Has anybody played with adjustable sidecarwheel instead of adjustable struts?The wheel could be moved forward and back and tilted in2 directions
and raised up and down.I built struts for my FJ1100 with Kenna and it was a lot of work and a lot of extra weight.
Gary Storch
Gary,
Yes, EML has some models that have adjustable toe-in and I'm pretty sure Claude has built some cars with that feature. My wife's little scooter sidecar has adjustable toe-in.
When we build some custom one of sidecars we some times do not use any upper struts at all nor do we allow for any toe in adjustment of the sidecar it self. When we do this we attach under the bike to both sides of the frame of the bike by extending the sidecar frame all the way under the bike. When we do this toe is adjusted at the wheel and lean out at the shock mount.
One reason we do this is if we are building a sidecar that will be ridden from the sidecar as is the case with some wheel chair sidecars then we do not want to have to adjust all of the linkages should the rig ever need to be aligned.
Jay Giese
Dauntless Motors Corporation
www.dauntlessmotors.com
The Indian-made Cosy sidecar has toe-in adjustment done at the sidecar wheel. Like most rigs, lean is done at the upper mounts. Simple system.
Sarge
As Al mentioned we have built them with adjustable toe in at the sidecar wheel. It sure makes things simple in application but adds some work to the build itself. As far as the other adjustments go we typically use a splined end torsion bar suspension that is almost infinatley adjustable for ride height of the sidecar frame. Effective Spring rate can also be varied easily. The prototype production sidecar we took to the Hack'd Reunion could have it's ground clearance set at a low of 4" and a high of 9 inches. We ran it down there at 5 1/2". Some feel the swingarm angle is a critical thing but in our experience, with a trailing swingarm, it is not that big of an issue(within reson of course). The torsion bar suspension also provides a simple manual tilt adjustment after initial lean out has been set with the struts. We like to use struts that work like turnbuckles so adjustments are easier. You do not have to mess around with removing one end of the strut. I have experimented with diferent cambers on the sidecar wheels and even the sidecar swingarm pivot points. There is something to be said for this but to do it on most rigs is more trouble than it is worth in my opinion. Typically if the sidecar wheel is set at 90 degrees vertically to the sidecar frame on the initial setup the little bit that it gets leaned in or out when the tilt adjustments are made is not a real issue. The early style Motorvation Spyders allowed for a camber adjustment in their a frame type suspensions but are now made with a conventional swingarm. If you google pop dreyer he ran a flxibl sidecar wheich was a leaner where the bike and sidecar wheel leaned while the sidecar body stayed almost level. Susie Ellsworth still has one of these today and can usually be seen at the griffith park sidecar rallies. Anyhow we hope to officially introduce our sidecar after the first of the year. Keep an eye out for info on it. It will be called 'The Freedom Cruiser' and made by C Stanley MotorSports Corporation. It will not have a toe in adjustment at the sidecar wheel but if anyone is interested it could be added as an option. Sorry for the flagrant spam but we are pretty excited about this thing...LOL.
