Lonnie:Yes, Purp-in-de-cooler.. I worked late and just had arisen when I typed the reply. Good pointers all.
My apology, it wasn't you that mentioned the hitch, it was some other poster. That's a good thing, the T100 just don't have the 'ooomph for that, at least not for the long haul.
Tom, to the best of my knowledge has no subframe whatsoever and I have the pictures of his outfit right here in front of me.
My mount is different than Tom's in as much as I have no intention of ever dismounting the chair except for routine service, whereas Tom uses his bike solo. The major difference in Tom's mount is the peice of 1/4" mild steel plate for the lower/center mount where I have a saddle mount.
I have a little "fidget" on washboard surfaces as well, but I attribute that not to an ill handling situation but to the fact that I have a spaced wheel running not in a common centerline but a leading centerline to the bike itself. The wobble-wiggle transmitted to the bike itself by the sidecar wheel is causing the fidget
Triumph recommends specifically, checking the headstock bearing pre-load at 500 miles. This check for pre-load was added in later model years and I presume that there may have been some issue as to the factory pre-load setting. Adding a sidecar to a solo bike, especially one that wasn't originally designed for a sidecar put added strain on all bearings in the frame, wheels, etc., and on the non sprung components. The torsional strain add's stress to the spokes (remember broken spokes NTBF).
You are correct about the pressures. Page 14.8 of the factory shop manual states states 33/38 respectively for the stock Battalax tires. I run them at that pressure and check them before each ride. The tubed tires seem to loose pressure over time.
I don't know about "slothful". My bike solo with one tooth up will blow off Mike's Silverstone. It's slothful compared to the R3, but then the R3 has 147 horses.
The trail according to the shop manual, agreed is 4.607" and the castor is 29 degrees.
The stock telescopic fork will never be an adequate replacement for a leading link fork and will always be a compromise. Of course, I built my outfit to appease myself and as a show bike. If I want to go on a long trip, my foremost choice is the R3, or if going somewhere at distance, the T100 will be trailered on the back of the motorhome. I've never considered the T100 either solo or chair fitted, to be a touring bike. A short hop bike, yes. A long haul tourer, no way. My posterior can't handle that. Guys that ride 'em across country must have buns of steel. I don't.
If I had my preference, I'd install a stem type friction plate damper as was fitted on the Meriden bikes. That way, you could dial don the friction for the chair and when solo, just back the knob off. Besides, the stem damper is in keeping with the classic stance of the machine.
You inquired and I answered based on my experiences with my outfit, nothing more. Good luck and enjoy your conversation piece.
"Tom, to the best of my knowledge has no subframe whatsoever and I have the pictures of his outfit right here in front of me."
Well, somebody has one, and the folks at Motorvation swear it's Tom. He told me that he doesn't recall making any such request, but the day I was at Motorvation they swore up and down that he had special mounts and showed me the photos of the mount relocations on his bike as opposed to the usual setup for the Bonneville. They consider the plates they created for the mount relocations to be sub frames. Their words. And that's all I have to say about that, to quote Forrest Gump.
"I don't know about "slothful". My bike solo with one tooth up will blow off Mike's Silverstone. It's slothful compared to the R3, but then the R3 has 147 horses."
I just meant that, while some people think the Bonneville is too busy on the highway with the 17 tooth sprocket, I've never had a problem with it. Unlike the old Bonnies, the new one is a modern overhead cam design with good counterbalancing. It doesn't mind revving a bit. It's not Yamaha R6 revvy, but it doesn't need to lounge around at 3500 rpm either. If the valves are adjusted and the carbs in sync and properly jetted, the engine is smooth well up toward the limiter.
Hal Kendall's book recommends lowering the gearing once a car is bolted on, so I thought I'd try it. Countershaft sprockets are cheap, and the swap is a 20 mintute deal. I'll lose a few mph off the top end, but can't imagine driving this rig at those speeds anyway. A little extra mechanical advantage can't hurt.
I asked about the sway bar because of previous threads on the subject. The guy who put one on his BMW GS based combo couldn't say enough good things about it, and about Claude's skills. Another post made the comment that many people spend time and money on suspension upgrades and endless tuning only to come to the conclusion that having completely independent suspensions for the bike and car is a compromise that can't be spent out of existence simply by buying more expensive shocks.
Certainly I have more driving experience to gain, and more tuning to try, before deciding to make a significant alteration to the car. I may never go down that road. I currently lack the experience with this setup to make that decision. And, adding a sway bar would be a technical challenge because of the somewhat unusual nature of the Spyder design. The integrated frame makes the car strong, and cosmetically clean. But it would make the addition of a sway bar less than straight forward.
-Kurt
Kurt wrote:
"I asked about the sway bar because of previous threads on the subject. The guy who put one on his BMW GS based combo couldn't say enough good things about it, and about Claude's skills. Another post made the comment that many people spend time and money on suspension upgrades and endless tuning only to come to the conclusion that having completely independent suspensions for the bike and car is a compromise that can't be spent out of existence simply by buying more expensive shocks.
Certainly I have more driving experience to gain, and more tuning to try, before deciding to make a significant alteration to the car. I may never go down that road. I currently lack the experience with this setup to make that decision. And, adding a sway bar would be a technical challenge because of the somewhat unusual nature of the Spyder design. The integrated frame makes the car strong, and cosmetically clean. But it would make the addition of a sway bar less than straight forward."
Kurt,
I would like to ask anyone to go back and read my posts in this thread.Never was a swaybar said to be the cureall for this situation. It will help almost any rig in my opinion but so can a trim adjuster of some type.
Unless soemone has run a rig with and without a working swaybar or tilt adjuster it is very diffcult to evaluate one. Never be afraid to ask what the experience is of the one posting the answers on these forums.
I think you, Kurt, have a good handle on what seems liek a plan of attack to get your rig handling in nice fashion. Please keep in mind that whatever setup you end up with now, early in your learning curve, may not be what you settle on for later. You are getting to know your rig and getting in seat time as well.
Post often,
