Ok folks here's a curly one.
I have a Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 Classic LT with a DJP sidecar. I'm in Australia so it's on the left.
New rules here have been introduced and there is a few issues that I've had to sort out mostly relating to the correct bolt etc to fasten the chair with.
My biggest issue is my rig is too heavy !!! The Australian Design Rules state that any motor vehicle with a unloaded wieght of more than 450kg must be able to move itself both forward and backward with the driver seated in the normal driving position.
The question is, does anyone know of a method of making this beast move backward. Apart from the wife pushing it !
kimbo
Electric Caravan mover on the s/c wheel? You can always take it off after the fitness inspection
I think these rules don't apply to sidecars.
From what I can see the > 450kg reverse gear is for LEM1 and LEP1 Trikes (VSB 14 - ICV Guidelines for LE1 Motor Tricycles dated Jan 2011).
Do you have any references ?
We export our sidecars to Australia and none of our customers have ever had issues needing reverse. We are shipping one of our Expedition sidecars this week to Australia and I am sure that there will be no issues.
We do have a way we can add an electric reverse but it is ugly, complicated and we usually only use it for people who are disabled. We start with a winch, make a drum to where the cable was and then use an actuator to pull it against the rear wheel of the bike.
I have attached a photo of our Expedition sidecar like we ship to Australia.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
Hi Barry, I think you may be correct. I have just found the ADR 42/04. Finding any of these rules is a nightmare !
Under ADR 42/04 in Section 16 it states:
16 REVERSE GEAR
All motor vehicles, excepting non-enclosed LE vehicles with an ‘Unladen Mass’ of less than 450 kg and LA; LB; LC; and LD vehicles, must be capable of being so
operated by the driver from the normal seating position that they may be propelled both forwards or backwards
The ADR 42/04 category for a Motorcycle and Side-car is LD.
Therefore it is eliminated from this rule if read as; "excepting non-enclosed LE vehicles with an ‘Unladen Mass’ of less than 450 kg and LA; LB; LC; and LD vehicles"
I'll be taking this up the the guys who certify the bike. I think he may have miss read it. None the less, he is the man who signs the cirtification so sadly he is the one who has to be satisfied.
I did come up with a solution to the problem, a motorized caravan jockey wheel will fit between the chair and the rear wheel. If mounted on a swivel it can be lowered to contact the ground and drive the outfit backward. While this would be very handy at times I'd rather not fit it as it will look rather odd and be combersome and add 13kg the the weight.
jaydmc - 12/6/2014 2:09 AM
We export our sidecars to Australia and none of our customers have ever had issues needing reverse. We are shipping one of our Expedition sidecars this week to Australia and I am sure that there will be no issues.
We do have a way we can add an electric reverse but it is ugly, complicated and we usually only use it for people who are disabled. We start with a winch, make a drum to where the cable was and then use an actuator to pull it against the rear wheel of the bike.
I have attached a photo of our Expedition sidecar like we ship to Australia.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
Hi Jay, Your outfits would not weigh in at over 450kg would they ? Anyway I think I may have solved the problem, as mentioned in my previous post. The man hasn't noticed the rake on the front forks yet ! I hope hes doesn't, don't need anymore hassles! He may not approve of the way that I resolved the problem caused when the triple tree was fitted. It lowered the front by 2 inches, so I had to have extensions made for the fork tubes to lift it back up. They are made from very heavy hollow tube that slides over the top of the fork tubes and I've covered about 15,000ks and had no problems so far.
PS........ if you have a spare one of those outfits feel free to send it my way 🙂
Hi Kim - yes trying to get your head around all the rules is fun, just because it doesn't mention something in one section, does not meant it won't crop up somewhere else.
My rig was built by Sean at SRK in 2010. Being from Bathurst, Sean has to satisfy NSW Rego Authorities. If you get stuck with a ruling, give him a call, I'm sure he will help you out by pointing to the right legal rules.
I 've since had my rig re-registered in both ACT and Tas. Canberra wanted a little more detail, but nothing that wasn't settled on the phone - instead of getting me to do the leg work, ACT Rego actually rang Sean themselves, surprise surprise. Tas was very easy, was all done by the local certified mechanic.
There is a ruling I noticed about front forkes, pretty sure it was in Section 14, that gives you a bit of lee-way on how far to stretch things, I think it's there to stop the HD ape-hanger/super stretch setups of years ago. Something like "The horizontal distance between midpoint of the steering yoke bearing and a point vertically above the centre of the front wheel must not exceed 550mm."
Again, I got an engineered Leading Link from Sean that is RTA approved, so nothing is standard on mine from the triple tree forward.
PS - love your avatar
A late update regarding my outfit and the Reverse Gear issue.
All is well, thanks to Barry for pointing out a few rules. rig was passed all OK, just pay the ferryman $650 and ride away. Sounds like a lot of money but now that I'm all legal if anything goes wrong it will be money well spent as the insurance company wont be able to find a loophole to avoid paying out.
