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greg_in_london

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Everything posted by greg_in_london

  1. greg_in_london
    Or fit a stabiliser like what I did.
  2. greg_in_london
    got a link ?
  3. greg_in_london
    Ain't it the same all over. The general view over here is that the British bike industry went down beause they got omplacent being the biggest players around and didn't reinvest in new tooling or designs. Yes the unions were blamed, but I understand that the amount of time lost due to stress and accidents (now people are less protected) is more than time lost due to strikes in the 1970s. The gap between the well paid and the not so well paid has been growing here for years, yet the media continue to target the lowest paid and blame costs on them. Perversely, when Tony Blair was commenting on pay rises (below real inflation) for local authority staff he wanted to include state benefits as part of the discussion ! (Translation - full time staff working for the state don't earn enough to live and need top-up benefits). I was a union negotiating officer for years in a previous job and was victimised as a result. I represented many people - mainly staff whose faces didn't fit with managers. Some were better than others, but no-one was a skiver. Mainly we tried to reach a mutually convenient accommodation, but most problems really came down to pretty useless management who couldn't deal with a situation - or actually WERE the problem themselves. Oops - danger of ranting. I'm glad that I'm in a pretty safe job now - only several months ago I was in agency work - a few more months and ith belt-tightening I might not have got a permanent contract.
  4. greg_in_london
    1975 Suzuki B120 in 1984 for £75 Plenty more after that.
  5. greg_in_london
    £$%^&*() I just spent ages pontificating about sidecar fittings then fell for a spoof IM on photobucket and had to crash out of internet explorer to avoid downloading nasties. Grrr Anyway, the long and the short of it was that the original Jawas had brackets across both front down tubes as well. I explained how the lower rear/middle worked (much better than the kit version) and then went on about eye bolts. You're probably all glad to have missed that anyway.. The eyebolt bit is important, though. When you first set up a sidecar it's tempting to triangulate the fittings and attach them to a nice neat line of eyebolts. The problem with them is that you can only tighten them so much and then they act as pivot pins. http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/sidecar/pinjoint.jpg The result is an outfit that sags into the middle. The Velorex 562 (and 700) has a sleeve that the front fitting inserts into and clamps up nice and tight. If you have a lightweight combination you might feel that that is strength enough. If not, then it is a shame that there is nothing similar at the back. All I can suggest is a box clamp like the one in the Jawa 650/velorex picture above. The original version was longer - but never mind. http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/trailer.gif
  6. greg_in_london
    Well I've done a bit more searching - didn't find anything in the UK, but stretching my (nonexistent) Czech I found info on a couple of obscure Velorex models. According to this site, the 565 was available from 2004: http://www.volny.cz/sidecar/Sidecary_Ve.htm Here is a picture of a 565 fitted to a Jawa 650: http://www.sidecar-cz.com/sidecary_foto/foto_sidecar_v/Jawa_650_Velorex_565/jawa_650_velorex_56512.jpg There are the 'usual' four fittings plus a fifth one. I can't make out what it connects to on the bike, but it uses a Squire/Watsonian-style box clamp on the sidecar. I'd suggest that the other lower/rear(middle?) fitting is not not only useless, but redundant - I'd lose it and use the mounting point for the more solid connector from the box clamp. I've no idea what the sigificance of this page is, but someone from the Sidecar Club in Prague went to a lot of effort either to design, or to upgrade a 565 to fit it to a Honda 750, although the fittings chosen look a bit odd, possibly because of the angle the photos were taken from. Have a look, though: http://www.sidecar-cz.com/clenove/reznik/Honda_cb_750.html
  7. greg_in_london
    Hi 1Rooster, Greying says he has a 562 - the most common model in the UK (although it was a 700 I put on the GS250T). The fitting kit they show on the website I would regard as not strong enough for anything but the lightest bike - there are three eyebolts in a row and cannot stop flex. The front lower connection is the ONLY thing stopping the bike from folding onto the sidecar. I'd be interested in seeing how yours is connected to the bike - I looked at a few of your pictures but couldn't see and the Jawa USA website only has diagrams for the 562 (for which I have full parts lists, including fittings, if people want) and 700. Maybe it's a model they make over there ?
