am very new to the side car hack world am trying to align my Harley side car so it does not pull the bike pulls hard to the right
I saw on drawing that said use straight edge from rear to front the front should be 1/2 3/4 out does any one know how this should be done also the steering dampener how much should that help or how strong should it be ?? thanks just trying to learn how to get it right
1/2" to 3/4" out? No. 1/2" to 3/4" IN! (That's why they call it toe-in and not toe-out!)
Have owned 5 rigs but Rig #2 is my current one!
To set toe-in: Place one straight edge (I use an 8' length of 1"x1"x.120" square tubing) tightly against the rear wheel ONLY.
I put it on 4" blocks for a truer reading.
Place another tightly against the sidecar wheel.
Measure the distance between the straightedges in front of the front bike wheel and again behind the rear bike wheel.
Harley recommends 3/4" to1" toe in for a Harley sidecar. For an aftermarket car the toe-in could range from 3/8" to over 1" depending upon the track required due to the width of the rig.
Whichever gives neutral steering with least tire wear.
Lonnie
Notice in the drawings that Drone provided (awesome drawings Drone!) that the toe-in is measured using a line that joins the center of both bike tires. If you have a sidewalk crack, park on it and use that. If no crack, be aware that your front and back tyres are prolly different widths so laying a straight edge from front to back will give you a skewed line.
What I do is set my straight edge on blocks a few inches off the ground. I then position the straight edge so that it barely kisses the sidewalls of the rear tire only.
Edit: What Lonnie said!
Toe It IN! Also...the Harley manual will say to lean the bike in. This is due to a rigid suspension on the sidecar and has merit to it. However...the bike needs to be leaned in the direction you want to go. So if it pulls to the right lean the bike to the left. Recheck toe in after playing with lean. BTW .... toe out will cause a pull to the right. Excessive toe in may not be noticed but i twill eat tires in short order. As far as Harley sidecars go I have had guys say that all rigs pull and that theirs has to be right because it was set up according to the manual! WRONG!! The 'manual ' ain't fighting the pull !!! 🙂
OldSchool_IsCool - 5/25/2015 11:05 AM
Notice in the drawings that Drone provided (awesome drawings Drone!) that the toe-in is measured using a line that joins the center of both bike tires. If you have a sidewalk crack, park on it and use that. If no crack, be aware that your front and back tyres are prolly different widths so laying a straight edge from front to back will give you a skewed line.
What I do is set my straight edge on blocks a few inches off the ground. I then position the straight edge so that it barely kisses the sidewalls of the rear tire only.
Edit: What Lonnie said!
Yes going off just the rear tire and the sidecar tire IS best. If you really want to split hairs set the bike with th e valve stems down and measure off the rim bead area and not the tire. This way you can duplicate numbers etc etc as any rim run out is not affecting things. Few do this a we are not talking absolutes anyhow. It is, however, a good idea to sheck fro rim runout prior to setting toe in. Some sidecars form overseas are notorious for untrue wheels. the joke is that if toe in isn't right just roll the sidecar forward or back a little and recheck it. lol BTW Those drawings from Drone were from a terraplane manual I think.
One added thing:
The carpenters square method for setting lean-out has been long quoted BUT; sidecar tug wheels vary from say, 12" (Scooter) to big bike wheels of 21" and even some taller. That 1/8", or so on a 12 inch wheel grows quite a bit with a 21 incher.
I use a magnetic protractor (angle gauge) attached to a rotor, or in the absence of a rotor disc, any vertical surface of the bike and start with 1 degree positive lean-out. Further tweaking, due to bike and car loads, is often necessary for maximum ease of handling and tire life.
Lonnie
Thanks a lot for the drawings drone they make it very clear and thanks to all for the input I have a good level drive way and good angle for straight edge to line up rear tire and front if I chose and yes o don't want to eat up tires but right now am fighting the pull so I think this will help me get it much closer I have the touring Manuel for my bike but didn't get the side car need to see if this is available thanks again for all the info will adjust and post how it went
You should be able to pick up a sidecar manual on ebay.
Here is the full CSC manual that Drone posted a page from, not in the correct order:
