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cupping, alignment, parking lot adjustments

Left Washington a week ago all fine an dandy. Out in Kansas I hit a bad spot on the road and knock the sidecar around enough that it is just out of alignment. Little by little I got it back close but still not right.

ASTRO, GW1500SE. Cupping on outside of front tire and even wear on the inside of the sidecar. Rear drive tire looks to be even normal wear.

I'm thinking I need to take out a little of the toe in.

It is a little stiff on the right turns but not a real fight.

any input?

First, find out why it went out of alignment. Properly built mounts with every thing tight should not go out of alignment. If you do not find out why it happened it will happen again. It needs to be fixed. Not sure what you mean by even wear on the inside of the sidecar. The sidecar tire should wear even all across its tread. More then likely you have to much toe in. Have you been measuring it or just guessing at it? Attached are instructions as to how to set up the rig. I would go for about 1 1/4 inch toe in on this bike. With longer bikes such as your GL you are reading the toe over a greater distance to toe in figures need to be larger then on short bikes, also the sidecar runs an automotive tire and as such needs more toe.
We can also set this up for you once you are back in the state.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
http://www.dmcsidecars.com
2328 Roosevelt Ave
Enumclaw WA
98022
866-638-1793
jay@dmcsidecars.com

Attached files

BASIC SIDECAR INSTRUCTIONS.doc (388.5 KB) 

Jay G DMC sidecars www.dmcsidecars.com 15616 Carbonado South Prairie RD Buckley WA 98321 866-638-1793 Hours Monday - Thursday 6-4:30

Thanks Jay

I have a copy of your attachment on board at all times. I am taking the rig over to My sons place tonight and re-measure everything. It really took a hard hit and all the witness marks I had are back where they were before I started out. The wear on the sidecar tire. It is wearing off more on the inside that the outside and doing so all away around the tire. This is not a great amount of wear but only noticed if studied in detail, may be no big deal.

More to follow

We've had sidecars in the shop that have had a good impact and as a result the outer frame rail/tube of the sidecar was tweaked enough so the original setup index points were worthless.
A recent one's bike side tube that was originally straight had a slight "S" when sighting down the length of it.
The owner said the rig hadn't been in an accident, just normal usage with maybe a little off-roading.
Curbing hits and potholes could cause this, but usually a bent axle or strut is also present.

Lonnie

If your issues developed after a hard hit and you're having uneven tire wear, check to make sure that the front rim isn't bent or majorly out of round.