  8. greg_in_london
    Hi Greying, I visited my friend's bike shop today and had a closer look at his Kawa 800, although wedged between other bikes it wasn't that easy to get a good look. The lower rear possible fitting you mention - in the picture you can see two bolts that hold the exhaust on. From what I could see, if you could weld a fittig to a plate and bolt it here, it could be solid. Alternatively there is a large nut just ahead of it. A female eye bolt with a thread tapped to match could maybe be attached here. It would be tempting to remove the rear footpeg and attach a fitting here, but that would also be quite low. You can locate a bracket just below the seat - the pillion passenger will probably be able to find somewhere else to place their feet once the sidecar is in place - it may even be MORE comfortable... At the front, those allen bolts holding the frame together look a good option, unless you have a fitting that will span the two downtubes. At the bottom, the bracket for the footrest could be employed, always remembering that you still need to use the pedal... I couldn't see an easy way of spanning both downtubes or the engine mounts - not with two boltholes on each side to prevent it rotating. Making and usig fittings really depends o both your skills and confidence as a fabricator and what fittings you have already. Good luck.
  9. greg_in_london
    Hi Rooster, As I said above (somewhere) there may be different models in different markets. I followed the links through to your dragon's tail pictures and presume that that is the sidecar that you are talking about - the nose of the sidecar certainly looks distinctly velorex, but after that little else is familiar. I haven't seen a round nose sidecar with a body at the back at head height, with a foot plate, nor with a crash bar underneath at the front. It may be that yours is significantly heavier than those I have experience of and that yours was never intended to grace a Jawa 350. I've had different models on three Jawa 350s, a Suzuki GS250T, a GT380, GT550 and, with a heavier body, a GS550. My experience is that the Velorexes THAT I HAVE EXPERIENCE OF would be too lightweight for a motorcycle that is much bigger. I bent the stub axles on one Jawa and also the GS550, although I understand that Velorex have upgraded the spindle on newer models. If you read my other threads you will see that I'm not often likely to be accused of being excessively cautious.... Your sidecar may be different though, and I can't see the fittings on your photos.
  10. greg_in_london
    It might be worth looking at the pivot pin and hole in the lever while it's off and make sure there's no appreciable wear. That could make it snatch if it's not a snug fit.
  11. greg_in_london
    Hi Wild Hair, This thread got posted twice, see http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27960 for the discussion.
  12. greg_in_london
    I've just checked the specs for the Z440 - I hadn't realised they were so gutless - 27-29hp ! Even the GPz305 was better than that ! Even so, weight wise I would say it's a better match. I found a picture of a Drifter with a 562 attached at http://www.sidecarcanada.com/archive/562kaw.html http://www.sidecarcanada.com/images/000_0250.JPG Looking at Kwak 800 pictures, it would be easier to fit on the left hand side, as any right minded person would wish to, but if you must fit on the right, from the pictures it looks as if there is space just below the seat, there may be places to bolt a bracket poking out beneath the exhaust and nelow the headstock, where the frame bolts together maybe those bolts could be extended and a bracket made. I've used a stock photo to see if that helps clarify. http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/sidecar/kawa800.jpg Whatever happens, ifyou're doing it on a budget you're going to have to make some parts.
  13. greg_in_london
    A Kawa 440 would be closer to the right weight. Remember the Velorex 562 was designed to go on a 380-400lb Jawa 350 producing 20-odd horsepower. The Kawa 800 is a lot more than that (the 440 is still more, too). Sorry, but while I have idly looked at a Kawa 800 and thought, 'Hmmm, I could put a sidecar on that,' (last week, in fact - a friend has picked an abandoned one up and it's in his shop) - I've done no more than that. One thing that you have to decide, though, is whether you are prepared to weld on eyebolts. If you are, then you don't have to worry about what section the tube is (so long as it's thick enough). I'm guessing that the kit that you refer to is simlar to what's shown in this page: http://www.f2motorcycles.ltd.uk/sidecars.html If it is, you will probably find that the box clamp in the top right hand corner is okay for the back lower fixing on the sidecar. You'll want the fitting to go straight across to a point as far back as you can go, without mounting anything excessively weak. The other illustrated mounts are only for round section tubes, so you may need to find if you can get eyebolts to attach to any mounting bolts on the frame. If you have a 14mm bolt sticking out, or can fit an overlength one and have an eyebolt which has (or could take) that size thread for example, then this may be better than attaching a clamp to the frame. It's hard to be any more specific without pictures of your bike and the fittings you have available.
