Motorvations Formula II Hood

Hi Everyone:

I have to agree that Barb's rig is really nice looking.  I am a little partial to Motorvation Formula sidecars.  Joan and I rode one for 20+ years. We actually rode it from coast to coast and border to border.  We sold it because we found a rig (from Al O.) that had a flip front so Joan could more gracefully enter and exit the sidecar. (Our Formula was not a flip front model.) 

On the subject of winter riding - did I see - Barb, that you live in Minnesota?  Yes - you will have snow and COLD.  We lived in western MN for 15 years (Appleton, MN not Appleton, WI).  We know about snow and cold in MN.  The Black Hills of South Dakota still gets snow but it goes away quickly.  I have ridden in the winter.  With electric heated clothing the cold is tolerable.  Traction is the issue with such a small tire patch on the ground.  I have gotten into situations where I thought I would have to get off and push until I found bare pavement. The riders with 2-wheel drive Urals have been known to go out and squirrel around in the fresh snow just for fun but they probably freeze their anterior adipose (Fat Butts) off.

Don - do you have connections for heated clothes?  I can imagine that that 325 miles might have been a little chilly.  How are you and Jane doing?  

Will Short

Ex-President USCA

Yep we still live in the deep south, I ride year round here. there is usually about 2 or 3 weeks were I will wear heated gloves and chaps 

Thanks everyone - I'm pretty happy with it, now to sort out everything I've been reading and put it to use. I live in Central Wisconsin (I'm going to have to rethink that part) I had watched "Sit, Stay and Ride" and was struck by all the riding in snow, where I live a lot of the time it's hard enough to get a four wheel vehicle down the road! 

For those of you that have the Motorvation, do you have the modified forks and damper or one or the other? This one has quite a wobble at 25 -30 mph and is hard to steer. 

Hello Barbara. I see you have a Heritage Softail. I have a 2001 Heritage softail with a Claude Stanley sidecar. I had the triple trees changed out and it made a huge difference in steering ease. I bought the triple trees from Hawg Halters, Inc.  706-864-7800. They're in Georgia. They have triple trees that are specific to the Harley Heritage 1984-2017. They have a 4 degree and 6 degree trees. I bought the 6 degree. As far as your wobble it can depend on the road, your tire pressure or setup. They all seem to have a wobble at slow speed. I think mine goes away at around 15-20 mph. Interestingly. I put new tires on this spring and it almost eliminated the wobble completely. Go figure.

Hi Mike, Thanks so much for the input. I will have to check them out, going straight no problems but turning can be a workout. With the triple trees installed did you find you needed a dampener? If I'm understanding it right, most are finding that they didn't? Fortunately, from the reading I had done, I was anticipating wobble at some point and I can live with that, I did find that depending on the road the wobble got better or worse.

My two wheels is also a Heritage and I really love that bike so thought I'd stick with what I like and work out any kinks.

Although I have no direct experience with a steering damper I'm told that it could make it harder to steer. Anyway, I did not need a damper. Yes I like my Heritage as a sidecar bike. I put solid Harley Fat Boy wheels on it when I put the new tires on this spring, because they're a tubeless tire and you can fix a flat on the road (if you have a tire repair kit) and you don't need to keep checking for loose spokes. I bought both wheels off of Craigslist for $300 (they're over $600 per wheel in the Harley catalogue)and they're a direct fit depending on the year of your bike.

Barbara, the need for modified trees isn't limited to any sidecar. it is a very good investment for ANY sidecar or trike

I installed 4.5 on my Wing with the the sidecar and I'm pretty sure it is a 4.5 that is on the trike I just bought my wife

Tires and head bearing tightness are the biggest causes of head shake, mine with a new front tire won't shake at all but as the tire wears and begins to cup ( and this is a given) it will begin to shake, as the cupping gets worse so does the shake. you have 3 options to control it

1 tighten steer head bearings a little more than stock specs,,,, this works very well, but the tire will still cup 

2 add a steering damper,,, this will make your turning harder, and the tire still cups

3 keep your tire cupping ground down,,, works great, stops the vibration caused from the tire cupping, but is a pain to do 

this is all based on Goldwings as I have no experience with any other bikes, but I'm pretty sure the front tire cupping goes with all sidecars to some extent 

Hi Barbara:  We have no direct experience with a Softtail, but our Sportster rig also did not require a damper after installing Hawg Halter triple trees, which not only eased steering effort, but also eliminated much of the handle bar wobble, particularly when riding a bumpy road.

Thanks again for the input. I'm going to start with the triple trees and see where we go from there.

  Have a 82 FLTC stock tree's, I can pull 25k + out of the stock front tire and no cupping. Each bike is different.  

Quote from 2FLTC on September 16, 2020, 8:42 am

  Have a 82 FLTC stock tree's, I can pull 25k + out of the stock front tire and no cupping. Each bike is different.  

sure wish I could say that. I think headshake and front tires cupping is just a Goldwing thing. all 3 Wings I have had have done it, even when riding on 2 wheels 

This was a helpful thread to discover as I begin my SC journey. I'll start a fresh thread, and YES Barb's rig is "suuuweet"