HarleyTechTalk

Is a sidecar easier to steer than a trike ? Even with a rake kit my trike gets my shoulder and neck hurting after a day with a lot of curves. Just wondering if a sidecar bike would be better ?
Thanks,
SR

If the sidecar bike has a reduced trail triple tree it would probably be very similar to a trike.

That said, I did take a demo ride on a Harley Trike in 2011 and I lked it very much. I thought that it steered very nice and easier than my then sidecar that had only a steering damper.

You might want to check your tire inflation and the forkhead bearing adjustment as well. It should steer rather easily with the factory triple trees.

I'm assuming that you have a Harley Tri-Glide.

May want to contact Doug Bingham (aka Mr Side Car)

http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=406

http://www.sidestrider.com/

It is a Motor Trike conversion with the easy steer rake kit. It does steer easy just wondering if maybe a sidecar would be different enough to not cause me problems. I do have a neck and shoulder problem to begin with.

I will check out Doug.

Thanks,
SR

Since you have to steer both, they are both a little weird and will give your arms a workout.  Personally I wouldn't want to ride either one on a daily basis.  A sidecar rig is a whole new ballgame.  If you go into a right hand sweeper at speed the bike will lean to the left, not to the right as two wheel riders expect, and that takes getting used to.  They will pull to the right since the car is hanging out there, so left hand turns require a lot of pressure on the bars.  Right hand turns are way easier.  Side car rigs usually don't stop as well as two wheelers either.  Three wheelers usually don't corner really well, unless they are the ones with independent rear suspension. Both have advantages and disadvantages.  I won't be swapping out my two wheelers for either one soon.

Quote from: Northside on June 16, 2013, 07:35:09 PM
Since you have to steer both, they are both a little weird and will give your arms a workout.  Personally I wouldn't want to ride either one on a daily basis.  A sidecar rig is a whole new ballgame.  If you go into a right hand sweeper at speed the bike will lean to the left, not to the right as two wheel riders expect, and that takes getting used to.  They will pull to the right since the car is hanging out there, so left hand turns require a lot of pressure on the bars.  Right hand turns are way easier.  Side car rigs usually don't stop as well as two wheelers either.  Three wheelers usually don't corner really well, unless they are the ones with independent rear suspension. Both have advantages and disadvantages.  I won't be swapping out my two wheelers for either one soon.

I've owned three Harley sidecar rigs in the past 20 + years with probably more than 50,000 miles ridden. They shouldn't be compared to solo motorcycles at all. They service a totally different market and usage. They were originally very popular for delivery service. My first real job was delivering blueprints in Chicago on a 50's panhead with a commercial Harley sidecar box.

Many foks who are disabled and/or who like to travel and carry camping items will opt for a sidecar. They can't be beat for carrying a load.

Properly set up, they will handle very well, depending on the crown of the road. Some rigs other than Harley have variable lean angle servos and can be quickly adjusted for varying crown.

Modified triple trees can also hep steering a great deal by reducing trail. This is a good idea for a decidated sidecar rig that won't ever be ridden solo since handling is not good with reduced trail on a solo.

Sidecars are not for everybody. If you have a physical need, however, they can get you out in the wind.

As to trikes, they are nice but most of them are extremely expensive. $35K for a Harley trike is simply out of the question for many. They are nice but I could never commit that much money to a pleasure machine.

Resale on trikes and sidecars are not very good due to the limited market. Sidecar builders are a dying breed as well. California sidecar quit as did Harley. That tells you something about sales.

Many people dislike them intensely and would never consider buying one. I know folks who wouldn't be without one. Go figure.

Quote from: Ultrashovel on June 16, 2013, 08:12:06 PM

Quote from: Northside on June 16, 2013, 07:35:09 PM
Since you have to steer both, they are both a little weird and will give your arms a workout.  Personally I wouldn't want to ride either one on a daily basis.  A sidecar rig is a whole new ballgame.  If you go into a right hand sweeper at speed the bike will lean to the left, not to the right as two wheel riders expect, and that takes getting used to.  They will pull to the right since the car is hanging out there, so left hand turns require a lot of pressure on the bars.  Right hand turns are way easier.  Side car rigs usually don't stop as well as two wheelers either.  Three wheelers usually don't corner really well, unless they are the ones with independent rear suspension. Both have advantages and disadvantages.  I won't be swapping out my two wheelers for either one soon.

