Where to mount the car?

I have thought about this. It is better to hang a sidecar over the shoulder then over the center line. Plus it is better if you screw up to take the hit instead of your passenger.

With the lefties you have a very limited view of oncoming traffic if there is anything ahead of you, vehicle, turn or other sight distance problem.
The monkey, and most of your rig is in the oncoming lane and in harms way when you shift to the left to check oncoming traffic when trying to pass. Scary! I've been that monkey.

Lonnie

I know I don't know anything (really, I don't, yet to even sit on a rig), but I enjoy flights of whimsey with technical problems because they can lead to solutions that have been otherwise discarded.

Couldn't the on-coming traffic issue be delt with with a camera and heads up display on a windscreen (like some cars now have back-up cameras)?

On the whimsey, just because I have access to the gear, I've gotten a chuckle to myself with the thought of a vertically mounted argon bottle with a solenoid valve, operated from a panic button on the handlebars. That'll get you back down in a heartbeat! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Thanks guys. I was not looking at the big (hold) picture. I now remember when in the Navy driving our trucks over sea where they drove on the left.

When carrying a passenger there shouldn't have much of a problem with the right handers. When empty I have two five gallon plastic collapsible jugs filled with water I seat belt in the hack. Works good and the sidecar rides better with a little weight in it. A few times when I picked up a passenger I just dump the water and put the jugs in the trunk.
One time while making one of my solo rides around Mt Rainier park I stopped at a view point and another motorcyclist started asking questions about sidecars. He had never rode in one and asked for a ride. I dump the water, he secured his bike and off we went. We made the circle around the mountain and returned to his bike still parked on the side of the road. He left thinking about getting into sidecars.

How did it handle afterward with no ballast, or were you able to reload the jugs there?

I was taught many years ago if the wheel comes up in a rh turn, give a little front brake to slow it down and the car will come down. Check Hal Kendalls books, I beleve they are still on this website.
Doug, '82 Wing/Watsonian Monaco sidecar.

If the car comes up early in a right hander, I went in too fast. If it comes up halfway through or later, I give it more throttle and counter steer.

I've read several times "Ural-How to Ride". It reenforces the basic concept and give you the physics of why a right hand S/C flies on a hard right turn. In a nutshell, it's the transfer of weight b/c in a hard left turn the rear drive tire will pop up. Remember to always lean into the curve when driving a S/C as noted on pages 50 & 51 of the above mentioned manual. The manual calls the triangle formed between the three wheels the 'Tipover Line'. I will try to attach the file for you. Tom

Hack'n - 6/5/2014 10:35 AM

How did it handle afterward with no ballast, or were you able to reload the jugs there?

If I can refill the jugs I do, the few times I had to empty them for a passenger I usually ended up riding home with them empty. The chair handles OK, just take it a little easier in the right turns. Another reason for the water jugs is my rig rides a little better if a little weight is in the chair, especially on a rough road.

Here is the Ural manual to which I referred.
Tom

The technique for keeping the hack down in right turns is to apply a little front brake while adding throttle. It seems counter intuitive but added power to the drive wheel with the f/brake dissipates some of the lateral forces by slightly drifting the rear tire to the outside. Unless you are just too damn fast in the corner this should work. Having the hack wheel come up in turns is not a big deal unless you lift the car above the balance point which is pretty far from the horizontal. At that point you do need to counter steer to control the rig. If the car lifts at higher speeds make sure you have some lean out in the geometry of your rig. The car will press harder to the road the faster you go.

If the chair does not fly in the first few miles, I've made a decision to have less that the most enjoyable ride or have a passenger. This is about the way I ride this Guzzi rig and not about how you should ride yours. I practice fly/no-fly on rights up to about 80 mph on most every ride.

cleatusj - 7/22/2014 6:35 AM
If the chair does not fly in the first few miles... This is about the way I ride this Guzzi rig and not about how you should ride yours....

Not all of us ride with as much "spirit" as cleatusj.