Leading on from my last blog entry about setting up a sidecar for the first time, here are some observations about actually riding the bucking beast that you have created.
bear in mind that I live in the uk, where we know that driving on the right is wrong and left is right, and therefore our sidecars are mounted on the left so some of my observations need to be reversed for those in the ex colonies of America etc
Due to the nature of a sidecar it will, of course, handle completely differently from either a car or solo motorcycle, you have to learn a whole new set of skills, so what should you expect?
Steering Wobble
When you pull away, you will almost definitely notice a degree of head shaking or wobble around about 15mph which smooths out at about twenty (this varies from one outfit to another)
This is absolutely normal, if it doesn't dissipate above about twenty mph something needs adjusting or is broken or just plain worn out.
An outfit that doesn't exhibit this behaviour is rare indeed!
There are several reasons for this behaviour, putting it simply, you have a weight on one side of the bike which isn't exactly parallel (it is slightly angled in toward the bike) so as you pull away its dragging the bike at first, then wanting to move towards it as it gains momentum
(this is an oversimplification,but is essentially whats going on)
Also, the angle of the headstock and forks is not intended to steer in an upright position at anything more than walking pace, combine that with the gyroscope between the bottom of the fork legs (or the 'wheel' as it is sometimes known) and you experience a shaking effective.
other factors that can affect this include the setting for toe in, lead, trail, tyre pressures, front fork type and the amount of weight in the sidecar.
This effect is usually less noticeable with leading link front suspension, steering dampers can help minimise it too, as will a fork brace on telescopic forks.
I've never found it necessary to fit a steering damper myself, many people do, but I've always felt that if you get the thing set up right, it really shouldn't need it.
A well set up outfit will be perfectly steady at anything above twenty mph and absolutely rock steady at motorway speeds, even with one hand on the bars only.
Weight
A heavier sidecar is in some respects easier to learn with than a light one simply because it will be less inclined to lift off the ground on bends, if you have a light weight sidecar, its a good idea to add some ballast such as a heavy bag of sand, it'll be a lot easier to steer
Steering Round Bends
Left Handers
This is perhaps one of the hardest things to get used to if you are used to a solo machine.
Forget all that you have learned about leaning into the bend etc 'cos it isn't going to work with a sidecar and screaming passenger on one side!
With a sidecar you need to set up carefully for a bend, if it's a left hander (or right in strange foreign places) you need to smoothly accelerate, forcing the bike to prescribe an arc around the sidecar.
Depending on how heavy your sidecar is, failing to do so can mean that the whole outfit keeps going straight ahead, the front wheel skipping and handlebars twitching as they fight the weight of the sidecar.
Conversely, if you accelerate too hard around the chair, or turn the bars too sharply to the left, the sidecar wheel will lift clear of the ground, panic and open the throttle more, or steer harder and it is possible to flip the outfit!
Experienced sidecar riders actually lift the sidecar on purpose (its fun when you know what you're doing, trust me), but then, sidecar riders are, at best, eccentric, and worst completely barking mad- you have been warned, there are no exceptions!
If you have an entirely independent brake that ONLY works on the sidecar, you can also use this lightly on left handers to gain the same result as accelerating the bike.
Right Handers
Going into right handers is , unsurprisingly, the opposite, you brake GENTLY as you go round (again, counter intuitive to what you would do on a solo machine) so that the unbraked weight of the sidecar encourages it to run around the bike.
Brake too hard and the whole thing will tip onto it's nose
Braking
It's important to be smooth with your braking technique, braking too sharply can induce a steering weave, additionally, if you brake too hard with the front brake, the outfit can lift the rear of the bike, leaving it balancing on just the sidecar and front wheel, which won't be pointing in the same direction, luck determines what happens next, it isn't a good situation to find yourself in!
Allow extra stopping time!,
you are asking your brakes to stop a lot more mass than they had to do before you added that sidecar and brakes are only as good as the tyres, something a lot of people tend to forget when they upgrade their brakes.
Fitting six pot brake callipers to a bike with a skinny 21 inch wheel and small contact patch with the road won't improve it's stopping distance, it will just lock the front wheel up with less effort due to co efficient of friction (or stiction as it's more commonly called)
speaking of brake upgrades, while not essential, a sidecar brake will improve braking efficiency far more than upgrading the bikes brakes (unless you are fitting wider wheels/tyres as well)
the key to all this is patience and smoothness, you need to learn a smooth riding style, braking early, accelerating smoothly, not yanking hard on the handlebars, learn how to do it right and you will LOVE sidecars, there will be a period of scaring yourself at some point, for sure, but once you have it mastered you'll be damn glad that you did
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