.
-I'm kind of lost on what kind of tires to use. This bike is heavy, I believe about 800 lbs in stock form, and that's without the car. The rear rim is a fairly narrow 16" (140/90-16 tire) and the front a more common 18" (120/90-18). I'd love to go "dark side", but it appears that's just not an option with these wheel sizes. A lot of the sidecar-specific tires I've seen also appear to be tube-type, and for lighter setups, so I'm not sure which direction I should go. Given the age of the tires (10 years on front, 18 years on back) I'm just going to replace them with the same Shinko's I've had good luck with on my other bike, but I don't think they'll be a good long-term solution given the rig's weight.
-After riding the bike around town and on the highway, I'm starting to think that I want to do something with the front end to lighten the steering a bit. I haven't found anything so far available for my bike and it appears that I may need to just fabricate a leading link setup myself. Before I do that though, I figured I would see if anyone here would happen to know of a solution.
Congrats on the new rig Jae. I defer to more knowledgeable folks re: steering modifications.
Marcus with the Pineywoods Riders Academy up on Lufkin offers the S/TEP training program. The class was a BIG help to us novice sidecarists. Us experienced motorcyclists have to re-learn a few things to safely operate a sidecar rig. Marcus can be contacted at marcuscycleshop@aol.com, 936-637-7555 or 936-674-6767
Pics of Jae's rig:
Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox
First rule, do not fly the chair on ice. It's bad luck.
On ice cream too as it soon starts to smell bad....10°N and a lot of sun down here.
:O 🙂
read through the similar threads here as they contain many good tips for to stay safe.
MOST IMPORTANT: Break before the bend way down and come out al gusto.
Break too late and you might come out in a cofre-ataul.
Or here you might take off and land in the next village.
:o:(
Rig riding is the most fun way of transportation and every little trip to the aunt Emma shop may turn into a mini vacation.
Enjoy life at its most as it is the greates gift we have got from the one above.
Sven 😉
It's certainly different than being on a regular bike. I'm a fairly aggressive rider and found that I can't ride the same on this. I certainly need to figure out something with the front end though, as the wobble is starting to worry me. These are prone to headshake around 40-45 mph as it is, and adding the extra weight has done nothing to alleviate that, especially under braking.
The sidecar will never be my primary mount, but it certainly does make for a fun secondary ride.
Hello from a fellow Houstonian..!!!
That's a nice big rig you have there.
Tire pressure and tire wear seem to cause steering wobble as well.
Hope to see you on the road soon..
Indeed. It's already gotten much better since properly inflating the tires, but this front is so old that I believe it to still be slightly out-of-round from sitting so long. New tires came in yesterday and I will get them on this weekend, but will likely be changing my wheel/tire combo before too long.
I have a front MC tire to stick on the front right now and I think I will be replacing it with a rear MC tire (flatter profile) and attempting to get a vmax rear wheel (15" diam) fitted out back so I can get a car tire on the rear. The only 16" car tires I've been able to find in anything close to a suitable profile are all spare "donuts", and I'm sure that's not going to be an improvement for me.
Once I get a decent set of tires on this weekend I'm going to start looking into a steering damper and see how those do for me. Next step of course will be designing a leading link front end for it, as I haven't been able to find anything like raked trees that would fit this bike.
What part of town are you in Sal? I live out SW (outside Sugar Land) but commute into downtown daily and attend a weekly bike night up in the Heights, so I am all over the west/central just about every day. I'd be interested in meeting other people that ride in the area, if only to check out bikes and chat over a burger or something.
I think you will feel a great improvement with the new tires.
Your rig is twice as big, powerful, and heavier than mine so start working out your forearms when you get a chance on your days off. ;>)
Meeting somewhere for a burger or so sounds like a plan Jae..!! I'll have to put my rig back together as she is in pieces for winter maintenance.
I live in NW Houston off of hwy 290 & bw 8 but like to do daily rides on the back roads when there's a chance.
You're not joking there. The first night I had it I rode it about 50 miles home at 75mph on 59 southbound... and had no ballast nor had I discovered the electronic trim adjust. It was a good 45 minutes of constant counter-steer to get it to track straight. Quite the forearm exercise.
Following suggestions from Lonnie, I found on our Sportster rig that a little extra tire pressure over recommended along with a little extra torque than recommended on the steering head bearing really helped alleviate the wobble -- assuming proper alignment of the whole rig. If I recall correctly, the Venture's handlebars mount with a vibration damper at the base which might add another source of "wiggle."
Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox
Welcome to the sidecar world. I built my first rig after over 30 years of riding and racing the two wheel variety. Now after 12 years of rigs my 2 wheelers sit more and the rig gets the nod most of the time. I don't think I have gotten lazy but I enjoy all the new skills and mechanics that go with it. (That is my story and I'm sticking with it) Another big reason is the fact my wife said after 30 years of riding behind me I finally took care of her, although I suspect it has more to do with increased storage on our trips. Whatever the reason you need to be an extrovert because you will have many people talking to you and asking you questions, just go with the flow. Good luck and enjoy your new toy! 🙂
Nice looking rig. By all means try and take the course. Marcus is a great instructer and Lufkin is reasonable distance. If you don't want to ride your rig,e has loner rigs available. J.R. Tex rep
Congratulations on joining the world of insanity. There is a good training course in Lufkin. Contact Marcus at The Cycle Shop. Phone 936-637-7555 I think it is the 1st. weekend of each month. He has loner rig"s if yours is not ready. J.R. Lewis USCA Texas rep.
