I'm thinking about buying a sidecar for my Ultra for my wife to ride in when she wants to go out riding with me. Ive read that a new triple tree is needed, but that this screws up the handling when using it solo. I'd like to use it both ways (I still love leaning in the twisties!) - is this a pipedream?
A sidecar on an H-D rig is basically dedicated. If you like the twisties then you need to convince your wife that another bike is on the menu.
I can only speak for H-D's, but once the rig is set-up and dialed in it's best to leave it that way. I pulled my car off a few months ago for a 20k. Even though the fixed mounts and adjustments were left untouched, it still took three of us to shimmy the car back and forth and up and down to get the fittings back together.
To disconnect the car means disconnecting the juice brake, which means bleeding the rear brakes upon reconnection. I hate bleeding brakes.
The biggest drawback to taking the car off, especially after a few thousand miles, is tire wear. Tug tires wear flat, like a car. Leaning into the twisties with square tires will indeed be exciting.
FLH front forks perform just fine with stock triple trees.
Wait!!...an Ultra?.....and you need someplace for your wife to ride?.....I thought that's what the big comfy seat with armrests was for.
She has neck pain issues and even the cushy Ultra is a little hard on her.
Someone suggested a G Wing, but I don't care for the cocoon feel. Was hoping a hack would be better for her.
Originally written by CherryHog on 8/17/2008 8:52 AM
She has neck pain issues and even the cushy Ultra is a little hard on her.
Someone suggested a G Wing, but I don't care for the cocoon feel. Was hoping a hack would be better for her.
Find somebody who has one and can give her a ride in it. My wife hated the rocking motion of the suspended body and complained it made her feel like a bobble head doll and hurt her neck. She normally does not have neck problems. Yours may prefer the ride of an aftermarket sidecar like a Motorvation or Hannigan.
We got into sidecars for this specific reason. Since then, we have found that a neck support (like the one I used when I used to race cars) helps immensely, it keeps her head from twisting all over the place. (btw, we didn't fing the GoldWing any better than the RoadKing re: her neck issues with her as a passenger on the bike).greg
Originally written by CherryHog on 8/17/2008 8:52 AM
She has neck pain issues and even the cushy Ultra is a little hard on her.Someone suggested a G Wing, but I don't care for the cocoon feel. Was hoping a hack would be better for her.
I have a 03 ultra with Hd sidecar cuz my wife has a hip problem and couldn't swing that comfy seat. This was great for over 4 years till I bought a 88 wing with a Hannigan 2+2. We have put over 4 thousand miles on it in the last 2 months! Our 11 month grand son like the Hannigan better Too
The hack I'm looking at is a Hannigan Astro 2+2. Just wishing I could switch back and forth.
Originally written by CherryHog on 8/18/2008 5:56 PM
The hack I'm looking at is a Hannigan Astro 2+2. Just wishing I could switch back and forth.
I'll give you my formula, but be warned, it will get old after a while. First off, resign yourself to doing this at least every 800 to 1000 miles to combat the flat tread mentioned earlier.
Get a pair of these things from Harbor Freight.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32052
1. Lift the sidecar off of the ground and slide one under the tire.
2. slide the second one under the left frame rail of the sidecar and add a 4x4 or something to take up as much space as possibe.
3. Use a trailer tie down to secure this one to the frame or the sidecar will either tip forward or back.
4. Unplug your wiring to the sidecar and trailer hitch
5. Extend the kickstand and remove the top two strut mounting bolts from the bike and lean it on to the kickstand.
6. Remove the bottom two bolts and slide the sidecar straight out and away from the bike.
It will take some experimenting to get the second dolly set at the correct height and positioned to balance correctly front to back, but once you do it honestly becomes a ten minute task.
An added benefit is you can now easily roll it anywhere in the garage. I used to have to separate the Goldwing from it's sidecar in winter so they could be sqeezed into separate spots for winter storage.
Over the years I've done this with a half dozen different bike sidecar combinations and have not found one that didn't work out this way.
I have not, however, worked on one with integrated brakes that need to be bled.
My wife and I went and tried out the Hannigan this weekend, and she found it a large improvement in comfort, even over bumps. Are there any photos around of the mounts on an HD (EG type preferable). I was looking over my bike last night - can see where the front mounts would probably go, but not sure about the rear with the bags and cover over the ECM area.
Originally written by CherryHog on 8/17/2008 8:34 AM
I'm thinking about buying a sidecar for my Ultra for my wife to ride in when she wants to go out riding with me. Ive read that a new triple tree is needed, but that this screws up the handling when using it solo. I'd like to use it both ways (I still love leaning in the twisties!) - is this a pipedream?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Modified trees will make steering easier. Some are more sensitive to the stock harder steering than others. I would suggest trying it in stock form for a while and make th ecall after you get more used to it. Yes, it will seem very hard at first but in time will tend to seem easier. If you do swap trees riding the bike solo shoudl not be done.
The flat worn tires may or may not be an issue for you. If you look at the rear tires on many solo bikes you will find they too are worn pretty flat. Running a lot of miles on the interstate with a solo bike makes for flat wearing tires.
Originally written by claude #3563 on 8/25/2008 4:16 AM
Originally written by CherryHog on 8/17/2008 8:34 AM
I'm thinking about buying a sidecar for my Ultra for my wife to ride in when she wants to go out riding with me. Ive read that a new triple tree is needed, but that this screws up the handling when using it solo. I'd like to use it both ways (I still love leaning in the twisties!) - is this a pipedream?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Modified trees will make steering easier. Some are more sensitive to the stock harder steering than others. I would suggest trying it in stock form for a while and make th ecall after you get more used to it. Yes, it will seem very hard at first but in time will tend to seem easier. If you do swap trees riding the bike solo shoudl not be done.
The flat worn tires may or may not be an issue for you. If you look at the rear tires on many solo bikes you will find they too are worn pretty flat. Running a lot of miles on the interstate with a solo bike makes for flat wearing tires.
As far a tires go on Harleys. I've never gotten too many miles out of a rear standard Dunlop. They all seem to get pretty ragged with or without a sidecar after around 6-8K miles. I have heard that the Dulop Elite II's will get a few more miles. I ran Dunlop Elite II's on my former 1994 Gold Wing and they got a lot more miles than my Harley does. I think the ELite III's have a harder compound.
A set of modified trees would be an excellent idea if you intend to dedicate the bike to the sidecar. As You say here, it's not good for solo work. There's a lot of labor to change them also. The dealer wanted 4 hours @ 95.00 per hour. The hours seem reasonable but the money is pretty high for a shop rate. I'd do it myself and it would take me more like two days the way I work. LOL
I see where Harley is using the D407 Multi-Tread Dunlops on the '09 tourers. Harder center tread and softer shoulder compound for longer mileage.
Food for thought if they come in your needed size.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Originally written by Hack'n on 8/25/2008 3:16 PM
I see where Harley is using the D407 Multi-Tread Dunlops on the '09 tourers. Harder center tread and softer shoulder compound for longer mileage.
Food for thought if they come in your needed size.Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Excellent idea. I shall look into those. The stock Dunlops don't last long.
You guys simply amaze me, a lot of bikers could care less about the comfort of their mates. Kudos for all of you. My life is greatly simplified, my SO sends me along on my own and figures I'll find my way home eventually... Occasional short outings into town for Saturday morning breakfasts seem to satisfy her wanderlust. How lucky can one guy get?
LL
http://larrylarry75.blogspot.com
