I'm going to look at this rig and the owner says no EZ steer. Where can I get one if I find the steering is too heavy?
Big Tom, that picture of the Yamaha was taken when that rig was on the showroom of Hannigan Trikes/Sidecars.
That is their showroom......
Ergo, and therefore, to answer your question, the most viable place to go to get the EZ Steer for that bike, would be Hannigan Sidecars, Murray, Kentucky.
BTW, the way to vastly improve the driveability of that Yamaha Venture is to replace the OEM rear diff Ring & Pinion gears with those from a Yamaha V-Max. The V-Max rear diff Ring & Pinion will fit perfectly into the rear diff of that Venture, and will make a HUGE difference with that bike attached to a sidecar.
Certified Two Million Miles Rider....All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
FlyingMonkeys is spot-on re: the Ring & Pinion gears with those from a Yamaha V-Max.
Hannigan should be able to supply and install an EZ Steer; if not, check here: https://customtripletrees.com/Yamaha.html#model1
Good suggestions, thanks. I wondered where he got those pictures. I will meet him and the rig for the first time today.
Where does one source a V-Max diff?
There's about two dozen of them on eBay right now. Search for "final drive" or "rear differential" along with "Yamaha V-Max".
The trick is finding a good one. Bike breakers have no idea if the ring and pinion are in good shape or not. Cosmetic damage to the casing tells you nothing. The bike's mileage might be an indicator, but a lot of those sellers don't say how many miles was on the bike.
Also, may I just ask, are you sure the owner knows what he's talking about? Highly unlikely a Hannigan rig like that has no EZ-Steer. It's kind of de rigueur.
Have owned 5 rigs but Rig #2 is my current one!
I would say from looking at the picture it does look to have the easy steer installed. I installed one on the Venture my wife learned to ride on. unless the picture is deceptive it has the easy steer on it.
Hannigan did build it as mentioned that is their show room floor. Most likely They could tell you if it had one. The purchaser had the stabilizer put on . Had to except they cut the corner on the tree. The steer light is an option on most installs.
You can also tell by looking at it. Their trees in machined. Another way is measure the wheel base of the bike. It is measured center axle to center axle.
If your bike measures longer than factory . It has a raked tree. That bike Factory has a wheel base of 67.1 inches or 1704 mm
EXAMPLE: my 2020 RGL factory Wheel base is 64 inches. with the Steerlight Hannigan 4 1/2 degree tree it has a Wheel base of 67 inches.
Quote from Big Tom on March 23, 2023, 10:24 amGood suggestions, thanks. I wondered where he got those pictures. I will meet him and the rig for the first time today.
Where does one source a V-Max diff?
Big Tom, unless you fall madly in love with this Yamaha rig (which is entirely possible) and decide you just have to buy it today.....if the decision is waited for a few days, take as many pics as possible, and post them here, as the Borg Collective here can tell you a lot about that machine from the pictures.
The rear final drive.....back around 15 years ago there was a fellow in Pennsylvania that would rebuild Yamaha Venture and Royal Star rear diffs, and install V-Max Ring & Pinion gears into your rear diff housing, including all new seals, and shimmed up correctly, all for $ 300.00, and that included the return shipping of the finished rear diff back to you. I had him to it to 2 different 2006 Royal Star Midnight Tour Deluxe bikes I had, at different times, and the difference in how that bike pulled with that V-Max gearing was night and day compared to the original gearing. With a sidecar attached to that bike, it is "almost" a must to have that V-Max gearing, because the OEM gearing on a Yamaha Venture or Royal Start Tour Deluxe is very high gearing, as in, you wouldn't even think about hitting high gear until you were well north of 75 mph.
That guy in Pennsylvania is probably done and out of the biz by now, buy he was quite well known for his work. There might be someone else that does that, or the Yamaha dealer might be able to install V-Max Ring & Pinion gears (seals and shims) if you can find an olde-school mechanic that knows HOW to do that, rather than the parts replacers they employ now.
And yes, I have reached out to Stephanie at Hannigan to ask her to look in her records, to see if they show that there was an EZ Steer installed on this bike when they installed the sidecar to the bike.
And yes, DRONE, it is 9:30 pm in Dublin, Ireland, and since we are done boating for the day, I always look at the sidecar forum.
Certified Two Million Miles Rider....All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
Rigs are scarce around here so if it's not terrible chances are good I will make an offer. I will get a picture of the Hack Vin# to ask Hannigan about it.
Owner was adamant that it did not have an EZ Steer.
Keep in mind not all bikes need the rake tree as much as others do. Measuring it will give you the answer in 10 minutes.
Rode it, Bought it, Bringing it home today. No raked tree. Owner had the car installed and chose not to have the tree raked.
Hermann is an amazing person he has ridden in places that I can only dream of and says he has Rigs in Germany for when he visits.
I'll add more when I have had a chance to give the rig a more thorough going over.
Enjoy the ride.
Congrats on the new purchase.
Congrats on your new Rig, it sure is a beauty.
Should you decide down the road the Steer light is something you want. I recommend Hannigan.
Reasons. Many make raked tress and some sell them at lower cost. In most case they are the same tree others will use for different mods to a bike.
The Hannigan one is stronger. Machined and designed for the stress of the added weight of a sidecar.
