First sidecar setup/ have questions

Greg,
I don't have a clue about the pulling but I'll watch the post's
Just fired up an 86 honda sabre, with a vespa body on a homemade
chassis. havn't strayed off the farm yet. maybe tomorrow good luck
Bob

Greg, I'm no expert but you might want to start with a 2 deg lean out and a 1/4 to 1/2 inch toe in. lay a 2x4 parallel to the tires on the scoot and sidecar and measure the difference fore and aft, the only thing i can suggest for lean out is to use a protractor and a string to get 2 deg's from vertical, try the toe in first and see how that works.

Ted

I can't believe that there isn't a basic concept, i.e. more toe-in more pull or less toe-in more pull etc.

Welcome! Your pull during acceleration/deceleration is due to the moment effect (push on stopping and pull on acceleration) of having the sidecar's mass stuck out there on the right side. It is normal, but may be more significant on your rig due to your sidecar being almost as heavy as your scooter. Leanout and toe are corrections for the sidecar's drag (rolling resistance and wind drag) at a constant speed and to control tire wear. My experience says that about a half inch of toe-in and a degree or two of lean-out are the standard. Note that lean-out is measured with your weight on scooter. However, this standard, at best, is just a starting point. Add or subtract from either or both til your rig runs straight down the road at your cruz'n speed without a pull one way or the other. Enjoy your third wheel!

R1100GS/Ural (1 deg lean-out, 3/8" toe-in)
K1100LT/EZS (0 deg lean-out, 1/4" toe-in)

This morning I rechecked the toe-in and lean. I had approx 3/4 inch toe-in and inward lean of approx 1 degree. This is after several adjustments yesterday with passenger in sidecar. The bike would would cruise straight while coasting approx 30-35 mph but at higher speeds it got less and less manageable.

Today I set toe-in to 1 inch and lean "out" approx 1 degree and tested with our passenger. no one available this early. The pulling has reduced or I'm getting used to it. Higher speeds more controllable.

The instructions I have for sidecar says toe-in is approx 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch, doesn't say much about the lean.

I thank all of you for your input.
Greg

As Danny noted,
The push/pull upon acceleration/deceleration are due to an asymmetrical vehicle driven from one side with much weight and a slave wheel on the other side.
A well balanced combo will have about a 2/3 to 1/3 cycle to sidecar weight ratio. Your setup may not be within these perameters so may show exaggerated pull right/push left tendencies.
Small wheeled scooters have more of a tendency for this phenomenon than a large wheeled bike. Greater weight, longer wheelbase and perhaps some gyroscopic action from the larger wheels come into play here.
The most important thing is the tracking of the rig under power at an even speed. Neutral steering is the goal here. There may still be some erratic forces due to wind resistance and direction and road camber but it will be mild and controlable.
A good way to further check for proper alignment is to "read" the sidecar tire wear pattern. Look for even wear with no traces of scrubbing on either side of the tread edges.
FYI: For lean-out I set up almost all rigs with 1 degree positive, rider on the bike/normal expected sidecar load.

Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars

Another dumb thing to check, but important; is there any flex between the sidecar frame and the scooter? If the sidecar or scooter flexes while accelerating or decelerating, this will cause pull. Flex can be in the mounts or even the scooter frame. I had this problem and found this solution on a rig I owned a long time ago.