Mike - without any fancy calculations, with a 920 pound GL1800 your chair should be in the 275 to 300 pound range. Not a problem if you have already ordered your new Champion Escort, a middleweight of 190 pounds just as long as you know up front that you will likely need 75 to 95 pounds of ballast somewhere below and close to the wheel and just behind it - also that you will be needing some god-awful heavy stout mounts to take care of the cornering stresses, and that you will likely need extra heavy bearings in the sidecar wheel if possible.
Yes, middle weight sidecars have been fitted to heavy bikes, even middle lightweight ones - even without ballast. I would not ride them - they are basically unroadworthy. But they can be made roadworthy.
Regardless - take it extra easy on righthanders, whether you are just beginning or have gained some experience.
Re the balance test, it is not necessary to turn bars to left. A good balance is where the rig may come up off the ground an inch or so. But not 6 to 12 inches or more. Again, this is just a guide - nothing else.
Bottom line - how much ballast? Get a good handle, like 75 pounds, then go road test carefully. Your final will be what you feel is comfortable for you. It may be a little more, or less.
Safe riding.
Thanks Guys once again. I get my car on the 20th of this month.. Can't Wait..
I'm a little surprised that only claude mentioned it- and only briefly; I think it makes a fairly decent difference when the SC is as far away from the bike as you can safely get it, as far as stability goes.
ernie wrote:
>>I'm a little surprised that only claude mentioned it- and only briefly; I think it makes a fairly decent difference when the SC is as far away from the bike as you can safely get it, as far as stability goes.<<
It does make a difference ernie. I prefer to shoot for around 52" as a minimum center to center bike and sidecar tire on the street. Some go less but I see no advantage at all to it. I have gone much more on some rigs with no ill effects. Keep in mind that decent mounts and struts are a necessity in all cases but as we get wider this becomes more critical.
Also keep in mind that as the width goes up so the potential for additional stresses and strains also goes up because now we get "better" at taking corners so we go faster so up goes the speed and we take tighter turns - all giving rise to higher forces and higher torque or force couples. But we can do so more "safely".
The expense is at the mounting points. The mounts, which were OK before, might now twist, or turn, or slide, or crush the frame, or twist the frame. Or we better have a good subframe - oh - that was what that was there for? Now it makes sense. So as you widen your track, and here I also agree with Claude, and for the reasons stated, just be sure you have adequate mounts. And good triangulation.
