I am a newbie to sidecars and this forum. I got a Hannigan sidecar fitted to my 1800 Gold Wing in late Feb of this year and now have 4,000 miles on the rig. I Run a car tire on the rear wheel and had moderate wear showing on the tire when I started with the sidecar. Today I checked the rear tire and found excessive wear on the right side of the tire/contact patch. Since 99%of the time I have the camber set so that the bike leans to the left I would have expected more wear on the left side of the tire, the direction in which the bike leans, however the excessive wear is on the opposite side, ie the side facing the sidecar. Is this normal, or is there a misalignment with the toe-in? I know that I wont get the longevity I did before the sidecar, but I didnt expect such grossly uneven wear to such an extent.
Thanks for any tips and suggestions
Andy
If you notice an uneven scrub wear pattern to one side it's a good indication of misalignment. Maybe toe-out. Is the sidecar tire wearing evenlywith no sign of scrubbing/
Lonnie
I cant detect any uneven wear on the sidecar tire, ofcourse it is new so it is a bit more difficult to tell just by looking at it, but even taking a caliper calibrated to on thousands I cant measure any difference and I cant see any uneven wear on the front tire, but then it is new also, mounted just before the sidecar was installed
It is clear that your alignment is not correct. Set the camber controler near its lowest settings then with your weight on the bike check your alignment. I can go over how to do this with you if you need. Once we have these numbers I can tell you how to make changes to fix the problem.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
jay@dmcsidecars.com
Thanks Jay G,
I am on my way to buy two eight foot flourescent light bulbs and 200lbs of cat and dog food. I do have a question- do you mean the electric camber controller or do I set all the camber struts to their lowest settings.
I plan on strapping the light bulbs to the rear wheel of the bike and the wheel of the sidecar to get my measurements. If this is the way you prefer I will go ahead. If you have a different method please let me know.
Thanks
Andy
Set the elctric camber near its lowest setting, You seldom need any more down so you want more up adjustment then down.
Flourescent light bulbs work, 2 X 4's also work if you put a nail in each end and then run string between them as the string will be straight.
Email me dirrect jay@dmcsidecars.com if you have any other questions.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
