Quote from Big Tom on July 9, 2023, 9:51 am

Looks good back there....

Quote from smitty901 on July 9, 2023, 4:01 pm

 When you can run a car tire on bike rear you win all the way around. Same with sidecar.

I do it. On both of ours.

Quote from Tax Man on July 10, 2023, 11:47 am

I've been running a 205/55 - 16 on the rear of my '98 Valkyrie since 2016.  If anything, it makes the speedometer reading more honest than the original bike tires did.  I did find that there is enough difference in the profile of some tire brands that the tire may rub a little.  Maybe the Goldwing has more clearance.

BTW Miles, thank you for the donuts at the 2023 USCA National Rally.

 

 

Quote from 2004ret on August 2, 2023, 8:36 pm

Thanks for posting this.  What tire pressure are you running in the car tire?  Any adjustment needed to your rear suspension settings, such as preload or rebound dampening?  Best,

Jim

Quote from FlyingMonkeys on August 2, 2023, 11:43 pm

Quote from 2004ret on August 2, 2023, 8:36 pm

Thanks for posting this.  What tire pressure are you running in the car tire?  Any adjustment needed to your rear suspension settings, such as preload or rebound dampening?  Best,

Jim

Jim, to answer your questions, I am running 35 psi in the rear car tire on my '19 Wing. I really need to be running slightly higher than that, say 37 to 38 psi, just to keep the TPMS light from coming on for the first 5 miles, until the tire warms up enough to turn that light off. But I am willing to run it at 35 psi, drive the first 5 miles until that light turns off, and know that I am running 38 to 39 psi when the tire is running warm/hot(ish).

On my most recent Car Tire on the rear wheel of this bike, I was running 38 psi to 40 psi when Cold, and I found that I was slightly overinflated...noticed by tire wear. So that is the primary reason for now running 35 psi when Cold.

As for suspension settings....truly lucked out on these 2018 + newer Honda Goldwings, as the electronic suspension adjusts per the Ride Mode you are in, and we found out upon installing this Hannigan Dream sidecar that there was NO need to change or replace any suspension components at all on the bike when adding the sidecar to the bike. It is 100% stock OEM suspension on the bike....and in fact Ad Donkers, the owner of LBS sidecars in the Netherlands had a hard time believing that I was still using completely stock OEM suspension, so when he was recently visiting a fellow sidecar builder in Washington State, he took my rig out for a long test drive, was amazed at how well it handled, and still had to get down on his hands and knees and LOOK at the bike's suspension to see it for himself, that it really was stock OEM parts in there.

Most sidecar owners need to upgrade the bikes' suspension quite a bit when adding a sidecar to the bike, and that sometimes comes at a hefty price for upgraded suspension. But the 2018+ Goldwings have suspension that can automatically adjust to the load, per the Ride Mode it is set at.

 

Quote from CCjon on August 3, 2023, 9:31 pm

Ditto on FM's comments, found the stock suspension in Sport Mode more than adequate when running with a fast group of Goldwingers on two wheels in the Smokey Mountain back roads. With a wide heavy rig, it tends to NOT fly the chair on a right hand curve. But then I carry five gallons of extra fuel and no monkey in the sidecar .

When running 38-42 psi in the rear car tire, I also spotted a little more center wear than on the edges.

As for the flashing abs dash light, a stick-on black rubber bumper solved that.

After two years, the cheap BikeMaster lithium battery is no longer holding a charge. A Shorai Lithium battery LFX36L3-BS12 showed up today. Is on the charger now. Let's see if it lasts longer than two years.

Quote from FlyingMonkeys on August 3, 2023, 11:43 pm

@CCjon, are you having an ABS light flashing on your dash ? I have never...not even once...had the ABS light flash on my dash, and I do have a brake on the sidecar that is integrated into the bike's system.

The light I was referring to in my post above yours, is the TPMS light, and that is only on for up to 5 miles, until that rear tire warms up enough to bring the pressure up.

The Shorai Lithium Battery I installed in my '06 Wing, that @DRONE currently owns, is still going strong, and it has been in there for about 10 years. At least I "think" he still has that battery in that bike, but I know when I sold the sidecar rig to him, it had 7 years on that battery, and it was still good. But I do have a Battery Tender lead on all my bikes, so everything is plugged in, almost every night, unless I am on a road trip. They do make specific Battery Tenders for the Lithium Ion, and Lithium Iron batteries, so chose wisely.

Quote from 2FLTC on August 4, 2023, 2:29 pm

Have three with BikeMaster lithium battery just over four years one bit the dust the other two are still fine. Had a Shorai Lithium battery went dead a couple times from key being left on by mistake, no charger would bring it back used their charger lasted another nine years. Had OEM Harley AGM batterys when they started using them in 2000. On the average you were getting ten years out of them. longest was seventeen years. Started using AntiGravity for about seven years and the last two years there RE-START battery so far, all ok. As far as putting on a maintainer I use an Optimate. They now all have the Optimate 125 pig tails that have lights to tell you the battery state. On the average they have to get the get plug in around once a month for a day. As far as the RE-START battery in the last year I've being putting one though the test letting it die and using the RE-START hasn't let me down yet.    

Quote from J Brock on August 18, 2023, 6:00 pm

Now you need to install a Bridgestone BT-46, 130/70-18 REAR motorcycle tire on the front of the bike. There’s a lot more tread on rear bike tires. 

Quote from FlyingMonkeys on August 19, 2023, 10:59 am

J Brock...I sent you a PM...and I have been using the Bridgestone BT 45, and now 46 rear tires for years on the front wheel.