  14. greg_in_london
    From other posters in the USA I'm not 100% certain that the Velorex chairs in the USA are exactly the same as here in the UK, even though the websites have the same pictures. If you post some pictures, then we'll know for sure. My personal view is that a Velorex chair will be too light for a Kwak 800. Some other posters have disagreed.
  15. greg_in_london
    You just need to look for a tyre with a higher load rating. Avon or Conti will do you one with a 77 Load Index which is good for 908 lb. You can download the Conti technical manual from http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/motorcycle/themes/download/technical_manual_uv.pdf but I've obviously no idea what availability will be like in your area. (Actually in the UK the Conti Tour is hard to get hold of at present - but that may not be the case for you.) I pull a lot of weight when we're on holiday - total weight about a tonne, so I get through back tyres fairly quickly - about 4,000 miles. No actual problems, though.
  16. greg_in_london
    Whahey ! Petrol's down below £1 per litre at the big supermarkets - that's only $9 per gallon. LPG pollutes less in towns and is cheaper (across Europe - someone said it's not available on your side of the Atlantic) and seems more honest than these silly electrical vehicles where you just get the pollution produced somewhere else, but diesel is well worth a look at - cars and small vans are cheaper to run than motorcycles on a run nowadays and performance is pretty good. Over here LPG conversions for bikes are now possible and becoming more common. Diesel bikes aren't a reality yet, though.
  17. greg_in_london
    That picture's gone again. Not sure that it's coming back this time.
  18. greg_in_london
    We call them motorways. Without a good stereo, they're pretty boring after the first couple of hours, though.
  19. greg_in_london
    Is the starter motor button sticking slightly. You may find that it can stick on enough to cut out the lighting circuit, but not enough to spin the motor. Worth checking.
  20. greg_in_london
    Hmmmm, not sure why the link doesn't work. Checking the properties of the link and pasting it into the browser gave me this: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LxZ4Mi3rR3Q/SOx5APbGZrI/AAAAAAAAN2E/NS_GwSwmttU/s1600/img_0472 It doesn't look as if his bike has much ground clearance if he's already grounding out at that lean angle on a flat road, though.
  21. greg_in_london
    Hmmm - looks nice, but on a big heavy outfit why would you want a bike rather than car tyre given the choice ? I was going to say that the suspension looks primitive from the pictures, but the spec sheet says it has 'Progressive type adjustable shock/swing arm' - whatever that means. Couldn't see the prices, though.
  22. greg_in_london
    Well if that's a Velorex, it's not like any Velorex I've seen on this side of the Atlantic. What did you mean about the ride ? Is the seat or sidecar suspension worn, or have you ridden it and found it heavy to steer ? Oh yes - photos, but hardly anything of the fittings you tease...
  23. greg_in_london
    I hate to be unpatriotic - and also to rely on twenty year old anecdotal evidence - but with Champions it was always necessary to be ready for a duff spark plug, maybe to be ready to have a spare to replace a bad one. Why change out old NGK ones for Champions for ones that might not work - generally as a way of eliminating possible problem components to diagnose a problem you don't want to add questionable parts. I never had a bad NGK plug, so I've never gone back. A couple of years ago Champion were promoting copper cored plugs. Whoopee do.
  24. greg_in_london
    Happens to me often enough when I push on too fast with the outfit and trailer (especially if I've repacked to reduce noseweight on bumpy roads). Gently slow down. Keep it straight and let off the throttle. Or rather when I say keep it straight I mean don't do anything sudden - gently turning can be beneficial, but isn't always practical. Speeding up is only an option for very lightweight trailers where there was another reason for the weave. With a heavier trailer I'd be surprised if this worked, although years ago I found that I just got used to the weave on a CX500 with a substantial trailer. I'd forgotten it was still weaving until I looked back and saw it bouncing side to side and three lanes of motorway behind were afraid to overtake... My view - slow down. If the weave is caused by excessive speed (for your rig, the way it is packed, for road conditions) then slowing down is the only logical response. If it's caused by something else, there's a good chance it will die down by itself if you do nothing to make it worse - just stay below any critical speed to leave a margin for safety. In an emergency, if you have over-run brakes, maybe brake, but there is a delay before they come on and matters could get worse in that time, so only brake gently.
  25. greg_in_london
    I can't say that you HAVE to, but it is a moving part and grease cuts down wear and ensures that turning moments are reduced. I remember reading people's reasons for not greasing, but didn't find them convincing, so have forgotten them. In Europe the wiring includes an earth, don't know about your systems over there.
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