steering

Check your toe in and leanout. Check it with the sidecar and bike loaded for normal use(driver and passenger aboard, suspension compressed).
Also check the sidecar wheel lead.

Sidecars often do steer harder than solo bike, but mis-alignment or excessive lead will make this worse. Steering modifications to reduce trail can alleviate the problem, but make sure you have the rig set up correctly before spending the money.

Some rigs just wobble, but again, you want to make sure there are no problems with the outfit before you try and do anything about it. Check your tire pressures and condition, check your sidecar mounts, make sure they are tight. Make sure the wheel bearings and steering head bearings are in good shape and not loose or notchy. Anything loose or worn in the steering, wheels or suspension can cause a wobble, as can mis-alignment. I'd start with tire pressure, sidecar mounts and toe-in.

Don't forget to check the swing arm bearings/bushings, the bike is old enough for them to be worn and a very little movement in the pivot multiplies into a lot of movement because of the length of the swing arm and to get it to steer easier you may have to move the front wheel out, my Honda was nearly impossible to turn right untill I had the triple tree modified.

My honda was also the same as Shadow 1100T

http://vimeo.com/997615

Thanks all,,,,,,,I'll check out all these things,,,talked to dealer today and he said he has it leaning in instead of out to help keep sidecar down in right turns,,,,,,,,,,,,,,told him sidecar always wants to track to the right and he said to bring it out tomorrow and it need toe in a little more,,,,,,,I'm going to get him to lean it out as well,,,, i'd rather be set up the way it should be and put some weight in car instead of leaning it in. I'll see where I'm at after I check every thing out as well....thanks,,,,pat

Rather than just taking it in, why don't you take some measurements and try setting it up yourself. Hal's manuals are available here on this website. From what you are saying, it sounds like you might end up with the sidecar leaning in and a ton of toe in if you have your dealer set it up. Hard to say, just playing the internet guessing game without the rig in front of me, but it doesn't sound like his initial set up makes much sense.

Thanks RedMenace,,,,,,,,I always do all my own work,,,,,what happened was,,,I talked to this guy about the sidecar because I just wanted to get a used one to carry my german shepherds and he gets used ones from time to time,,,,he didn't have any and I decided to go for the new one,,,,he said $3200 installed,,,,,I called valorex and they said best they could do was $3200 delivered and I'd install.....Well it was $3200 installed but add the tax,,,he cut me a small break and total was $3400....but any way he took me in at 8am this morning and I told him to set it up like it was his own,,,,as I was waiting for my ride home he was setting up the lines and layed down some straight bars with a measuring tape in fromt and in back,,,,I took a peak and it was 55 in in front and the same in back,,,,,there was no toe in at all,,,,,and like I said it was also leaning in,,,,,,,,,,to make a long story short (I guess to late for that) I tested it out and on level ground it does lean out now,,and there probably is some toe in now,,(still have to measure),,,wobble not as bad and just a very slight right turn on straight roads,,,,most roads here in Pittsburgh Pa do grade down to the right side for rain run off,,,but I told him everything was good and bought him a case of miller draft,, Now everything will be on me and I'll be checking everything my self like I should of done in the first place,,,,Glad I found this site when I did a sidecar forum search,,,,and your reply is exactly what I needed,,,,,I just retired from the post office and at 58 years old I have a lot of fun to catch up on (with my dogs) plan on taking one down to daytona for the october feast,,,,,I'm headed to camp up in the mountains,,about a 75 mile ride,,,,I have all the family up for fathers day, I figure if it keeps this slight right turn more than 75% of the time,,,then I'll do what ever it takes to make it track straight,,,,,,I noticed that every time I'd look over at my dog I'd go off to the right,,,,just a little now,,,and also right turns take a lot less effort than left turns. I'll be back from camp on thursday and then I'll be checking everything,,,,probably be reposting on friday or saturday,,,,,Thanks for all your help and I'm sure I'll be needing more if everything checks out good and the measurements are correct...
...Thanks,,,,Pat,,,,(the Shepherd)

P.S. I didn't think his initial set up made sense either,,,,,wheel does come up easier in right turns now,,,,,but it's like learning twice and only created other problems,,,,,,

also right turns take a lot less effort than left turns.
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Ahhhhh, something isn't right, rights's are harder than lefts, guess you have to move things around untill there both the same.

Ahhhhh, something isn't right, rights's are harder than lefts, guess you have to move things around untill there both the same

Be getting to the bottom of it on thursday,,,,(left turns are harder than right turns) This is a good reason to just do things yourself

I think you might find it depends on the speed and the load you are carrying. Right turns are often easier than lefts because: the sidecar drags you that way, the road camber pulls you that way and acceleration pushes you that way. Set it up so it feels neutral in a straight line at the speed you spend the most time at on the road you ride the most. Everything else will be a compromise and turns will require learning and mastering some technique. Take a class if you can....

Set it up so it feels neutral in a straight line at the speed you spend the most time at on the road you ride the most

That's exactly what I want

I think you might find it depends on the speed and the load you are carrying. Right turns are often easier than lefts because: the sidecar drags you that way,
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That sure isn't how my fully loaded sidecar handled when I drove it back to Wa. from Virginia, right turns were nearly impossible, I had to turn using every bit of strength I could muster and it got a little hairy at times like down hill off camber right turns 🙁 something you don't soon forget,,,trust me, the semi trailer I was trying to go under left a very large impression on my memory.,,,,First thing I fixed.

Shadow1100T - 6/19/2010 6:44 PM

I think you might find it depends on the speed and the load you are carrying. Right turns are often easier than lefts because: the sidecar drags you that way,
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That sure isn't how my fully loaded sidecar handled when I drove it back to Wa. from Virginia, right turns were nearly impossible, I had to turn using every bit of strength I could muster and it got a little hairy at times like down hill off camber right turns 🙁 something you don't soon forget,,,trust me, the semi trailer I was trying to go under left a very large impression on my memory.,,,,First thing I fixed.

Do you still have that rig? Do you ever find yourself near Hood River? Bring it by and let's take a look at it...

I still have it and it's for sale, I put the Steerite trees on and that fixed it real nice, gonna get another rig 🙂