Leading links or triple trees

Modified trees to shorten the trail are an economical fix that keeps the bike looking stock. Usually a damper isn't needed after this fix. The ease of steering is immediately apparent.
Several other things can be causing the excessive nose wiggle such as cupped tire, out of round or out of balance front tire, excessive front wheel runout, loose neck bearings (they are usually loose enough to let the front end just flop from left to right with no resistance). You might jack up the front wheel and tighten the neck bearings just enough to eliminate the flop. Worn swing arm bushings can also be the culprit.

Lonnie

Hi Sid, welcome to the forum. I know it's comparing apples to oranges, but the modified triple trees on my little Sportster rig not only eased the steering effort but also eliminated the wobble.

Hi Sid, I have a 1995 GL1500 with a Hannigan sidecar, I installed a Steerite triple tree from Side Effects in Canada, their modified tree is 4.5 degree caster, and they also add 1 degree of camber that helps with a sidecar. Since installing it along with Progressive Heavy springs, my steering is much lighter, and I have not had any wobble. You can find Side Effects on the web, or phone Brock Smith at (250) 573-2364. The last time I checked their web site, they had the Steerite triple trees on sale for a lower price. Good luck with yours.

If you go with the steerite as they add camber make sure that it is for a sidecar installed on the proper side for you. I would assume your sidecar is left side mounted in which case the steerite tree's they have in stock would have the camber wrong for you as they would be for right side mounted sidecars. I would go with either the steerite or a new EZ steer. We usualy go with the EZ steer option for insurance reasons more then any thing. We sell these for your bike for $995. We have also made link front ends as well as run the Unit brand link front ends on the GL1500. We normaly only go with the link front end if the rider is very heavy or if the fork tubes need to be replaced. When we are dealing with very heavy riders (400lbs +) by going with the link front end it gives us more spring and tire options as the front fender can be spaced up more. We also once in a while go with the link front end so that we can also go to an automotive tire on the front of the bike. I ran an Oxford on a GL1500 for a while as my own personal bike. I did not like the sidecar all that much but it was really nice to have the passenger space. I took my self and 5 other people to dinner in one while at a sidecar rally, the same sidecar rally I had 7 kids in the sidecar at the fairgrounds to take them over to where the kids games were happening. I did not have modified steering on this bike at first and never had a shake problem. Your alignment can have a big effect on head shake and may be off a bit also the stock Watsonian mounts some times have flex in them which adds to the problem.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
jay@dmcsidecars.com

No matter what way you will go make sure you check and readjust your rig. I did not do it and went for long ride. End up with half of rear tire eaten up in 500 miles.

I've done about 500 miles with it as of this moment and the tyres are wearing nice and evenly, no sign of poor alignment.
The Oxford is a nice sidecar if you have a large family to transport, which I don't. I would have prefered and RX4 or an ESZ, perhaps one day when I've got some spare cash but at £5500 for an RX4 it wont be anytime soon.
I'd thought of altering the sidecar alignment to see if I could cure the head shake but I might ruin the handling above 30, which is perfect, and still have head shake. Either way the steering would still be very heavy.
The sidecar has a six point mounting to the bike and looks very substantial certainly compared to my 1930 BSA outfit, now that does flap.

Sid

You will need check and readjust your rig after tripple tree replacement. About head shake - keep both hands on handlebars.

HI: An old sidecar nut here [had 4 over past 40 yrs.]. Haven't ridden solo at all since '01; don't miss it a bit!
Had present rig ['95 GL1500SE/CSC FSIII]11 years; it's the BEST one of all! Recently installed new Progressive
412-4223C rear shocks [made for GL1500 s/c rig] which boosted rear of Wing up quite a bit. After tweaking s/c
mount adjustments a bit, rig developed annoying low speed wobble. FINALLY realized I'd never rechecked the
steering head torque, after bearings cleaned, repacked last year. After tightening up snugly, wobble disappeared;
rig handles great again. Do not use/need steering dampner on my rig. Also run an Austone rear tire; LOVE IT!
AND I've run Unit Fork leading link front end on this rig since I hung the Friendship III on it. This my 3rd rig with
leading link front forks; wouldn't use any other type. It's GREAT when making hard stop, as front end does NOT
dive on leading links! Handles Great up to 75 mph [my limit!]. Have no trouble when snaking thru heavy traffic or
a crowded parking lot, either. My 2 cents. RIDE SAFE.....Old Tom aka papasmurf in NH 🙂
P.S. Long-time member of Northeast 3 Wheelers Club. Just remembered that my club honcho has Watsonian rig,
which he had LOT of trouble aligning properly. He actually owns 5 rigs; has had most of them for years. He's a
BIGGER sidecar Nut than me!

I can just about beat ya Pappasmurf. I bought my first outfit, a 1954 BSA Golden Flash and Rankin Double Adult, in 1967 and I've owned another seven since, three of which I still own though only two are on the road. Two of them I raced back in the early seventies. I jacked the front of the Wing up only a few days ago and I could not detect any play or stiffness in the bearings but I will check the torque on the head nut. I've more or less decided to order some EZ-Steering triple trees. I would like the benifits of anti-dive suspension but it looks like the trees will work out some £400 cheaper, a sum not to be sniffed at. I do like the look of the Friendship III. The Oxford is a good chair for the family man, it's big my friends call it the "Barn" or the "Bungalow", but my family has grown up and I'd prefer a single seater, an RX4 or EZS but at £5500 it's not likely to happen unless I get lucky and a used one comes along.
My regards to the Northeast Threewheelers Club.
Happy hacking
Sid

THANK YOU for the Nice Reply, Sid! Wish you many years of Happy Sidecar-ing! There are so few of us here in New England....seems wife/yours truly wave at 75-100 trike riders to one sidecarnut on the road. Am so fond of our old GL1500/FSIII rig, as it IS the best of the 4 rigs I've owned. TTFN & RIDE SAFE.....papasmurf in NH 🙂
P.S. Seems a shame you can't find good used Unit Forks front end there in your own homeland, at a good price; BUMMER! LOVE mine; had on our Wing 11 years.

Well Papasmurf I've been advertising for used L/links since August without success and as my fork seals are starting to leak I need to do something soon. There's a wait of 5-6 weeks for Unit forks but I gather EZ-Steer T/Trees are in stock. Of course you, the Threewheeler Club and everyone else on this website knows what's going to happen. With a tear in my eye I'll shell out a thousand dollars for new trees and the first person I meet after I've fitted them will say "Oh I've got a set of links for sale you should have said"!
You can't beat Sod's Law.

Sid

Thanks to everyone for their advice.
I've bitten the bullet and ordered a EZ-Steer kit from DMC Sidecars so hopefully tendonitis will soon be a thing of the past and the outfit will still have it's Gold Wing good looks.

Sid

Trees arrived and fitted, what a difference!
Steering lovely and light, no wobble whatsoever.
Customs and Excise stung me with fees and import duty, bless them, but the results are worth it.

Floods or no I'm out on it tomorrow.

Sid