Just finished installing Ural sidecar on 1981 Honda CX500. Have it aligned, tire pressure correct and front fork pressure correct. Tires are good.I have front end wobble up to about 30 mph. Speeds higher than 30 the rig is smooth.
Wobble is not real bad, but wouldn't want to take a hand off of the bars. I never had this when car was mounted to the Ural. I did not have Earles forks on the Ural, same type of front end.
Can anyone help out here.
Thanks Ken
The Honda has much more trail than the URAL, about twice as much, ergo nose wiggle. If it's controllable try going without a damper which increases steering difficulty as it eliminates the wobble.
Wider handlebars help a lot as does putting a bit more tension on the neck bearings so the front end doesn't just flop from side to side.
Lonnie
Just very confused,I had to go to Wikipedia just to find out what trail was.
Measured the Honda and the Ural on the garage floor. Honda was 4.25 inches and the Ural was 8.5 inches. What can I do to get the right trail on the Honda? I also have an older Honda CX500 that has a trail of 6.5 due to axle on the bottom of the lower leg versus axle mounted up and in front of lower leg on later model CX. Will try to tighten up fork bearings and wider bars first. Do you know torque on bearings? Where would a damper be mounted and where can I check them out?
Thanks Ken
Look in Sidecar Industry Council site.
Doug Bingham has a simple mount setup there using a VW beetle damper.
Lonnie
BurlinsonK - 8/16/2010 12:13 PM Just very confused,I had to go to Wikipedia just to find out what trail was. Measured the Honda and the Ural on the garage floor. Honda was 4.25 inches and the Ural was 8.5 inches. What can I do to get the right trail on the Honda? I also have an older Honda CX500 that has a trail of 6.5 due to axle on the bottom of the lower leg versus axle mounted up and in front of lower leg on later model CX. Will try to tighten up fork bearings and wider bars first. Do you know torque on bearings? Where would a damper be mounted and where can I check them out? Thanks Ken
How hard would it be to swap the front forks between those two CX 500's? That might be a great solution.
Try tightening the steering head bearings. If that doesn;'t do it stick a damper on it. Don't get caught up in all the trail talk you'll be okay.
BurlinsonK, surely the 8.5" trail for the Ural is a typo.
This may sound silly, but my solution for when the handlebars start to wobble is: avoid going 30 mph! My wobble begins at 30 mph exactly, it's only a momentary wobble, so I avoid it by going either under or just over 30. I find that police don't bother me because I ride a kind of unusual rig! Even just 1 mph takes the wobble away.
Legs - 8/19/2010 3:32 PM
This may sound silly, but my solution for when the handlebars start to wobble is: avoid going 30 mph! My wobble begins at 30 mph exactly, it's only a momentary wobble, so I avoid it by going either under or just over 30. I find that police don't bother me because I ride a kind of unusual rig! Even just 1 mph takes the wobble away.
NOT SILLY AT ALL !!!!
Put the VW steering damper on and after some adjustment, it works fine.
Now where can I get a 16 inch car tire for the back of my Honda CX500???
Check your swingarm clearance, then Google tire specs for a tire size that will fit in the hole.
A 5.00 or 5.50x16 Coker Firestone might work.
Lonnie
I found a car tire from Coker that just cleared my drive shaft. It didn't last any longer than the motorcycle tires I've used.
Just keep your hands on the handlebars at 30, the VW dampener stiffens up steering and cancels the enjoyment of driving. I've had 11 sidecars over a 30 year span and tried a dampener on 2, took them off very quickly. Tires, I used the Dunlop E2 on my '81 Wing and now the E# on my '82 GL1100, get arround 11000 miles on the rear. Doug
