Driving on straight hiways at 50 mph, moderate weight in side car, no additional weight on bike, I constantly have to slightly pull the left handlebar, and correspondingly to push the right one. The former owner and I measured the toe. It's at the maximally tolerated difference between front and back measurement given in the instructions, i.e. the side car wheel points slightly towards the mc's front wheel. We also measured the leaning of the side car wheel and it seems to be correct with 2-3 degrees. However, since the toe measure is at the maximal tolerated limit, does the driving behavior make sense? And would it make sense to decrease the toe by a few ticks (make difference between front and back measure less)?
If the toe-in has been measured correctly and in is specifications any more tweaking to help pull the rig to the left should done by adjusting the leanout a bit more.
I use a magnetic protractor on a front brake rotor to make this measurement. With the car loaded and me on the saddle. Usually 1 degree + leanout works for me on lightly crowned roads.
I adjust toe-in with two 1"x1" square tube gauges. One on 4"x 4" blocks placed tightly against the rear bike wheel, the other on 4" x4" blocks placed tightly against the sidecar wheel. Toe-in measurements taken from in front of the front bike wheel and behind the bike rear wheel.
Toe-in that is out of spec. will just give you excessive tire wear. Use the leanout for directional compensation.
Lonnie
