Strictly for winter riding, but it's a blast, probably not many people have done donuts on a motorcycle.

I noted the tires. Is that an Airhead or something line a 850R oilhead. The tank almost looks like an S tank but it's difficult to tell.

And it's interesting how American English as evolved. If one reads early American literature and letters, the English is virtually the same, for obvious reasons. Along the way we dropped letters such as in "colours" and "colors" and usage changed. Hmmm.

Two nations separated by a common language. It's interesting watching British TV to hear the different usage. They "hire" a car and we "rent" a car.

Two nations divided by a common language
 
Last edited:
So to help side car hacks perform better you jack the ass end up and lower the front?

If set up correctly with standard forks it will be heavy to handle at normal speeds and probably shake its head at slow speeds. Modifying the trail is how this is remedied. Can be done by modified fork triple trees or by leading link or even reversing the forks and adding a plate to alter the trail. The distance moved will determine the stability versus the lightness of the steering effort. The bike tracking straight is a combination of toe in and bike lean out from the chair. Not to mention tyre selection and wear which adds to the overall experience. My outfit only requires a steering damper when carrying a heavy load on the rear of the bike or when the front tyre is almost worn out. Load in the sidecar as well as road camber are other variables to be accounted for.
When adding a trailer the placement of the towing point adds to the acceleration or deceleration effect of the chair.
When all of this is just right it is a truly wonderful experience and at other times its a work in progress.
 
Last edited:
So to help side car hacks perform better you jack the ass end up and lower the front?

BN, Good question: The stock Rocket does not have enough ground clearance for remote gravel roads where deep potholes, eighteen-wheeler truck ruts and frost heaves are forever threatening the oil pan. A skid plate is helpful but more ground clearance is a huge plus. If this were to be a pavement only rig, raising it would not be necessary.

Normally the bike subframe where the lower sidecar mounts are, hangs even lower than the oil pan.
 
Al knows his sidecars.

Sidecar design is a science up to a certain point with many, many factors affecting safety and handling. After that it's an art to fine tune the rig to suit the owner/operator's weight, needs, limitations and temperament.
 
Al knows his sidecars.

Sidecar design is a science up to a certain point with many, many factors affecting safety and handling. After that it's an art to fine tune the rig to suit the owner/operator's weight, needs, limitations and temperament.
I do a few KM's of dirt road and had noticed the sever lack of clearance plus all the ding marks on the bash plate so I have fitted spacers to all 5 shocks to raise it and it allows much higer speeds on the dirt.

spacer 1.jpg
spacer.jpg
 
Thank you Al, Would you be willing to share some photos of the lower and upper mounts on your rig?

To complicate the build, am asking that the foot peg rails be lowered for my long legs. Am 1.98m tall.

Who built your leading link?
 
Or as I said, leading legs. My Strom steered like a 1965 Ford pickup with no power steering until I modified the trail.

On raising the rear end as you asked Big Norm, no. I had my suspension done by respected super bike suspension builder, Barry Wrestle. What one does and how the suspension is set up depends on the bike.
 
Back
Top