I've owned three Harley sidecar rigs in the past 20 + years with probably more than 50,000 miles ridden. They shouldn't be compared to solo motorcycles at all. They service a totally different market and usage. They were originally very popular for delivery service. My first real job was delivering blueprints in Chicago on a 50's panhead with a commercial Harley sidecar box.

Many foks who are disabled and/or who like to travel and carry camping items will opt for a sidecar. They can't be beat for carrying a load.

Properly set up, they will handle very well, depending on the crown of the road. Some rigs other than Harley have variable lean angle servos and can be quickly adjusted for varying crown.

Modified triple trees can also hep steering a great deal by reducing trail. This is a good idea for a decidated sidecar rig that won't ever be ridden solo since handling is not good with reduced trail on a solo.

Sidecars are not for everybody. If you have a physical need, however, they can get you out in the wind.

As to trikes, they are nice but most of them are extremely expensive. $35K for a Harley trike is simply out of the question for many. They are nice but I could never commit that much money to a pleasure machine.

Resale on trikes and sidecars are not very good due to the limited market. Sidecar builders are a dying breed as well. California sidecar quit as did Harley. That tells you something about sales.

Many people dislike them intensely and would never consider buying one. I know folks who wouldn't be without one. Go figure.

a couple of points here,, #1,, FLHTCUTG's are $31,000.00 not 35,,and remmber the ultra side car (TLE was near 9k, so if you add it up the price is comparable.. resale has been unbelievable,, 2010's are selling for around 27k, and the real HD sidecars are also bringing big money as the MOCO quit building them..

we can't get trikes in fast enough,, but trike sales vary quite a bit in different areas,, in the west coast they (the dealers) could care less aboout the 3 wheelers,, here in the midwest they are still high demand and i am lucky to have one on the floor..

I'd suspect about the only thing hacks and trikes have in common is that neither leans or countersteers like a two-wheeler. Beyond that... I haven't tried a trike, but I'm pretty sure they don't throttle/brake steer or handle asymmetrically (left turns and right turns are way different animals on a sidecar). Hit the gas, it pulls right; hit the brake, it pulls left; push it too hard in a left turn, either the rear wheel lifts or the front wheel slides out; push it too hard in a right-hander and the hack flies (great fun for the passenger, by the way).

As for pain and suffering, a hack can be set up for pretty low-effort steering, at least at low speeds. The price of this is slower handling. My FLHS/California Sidecar outfit had pretty quick handling, but it was a major upper-body workout. Worst was long straight stretches into a strong wind blowing from about the 10 o'clock position. The combination of the sidecar's drag and the crosswind made a long stretch of I-70 into a 200-mile one-arm pushup.

On the other hand, on a twisty, gravel fire road in the Rockies, that hack rig was more fun than the proverbial bathtub full of otters...

We run sidecars all winter in Denver escorting funerals in the snow.  By late spring all the riders are thrilled to have them removed even knowing they were vital in the bad weather.  The nice thing about the sidecar rigs is that they are not triked for life.

Quote from: ScottFree on June 18, 2013, 06:18:26 PM
I'd suspect about the only thing hacks and trikes have in common is that neither leans or countersteers like a two-wheeler. Beyond that... I haven't tried a trike, but I'm pretty sure they don't throttle/brake steer or handle asymmetrically (left turns and right turns are way different animals on a sidecar). Hit the gas, it pulls right; hit the brake, it pulls left; push it too hard in a left turn, either the rear wheel lifts or the front wheel slides out; push it too hard in a right-hander and the hack flies (great fun for the passenger, by the way).

As for pain and suffering, a hack can be set up for pretty low-effort steering, at least at low speeds. The price of this is slower handling. My FLHS/California Sidecar outfit had pretty quick handling, but it was a major upper-body workout. Worst was long straight stretches into a strong wind blowing from about the 10 o'clock position. The combination of the sidecar's drag and the crosswind made a long stretch of I-70 into a 200-mile one-arm pushup.

On the other hand, on a twisty, gravel fire road in the Rockies, that hack rig was more fun than the proverbial bathtub full of otters...

They did back in the good old days.