The subject of sway bars, and their benefits has been commented on before, but I thought I would add my 2c.
I have a V Strom 1000 with a Ural SC, work done by Dauntless last spring. I was happy with the work, and initially happy with the way it drove. I had both TILT and leading legs installed from the get go.
However, as I got used to the rig, and the power of the Strom, I started noticing some of the suspension limitaions.
A friend is very handy, and offered to help sort it out. 1st, we (he) added Wilbur springs to the rear shock and front forks. This made a tremendous difference as the Strom is sprung weak from the factory, and the weight of the SC was just too much. I also added wider and more pullbacked handlebars which helped quite a bit with the steering (even though I already had the leading legs).
Thursday, I picked it up with the swaybar completed. Griff used a bar from a local shop which supplis parts for dirt trackers, midgets, etc. He connected it with heim (sp?)joints to the bike's swing arm and SC arm. We used the lightest duty sway bar they made with steel splined arms bent to fit.
I am in Prescot, Ariz as I type, having put about 600 miles on it, in all type of conditions. Could not be happier. It is very improved, both in left and right turns, but also in going over bumps, ruts, etc. Seems like a new bike. Really noticeable on high speed sweeping right turns, it used to un nerve me as it felt like the car was going to lift. Also, in hard lefts, there is more "suspension" so it doesn't feel like it's going to cartwheel as easily.
The only issue we need to evauate is the preload on the bar and the TILT. They seem to conflict, i.e. raising the SC adds preload. Perhaps we will set zero preload with the SC raised a bit, as a compromise? All in all, if it's an issue, I would happily forego the TILT for the swaybar. The wider handles bars accomplish much of what the TILT does (albeit not as eloquently), and the swaybar ROCKS.
From my experince,if I were doing this over, I would get a swaybar 1st, then see if I needed TILT, and then evaluate the issues with having both.
Any ideas on the preload would be appreciated.
greg
Glad to hear you got the swaybar installed Greg and that you have noticed the difference it has made in handling. As far as preload goes it is something you may want to just experiment with. If your rig is happy most of the time at a certain tilt setting then maybe you will want to set up the bar with no preload at that point with you on the bike. If you used links like we spoke of on the phone all you have to do is unhook one side of the bar, sit on the bike and then adjust the link so the attachment bolt goes through with no effort. (Note that if you used a makle heim screwed into a female you shoudl have a jam nut on the connection of the two.) From there you will still be able to use your tilt adjuster and it will still help. I have found that with a good swaybar the use of the tilt is used far less often that with out a swaybar. This is due to the bar working for you automatically. If you used a splined end bar you can also change the placement of the torsion arms on the bar easily. Be carful not to mess up the splines especially if you used alumnunim arms. Also if you used a standard length splined end bar as we had discussed there are many options out there for different sizes or bars. Dont be afraid to experiment with different bars. I have got to where we usually use a fairly heavy bar on these dual sport rigs if the rig runs the twisites on pavement. There are , of course, other factors involved such as torsion arm lenghts and where the arm is linked to the swingarm on the bike and on the sidecar. All of these things will affect handling. If it is possible to play with the effective lengths of the torsion arms or where they mount to the swingarms you will find some neat fine tuning options there too. Unequal length arms can produce some interesting results. Note that after you run the bar for a while you may see it has begun to act a little different than when it was new. This is normal and is nothing to be alarmed about. If the bar is a really light one this will happen sooner and you them=n may want to replace it with a heavier bar. When you do go off into the really rough stuff it is best to unhook one linked end of the bar and just let the bar 'float' in it bushings. If you used the derlin bushings it is still best to put some type of grease on them. With no grease you will begin to hear some squeaking after a while. No big deal on the race cars but can be irritating on a sidecar rig. Brass bushings with a grease fitting are an option but can be a pain to install. If you do decide to go that route get the ones with a lip on the end (They look like a hat). Brass bushings or the oillite bronze ones usually have to be reamed out to size. 'Sloppy' is not a bad thing here..too tight is an issue. If you have any concerns of the torsion arms coming off you can, if you used a hollow bar, run a piece of threaded rod through the bar with a nut and washer on each end. Not really necessary but not a bad idea. Make darn sure all connections are tight and secure at all times. The last thing you want to have happen is to be cooking through a turn , leaning on the bar, and have any kind of failure. Again, glad to see you all took th etime to do the swaybar thing and hope you will continue to like it.
This is interesting! Do I understand right that with an anti-swaybar installed, that using the electric lean device can adversly affect the swaybar? I hadn't thought about that till now, but I guess it makes sense. Raising or lowering the sidecar swingarm will twist the anti-swaybar, right? On my recently completed rig, a BMW R100RS with a Motorvation Formulla ll, the rigger did install an anti-swaybar, and the sidecar came with electric lean. Though I haven't yet used the electric lean, as I haven't re-wired a switch to it, I do feel that the anti-swaybar makes for a greatly improved ride over my last rig. My passenger has commented on the improved ride also. I haven't tried the new rig with the anti-swaybar disconnected though so the improved ride could be partially due to the heavier, wider rig dimensions. (previous rig is a BMW R75/5/Dnepr) Here is a link to a photo collection of my new rig. Photos 19, 23, 24, and 35 show the anti-swaybar:
http://pfestus1.smugmug.com/gallery/412601#121758199
hANK, I don't think 'Adversely'is the right word. The swaybar will work fine and so will your tilt adjustor. You will find that you do not use the tilt adjustor as much as you would without the swaybar. Once you find where the tilt is the happiest then you can adjust the swaybar to be unloaded at that point. If you don't it is not that big a deal but I like to leave to 'slack' at a position chosen and not preloaded. The thing will ride nicer that way as a rule. As you know Gary and I comunicate quite a bit. Funny but I have never discussed his thoughts on this tilt question. He builds swaybars a little diferent than I do but the principle is the same in either case. Run your question by him and I think he will say about the same thing. Not a huge issue really.
