http://s15.zetaboards.com/Triumph_Motorbike_Di/topic/78186/1/
Mae Lyne finally has her side car mounted and up and running. I installed it and couldn’t get it right. I took it off and installed it again – I still couldn’t get it right. After spending about twelve hours on it, I gave up. I dismounted it from the bike and loaded the bike and hack into my trailer and took it to a Velorex dealer in St Petersburg, who came highly recommended, 187 miles (300.9 kilometers) one way at 8 miles per gallon towing. I had to use Mae Lyne’s truck instead of my F-350, which would have gotten around 14 miles per gallon. It was pouring and the arm that runs the wipers on my F-350 broke.
I dropped the bike and hack off and the dealer asked me if I knew where I had gone wrong? I told him “no†and asked him what I did wrong?
He asked, â€Did you follow the instructions?â€
I replied, “Yesâ€
He said, “That is where you went wrongâ€.
He explained that the instructions do not tell you to tack weld the mounts on the bike once you have them in place and the car lined up. This prevents the mounts from shifting and rotating which was exactly the problem I was having. You can still do the fine tuning of the toe-in and lean angle after the mounts are secure.
Fortunately for me, he had to travel to Orlando to pick up a bike on Friday that he is installing a trike kit on and he brought Mae Lyne’s rig to Orlando with him. That saved me about 85 miles one way. Mae Lyne and I drove down to Orlando – without the trailer.
My previous sidecar experience consisted of driving the rig around the yard and in a field when I was trying to set up – maybe a mile of driving experience in first and second gear. Now I had a 100 mile trip ahead of me on a notorious stretch of interstate highway through downtown Orlando at the end of rush hour. I bought three gallon jugs of water and set in the seat of the hack for a little ballast, climbed aboard, fired her up and set out with Mae Lyne on my six. I took a longer route on some city streets to get the feel and handling before getting on the interstate.
It handles exactly like – nothing I have ever ridden or driven before! I made my right turns VERY cautiously. I got brave enough to hit the interstate and five lanes of heavy traffic. Leaning does not turn this rig; you must turn those handle bars! Another quirk – throttle steer. You roll on the throttle and the rig goes right; you roll off the throttle and it goes left. OK, I can make that work for me. By the time I got through the metro Orlando area, I was less tense and beginning to enjoy the rig. I got brave enough to run 65 mph (104.6 kilometers per hour) with bursts to 70 mph (112.65 kilometers per hour) and kind of stay with the flow of traffic, even doing some passing now and then. Toward the end of the trip my arms and shoulders were getting tired. I was thinking this must be a bear in the twisties until one gets in shape. Mae Lyne drove it the last two miles of the trip.
Saturday morning dawned and we had a mission in the northeast part of Jacksonville, right near the gate to the Mayport Naval station. We were to meet another PGR rider at 9:45 and ride together to the mission. We decided to take the rig. Mae Lyne climbed in the hack and off we went. It was a two hour ride to Mayport on interstate highway, rural roads, and city surface streets. I am enjoying this now; but it is still work!
As we pulled in to the staging area and parked the rig, one of the PGR members came over and proclaimed, “Sidecar Sallie†has arrived.†The moniker stuck. She is now known as “Sidecar Sallieâ€.
After the mission was over, I climbed into the hack, praying fervently, and Mae Lyne tried her hand at city traffic and driving the rig. She did some turns and maneuvers in a parking lot before we hit the road. She did very well. At one point we were going up a ramp with a sweeping curve to the left to get on a bridge. I noticed that the edge of the pavement and the embankment were coming too quickly for my comfort. I hollered “Turnâ€. She hollered back “It won’t turn!†I looked and she was leaning left as hard as she could lean. I hollered “Turn the handle bars!†She did and made the turn nicely. She is starting to figure out that throttle steer. In a couple of more practice sessions, she will be able to cautiously venture anywhere. She is so excited about being able to ride solo again and she loves that rig.
