I'm convinced that I finally now have my alignment correct. There's an effect that I'm noticing that may be wind resistance at higher speeds. Up to 55 mph things are fine but above that there's a slight pull to the right that gets annoying at 65 mph. It's not a big pull, but it requires constant pressure on the bars.
I'm still in learning mode after having the TS Ranger on my Burgman 650 for just about 6 months. I just wanted to see if others find this same experience. So, is it normal to experience a bit of pull to the right at higher speeds and it it just wind resistance caused by the extra cross section of the sidecar?
Generally the faster you go the more drag you will feel from the sidecar. Perhaps there is still some more fine tuning you may need to do to your alignment. You could try removing the windscreen from the side car and see if that alleviates some of the sensation. If you don't usually ride with an adult passenger a cut-down windscreen might offer a solution. The 650 Burgman is a rather portly bugger and the Ranger is a relatively light sidecar so I don't see it contributing that much to the defecit at 65mph.
A rig has the aerodinamical factor CW of an open parachute and depending on the style the front area of a small car. When we have Passat winds you sometimes come out of a dale onto the pass or out of a forest and suddenly you feel like standing. With the Jawa rig once max speed droped down to 25mph/40km arriving on the Continental divide.
When you have wind from the back she seems to fly and you can take off the throttle to nearly idle.
When we were on the Oregon coast it turned out to be hard work from south to north but as easy as pie to go north to south. The gasoline millage changed much too.
You can be sure when the good gusts come in that You will learn a new type of equilibrium riding down a road.
In Yukon Canada the roads on permafrost ground were that bad that not due to the wind, but due to the sunken road borders, my equilibrium sence went into the arms. and as soon I moved the arms I lost ballance. Like a sailor who cannot walk on solid land.
Something like that You might experience after a long gusty day in the saddle too. Like I had long time ago on the Northsea coast in autumn.
Interesting feeling.
Wherefore to go to a body building Gymn?
Sven 😉
pbrowne - 4/15/2014 10:54 AM
I'm convinced that I finally now have my alignment correct. There's an effect that I'm noticing that may be wind resistance at higher speeds. Up to 55 mph things are fine but above that there's a slight pull to the right that gets annoying at 65 mph. It's not a big pull, but it requires constant pressure on the bars.
I'm still in learning mode after having the TS Ranger on my Burgman 650 for just about 6 months. I just wanted to see if others find this same experience. So, is it normal to experience a bit of pull to the right at higher speeds and it it just wind resistance caused by the extra cross section of the sidecar?
Paul, both our Burgman/Ranger & Sportster/Ranger rigs are set up to track straight at 55mph on typical area 2-lane state highway. Remember the 55mph speed limit enacted to conserve fuel? That's because wind resistance plays havoc as airspeed tops 60mph. Generally speaking, it is difficult to set up a rig that tracts straight at both 55mph & 65mph due to the increased wind drag at the higher speeds on our asymmetrical vehicles. This is why many rigs -especially the large touring rigs with large frontal area- have the electric lean assist to raise the sidecar to increase lean-out to combat wind drag at highway speeds. Although our rigs do pull right above 60mph, the reduced trail (raked trees) reduce the steering effort where the right pull is not particularly bothersome. We chose the 55mph alignment preference as that's our customary travel speeds - yeah, we're kinda slow.
Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox
Lee, your experience seems pretty much the same as mine. I'm thinking of removing the windshield since I seldom carry a passenger. That would cut wind resistance a bit.
Nothing wrong with slow. Around here it gives me a chance to enjoy the scenery and the country smells -- love that smell of freshly spread cow manure!
Even with my StreetGlide/Liberty rig I remove the windshield if not carrying a passenger for a noticeable difference in handling at speed and gas savings.
Lonnie
Me too, all 3 rigs I had/have: The first thing to go off were the sidecar wind shields. way too much resistance, and they disturb for to monkey.
On the Ural even before the first test ride as I had only a few cm gap between handle bar and sidecar wind shield
Sven
pbrowne - 4/15/2014 1:45 PM
Lee, your experience seems pretty much the same as mine. I'm thinking of removing the windshield since I seldom carry a passenger. That would cut wind resistance a bit....[/QUOTE]
Paul, we use a short version of the Texas windshield -- works quite well, even with a passenger with a face shield on helmet:
Maddie really enjoys the buggy top on the GS/CSM rig - but it sure is tough on wind drag and fuel economy, and even pilot comfort:
Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox
What you are noticing is normal, This is why on many higher end sidecars there is an option for what we call electric trim. Other companies offer it under different names. There are a few ways to do this, what we do is use an electric actuator to raise or lower the sidecars suspension while riding which in turn leans the bike and trims for speed. It will also trim for different passenger loads, different road crowns or even help with cross winds.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
I cut the windshield down to 7". It looks a lot better. Now, I'll be interested to see the effects.
The size of the wind screen on my Harley rig makes a big, big deference. You well be pleased with a shorter shield.
When I shortened a velorex windshield to about third of its' original height it made a huge difference.
About ten thousand miles later it broke so I made a ne one the same height out of lexan, Much better.
After I screwed it on , I used two heat guns to ease the strain of the bend.
Jim Phelonius,,
Thank you very much for the idea of stress relieving by a heat gun when you work with these kind of brittle materials.
For sure in some moment that will help to make the hair thick difference between a good and a bad part/repair.
Have a happy Easter.
Sven
Peter Pan - 4/18/2014 9:17 AM
Jim Phelonius,,
Thank you very much for the idea of stress relieving by a heat gun when you work with these kind of brittle materials.
For sure in some moment that will help to make the hair thick difference between a good and a bad part/repair.
Have a happy Easter.
Sven
Just another point, go ahead and pay the few bucks more for lexan over other plastic.
It is not only more resistant to breakage because it bends easier, it is more resistant to scratches as a finished product.
The results have been very positive. The sidecar is now pretty neutral up to 60 mph. I drove it 110 miles and wasn't bothered by any pull to the right until over 60 and then it was not bothersome. 60 is a nice cruising speed on the superslab. (Note that over 65 I encounter another problem of tire balance. I used Ride-On balancing fluid instead of stick-on weights. Never again!) Gas mileage is about the same at 37 mpg.
