Hi Folks, I'm a new sidecar owner who bought an old Chang Jiang by the looks of it. Mid 70's perhaps. My question is: Is there any specific distance you have to keep between the sidecar and the bike? I am mounting the sidecar on a 1979 XS1100 Special Yamaha. Looks like so far I will have to fabricate a plate that will stand off the frame to clear the Yam's muffler. Preliminary measurments look like 10-12 inches inbetween bike and car. Any info anyone hass would be greatly appreciated. I'm open to suggestions and comments. Thanks Mooseman
I set up many sidecars with about 12" frame to frame.
With the CJ you may want to set it up to where the upper struts are well into their adjustment since the clevis bolts are quite short. Place the mounts so the clevis bolts are about in the middle of the threaded portion for later tweaking for alignment.
Lonnie
Thanks for the quick response Lonnie. I will keep that in mind as I start mounting everything. Larry
From my side I just want to add:
Beside the stability aspects for the track wids, keep in mind, that the space must be wide enough so that even with heavy winter gear you can easily get out your right foot!
When in Norwegians snow at -28ºC I made a salto mortale with my tiny MZ rig, the bike went over me and my leg was caught in between bike and rig. When it stopped moving, the front wheel and my leg were pointing toward the sky!
Hope you always have some soft cushion and/or solid protectors as I had in that occasion.
Best regards
Sven Peter
I usually like to look at track width first ( centerline of bike wheel to centerline of sidecar wheel) and then look at what the upper strut angles will end up at. The space between the sidecar will then fall into place and if it provides enough clearance etc it is probably fine. If side opening panniers are to be used think about what may be required to open them.
Getting a decent angle on the struts is a good thing as it provides more support. This is nto always possible but is desirable.
Wider track widths help stability but can increase the pendulum effect. I prefer 48" and up on most rigs.
Everything is a trade off to a point. Understanding the pros and cons of these 'trade offs' or compromises can help create a decent final outcome.
i have a 78 xs11 standard with a 93 hitchhiker. the track is 49 1/2 in. the distance from the bike frame to the sidecar frame is 14 1/2 in.
fly USCA mw director
Fly - 9/25/2009 2:24 PM
i have a 78 xs11 standard with a 93 hitchhiker. the track is 49 1/2 in. the distance from the bike frame to the sidecar frame is 14 1/2 in.
fly USCA mw director
do you have any pics of your Hitchhiker online somewheres I can look at? I just bought what I believe is a 92 Hitchhiker in very good condition minus a top. I'm getting ready to mount it next week as I'm waiting on some non-related bike parts before I mount it.
It has torsional suspension and air shock by Progressive.
Here's mine at the sellers house before loading.
http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/ll201/Bagmaster50/New%20Bike%20Shots/Hitchhiker%20sidecar/