Sidecar Sallie has arrived!
Mae Lyne finally has her side car mounted and up and running. I installed it and couldn’t get it right. I took it off and installed it again – I still couldn’t get it right. After spending about twelve hours on it, I gave up. I dismounted it from the bike and loaded the bike and hack into my trailer and took it to a Velorex dealer in St Petersburg, who came highly recommended, 187 miles (300.9 kilometers) one way at 8 miles per gallon towing. I had to use Mae Lyne’s truck instead of my F-350, which would have gotten around 14 miles per gallon. It was pouring and the arm that runs the wipers on my F-350 broke.
I dropped the bike and hack off and the dealer asked me if I knew where I had gone wrong? I told him “no†and asked him what I did wrong?
He asked, â€Did you follow the instructions?â€
I replied, “Yesâ€
He said, “That is where you went wrongâ€.
He explained that the instructions do not tell you to tack weld the mounts on the bike once you have them in place and the car lined up. This prevents the mounts from shifting and rotating which was exactly the problem I was having. You can still do the fine tuning of the toe-in and lean angle after the mounts are secure.
Fortunately for me, he had to travel to Orlando to pick up a bike on Friday that he is installing a trike kit on and he brought Mae Lyne’s rig to Orlando with him. That saved me about 85 miles one way. Mae Lyne and I drove down to Orlando – without the trailer.
My previous sidecar experience consisted of driving the rig around the yard and in a field when I was trying to set up – maybe a mile of driving experience in first and second gear. Now I had a 100 mile trip ahead of me on a notorious stretch of interstate highway through downtown Orlando at the end of rush hour. I bought three gallon jugs of water and set in the seat of the hack for a little ballast, climbed aboard, fired her up and set out with Mae Lyne on my six. I took a longer route on some city streets to get the feel and handling before getting on the interstate.
It handles exactly like – nothing I have ever ridden or driven before! I made my right turns VERY cautiously. I got brave enough to hit the interstate and five lanes of heavy traffic. Leaning does not turn this rig; you must turn those handle bars! Another quirk – throttle steer. You roll on the throttle and the rig goes right; you roll off the throttle and it goes left. OK, I can make that work for me. By the time I got through the metro Orlando area, I was less tense and beginning to enjoy the rig. I got brave enough to run 65 mph (104.6 kilometers per hour) with bursts to 70 mph (112.65 kilometers per hour) and kind of stay with the flow of traffic, even doing some passing now and then. Toward the end of the trip my arms and shoulders were getting tired. I was thinking this must be a bear in the twisties until one gets in shape. Mae Lyne drove it the last two miles of the trip.
Saturday morning dawned and we had a mission in the northeast part of Jacksonville, right near the gate to the Mayport Naval station. We were to meet another PGR rider at 9:45 and ride together to the mission. We decided to take the rig. Mae Lyne climbed in the hack and off we went. It was a two hour ride to Mayport on interstate highway, rural roads, and city surface streets. I am enjoying this now; but it is still work!
As we pulled in to the staging area and parked the rig, one of the PGR members came over and proclaimed, “Sidecar Sallie†has arrived.†The moniker stuck. She is now known as “Sidecar Sallieâ€.
After the mission was over, I climbed into the hack, praying fervently, and Mae Lyne tried her hand at city traffic and driving the rig. She did some turns and maneuvers in a parking lot before we hit the road. She did very well. At one point we were going up a ramp with a sweeping curve to the left to get on a bridge. I noticed that the edge of the pavement and the embankment were coming too quickly for my comfort. I hollered “Turnâ€. She hollered back “It won’t turn!†I looked and she was leaning left as hard as she could lean. I hollered “Turn the handle bars!†She did and made the turn nicely. She is starting to figure out that throttle steer. In a couple of more practice sessions, she will be able to cautiously venture anywhere. She is so excited about being able to ride solo again and she loves that rig.
Sidecar Sallie has arrived!
