Back in the 1960s when my Dad and I built a sidecar for my Honda 305 Superhawk, we made the attachments to the motorcycle rigid and non-adjustable with the sidecar frame parallel to the centre line of the bike and perpendicular to the frame of the bike. Adjustment of toe-in and camber were provided at the wheel/swing arm attachment and that rig handled beautifully at all speeds and all loads. It was a little fiddly to remove/reattach the sidecar because everything had to be aligned just right but it made a really solid unit.
I understand why manufacturers use adjustable linkages. They need to accommodate various models and even minor variations in dimensions from bike to bike and frame to frame and they aren't always there to do the camber and toe-in settings on each bike but ...... is there anything inherently lacking in a rigid, non-adjustable mounting where the wheel is adjusted for proper handling?
I am planning to build a sidecar for my 2002 Harley FXD and the available mounting points would lend itself well to a very solid, rigid (non-adjustable) mount and providing a range of adjustment for the toe-in and camber would be easily accomplished.
Thoughts?
Nothing wrong with making all of the mounts not adjustable and making your adjustments at the wheel. EML has been doing this for years. On the sidecars we built for Cool Cycles Ice Cream as we attached the entire underside of the bike to the frame of the sidecar so that we would not need to have upper struts which would have been in the way for working the rigs while parked. What we did on these is use torsion suspension purchased from UCF America that had spline drive for the swing arm. We used these for a couple of reasons. Torsion units are only sold in pairs usually. By having spines we could flip them over and make two right side units out of a pair. Also we could weld on the brake mounts with out worrying about melting the rubber in the torsion unit. These units mount using 6 bolts, what we did was make plates that had one round hole and 5 slots so that we could slide it for adjusting toe. If ever we needed to adjust ride height (say for different tires or shocks on the bike) we could move the shaft on the spline and or shim the plate up.
This was a very cost effective way to build a fleet of what were in essence insulated cargo sidecars.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
Thanks Jay!
I was thinking of using torsion suspension as well. It is nice to know it is a design that is proven.
Years ago we used half a leaf spring in a cantilever arrangement and brazed its mount to the frame until it was road-proven. The intent was to weld it after finding the right position but we hit it right the first time and the braze was so strong we never welded it.
Jay that sounds like a cool design, That is exactly what I wsas thinking about making and was wondering if i could mount the sidecar frame just like you described but I still may use a single upper mount just for my personal assurance. The weight on those rigs sound like what I would be hauling also. Thanks....those are the exact brand of torsion springs I was looking at also
Hey wvsporty. I just visited your web site reference, http://www.2ndthief.org. and I like it. Good stuff there, pray it helps change lives.
Thanks Will, we have many members of 2nd Thief who are military or retired military. But we have a wide variety of members in general , but I am the only one with a sidecar there so far.
I'm curious. Is the name second thief a reference to the book Beau Geste?
The web site explains the meaning. There were two thieves hung on crosses besides Jesus. One thief mocked Jesus, the second thief realized he was a sinner and asked Jesus to remember him when He interred heaven. Jesus responded by telling the second thief that he would see him today in paradise. That is the reference to the second thief, the one who recognized his need for Christ. Note that this second thief could do nothing to earn God's forgiveness, but was taken as he was. He just needed to receive the gift.
Well said Will, thanks for the assistance.
