Hi, all. OK, here goes, I have a 2008 Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 Classic LT with a Friendship 2 mounted. I have 1 half inch toe in, the track from center of bike wheel to center of hack wheel is 55 inches, the lead is 12 inches center of axles, and the bike wheelbase is 70 inches axle to axle. Over all she handles pretty well, other than I think I could use a little more lean out, level on rear caliper is less than half a bubble off. Hack sits level side to side, and nose up by about half a bubble.
What ya'all think, am I pretty close? I know I have to get the steering modification from one of the vendors, pretty hard steering. Almost no head shake, except when slowing down at idle.
Sounds like you are god to go.
Lonnie
With a 70" wheel base ,I think your lead should be 10.5 "
rule of thump is 10 to 15% of your wheel base. 🙂
You have to much wheel lead, not enough toe in. I would drop the wheel lead to around 8 inches, set toe in at around 1 inch. With an automotive tire on the sidecar you run a bit more wheel lead. Also your bike is longer then most so your toe messurment is over a longer wheel base then most bikes so 1 inch of toe, the same amount of toe on a shorter bike would come have a smaller messurment. Less wheel lead will allow for lighter steering and less tire wear, it also will have less of a tendency to have front end shake. Also check your toe a couple of times picking the sidecar up in between readings so that the swing arm can settle, this helps you bet a better reading while dealing with slack in the swing arm and wheel bearings.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
OK, thanks all, didn't think about longer wheel base needing more toe in, makes sense, tho. Will have to see how much more I can adjust my lower mounts rearward. The set I got from you, Jay, I h ave plenty of adjustment, the other original, not so much. Anything to lighten the steering until I can afford the steering mods. Had to give up my Sturgis trip this year to get to this point. : (
Guess I'll build up the arm muscles for a while. 🙂
I respect the opinions of other, many know more than I. Now that I've said that, IF YOUR RIG IS WORKING WELL DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING. Even apparently identical rigs often need different set-ups and NO ONE can tell you remotely anything more than a suggested starting point for your rig.
If you want to experiment with making changes to see if there's an improvement, mark your current settings so you can return to them and then change only one thing at a time if you can. That's not always possible, changing lean out will change your toe-in. Changing wheel lead will change Everything except lean out. It's amazing how much one setting relies on another. Decreasing your wheel lead will make turning toward the sidecar easier. Is that a problem for you now? If it isn't, don't change just because someone else tells you to. Try it and see if there's an improvement. If there's no advantage, go back to your original set-up. Remember, experimenting is the only way you'll know if any of these things will actually give you an improvement so don't be afraid to try new things but don't just blindly do things on the advice of folks who aren't riding your rig.
I respect Jay and folks like him. I'd try his suggestions because he has a lot of experience but I'd never just do something because someone who should know said so.
[Jay, we're still friends, right?? ;^) BTW, do you have any more of those flared front fenders? I need another for a new rig I'm cobbling together]
Hi Al, One thing to keep in mind toe is only changed when changing the lean out if the lower mounts are not the same distance from the ground, If they are the same distance then toe should not change. If the rear is higher then the front then when you lean it out, you toe it out so if you are trying to fix a pull to the right you would lean it out which with the lower rear higher then the front you also end up toeing it out more making it pull more to the right.
As to the fender, I do not remember which fender but we do have all of our molds so we should still be able to make one up.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793
