I removed the sidecar from the bike and I have begun riding it solo even though I HAVE THE TRIPLE TREE MODIFICATIONS ( ez steer). I have heard this could be a problem but I have even been on the highway at 130km /hour without any problems. I have a smaller back tire by 3 inches on the diameter than stock so I have to assume this has affected the trail angle in a good way to enable me to ride . Am I wrong . I am interested in your comments
I have found that with modified steering when you go into a corner with out the sidecar you have to apply a lot more pressure to the handle bars to counter steer to make the bike lean. Then once in the corner you must maintian the pressure as if you do not unlike an unmodified bike the bike will stand up and go straight rather then hold the line in the corner.
A smaller diameter rear wheel will change the "rake" angle on the frame which does effect the amount of trail it also however lowers your ground clearence for cornering. While you may be getting away with this, what happens if you have to take some evasive manuvers, will the bike handle in a predictable mannor? Most likley not, riding with modified steering and a different wheel on the back (that has also been worn more "flat") is not a good idea.
Saftey must come first.
As always I recomend taking a sidecar class www.esc.org
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
jay@dmcsidecars.com
rmoriss2 - 3/19/2012 5:36 PM
I removed the sidecar from the bike and I have begun riding it solo even though I HAVE THE TRIPLE TREE MODIFICATIONS ( ez steer). I have heard this could be a problem but I have even been on the highway at 130km /hour without any problems. I have a smaller back tire by 3 inches on the diameter than stock so I have to assume this has affected the trail angle in a good way to enable me to ride . Am I wrong . I am interested in your comments[/QUOTE
It's possible that your unnamed motorcycle had an excess of trail and when modified, the remaining trail would still permit it to track adequately on the road. As a general rule, reduced trail will make a solo motorcycle unstable.
The unnamed motorcycle is a 97 Honda shadow 1100. I have noticed that I lean to the left slightly but the bike is still reasonably stable. It was almost impossible to turn before the modifications with a sidecar on so this bike must have excessive trail.
rmoriss2 - 3/21/2012 4:31 AM
The unnamed motorcycle is a 97 Honda shadow 1100. I have noticed that I lean to the left slightly but the bike is still reasonably stable. It was almost impossible to turn before the modifications with a sidecar on so this bike must have excessive trail.
Hi,
I once owned a 1993 Honda VT1100 Shadow and except for the four-speed transmission it was an excellent motorcycle. Unfortunately they changed to four speeds in that period. The earlier ones had six speeds and they changed in the 1990's to four speeds for a while. It made it very difficult to ride so out it went.
I recall that the Shadow had a strange fork rake and trail. The front wheel was really "out there" and I suspect that this had more to do with looks than handling. It was what I would call "super stable". I had a throttle lock on it and you could set it for 60 mph, take your hands off of the bars and, even leaning left or right with your knees on the fuel tank, it was nearly impossible to move it off of a straight line. It had "arrow stability". That tells me that it had an excess of trail, which you cured partially by changing the trees. Thus, there is probably still plenty of trail left for solo work.
On Harley rigs, which are my only area of knowledge in sidecars, you wouldn't want to ride a bike solo once the triple trees were changed for reduced rake. I've done this on a friend's bike and it was not very much fun. In their sidecar manuals, Harley also specifically recommends against solo work once there have been changes made to the trail settings.
Good luck.
Former 1960tees Beamer, Borrough Superior and MZ until 1974 had 2 axle holes in the earles fork. 1 for solo 1 for sidecar riding. Might be as mentioned that your set up is still inside the handable area.
But since I once was forced to jump off my Norton Commando at 85kmh in Death Valley because of high speed wobble, that started at 125kmh (some hit inside the gear box), I would not recommend to make your experiment at more then 70kmh=40mph.
The broken foot had only one good aspect... I did not need to watch the mostly erratic weather forcast for over 15 years.
While I occasionally do that on my Valkyrie (with SideEffects steering mod), it definitely impacts the handling. Going straight is fine. It's slow to turn in in the curves, but manageable for an occasional ride like that. I also have a partial subframe for the lower mounts and have to make sure I don't lean too far to the right in the curves so I don't drag the front mount. It's all do-able, but not really enjoyable. That's why I keep a real 2 wheeler in the stable, too.
I rode my Gold Wing the other year when I had the chair off to replace the rear tire. I wouldn't recommend riding it that way. As has been said you have to make the bike do everything, lean, straighten up, etc. I did get it up to 60 mph or so and it is surprisingly stable the faster you go but if you had to brake and maneuver fast to avoid an obstacle, you might not be able to make it react to the situation. Just my thoughts.
Ralph
