Good to hear from you Norm. Any chance you could post more pictures for those inventive types among us?
Good Day to you Mike,
I just posted two close up pictures of the reverse system on the Dirtwing in my album 'Norm's beasts' in the album section. In the second last picture you can see one of the dogs bolted to the Dnepr wheel and the other dogs that fit in a groove and moves the sprocket in or out. In the second picture is the pedal and electric control between the bike and hack. It works like this: I machined an extension that threads onto the original sidecar axle in place of the axle nut. This extension is covered by a rubber bellows for the first couple of inches to keep dirt out of the works and then the sprocket on it's carrier sits outboard of that. A grease nipple on the sprocket carrier allows this hub to be greased occassionally. Of course the axle itself doesn't turn with the wheel so under normal circumstances the sprocket which is mounted on it just sits there and rides along beside the wheel. A spring, actually an old valve spring, in the linkage holds the sprocket away from the wheel. However, if the pedal beside the bike is pressed down, a cable actuates the linkage which presses on the two dogs that ride in the grooves of the sprocket hub and forces the sprocket over against the wheel where another set of dogs on the back of the sprocket engage the dogs bolted to the wheel. Then with my left hand I can operate the 12 volt motor control which drives the chain and backs the outfit up. The motor is actually a cheap ATV winch that's had the spool removed and replaced with a small drive sprocket mounted in a shortened winch frame. A support frame for the linkage reaches from the front of the swing arm back along the outside of the wheel and bolts to the axle extension. These bolts also lock the axle extension so it can't turn and loosen itself up. It's actually all strong and reliable.
Regards,
Norm
Pretty cool Norm. I am impressed :-)Was beginning to build one using a front half shaft from a front wheel drive car for the sidecar wheel and a self built in and out 'transmission' but finally canned the idea as it got too invloved and was very bulky. Now am going to be doing one that forces a roller against the rear wheel of the bike run off of a winch motor. This is on a K bike and the setup will be where the battery used to be under the seat. I think it will work for the intended purpose. Hope so anyhow 🙂
Thanks Norm.
Most guys in this (or any other business for that matter) would guard their secrets closely. You've always been more than willing to share your knowledge and are a great friend to sidecarists everywhere.
I can just see a bunch of guys going over your photos and description right now figuring how to do it on their rigs.
Thanks again.
I just looked at the picture of the reverse sprocket. That's pretty clever! I noticed that you have a large battery between the motorcycle and the sidecar. Is that the main battey for the rig or is that an extra to run the reverse?
If there are two batteries on board, do both charge from the motorcycle system?
It looks like a very interesting system. Thanks for the pictures!
Originally written by Beemerwhacked on 11/17/2006 6:11 PM
The german outfit making them is found at http://www.motoren-israel.de/DesktopDefault.aspx . I have bought several items from them.The transmission is very expensive to import to Canada.He sent me many pictures but they are too big to put into the photo album.I too have emphysema,cogestive heart failure,a bum knee and just getting old.The reverse on my Beemer would be nice.I have considered selling it all and buying a Ural just for the reverse.Nah.
Thanks for the link. I had already found them and have also already broken down the bike and shipped my old transmission off to Motoren Israel to exchange for a reverse gear unit. Yes, a bit pricey, but nicely self-contained and safe from the ravages of Wisconsin winters and road salt. Not to mention not having much space to mount a winch motor on the new Escort sidecar...
What is really nice is that he has pre-built gearboxes on the shelf to reduce the turn-around time. As soon as he gets my trade-in, he can send the new one right out. He also has standard units prebuilt with extended gear sets for the airhead Beemers. (lower first gear for pulling away with the extra weight of the sidecar or for parade duty, and higher 5th gear is available for less RPMs during extended highway runs.)
The old transmission was needing to be pulled for service anyway, as I found a few slivers of metal in the oil when I drained it last time, a sure sign of one or more of the bearings starting to need attention. It was still shifting and running smoothly, but no point in waiting till one of the bearings actually failed...
I can't believe how cheap BMW makes these transmissions... Only 24 years old and 89,000 miles (most pulling a hack) and the transmission already needs service!!! {tongue planted firmy in cheek...} 😉
btw - I would appreciate it if you could drop me an email with the photos that he sent you.
karl@theroadscholar.net
I will let everybody knows how it looks and works when I get it back in a few weeks...
Good Day,
The large battery between the bike and sidecar is charged by the motorcycle and it is the only battery I use. I discarded the puny motorcycle battery altogether becuase it would just confuse the charging system and not contribute much power anyway.
I have thought about a system similar to the one Claude is contemplating which would use a rubber roller against the rear tire on the bike. My concern Claude, which may be unfounded, was that it might slip when it was wet or muddy so I went to the chain idea for a more positive drive. I have cconsidered trying one though and it might work just fine. I thought I might make my drive roller a metal tube with a rough surface like a wood rasp or something. Of course if a metal roller with an aggressive surface did slip it could be a bit tough on the tire. A guy only operates reverse for a few feet occasionally so roller wear, etc. doesn't need to be much of a consideration.
Regards,
Norm
Hi,
Thanks for the response regarding the battery. That's yet another good idea - a large battery for your rig. Motorcycles have long been cursed with undersized batteries. Putting in a car battery sounds like it will give you some good power for your reverse.
Also, those of you who may wish to try an electric shifting solenoid might want to have a larger battery as well.
Regards,
gnm109
Thanks for the information , would it be posable to see more pictures of the gear on the car and the the drive motor as to the set upRon
Originally written by gnm109 on 11/20/2006 6:01 PM
Hi,
Thanks for the response regarding the battery. That's yet another good idea - a large battery for your rig. Motorcycles have long been cursed with undersized batteries. Putting in a car battery sounds like it will give you some good power for your reverse.
Also, those of you who may wish to try an electric shifting solenoid might want to have a larger battery as well.
Regards,
gnm109
I also put a car battery in my right saddlebag. I found large 550 CCA car battery that was long and narrow,,just the right size to slip in my saddlebag.I removed the bike battery that was under the seat, and just extended the cables to reach the Batt in the bag.
the bike alternator has no problem keeping the car batt up, as long as it is not drained down very low. hasnt happened yet in 2 years.
Originally written by normpottruff on 11/20/2006 6:10 PM
Good Day, The large battery between the bike and sidecar is charged by the motorcycle and it is the only battery I use. I discarded the puny motorcycle battery altogether becuase it would just confuse the charging system and not contribute much power anyway. I have thought about a system similar to the one Claude is contemplating which would use a rubber roller against the rear tire on the bike. My concern Claude, which may be unfounded, was that it might slip when it was wet or muddy so I went to the chain idea for a more positive drive. I have cconsidered trying one though and it might work just fine. I thought I might make my drive roller a metal tube with a rough surface like a wood rasp or something. Of course if a metal roller with an aggressive surface did slip it could be a bit tough on the tire. A guy only operates reverse for a few feet occasionally so roller wear, etc. doesn't need to be much of a consideration. Regards, Norm
Norm, I had the same concerns about a rubber roller and have pretty much decided to use a metal one with grooves machined into it. The way it will be hooked up, linkage wise, should prevent slippage with this system. As far as batteries go for many years now we have run a car battery on all of our rigs. Cannot see any reason at all not to do this. These batteries cost less and last much longer. You can quick charge them if needed. Thye have enough reserve to run some 12v lights etc when camping. Also that added ballast is not a bad thing on most rigs.
Good Day Ron, etc.,
I put two more pictures into the Norm's Beasts photo album showing a bit more detail on the sprocket.
Regards,
Norm
Thanks Norm, that doe's not look to hard to build as i need one
