alright don't laugh, I haven't ran a front brake for 20yrs. until now I've always ran hardtail choppers but pickup a hack for something different. I read through the different threads and several ref's to sidecar brakes but seems no other issues. how important is the front?
be kind, I'm new and have yet to ride a machine with a hack, but will one way or another this spring
The front brake (if operational) will produce 60 to 80% of the stopping power on a solo bike.
The approved method of stopping a sidehack rig is by using both front and rear bike brakes.
If the sidecar has an unlinked brake lever that is placed next to the rear brake pedal it can also be used with the rear bike brake for more braking efficiency.
Some sidecar rigs have a brake linked to the front or rear bike brake.
Running a sidecar with only a rear bike brake is courting disaster.
Lonnie
I was kind of thinking that, I really would like to avoid putting a brake on the hack, just from a engineering point. I picked up a nice front wheel with a drum brake that I plan on using.
A good front drum brake will do the job nicely. I'm not pro sidecar brakes. Most of my rigs haven't had one.
I use my gearbox for most of my decelleration and let the engine do the work instead of the brakes.
Lonnie
Hack'n - 11/23/2009 9:51 PM
A good front drum brake will do the job nicely. I'm not pro sidecar brakes. Most of my rigs haven't had one.
I use my gearbox for most of my decelleration and let the engine do the work instead of the brakes.Lonnie
I , like Lonnie, am not real big on sidecar brakes either ...but... you shoudl have a front brake as well as a rear brake.
Grinnn....
For sure you live in an area where you can see on Tuesday when on Sunday you mother in law will arrive.
Well, I never had seen on a tractor a break on the front wheels neither.
So engine break might be more then enough. => (You mounted already the flaps on the exhaust ports?)
Sorry, I live now in the mountains and cannot even imagine without front brake....
I do remind vividly the rainy night many years ago I brought home a mother of four kids on a twisty alley, when suddenly neither front nor sidecar break worked at 95kmph .... only the poor back drum.
My heart dropped to the knees...
----
A good Duplex drum in the front is nearly as good as disk, as long you aren't on very long steep slopes (like here).
A wrong adjusted sidecar break may be in deed the cause of very bad moments....
Which for sure is the reason why many people do not even hook on the sidear break.
My tip: Never mix hydraulic and mechanic action on the same lever (if hand or foot) you would achieve different reactions over the stroke range.
This might be valid for to mix disc and drum too, but there are more knowlegable persons on the forum to give their opinion.
I can only talk about the hydraulic drum break on the MZ Superelastic in combination with the mechanical drum on the MZ ETZ 250. That stupid combination scretched my nerves more then once. While nowerdays my Jawa with both mechanical drums and a super front disc is a sweetheart that saved me even with the back wheel up in an awsome situation between a ditch and 3 cars....
I'd allways consider the old saying:
Safety first!.
Best regards
Sven
you can mix a harley rear disc with a harley sidecar drum - it works fine
still i do most of my braking when there is no passenger in the sidecar with the front brake - and use the rear brake more when the sidecar is heavy
it depends a lot on what bike you have and what sidecar...
if its a harley rigid frame bike and a harley sidecar with the sidecar frame for rigid frame its really easy to make it run straight - still the front brake will do a lot.
toe in and lean out with a rigid bike is different than what we all work with - you want the bike and sidecar wheel exactly vertical and a small toe in. if its a springer front end you want a very low rake - and trail of 3 to 4 inches. if its hydraulic front end you want stock panhead rake in the frame and a stock adjustable sidecar front end OR a servi car front end [servi car front end wont work solo but is exactly the same as a sidecar front end - except it cant be adjusted for solo use]
good luck
to
Every time I come home downhill on a gravel road I am glad to have a sidecar brake.With three wheels braking I can decelerate much better than with only front and rear brake.One (small) sidecar caliper is coupled to front brake.Another one has individual footpedal alongside rear brake pedal.I can skid on all three wheels in fairly straight line.Without sidecar brake I either had to reduce deceleration or skid sideways.
Have to watch a bit about applying sidecar brake only in left turns:steering goes a bit funny.Also making a hard U turn around the blocked sidecar wheel ther is a point when wheel lifts off the ground and steering and braking changes suddenly.-I also like the idea of three independent brake systems.
Storch,
Strange effects in left hand bends.
Your description sounds like your sidecar brake is a hydraulic disk with 2 calipers.. Then You might try to make the patch smaller for to get less grip force.
In case its is a mechanical flexible cable. I might suggest to check for the routing. On my first rides I had a terrible effect=> each time the sidecar dove in at breaking or in hard ridden left bends it would break of its own => the swing tensioned the cable too much. => the surprises went deep into the bones and made your face pale.
Good luck
Sven
