Questions about sidecars

[1rooster]

Yup got the disk brake on it and Yes I will be setting it up with some help from those who know what they are doing.

 

I am going to be asking alot of questions from you that are expierienced with Hacks and will be putting the advice to the rig I know nothing about setting up or riding Sidecars and will greatly appreciate all the info sent my way.

Phil I will give you a call over the weekend if I get started on the setup.Thanks for the offer.

 

Jeff

 

 

 

 

 

Jeff here are the setup instructions for the Velorex.They are "basically" the same for all sidecars.Hope you can use some of this information.

 

http://www.velorexusa.com/Instruction_pdf/install_instructions.pdf

[PBJ]

Jeff, I'll be glad to answer any and all questions you have I drive limo on weekends and will be doing a wine tour from 12 to 6 pm but if you call me or leave a text mmessage Ii'll get back to you once I make a stop I usually have a half hour per stop so we can talk.

 

BUT ( Sorry with these Buts) Too many times Husband assume that a sidecar is some how softer or easier to ride because it has three wheel. too many people associate a side car with a trike. But its not. Sidecars have are inherantly off balanced. Theres a delicate tipping point that chair riders all understand. Trikes don't have this because their axles are equal distant on both sides like training wheels . If the chair wheel comes up theres nothing on the other side to catch it.

 

When you tell me MINI is going to ride it it sets off alarm bells because a chair takes alot of upper body strength at times like into curves. It isn't for the weak. I'm not saying women can't ride them , a woman can do anything she puts her mind to but it needs to be understood that its not going to be easier with a chair but a little harder.

 

Weight and balance are everything. Never forget that. Now I have a story to tel you that i've hesaitated in telling you. 5 years ago a Mother and her two children were killed in a sidecar incident here In New York . The Mom was relatively new to sidecaring but not a novice. the mistake she made was that she and her teenage daughter were on the bike the daughter felt it cooler to be on the bike. They put her Nine year old brother in the car, The weight of the brother wasn't enought to compensate for the weight of the two adults on the bike . She went into a curve with too much speed and the wheel lifted . Like a told you in another post once that wheel lifts its a bike again and you have to mentally switch back to countersteering. The mom paniked and couldn't wrestle the wheel back down and the rig went across the line right into a car .

 

Lesson here the more weight in the car the better. and setting the car up to the weight that will normally be kept in it be it dogs, people or luggage is essential to happy and safe rigging. I'm not saying this to be alarmist but its important that you know all these things. call me saturday and I'll get backto you as quickly as i can Phil.

[mini-muffin]

Thank you so much. I told Jeff that I wasn't gonna ride a bike with a sidecar cause it would have to be different then riding a trike. Now he can see you agree with me.

 

Margaret

[PBJ]

Mini your welcome. I hope I'm not causing problems. When my ex and I rode with our kids i always drove the rig. It can be a handfull even set up properly. But its the driver that really needs to be doing the setting up because it has to be to that drivers specifications and abilities.. It could become maddening for you , trying to explain to Jeff how the car is feeling or pulling one way or they other. I want you both to be safe and enjoy the experience at the same time. Like I said i love mine and ride it solo just because i have fun but I've also learned to tame the beast and it does take a bit of time. Once that sidecar is on its not a bike anymore Its a sidecar rig or hack or chair. It is it's own kind of fun, but it is a handful.

[greg_in_london]

It would be a shame to see you put off - sidecars are very different to solos, but they can be set up to be manageable, particularly if you use leading link forks.

 

My g/f says she wants to learn to drive an outfit and had a go on a 400 and chair last weekend. She's had very short gos on the XJ750 and Venture outfits - that's a long way from driving on the road, though. Sidecars have historically had a record of very good safety, probably BECAUSE you have to drive with caution (of sorts) and within your limits. The throttle is NOT an on-off switch and you need foresight. People without these capabilities, or the patience to gain them, get switched off sidecars very quickly. One previous girlfriend learnt to drive an outfit, another did not. I don't know whether you'd get on with it or not; but I'd not recommend taking your kids out until you've gained a lot of experience and decided that you want to keep with it.

 

There's a big difference between driving something set up even nearly right and fun and driving something unstable that needs to be wrestled around.

 

I need to modify something I posted earlier about Velorex chairs, though. I still say that they're MUCH too lightweight for a Venture, but here is a quote from the UK importers about the sidecar wheel axle and suspension:

 

F2 Motorcycles Ltd are the sole importer of the Velorex UK range of lightweight sidecars. These Velorex UK sidecars should not be confused with the similar styles Velorex sidecars fitted many years ago to Jawa 350cc 2-stroke motorcycles. The Velorex UK sidecar is considerably stronger than the old Jawa Velorex having a strengthened chassis in the area around the swing arm and shock absorber mounts. The shock absorber is much stronger and the wheel axle is 20 mm rather than the older 15 mm. All these modifications along with our fitting kits makes fitting a Velorex UK sidecar to a larger and faster motorcycle both easy and safe.

I was rather concerned about the US website fitting instructions, though, with the fitting to the footrest having an eyebolt at each end. Jawa and Velorex did not believe that this was strong enough for their 1960s two stroke twin.

This is the picture ofthe fitting kit in the UK:

http://www.f2motorcycles.ltd.uk/f2images/velorex%20images/mountings%20for%20the%20UK%20clear.jpg

 

There is a box clamp in the top left of the picture - I presume that that should be the middle sidecar fitting - NOT an eyebolt or an attempt to save a few pennies by re-using the bracket that was made to fit a Jawa. I don't know that I'm explaining the issue very clearly - it's difficult to describe without just grabbing the sidecar and pulling, or waving hands about and pointing at the bits. Tell me if it's worth making more of an effort.