@miles-ladue OMG "Nepal & Tibet, to Chile' and Argentina".. I have bookmarked all those tours.. kinda pricey, but I wanna die with zero 🙂 Would you recommend the self guided tours (unfortunately, I don't have a friend) or guided tours only? I am doing the Great Himalayan challenge next july - but there will be more riders there. All I need to ensure is cell phone connectivity so that when mom calls she doesn't get a clue that I am out riding.
Ronnie, I would suggest...politely...that with your relatively limited experience (and I mean that nicely), that you utilize the Guided Tours.
The Great Himalayan Challenge uses Royal Enfield's, and they do quite well.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
@miles-ladue Limited? Hahahahaha.. how about near zero experience? 🤣 🤣 .. even Kevin from Cozy sidecars kept hounding me not to drive the hack down from NC to FL. He went as far as telling the sidecar fitters to advise me to not drive down.. I am a reckless fool I guess... but I do listen to seniors (not age, but experience). Maybe someday I will have rider friends.. then I won't need to use guided tours anymore.
HOLY COW !!! everyone - thanks for telling me NOT to drive it down from Denver, NC to Fort Lauderdale. I would have been dead for sure. I had the maiden ride today.. of maybe (if that) 1 hour.. left/right constant turns on really small streets with a max speed of 30mph.
This is NOT a bike.. It's not a car either.. I don't know what this thing is !!!! The hack was fighting me the WHOLE time on turns.. Has a mind of its own.. I wanted to practice tons of turns and bends, so I did that.. in fort lauderdale tiny neighborhoods.. almost no traffic. I even hit a trash can once.. In fact, it was easier to ride in traffic (straight line) that it was in those small, traffic-less streets.
Jesus christ !! I really hope I don't miss a regular bike too much.. as today I was really missing riding a regular MB .. so easy.. just go ... no fighting involved..
Shew!!!
Good looking rig. 😎
Driving a sidecar is definitely it's own thing. That wrote, it shouldn't be too difficult. First thing I'd do is check/set the tire pressures. Especially the front tire of the bike. Start at 32 psi in that tire, and the sidecar tire. See if that helps. If not go up a few psi on the front bike tire, try again. If that doesn't help, go down a couple psi. Rear tire on the bike isn't as sensitive. maybe start around 35-36 psi.
If none of that makes a difference, might take it to a sidecar specific shop and have them check the setup. Test drive it for you, to ensure the rig is setup best as possible. Once you know the rig is setup to the best it can be, then you'll be able to tell if driving a sidecar is what you really want to do.
Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃
@scott-h Thank you! I just got it set up and delivered from Uwe at https://www.unbcustoms.com/. However, I will check the pressures to see why it was a bear to tackle. Maybe I just don't have the requisite experience? I sure do hope so because I really want to hit the road and travel west with my dogs.
Ronnie, look at a couple of the items in the library linked below. There is a general rule of thumb about how far forward of the rear wheel the sidecar wheel is set (lead). This will have a significant effect on handling. Next is lean of the bike towards or away from the car. Final gross setting is the toe of the car towards the bike. The balance of these three primary settings will make the overall handling “tolerable”. After that it’s a matter of fine tuning the settings to get the best balance of “straight” and not-surprising turns.
You should be able to check two of the major settings yourself based on advice from the book. Definitely get it to a sidecar specialist nearby.
Very glad you didn’t ride it home or get killed whilst wrestling the anaconda!
Illegitemi non carborundum est!
Ronnie, we are all happy that you got your new-to-you sidecar rig delivered to you, and you now have 31.41 miles of practice.
I can see 3 things that are adversely affecting your sidecar driving experience.
#1...the sidecar wheel is not forward enough....it should be 8" to 12" ahead of the rear wheel of the motorcycle.
#2...fold down the windshield of the sidecar. It's unnecessary wind drag right now, unnecessary vision blockage to your right.
#3...the sidecar color doesn't match the motorcycle, so....your furry friends will be hesitant to ride with you.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
@thane-lewis Holy cow. That’s pretty technical stuff. I can try, but I doubt I’ll be able to figure it out. I’m one of those that opens the bonnet of a modern car and doesn’t know what he’s looking at. Things were so simple with me dad’s old FIAT.. clean, basic engineering..
@miles-ladue good point. I didn’t note how many miles I drove today. I was just concentrating on being able to turn left and right constantly, going through twists, doing U turns (that’s when I knocked over someone’s trash bin.. people leave it outside their homes, on the road) etc.. Looking forward to spending time in Colorado or western North Carolina next year.. Need to practice a TON before I let my kids in the sidecar .. much less taking them on the mountains..
I can definitely measure the distance… however I had no idea that the windshield folds down. How cool!! I’ll try that as well.
How do people ride in South Florida? I did ATGAT and I was nothing less than a sweating, stinky, grubby pig by the end… damn!!
Sidecars are an ongoing learning curve.
While driving my 60 yr old Dodge truck I was reminded that yes it's easier to drive at slower speeds especially when manoeuvring in tight turns.
No power steering etc.
My sidecar is is similar in that way.
Also my 100 yr old Fiat.
Forward planning helps a lot.
