I have been doing some thinking about Electric Camber Control. But with my rig, Honda 1100 Shadow with a Velorex 565 this is not an option. So I am thinking about an air shock on the car with an on-board air compressor. With a switch on the bars this will get it up. Now down is another story but there has to be a electric release valve out there somewhere.
Now if I have learned any thing since I have been hanging out with you people it is that I can not dream up anything that someone has not already tried. He he. So tell me who has used air shocks on a rig and what am I missing in my looking at this?
Older Goldwing Aspencades had an on board compressor that had provisions to bleed air. On the Wing it only worked in neutral, but it is easy to circumvent.
Check out a local cycle salvage.
Another option...My HitchHiker had an automotive air shock. Two pumps with a small bicycle pump took it from full down to full up.
My Equalean came from the "factory" with an automotive air shock and compressor with a remote control (including a pressure gage) that allowed the driver to add or subtract air as necessary. I tried it on my Spirit of America sidecar and it worked well. A poor mans lean adjustment. Was particularly good for hauling heavier "ballast' in my chair. Worth a try anyway.
Richard,
You may be able to get a similar effect by putting air shocks on the rear of the bike if you have enough travel to prevent bottoming out.
What's about salvageing a trucks driver seat, there you have level control with up-bleed and down-fill valve combination.
A simple bicicle pump parallel to any of the shocks with some tiny tank and check valve would be enough.
The air shocks from the old Kawa Z650 (arround 1988) filled up themselves within a few meter of driveing and were level independent of load. Damping adjusted itsself too. I guess they were allready prepared with an internal pump.
Regards
Sven Peter
Richard, take a lool at the site below. They have the quick release valves like the big rigs use in their air brakes.
David
http://www.accessconnect.com/air_lift.htm
The use of a big rig seat valve is a excellent idea, simple and effective they also use small dia flexible, to a point, plastic tubing and there's no wiring involved but for it to be effective one would need a pressure reserve tank which shouldn't be all that hard to come up with, I have a hand held air horn for my boat that is nothing more than a plastic pop bottle and it safely holds 40 lbs, if one was to use a liter bottle and glue the lid on it, because of the volume, should work great for a number of changes, air shocks don't need a lot of air to make a change and with the light load of the sidecar and what ever weight that's there it should last a long time, with one of those cheap 12v air pumps that are sold everywhere it could be topped off when ever, if one strips all the plastic off one of them what you end up with looks like a large model airplane engine and could be mounted just about anywhere,,,,,I do like that idea about the big rig valve, my kind of clever.
See I knew I would not be a first. He he. Loo4two thanks for the link I do not know if I will use it on the bike/sidecar but I am going to put some on my pick-up. I am going to hit the local bike grave yard this next week. He has a number of old G/W.
