Hello
I have a BMW /2 conversion, earles front end set for sidecar use
coupled to a Steib TR500 car I set the toe in at about one inch
but it pulls to the right, this is my first rig, I have never driven one before and wanted to get on the right track before I get hurt, I have had a couple of people tell me a couple of ways to set it up but they were both very different, then I found this site. any help would be apriciated.
Thank You
Mike
Use this manual http://www.sidecar.com/Files/SC%20Manual.pdf as a reference. Section 2 should provide some answers to your questions.
Set your toe back to about 1/4". Excessive toe wears out tires and does not make the bike track any straighter.
With the toe back to about 1/4" set the lean out of the bike away from the sidecar enough so the rig goes straight on the type of roads and at the speed you will travel most. Tracking straight, which is adjusted by lean, is affected by the wind drag on the sidecar and crown of the road. The amount of wind drag is related to the speed of travel.
Thank You
Mike
Thank You Ill get right on it, right now I think the bike is leaning out
too far about 2 in.
Mike
You will come out best if you don't measure leanout. Just adjust the top struts until it tracks straight in at the speed and road crown you mostly ride on. With a fixed rig you can't have it track 100% striaght under all conditions. Once you have your tracking/leanout set to your satisfaction go back and check the toe-in. On most rigs the toe settings will change a little when you change the leanout.
I plan on using this machine on the super slab, what do you think would be
a safe speed to run on interstates and how much ballast would you use?
I am not carying a passenger and not using a windscreen on the car.
Thank You
Mike
If the /2 has it's original engine you may not be able to maintain the superslab speeds with the sidecar.
Check your ballast needs by turning the front wheel to the right. Hop on the left footpeg, grab the bars and pull away from the sidecar. If the sidecar wheel lifts off the ground easily you need ballast or a passenger. If it doesn't you're good to go without a passenger or extra ballast.
If you do need some it is best installed to the outside and rear of the car. In the trunk or behind the seat is good for removable ballast.
Under the frame at the rear is good for permanent ballast.
Never in the nose of the car.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Which motor did you use in your conversion? I suspect your limiting factors will be horsepower and brakes, not suggested top speed. I run an r100 based rig and have disk brakes with floating rotors all around (sidecar included) and still consider braking (mostly due to tire traction) my limiting factor. The rig will pull close to 100mph , about 6500rpm in 5th with a 37/11 rear. 7200 readline would be about 105mph. The motor has been worked over a little for highend power. (cam, high comp pistons, dual plug ported heads) 75 or so seems as fast as I usually want to cruise.
You might double check your toe in. As I recall it is easy to install the front lower ball mount incorrectly( at least I did on my first /2-ended up with toe-out and it pulled right at all speeds!). If you have different sized tires on the front and rear of the bike or you don't have the front and rear wheels aligned perfectly straight it is easy to miscalculate your toe in.
Also make sure your sidecar chassis is level and the sidecar wheel is vertical. If your sidecar wheel is tipped it will do the same thing as lean out or lean in.
There are heavy duty sidecar suspension components for the /2. It was years ago, but I think I got springs and shock dampers from Blue Moon or Motorradd St.Louis.
I have an R100 engine. Used to have a TR500 but traded for the lighter S500... I'm a little sorry I did that. Anyway, the first thing I would ask is- do you have SC springs in the bike already? If not, even if you do get the right lean out, on right turns the bike will sag miserably and make you feel like you're going to roll over on yourself.
With SC springs, I'm afraid it's pretty much trial and error. YOUR weight is also a factor. On a fresh set-up, I put the bike up straight and ride it around for a while to see which way it's pulling under a variety of situations. Adjust the struts accordingly a turn or 2 at a time.
For toe-in I have 2 lengths of aluminium angle and 4 bricks. The angle is light and makes it easy to push up against the SC wheel while resting on the bricks. On the bike side, I press the angle up against the rear tire only (I sort of try to see if the angle is eguidistant in the front and rear of the front tire, but I don't really worry about it too much.) I take my mesurements front and back. If you need to change the toe-in, you need to go over EVERYTHING again.
BTW- I keep the SC blocked op on 2 furniture dollies.
Brakes are a personal choice. I learned without a SC brake on an R67 w Spezial. I don't need no stinky SC brake. (hey! I'm kidding here!)
I think that SC is heavy enough that you don't really need any ballast, but if you're still getting used to it, it wouldn't hurt to add some. It might make you feel safer at speed, especially.
With SC springs, steering bearing adjusted properly, correct tire pressure, etc, I don't see why you couldn't go as fast as you want (or the rig will let you). Personally, I get tired going over 75.
I would not put ballast in th esidecar body itsel fwith a steib as th ebody is sprung. Track width is also an issue as far as stability goes. The test of getting on the footpeg mentioned is a great one.
A /2 conversion will handle interstates with no problem.
We are nto that far from you being in central Pa. If you want to coem up sometime feel free to give me a call. I can make time to check out your rig with you if you wish. See link below.
Hi
Thank you for taking the time to give me the advice
it is much appriciated.
Mike
Ernie
Thanks for the advice.
Mike
Hi Claude
I would like to stop by sometime and get this thing tuned in properly.
Thank You
Mike
