I am curious about the people using the velorex U-clamp assembly on their bike frames. I am using a sportster kit on the back upper and lower mounts from the WARK SHOP. Will the "U" clamps be tough enough buy it self or do I NEED aditional strengthening. And if so what are you doing. I do not want to weld to the frame. My bike is a '01 883 sportster. Also the 05 Velorex 562 has only 1 bolt holding the curved bracket in a pinch bolt situation. Has anyone got any additional ideas or solutions that they are using?
Sincerly,
Preacher
On the Velorex the wheel lead is set by where you place the front lower frame clamp. We have found that to use it you end up with to much wheel lead as you have to put the clamp on the front down tube facing forward to get around the exhaust system. We make a sub frame kit that gives you your upper front and both lowers that solves this problem. As we normaly only get Velorex sidecars in the shop after they have been mounted else where and the owners are tired of the mounts moving around on both the bike and the sidecar so when they are in the shop we usualy weld on 1 1/2 pinch clamp mounts to the sidecar frame and then we can use our standard "boss and clamp" mounts and hiem joints. This allows us to set the wheel lead and track width any where we want it with out being limited by the Velorex mounts. Also with hiem joints you can adjust the lean out with out adjusting in stress to the mounting system. With the stock Velorex mounts you are attaching eye bolt to eye bolt, This works out ok when you have the bolts to the eye bolts going in leval with the ground but if they needed to be at an angle to line up some thing has to bend, give or flex to set the toe. Also with this set up you can take the sidecar on and off with out the need to align it each time.
Jay Giese
Dauntless Motors Corporation
www.dauntlessmotors.com
866-638-1793
I have mounted hundreds of Velorex sidecars with the OEM U-clamp assemblies. If mounted correctly there have been no significant problems. A few cases of rotation of the clamp ass'ys. have occured caused mostly from impact or overloading, but with a couple of small spot welds on the clamp strap this is eliminated. Any bolt-on clamp can slip when attached to a painted surface as this is not a solid base to clamp onto.
With the stock factory connectors (Clevis to eye, not eye to eye) there is no change in alignment when the sidecar is removed and reinstalled. Just line up the bolts and it is aligned as it was before.
Velorex is one of the very few Manufacturers that are constantly improving their product. Current model 562s are numbering in the high 301,000s so they must be doing something right.
There are several sources of specialized mounting bits specific to certain motorcycles that will enhance the "Universal" (what is?) mounting system that comes with each unit. The same applies to many sidecars that are priced much higher than the Velorex models and come with a lot less standard accessories.
Due to the short lower frame on the pre-rubbermount Sportys, I sub-frame the rear mount for good triangulation and a more rigid setup.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecar
Preacher,
I ran a Velorex 700 on my R/75 for about 2 months using the stock clamps and all was acceptable but... you have to watch the clamps because they do tend to move. I am now using just one u clamp for the bottom of the rear strut as I just couldn't get proper triangulation using the rear mount that is attached to the car chassis. I eliminated the rest by using one of Dauntless Motors subframes as I really felt the beemer frame needed the help. Only have 2200 miles on it and I check the mounts on a regular basis but I have yet to find anything has shifted. The lower rear slide mount was tacked once I was sure I had eveything where I wanted it because I didn't want to chance it rotating but that is all the welding I did.
By the way, I am out here on the east coast with no one around to help with the initial setup and Bob Wark was great about walking me through things and being sure I wasn't doing something hazardous.
Kurt
Post '69 Beemers all need special mount brackets due to the lack of a full perimeter frame. R's are easiest, K's are toughest.
Some use full sub-frames (especially on the K's) others like Perry's Ft.Worth don't.
Some riggers switch strut positions of the rear Velo mount, with the sliding clamp assembly for better triangulation. This is quite acceptable.
As is spot welding U-clamp straps, if desired.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecar
I have mounted a lot of sidecars using no subframe altuogh a good sibframe is desirable for many good reasons.. Some bikes IMHO should have one and some simply require one. Overall almost any setup will benfit from the use of a subframe. Why? Simple...with a subframe the rigger can place the mounting points where it is felt is the best position for proper triagulation and less chance of slippage. Subframes also add much strength to the overall hookup and take a lot of the concerns with concentrated stess away from any given mount. They also prevent concerns with the motorcycle frame itself from being a problem.
All mounts Should share the load by working together. Sometimes if a mount failed it may not be that particular mount's fault but rather that it was being asked to carry more load then it should have while another one was just not doing it's job.
As far as the velorex strap clamps go on the frame of a bike they will work but the placement of them is critical to prevent slippage. Aligning the mount with the strut in a straight line is by far the best to alleviate rotational forces. The farther the mount is already rotated on the frame tube in relation to the strut the more of a hinge effect is in place and the more chance of rotation is there. If it is not possible to get away from this type of deal on a given bike it is best to somehow brace that mount (strap clamp) to another one on maybe the opposite frame tube. I have also run struts between struts with movable pinch blocks to make a mounting system less apt to move. Bandaid? Yep, but sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do.
I am not a big fan of welding a strap clamp to a motorcycle frame. Mountrs can be welded to a cycle frame but th eperson doing ot needs to knowwhat they are doing. If someone os going to go to that trouble (I have done it)The why even use th estrp clamp to begin with..go ahead and fab up a decent permanent mount and do itright. I am also not in favor of tightening a u/bolt type clamp in such a way as to 'dimple' the bike frame as was mentioned at a setup seminar at the LaCrosse rally (Unbelievable but true!!).
The picnch block type clamp on the lower rear of th evelorex frame is a completely differnt story. Yes, some seem to work okay at least fro a while...Yes, most seem to slip at sometime of another. Get it where it works and weld that sucker or secure it in some positive fashion. In all fairness You can many times get that clamp positioned in such a way to deter it from slipping. (To be candid I think it is an ugly, overbuilt underdesignd, non-effecient mouunt and usually just pitch it.)
My 2 cents or so ...
