understanding set up

Are you talking about Toe-in ? or the position of the bike in relation to standing straight up ? Both will require fine tuning once the rig is hooked up... some sidecars require more or less depending on drag... actually what you are looking for is when you are going straight down the road the sidecar tire will be straight ahead...but the actual tow-in the figures that you get from the manufacturer are only a guide... I ahve had rigs that had tiny (1/8" or less) and others that required lots more (3/8" plus)....... Now the angle of the bike.... is with YOU sitting on it...alll hooked up and loaded (normall) the bike should be vertical.... on one of my rigs the Lean-in was almost 1/2" ...

Joel

If you reduced it to two handling issues, 1 going strait, and 2 turning. Will toe in of the car change one and lean in/out of the bike change the other or will it always be a combination? I know it is the same question but I was kind of looking for a yes or no to the first part of the question. Yes would be great and no means I won't know anything till spring. I hate winter.

First off: What bike and which sidecar are you joining?
Knowing this will give us an idea of what you are working with.
Next items might be your intended use, your weight and what the intended sidecar load might be.
Will the sidecar be equipped with any sort of tilt or lean mechanism? Will you be mostly on the Superslab or backroads? Without an on board tilt setup some compromises must be made for road crowns encountered.
With this data some initial setup recommendations can be offered from this forum which will save you much guesswork and subsequently with a bit of fine tuning or tweaking you will have a good handling sidecar combo that will have neutral steering and minimal tire wear.
Ease of steering when cornering is a separate issue that can be addressed after the rig is properly aligned.

Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars

Lonnie's request for information will surely help on a specific combination.
The basics are the basics though even of they vary a little as far as numbers go from one combination to another.

TOE IN:
Toe in loads the bearing etc of the sidecar wheel and swingarm. Too much toe in will create excessive tire wear typically on the rear of the bike. Too much toe in may not be detected on many rigs except by excessive tire wear. To little toe in can allow a wandering feel on some rigs. Toe out WILL cause a pull to the sidecar side.

LEAN OUT:
The angle the motorcycle leans in realtion tot he sidecar is a means to adjust how the outfit tracks down the road. Lean left go left and lean right go right.

IMPORTANT:
Depending on the mounting system of the outfit adjusting lean out can change toe in and visa versa. For any given combination of sidecar and bike this shoudl be checked early on to know what one is up against.

It is more important to know what each adjustment does than it is to recite a lot of numbers. It is important for the rigger to learn how each outfit reacts when adjustments are done.

So where to start? pick a number....5/8" toe in and a little bit of lean out and go from there. Kep in mind what various adjustments do and work with things a little. There is no PERFECT setup. Everything is a compromise to a point. The best setup for YOU and YOUR OUTFIT will come to you if you are willing to learn the basics and take your time in adjsting things. record your settings so you cna get back to square one is desired. set it up, ride it and then adjust from there. You may find that after soime seat time you will want to change th esetup a little as you gain experience.
None of this is worth much if the sidear and bike combination are not suitable for one another.

Thanks for the replies. I can see that my attempt to turn setup into a black and white issue isn't going to happen. That's ok, it may be more fun this way. The tug is a 1500 Kawasaki Vulcan and the car will be a Texas Ranger. Our intent is to use it as a traveling rig with trips ranging from 2500-4000 miles (not new to motorcycle travel just sidecars). We hate interstates so we ride two lane roads if possible. Thanks again for the help.

You might consider putting some ballast behind the seat of the Ranger for the learning curve. A good bike to sidecar weight ratio is 2/3rds bike to 1/3rd sidecar weight (loaded) to keep all three wheels on the road. Especially in right hand turns. Some 1500 Vulcans are over 800# while the Ranger is around 165#.

Lonnie

659 dry w/o rider or gear, I read the 1/3rd weight rule thread in the FAQ's and I'm not silly enough to open that can of worms or try to learn how to drive my first rig without ballast. Thanks

The best thing you can do if find someone locally that rides a rig and have them teach you the basics..... If you teach ourself it sometimes gets real thrilling...

Joel

jfixit - 12/26/2009 3:15 AM

Thanks for the replies. I can see that my attempt to turn setup into a black and white issue isn't going to happen. That's ok, it may be more fun this way. The tug is a 1500 Kawasaki Vulcan and the car will be a Texas Ranger. Our intent is to use it as a traveling rig with trips ranging from 2500-4000 miles (not new to motorcycle travel just sidecars). We hate interstates so we ride two lane roads if possible. Thanks again for the help.

I think you would be doing youself a favor just to call Bob Darden at Texas Sidecars and see what he has to say. He's a good guy. Say hello for from Claude and tell him to give me a call. (903) 640-2149

I'm buying through Bob Wark at the Warkshop so I do have a back up plan if I find myself in over my head. I think Bob will keep me straight (no pun intended) when it's time for the rubber to hit the road.

jfixit - 12/27/2009 11:06 AM

I'm buying through Bob Wark at the Warkshop so I do have a back up plan if I find myself in over my head. I think Bob will keep me straight (no pun intended) when it's time for the rubber to hit the road.

Yeah Bob Wark is a good guy. Not a bad painter either...LOL. Wonder if he still has that old Guzzi Convert with the sportster fuel tank welded on top of the Guzzi tank.