newbie here!!! i got my sidecar on and we are both working well with a few hundred miles on together. at speeds of 40-65mph the rig is quite stable! i have some unwanted front fork shake and shimmy at slow speeds up to about 35 mph or so. if i install a steering damper, will it reduce or eliminate the shake, rattle and roll??? i adjusted (tightened) my steering head bearings (they weren't that loose) and it didn't seem to make much difference.
thanks, joe
Hey Joe- just out of curiosity, what kind of bike and tub do you have, and what's your air pressure?
i'm using a 75 yamaha 650cc vertical twin and the hack is a 70's american eagle! i'm running (last i checked) about 40-42 psi front and rear and about 32-35psi on the hack.
Sounds liek you wil have a nice combination after you get it sorted out a little.
You can play with air pressure some and see if it makes some difference. Make the steering head bearings a little tighter than stock setting is also good.
Spoked wheels? Check them closely.
Make sure the pivots are in good shape.
Wheel bearing shoudl be checked closley too.
Playing with toe in and even wheel lead can sometimes help too.
If the wobble is what is many times the typical nuisence wobble that is common with many sidecar rigs and is not a real issue with your hands on the bars you may want to try it a while without installing a damper. Many nebies jump right into installing a damper and then complain about harder steering when they may very well be able to get by without one. There really are more rigs out there wiht dampers on them that probably did nto need one than the reverse.
Food for thought anyhow 🙂
Originally written by jammer on 5/20/2007 6:04 PM
i'm using a 75 yamaha 650cc vertical twin and the hack is a 70's american eagle! i'm running (last i checked) about 40-42 psi front and rear and about 32-35psi on the hack.
that air pressure seems kinda high.try it with the front about 32-34 and rear at 40. SC tire no more than 25 ..soft..the tires will get more bite with less pressure..and As Claude mentioned, tighten the head bearings up some more. with the front wheel off the floor the front end should not flop left or right. make it resist the movement a bit.
Bob wrote:
>>SC tire no more than 25 ..soft..<<
Oh well Bob I do just the opposite and run a lot of air in the sidecar tire. Always figured the less rolling resistance over there the better.
thanks to all who responded for my cry for help. i did re-tighten my steering head bearing tighter then i normally would and am now running 7-9 psi less air in the front tire. i can now take my hand off the handlebars at slow speeds (up to 35-40 mph) around town and it doesn't want to shake, rattle, and roll. i think it will handle even better after i install a new tire up front. this sure is becoming a fun experience. and i am still not running any ballast in the hack. just using extra body lean into fast right turns.
once again, thanks, joe
40 bsa
46 chief
64 superhawk
68 dream
73 Z-1
73 norton
75 yamaha/am. eagle
98 roadking
wow!
great collection of vintage bikes!
