I cannot dial the lean in of the car wheel out of the set up equation...
Moto Guzzi with a Velo 565...
I had a sliding clamp loosen up on me and the lean out of the tug was going away, evaporating and I was a little confused as to what the hay was going on. When I figured it out, actually you guys told me to check that... I did all the alignment stuff all over again but now the car wheel is leaning in at the top and I cannot seem to get that vertical...
Sue and I went out for a blast to check things out and it does not feel too bad, tomorrow I'll get a better evaluation in but for now my question is that non vertical car wheel.
Any advise here is welcomed as usual.
Thanks,
Rob
The sidecar tire leaning in at the top is preferable to it leaning out.
Like a circle burner, the wedged wheel will offer more resistance to lateral forces in left turns when the extra load is on the (outrigger) wheel.
If no unusual wear is present it is an aesthetic problem more so than a safety problem.
If the clamps and struts are installed bearing in a straight line the chance for slippage is reduced measurably. The manual (prepared decades ago with a much lighter bike) shows some 90 degree setups which are subject to slipping due to excess lateral leverage. Eliminate these and you have eliminated most of the slipping problem. The other is the paint to paint connections that will compress in time.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecar
Although we have seen some inconsistancies regarding the 'plumbness' of th eshock tower on some Velorex sidecars it typically is not an issue (as Lonnie said) if the top of th esidecar tire is leaning in slightly. In other words some rigs have been built where the shock tower is not actually 90 degrees to the sidecar frame. I have seen this on th eolder Velorexes but am not familar with the 565.
To go one step farther I have actually built sidecar frames and purposely tilted the sidecar wheel slightly in at the top. The only person I have ever heard mention this was Vernon Wade. The idea is to create a situation similar to leaning the bike out through the gyroscopic effects of the leaning tire and wheel tending to make the rig go left and not pull to the right. I think it has merit but the deal is limited by sidecar tire wear and maybe some other factors.
Take a look at some of the speedway sidecars sometime (Google 'speedway sidecar') These radical machines are setup to only turn in one direction and have the sidecar wheel at a very radical angle.
