Hi.I am new here and new to sidecars. Picked up a 87 yamaha venture royal 1300 with escort sidecar on it at estate sale.(owner passed) so could not get any info.The trouble I have is it pulls bad to the right with load in it.Checked the toe and it is 1 1/8 in and tilt can adjust with electric tilt.But still pulls hard to right.Have to push on bars hard all the time to go down the road.I am not sure if it is mounted to bike corect.The rear 70 degree mount points down close to ground.Can not find any pictures of this bike mount setup to see.I live in small town in fl.And no one around here works on sidecars.Just hoping for some info.I have been riding for 50+ years but this is first sidecar rig.Thanks for any help anyone can give.
Welcome Aboard and congrats on your new rig.
there are many here that can help you get everything sorted out, can you get come pictures of all the connecting points on your rig and post them so we can see how it's set up, this way we can see what it might need adjusted or repaired. How does it ride with just you on the bike. does it still fight to go right.
where in Fl do you live
Dave,
We're happy to have you join us.
Your issue isn't really new to any beginning sidecarist. Set up is a mystery to newbies because it isn't an exact science. There are however some good generalisms that we can use to start. There are two primary alignment issues we can address, those are toe-in and lean-out.
It sounds like you have the basic concept of toe-in but it is hard to imagine that you would need 1 1/8" of toe-in to make things work. Toe-in is hugely dependent on exactly where and how you take the measurement. The measurement taken immediately in front of the front wheel will be a lot less than the same measurement taken a yard in further forward of that. It also has a lot to do with how your bike base line is taken. Can you tell us how and where you made your measurements? It's a huge over simplification to say this but usually the least amount of toe-in that works is the best.
The other main adjustment is lean-out and steering effort is largely dependent on lean-out vs. road crown. When on a level surface and loaded as it is in use, the bike should lean away from the sidecar. The reason for this is, in part, to compensate for the crown in the road. The more crown, the more lean-out you need. Obviously, road crown can vary greatly, even on a short ride. If you add weight to the sidecar, the bike tilts further away from the crown and steering effort is increased. Your electric tilt is meant to take care of variations in crown, not for gross set up.
To set lean-out, move your tilt to a position somewhere close to the middle. If anything set it more toward having extra adjustment room to lean the bike toward the center of the road, to the left in the US. Next step is to compensate for the load on the rig. The best way I know of is to load the rig, bike and sidecar, as it would be in use. With the suspension compressed, have a helper use straps or something similar to keep the suspension compressed when you get off. Then (remember, we are on level ground to do this) adjust the diagonal struts so that the bike leans a degree or two away from the sidecar. Now, unstrap things and go for a ride. If you still need to steer toward the center of the road to make things go straight, you need more lean-out. IMPORTANT, EVERY ADJUSTMNET YOU MAKE IN SET-UP WILL INFLUENCE EVERY OTHER ADJUSTMENT AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO RETURN TO THE SET-UP YOU HAD BEFORE YOU MADE A CHANGE. Make marks, usually on tape to tell you where you were and how much adjustment you made. In most cases, increasing lean-out will increase toe-in so you'll have to readjust toe-in after you set lean-out.
As a former Floridian, I know that many Florida roads are very close to dead flat, or at least they used to be 50 years or so ago, but there were also very high crowned roads to promote run-off. You weapon for dealing with that is your electric lean. You set lean-out for the places where you ride most often.
That's enough to start. There's more and you'll hear from other folks. All of this is my opinion and my experience, you'll hears others. It's you job to make a decision about who to believe. ;^)
Good luck and ask a lot of questions.
A.
Thanks for the input.Yes it does pull harder with wife in sidecar.I will get some pictures soon of the mounts.The toe in was checked just in back of rear tire and just in front of front tire.It has 61000 miles on it but can't see how they could of drove it that far like that the way it pulls.That is why I think something is not connected right.You guys will know as soon as I get pictures posted.Thanks again.Will get back to you soon.Have a great ride.
Ok here are the pictures of the mounts.Let me know what you think.Thanks Oh I live in Dade City fl.
Dave
is it an optical illusion or is your frame of the sidecar and the mounting hardware sitting that close to the ground. those are good pics of the mounting, can you get a couple from the front showing how the rig is sitting and from the rear. this way we can see the leanout while it's resting with no weight on it