@brstr Thanks. Yes, all my driving was at slow speeds (less than 40 mph, I believe). Does a side car feel a bit wobbly at slow speeds? I plan on practicing 1-2 hours per day to gain confidence on this bear (or anaconda 🙂 )
@brstr Thanks. Yes, all my driving was at slow speeds (less than 40 mph, I believe). Does a side car feel a bit wobbly at slow speeds? I plan on practicing 1-2 hours per day to gain confidence on this bear (or anaconda 🙂 )
Ronnie, before you spend (I didn't say waste) time practicing for hours each day, it will save you a lot of time and grief if you can make sure....really sure....that the sidecar is attached to the bike correctly, and aligned correctly, with all the mystical math that was told to you by Thane @thane-lewis.
Those things are vastly important, because if you are trying to learn your sidecar today, with things out of sync, you could be learning bad habits.
One of the things that YOU can do, in the list of items stated by Thane @thane-lewis , is check your tire pressures, and the numbers given to you previously should be fine to begin with.
Nothing worse than fighting a wobble, or bad steering issue, only to find that IF ONLY you had inflated that front tire to the correct psi....then your world be be much easier.
You asked, "how do people ride in South Florida ?"
First, you DRIVE a sidecar rig, don't RIDE it.
Second, you avoid all Blue-Haired Olde Ladies.
Third, whilst ATGATT is preferable for most 2 wheeled motorcycle riding, and...that also depends on weather and temperatures....whilst driving a sidecar rig in Southern Florida, dress appropriately, meaning, dress for the weather, the temperatures, the roads you will be on, etc.
May I suggest (merely a suggestion 
) that you wear a helmet, riding boots or firm soled shoes, long pants and long sleeved shirt, but make them loose, and free flowing, so that you can get a small bit of air flow, wear gloves, but not long gauntlet gloves, wear glasses or eye protection, and probably something else I am forgetting.
Everyone else on this planet that drives a sidecar rig is much less inclined to fall over at a stop sign, or in a curve....as it has 3 wheels, and is relatively self balancing.....you then there is you, Sir Guha, that right now you feel that if anyone on this planet is going to fall over with a sidecar rig, it will be you.
Just.....relax.....get that sidecar rig corrected, aligned, and inflated....then take a Sunday stroll through school parking lots (NOT church parking lots, as they are busy On Any Sunday)....then the next day, on a Monday, go to the Church parking lots, as the school parking lots are now busy.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
@miles-ladue They liked the sidecar (I only rocked the hack gently for 2-3 mins to get them used to motion). I think the treats are all they care about, though.
The windshield cannot be folded (or at least I couldn't figure it out).
"the sidecar wheel is not forward enough....it should be 8" to 12" ahead of the rear wheel of the motorcycle." - The distance seems to be 6-7 inches. I used a tape measure and sorta eyeballed it.
I could not figure out a lean by eyeballing it. I will figure out the tire pressures today at a gas pump since I don't have a tire pressure guage.
Ronnie, the tire pressure gauges attached to the gas station air hoses are not very accurate, and could be off my 4+ psi.
A tire pressure gauge is very inexpensive, and almost every gas station convenience store has them for sale, or any hardware store...for less than 10 bucks. Get a decent one, and keep it....forever.
You can buy a pack of 3 digital air pressure gauges on Amazon, for like 10 bucks... so that you have one in every vehicle.
Use your alleged smart phone...they are only clever, not really smart....and use a app for a LEVEL, then place the phone against a straight vertical plane on the bike. whether it is the side of the tire, or the frame of the bike...something to check and see if your bike is perfectly vertical, or at 90 degrees to the ground surface. Technically, you would want the bike to be slightly leaned, meaning 88 degrees to 89 degrees , so it is leaning OUT...away from the sidecar, rather than perfectly 90 degrees.
IF the bike is perfectly 90 degrees in relation to the ground surface, then check the same thing on the sidecar, find a place where you can measure the vertical plane, to see if the sidecar tire, or frame, is at 90 degrees in relation to the ground surface, or...if it is 88 to 89 degrees leaned OUT...away from the bike.
LOOK at your Cozy sidecar windshield again, there must be a way to either lean it backwards, or lean it forwards, so that it is not a barn door in the wind. If nothing else, remove it. Those teeny weeny furry friends don't need that much of a barn door to block the wind for them.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
@miles-ladue I have learnt a few things today.
- Today's ride made me realize that the "wobble" might be me "feeling the road". As I rode around 20-50 mph for 2 hours, I kept an eye on the road surface conditions. Even though the roads looked good and not covered with potholes, I could feel the road more than I feel it on a motorcycle. So, maybe this whole "wobble" thing is just "the road". Time will tell.
- For my right side mounted sidecar, I feel that I need to be firm with my right hand on the hack to not let it wander off.. Is that the correct feeling? It seemed that it always needed a firm hand (unlike a horse or motorcycle). Is that correct?
- I felt that I really need to be well into a curve before speeding up - unlike on a bike where I could speed up a tad earlier. Am I doing this correctly?
- I can easily remove the windshield from the sidecar. I thought it was for their protection - should I take them off?
- I am planning on buying something called a "50 lb sand bag" and putting it on the sidecar floor permanently since my dogs total 70 lbs (two of them). Is this advisable? At the moment I just have 25/30 lb gym weights in the sidecar.
- The tire pressures were OK (I purchased the ONLY available pressure gauge option at a gas station at $3). The "lean" seemed to be 1 degree but I cannot tell for sure as sometimes it showed to be 0 (both on the sidecar and bike). The sidecar wheel and bike wheel have a difference of 6-7 inches. The set up might be OK. I might be the one that sucks since I am a newbie to motorcycle world in the first place.
Thank you all for your help thus far.
