DRIVING A SIDECAR
NEW OWNER DRIVING AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
It is important to know that driving a sidecar will be nothing like riding
a solo motorcycle. So take my advice and forget most of the twenty years of
experience you have spent riding motorcycles and be prepared to spend some
time to change habits and learn some new tricks.
First of all forget leaning the motorcycle into a turn (it will not happen)
so remember if you do not turn the handlebars into a turn the motorcycle
will go straight. This may sound funny but many times old habits are very
strong and hard to break.
Remember also that there is a sidecar attached to the right hand side of
you motorcycle and you must make a mental note to stay to the left side of
your lane. It is no longer necessary and is unsafe to lower your feet from
the foot pegs when the vehicle is moving, except when you want to push the
rig in reverse.
It is very possible that on a fast or tight right hand turn the sidecar
wheel will lift off the ground. For the first time rider it is a good idea
to avoid this maneuver until you become more familiar with your sidecar.
The lifting of the sidecar wheel can be avoided in a number of ways. The
first and most common method is simply slow down on right hand turns until
you become familiar with your sidecar. The second method is to make sure
that there is always a passenger or additional weight in the sidecar and to
avoid having a passenger on the back of the bike when the sidecar is empty.
(but still watch your speed on right turns). After you become more familiar
with your sidecar you may want to take the rig into an empty parking lot
with no obstructions for the following maneuver. Put the sidecar rig into a
right hand turn and slowly increase the speed and the tightness of the turn
until the sidecar wheel comes off the ground. This maneuver will allow you
to safely experience what it feels like to have the wheel off the ground
and will avoid the unknown if it happens by accident while driving the rig.
Because it will put unnecessary stress on the sidecar mounting hardware the
raising of the sidecar should only be for learning purpose.
It is normal to feel the rig want to pull slightly to the right when
accelerating because of the pull of the sidecar and a slight pull to the
left when backing off the throttle. This is a normal reaction of attaching
a sidecar to a motorcycle and after you have some riding experience with
your sidecar you will hardly notice it. Some motorcycle sidecar
applications will experience what we call low speed (wheel-wobble)and it
usually occurs between first and second gear at about twenty or thirty MPH.
If you are experiencing intolerant wheel-wobble and you are sure the toe in
measurement and wheel lead settings are correct you may want to install a
steering damper (available from Champion) to the front fork of your
motorcycle.
It is also normal if you do not have a brake on your sidecar to feel a
slight pull to the right when stopping you rig. This is because the sidecar
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