velorex 562 mounting on a 1997 883 sportster

I have a Velorex on my 01 883 and I just downloaded all the instructions from www.velorexusa.com . BUT the minimum upgrade you should make is making a new lower rear mount point. Jay over at DMC sidecare has an awesome subframe setup for Sportys that would the best route though.

http://www.velorexusa.com/installation.shtml

You did not say what year your bike is. How to install the sidecar depends on if your bike is a rubber mounted engine bike or not. Sub frames are always the best way to go as the Velorex clamps are slightly better then just using scrap metal. Here is a link to an article about mounting a Velorex to a rubber mounted sportster http://www.dmcsidecars.com/the-result-of-improper-sidecar-mounting-and-the-proper-fix/ if covers every thing you should need to know.
If your bike is a solid engine mount bike 1986 or newer we make a sub frame that gives you all 4 mounting points. The upper rear is a frame clamps similar but much higher quality then the Velorex clamp. The other three mounts are on a single sub frame that attaches to the bike at 7 points.
You will also want to once installed should you stay with the Velorex lower mounts rather then change over to the style in the article weld the lower rear mount on the sidecar frame in place or at least cross bolt it.
The Velorex is a very light sidecar and as such you will always need ballast in the sidecar.
Should you want easier steering with the sidecar we offer triple tree's to lower the steering effort $550
I have also linked basic alignment instructions.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793
www.dmcsidecars.com

its a 1997 in the thread title

Having mounted hundreds of Velorex sidecars to both early and late Harley Sportsters in the past decades, I've found that the rear lower mount is the cause of most problems. The other three have proven quite adequate.
Most Velorex cars are mounted as per the instructions in the Owners Handbook on page 6, figure 5, which shows the (over engineered) rear sliding clamp mounted with the strut in an angular position. This allows the clamp to slip, or rotate easily, under stress causing a loss of alignment. Mounting the strut as shown in the attachment will keep it from slipping in most cases. A spot weld or two will eliminate slipping altogether.
A fabricated lower rear bracket as shown, will allow the sidecar to be mounted further back in relation to the bike.

A full subframe mounting system that employs both sides of the frame to reduce stress is naturally superior.

Lonnie Cook (Retired)
Northwest Sidecars, LLC

Thank you gentlemen for the quick replies. After Christmas I hope to get out in the garage and start trying to get the car on the bike. I will probably have many questions.

Lonnie,

The bracket shown in the pictures just bolts on to the subframe which runs back to the exhaust? Any idea on the cost of such bracket? I could probably fabricate one myself, I have a welder, drill press, etc.

Also I would think all threaded fasteners should have blue Loctite on them??

That bracket is a self made part and looks preety simple , my plan is to make one similar to that and maybe a little over engineered this winter. The threaded fasteners on my most all had nylon nuts or castle nuts with cotter pins.
I am converting my Velorex to a 12" utility trailer tire and wheel and lowering my bike back to its new to me state. Should be a total of 3 inches lower. A friend helped me mount the sidecar originally and we did it in about 5 hours including wiring in a 4 pin trailer harness plug for ease in removal of the sidecar .

I have a velorex frame, and I'm curious as to how important is it for the rear lower mount to be 90 degrees, or perpendicular, to the bike? To do so, I have to mount it at the mid-point of the sidecar frame, and it seems to create a fulcrum or pivot point. The only way to move the attachment point back further, is to mount the attachment to the bike up and towards the back of the bike. The whole rig seems much more stable this way, but I'm not sure if that changes the stress points in an unsafe manner.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Dave

The reason for the 90 degree angle is for a neutral standoff point for the sidecar, to maintain the position of the sidecar to the bike and keeping the toe-in static.
The rearmost strut mount position can also be used for this function allowing a few more inches more rearward attachment.

Lonnie

Thanks, Hack'n.
So, as long as one of the rear attachment points (either the lower mount or the strut) is perpendicular to the bike, I should be OK.

Dave your problem is exactly what I have. The lower rear is almoxt centered on the sidecar frame. the picture i putup of the metal plate is an extension to move the mount back farther. The 90* is not exactly needed but the bolt in the mount to strut attachement should be vertical to help prevent the clamp on the sidecar frame from rolling or slipping.

Here is what our sub frame looks like for the 1986 to 2003 Sportster, as you will see the lower mounts are equal distance from the ground and the lower rear is quite a bit further aft then the main frame of the bike.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793

Finally got around to getting the car mounted to the bike. When setting the toe in would I be better off with a board on its side clamped to the tire on the car, just laying it against the tire doesn't seem very accurate. Every time I measure I get a different measurement.

I am also missing the windshield and have a broken rear light on the sidecar. Any suggestions for where to source these parts?

Finally someone who owned the sidecar before me mounted a car battery behind the seat, anyone have any experience with this??

Jay can hook you up with new parts usually. I made my own windshield out of lexan. It's only 4" tall and Aiden loves it. For the toe in i used a string line on both wheels and it seemed to work for me