I plan to write up a trip report with pictures when I get back hhome. The photos are on a camera, and I'm useless on this wonder-phone.
Perhaps when you have the story written and the photos downloaded, submit all to Martin for publication in the Sidecarist?
Jim - Tom's advice is good. Write that article and send it in to Martin. He was really frustrated last issue and needed copy. Harold and I bailed him out but it used up some copy that we wanted used in the next issue. Now we have to write some more stuff.
Now for my report. I got a chance to ride my rig on Saturday. I put 55 miles on the rig that has been broken. It only cost me $143 to have a mechanic do something I could have done - but it got the rig running. I also have a project going on in the garage. I bought an old Spirit Eagle that needed some TLC. I am applying some tender loving care so that it will be available for sale at the Monumental Rally. When I get it looking better I will post some pictures in the classified.
A Photo hint that you may already know. Sent the pictures to Martin raw and full file, don't crop. Don't let your E-mail resize them. I send them as an attachment so the e-mail program doesn't know it is a Photo. That way Martin can modify and shape the picture as suits the copy. Harold
I will write something up for martin. I thanks for the tip. If I have questions on format, I'll contact Martin.
Jim
This past Monday I began a trip from my house, Catskill Mountains down to North Florida. Finally, it was a beautiful sunny day. My first stop was to Freedom Cycles, Claude Stanley's shop in Middleburg, PA. I wanted them to check out my hack as I installed it myself and was unsure of whether I had the measurements correct. Turned out the measurements were somewhere in the ballpark of correct put nothing takes the place of experience, dedication and expertise. Claude and his shop forman, Dave, worked to correct a more serious problem with the ECC setup on the Hannigan super sport, that was an early model. I can confidently report that they worked to avoid a serious road issue as a bolt was making its way out of the top of the ECC.
Following the long afternoon of problem solving I made my way down to Winchester, VA and stopped there for the night. The next morning I awoke to rain. That pretty much sums up the day. I road down, with my improved and safe rig to see a friend in Roanoke, VA and decided to stop there as the weather was worsening. Wednesday looked to have better potential so I started out early that morning. After about ten miles I realized that it would be a very long day of wetness. I was not disappointed. I finally arrived at my destination in North Florida at 1030 pm. It was a long, wet, miserable day but I was safe and sound. This is my first significant sidecar trip and I covered over 1200 miles. I am happy to say that I really like the sidecar mode. I hope my darling 1800 VTXR at home gets used to garage life.
Took a ride last Sunday with my friend Roanoke Rider and his new rig. After a short ride we decided to stop at family style restaurant set up in an old house (awesome food & way too much). It was a good thing we were on rigs and not our 2 wheels as we were able to spread the weight out over three wheels instead of two. Anyway it was a great outing and it is always good to see multiple rigs in one place. I highly recommend The Homeplace in Catawba, VA for good food and down home feel.
Looks like the restaurant is close to Roanoke. I hope to have enough time on my return trip north to stop there since I'll be riding on I-81.
First ride with my new trees - had an EZ-Steer installed and it's just like power steering - love it!
There's a sensor that should be changed when attaching a sidecar - lean angle sensor, maybe? Check with your dealer...
Sensor? Never heard of that.
I set up lean out angle with a magnetic protractor (angle gauge).
Lonnie
Hack'n - 4/15/2015 10:20 AM
How about some pix?
I'm now home. Actually arrived Saturday afternoon. I gotta' tell ya'. It's different. Had a few things of interest. I lifted the tub wheel on an off camber, 25mph hairpin turn in Salt River Canyon. Also ran over the curb of a Roundabout in Ames, IA. And wore out the rear tire. Strong cross winds for two days are the probable cause. On a flat road, in no wind it tracks straight. Go figure.
What's different? The weight. I knew it takes effort to turn a rig, but this handled like an aircraft carrier. The speed warning signs, normally taken with a grain of salt on the Honda ST1100 are more like mandatory on the rig. I collected a lot of 'followers' in the mountains. I swear a volkswagon with a house trailer passed me. It's not just another motorcycle. Every time I stopped I had someone come up to talk, or at least give a thumbs up. I noticed a lot of North Dakota one finger waves (not like the New York ones).
Yeah! It was Fun!
Oh and about Pics...
Jim
Sent the "Badlands Express" North from Boise with it's new pilot (a fellow United Sidecarist) less than an hour ago.
Hope he likes the rig.
Looked like this, sans the Harley Bulldog. That old veteran touring partner stays with me.
Hack'n
tinboatcapt,
That picture was definitely not taken at Ames, IA.
Your thing with the sidecar sounded a lot better than mine. On Saturday afternoon I thought I'd try to find where the gas leak was located so I could fix it. I'd never taken the tank off the Valkyrie before and I discovered the control knob for the petcock is attached by a potmetal rod under the top frame tube to the petcock. Yep, I broke it. Yesterday I unloaded 144 concrete blocks from my trailer so I could haul the sidecar rig to the Honda shop to have them replace the petcock parts and find the fuel leak. At least I had enough gas in the carbs so I could drive the rig up the ramps onto the trailer.
Strong crosswinds can take a lot of the fun out of riding. I'm thankful for the electric lean control for the sidecar. It helps a lot, but when you have 40-45 mph cross winds it is hard to get enough lean to keep the steering neutral.
Tax Man,
Nope. Not Ames, IA. The ride started in Florence, AZ. Hence the Cacti.
jim
