MC is a '78 BMW R100RS converted to R100RT.
Bike was a cafe racer style. Changed to ride upright.
Acquired a Velorex side car (do not know which or or how to tell which)
Mounted the car with hardware that came with sidecar. Part of hardware came apart, and I entered a parking lot between a utility pole and its guide wire.
Bought a kit from a recommended side-car dealer. It beefs up the bike frame and strengthens the mounting. Cannot remember who he is, believe he is a member here.
There has been no problems with the kit. But steering the bike is very difficult, requires a lot of strength. Riding is dangerous.
Learned the triple tree braces need to be replaced.
Here lies my problem. The RT fairing mounts to the frame with a bracket that bolts to the frame tube. The "dog ears" that hold the headlight bucket are part of that bracket. Seems if the new fork trees are installed the fairing bracket interferes with the forks when turning.
I like the look of the RT fairing. I have no problem with taking off just the lowers or the part the forks go through. But, I understand that will not solve the problem. It is suggested I replace the fairing completely, and install one that has a bracket that will allow free movement of the forks.
I prefer not to do that, if possible. However, I am retired, and do not have unlimited funds to make major modifications. I am already out much more than I had planned.
Anyone with suggestions? I am open to most any.
Thanks
Sarge
Sarge,
The issue is reducing "trail" to decrease your steering effort. A good explanation can be found at http://www.sidestrider.com/leadingfork.html. The least expensive solution for your steering effort issue might be something called "Leading Legs" instead of the traditional solution which is a proper leading link front end. Leading legs move the front axle forward to decrease lead and improve [lower] steering effort. A set of leading links mounts in your current triple tree and might not be an issue for your fairing. Do some "Googleing" for a US source for leading legs. The third option is to have your triple tree modified but that's almost as much as a set of leading links.
Leading links will work on this bike with this fairing but not with the rubber boots that go around the forks, other wise they will work fine. We make leading links for your bike, as Al said legs might be a better option, less money usually and they would allow you to keep the rubber boots however we do not offer these, the only way we could build them is with the bike in our shop. More then likely you are running our sub frames. It might also be possible to do this with custom triple tree's where the lower tree is moved out while the upper tree is moved in, I do not know, never tried on this type of BMW, we usually only do this on bikes with larger fork tube diameters as the main reason we went with leading links is do to fork flex that was common with bikes of this era.
Other then links either from us or from other companies there may not be an off the shelve answer to your needs. You might as Perry at Perry's motorcycles and sidecars in Fort Worth, he does a lot of work with the air heads, he does have a triple tree set up however I have no idea if it works with your fairing.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
I talked with Perry just a few days ago, and he is the primary source for the info on the likely fairing problem. A local wrench who specializes in airheads thinks keeping the current fairing is a write off
I would never have thought that putting on a sidecar would blossom into an absolute migraine which is throbbing in my posterior cranial fossa.
Sarge 🙁
Sarge,
Don't give up on the fairing so easily. There are many similar bikes with sidecars and fairings. It might take a little thinking but it IS possible.
BTW, I agree with Jay, leading links are the way to go but they are more expensive. The issue with keeping your sliders is that they are not designed to withstand any side loading. That's fine for a solo bike because no matter what the attitude of the bike, the sliders are in line with the stress [unless you are about to have a very bad day]. In sidecar use there is a lot of side loading every time you make a turn. Sliders can sometimes stick or fail outright. THIS IS NOT a warning that sliders won't work, just that they are "sub optimal' in this application. The skinnier they are, the more prone to failure.
Leading legs solve the steering effort issue and for many, that's enough. They do not address the inherent short comings of sliders for sidecar use. I attached a couple of pictures from a site in the UK so you can s better see how leading legs work. You've chosen not to tell us where you are so I can't suggest a local fitter who might do the job. 'Sorry about the quality but I didn't take the pix and I don't know how to make them smaller so they'd look better.
Thanks, Al
Pic show enough detail I imagine.
I am in Houston, TX
