I have a '96 Hannigan Astro GT attached to a '93 Gold Wing Aspencade. It has electric lean. The toe-in is 1/8". I need advice on how to adjust the setup for my two different driving conditions. Condition #1 - no one in the sidecar. Condition #2 - my mentally handicapped 6' 3" 260 lbs son in the sidecar. The previous owner only carried two small children in the sidecar.
Condition #1 (sidecar empty) - lean Gold Wing toward the sidecar the max allowed by the electric lean. Rig wants to push slightly to the left. No electric lean adjustment left toward the sidecar.
Condition #2 (son in sidecar) - lean Gold Wing away from the sidecar the max allowed by the electric lean. Rig wants to pull slightly to the right. No electric lean adjustment left away from the sidecar.
Measuring from the sidecar frame by the sidecar wheel, the sidecar drops 7/8" when son gets in the sidecar. The Progressive coil/shock is adjusted to the heaviest preload setting.
Looking to find a setup that will not put the electric lean at the max in either condition so have something left for road and wind conditions.
I'm thinking I need to decrease how much the sidecar drops when my son is in the sidecar so I can adjust the turnbuckles to a better position for both conditions. Do I tighten the castle nut on the swingarm of the sidecar wheel? How much tightening is too much? Do I put a heavier duty shock on the sidecar? Or is there something I not thinking of?
wayne, I had the same problem with my Kbike/motorvation with electric lean.
solve it by disconnecting the 2 top mounts from the bike.set the bike in a vertical position [no lean] run the lean so the ram is at about halfway extended. then re-attach the mounts to the bike. you will have to adjust the length of the upper struts to the new setting before remounting to the bike.
If the rig still pulls right , disconnect the top mounts again, and lean the bike out slightly, with ram setting in middle, then reattach.
what is important is to get the bike close to nueteral steering with the ram in the middle and you on the bike. that will give you adjustments both ways then.
Thanks Bob
If the adjustment doesn't work out enough, you might go with a pneumatic shock absorber. In the 80ies Kawa had some on their 650 four cilinder bike that adjusted automatically to the load (height and damping) and allways rised to the same height just by driving a few meter, because they were self pumping.
Good luck
Sven Peter Pan
I don't know what Hannigan's specification is on toe-in but 1/8" sounds small to me. 3/4" is more common. Just a thought.
Based on my readings and actual experience with a sidecar for two years, I believe the smaller the toe-in the better because it saves on wear to motorcycle rear tire. Using more motorcycle lean-out to offset rig wanting to pull to the right over more toe-in. But maybe some rigs require more toe-in because lean-out isn’t enough.
Bob is correct in his suggestion if only one condition exists. But under the two different conditions I described, his suggestion will not work.
I talked with the Hannigan people today and they feel the problem is the coil spring (120/170 #1365) is too weak to handle the weight of my son. The sidecar was originally setup by Hannigan for two small children. The Hannigan people suggested the contact Progressive Suspension about what they would suggest as a heavier coil spring to use. The tech at Progressive wouldn’t discuss it with me because they don’t want to be liable. Tomorrow, I’ll call Hannigan again to see if they can provide some additional help. In the meantime, I’m going look at the Progressive sit and see if I can learn anything.
on an older car such as this it is quite possible the shock and /or spring may need replaced. i do feel you need more toe in though, on the larger cars as a GT,we use 3/4 inch toe in.
If vs1100star2002 is who I think it is, I'll need to change the toe-in to 3/4".
Thanks a bunch to Hanngian,
I installed the new sidecar coil/shock they shipped to me (200/300 coil spring) today. The coil spring that was on the sidecar was 95/140. The heavier coil spring made a big difference. Before the sidecar frame just before the sidecar tire would drop 7/8” when adding my son’s weight (260 lbs), now it only drops ¼”. It’s still a comfortable ride. The electric lean now works with extra movement available no matter if I’m alone or with someone in the car. I understand there was a rally at Hannigan this last June. I hope everything went well and that they are planning another for next summer. I would make it a point to attend.
