T.I.L.T. unit

I have "TILT" on my rigs. On extended stretches of road, depending on the crown of the road, the rig sometimes will pull to the right (or left). By adjusting the height of the SC, it will reduce or eliminate this. I am not very tecnical with SCs but I think it affects the lean out (?).

For me, I would not say it is necessary, but if you ride extended distances, it is pretty nice to have. I find it particularly helpful on the interstates, at higher speeds.

greg

Great feature to have.
It allows you to tilt the rig for changing conditions to provide ease of handling and take out any pull related to sidecar weight load, uphill running, side winds , crown of road variations etc.
It does not change the actual lean out of th ebike in relation to the sidecar itself but lifts up or lowers down the sidecar suspension to provide good tracking under all conditions.
I would say go for it.

One with and one without......I say it is worth the money as someone else said....long straight stretches it makes a big difference and also on heavier than normal loads.

I also have one with and one without a sidecar brake and suggest a brake if you can afford also!

Just my 2 cents!

My sidecar has it and to be honest I don't see how some of the sidecars get along with out it, emtey, loaded just trim it out and relax, it's Great, not cheap but Great to have.IM not so Humbel O 🙂

I have never ridden a sidecar-equipped motorcycle with a tilt mechanism. I have, however sat on one. A friend has a 1987 Harley with a Hannigan sidecar. It has tilt. I recall that when I moved the tilt lever for demonstration purposes the bike would lean left or right from center. The sidecar did not move at all, or at least very much.

I'm trying to figure out how raising or lowering the sidecar would change handling for a cambered road without also changing the angle of lean for the motorcycle. I presumed that the word "tilt" meant to tilt the bike and change lean angle. In any case, that was how the Harley-Hannigan combination was set up and the owner assured me that it worked very well on cambered roads.

Just curious...........

normally the bike/ SC has a 4 point solid mount, and the tilt that raises the SC also tilts the bike, all as one unit.
an exception is the Vetter Terraplane, with 3 point mount with the upper rear a turnbuckle type, that leans the bike out only..not the SC.
this also works fine, leaning the bike out to make it track straight on cambered roads or with a heavier load. but the 3 point mount made me VERY nervous. If that front mount ever broke..shorts cleaning time!! and emergency room, also.
I had a Terraplane, and now a motorvation FII with 4 point mount and electric tilt...it is great!!

Originally written by Bob in Wis on 7/17/2007 1:42 PM

normally the bike/ SC has a 4 point solid mount, and the tilt that raises the SC also tilts the bike, all as one unit.
an exception is the Vetter Terraplane, with 3 point mount with the upper rear a turnbuckle type, that leans the bike out only..not the SC.
this also works fine, leaning the bike out to make it track straight on cambered roads or with a heavier load. but the 3 point mount made me VERY nervous. If that front mount ever broke..shorts cleaning time!! and emergency room, also.
I had a Terraplane, and now a motorvation FII with 4 point mount and electric tilt...it is great!!

Harleys, as you probably know, use a three-point mounting system and have since the beginning. I've not seen or heard of one break. Liberty for Harley uses a 4 point system on the softail but for the FL, they require welding a nut onto the frame and cutting the seat to clear.

I don't like having that fourth brace near my leg. I would like a tilt but AFAIK no one makes one for a Harley. That's not the end of the world however, as the setup is rather forgiving, especialy with a 50 pound weight over the axle. LOL

gnm109 wrote:
>>I have never ridden a sidecar-equipped motorcycle with a tilt mechanism. I have, however sat on one. A friend has a 1987 Harley with a Hannigan sidecar. It has tilt. I recall that when I moved the tilt lever for demonstration purposes the bike would lean left or right from center. The sidecar did not move at all, or at least very much.

I'm trying to figure out how raising or lowering the sidecar would change handling for a cambered road without also changing the angle of lean for the motorcycle. I presumed that the word "tilt" meant to tilt the bike and change lean angle. In any case, that was how the Harley-Hannigan combination was set up and the owner assured me that it worked very well on cambered roads.

Just curious...........<<
.......................................................
The names of these things run all over the page dependant upon the manufacturer.
In operation there are two general styles. On does indeed actually change the static leanout setting between the bike and sidecar. This system was evident, as Bob mentioned , in manual form on the Vetter Terraplanes. Three point mount with the upper single mount being a turnbuckle deal the driver could turn while underway.
From there some began to experiment with an electrical way to operate a turnbuckle. Linier actuators were found to work pretty good. Vern Goodwin from Linclon Nebraska who is an icon in the sidecar world did a lot of research and experimentation in this area as was seen on his 'Good One' sidecars.
The Hannigan system you saw was used for a while by them and was very sucessful In fact, although it was not recomended, a rider coudl use it to flop the bike right for right handers and left for left handers and really see some speed in the twisties.It's action was very quick.
For many reasons this true lean adjusting system fell from favor after time. What we see almost across the board today is a system that acts upon the sidecar suspension that will tilt the whole rig left or right.
Results? Tilt left go left ...tilt right go right and very effective. This is still called a lean adjustor by many even though it does not change the lean out between the bike and sidecar. I prefer to call it a tilt adjustor as it 'tilts' the whole rig. Again different manufactors have coined diferent names for it.
I do not think any current sidecar rmanufacturers offer a true lean adjustor any longer. The tilt adjustor is much simplier from a design and geometry stand point as lower mount placement is not as critical being as they are no longer the pivot point so to speak. The present systems also allow a four point mounting system which has its benefits over a wider array on bikes. The present system is also safer to a point in case of a unpredicted electrical failure.
Thats about it on the basic differences between a true lean out adjustors and what really should be called a tilt adjustor. Hope that it made some sense.
.

Yeah, I see what you mean now. Some now lift the sidecar because of the fourth mount being rigid. The final result is the same with the motorcycle and sidecar leaning one way or the other.

I'm contemplating building a lean unit for my HD. Perhaps someday they will refer to me as an "icon". LOL

Soon to be icon, gnm109, wrote:
>>>I'm contemplating building a lean unit for my HD. Perhaps someday they will refer to me as an "icon". LOL<<<

If you do a lean adjustor for your Harley be sure to keep us posted. Could be interesting.