Tuesday, April 23, 2013

First Passengers

My son, Kyle, went for his first sidecar ride this morning when Charlie6 (of redlegsrides.blogspot.com fame) needed to warm up the engine on his rig before changing the oil. After returning, Kyle's response was "it wasn't as scary as he thought it would be". And that is with an experienced sidecar pilot.

Much of today was spent on maintenance and adjustments on both of the rigs. When I had last checked my setup, I thought the toe-in was about ¼" but when we checked it today, it was toed out almost 2"! The 2x4 that I was using as a straight edge wasn't as straight as I thought it was. After a lot of fiddling, I think we have it set to ½". I'll ride it for a while and see if there is a difference.

My birthday present from my wife, Bridget, was that she would try riding in the sidecar. Dom documented the event and posted the video. Here, after testing out the Sena intercom, we are leaving the house. This is the first time I carried a passenger in the sidecar and I need to work on smoother shifting. The sidecar yaws left when the clutch is pulled in and right when the clutch is let out and you start accelerating again. This also occurs to a lesser degree without a passenger but it is more pronounced with a passenger.



And here we are arriving back home after a short ride down Farmers Loop Road. Note the death grip to the sides of the sidecar. The seat area is on the shallow side.



After we get back, Dom explained to Bridget why the passenger is referred to as the "monkey".

10 comments:

  1. That's a good looking rig you got there Richard! Your monkey needs to get some more rides in with you!

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  2. Replies
    1. I'm not sure she shares the view. She wants to try a ride in the Ural for comparison when Dom returns to Fairbanks.

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  3. Happy Birthday Richard:

    Your Hack looks better with a Monkey in it. I can see more rides are in your future

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. For something cobbled together, I think it turned out fine. I don't think it even needs to be painted.

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  4. Great Job Bridget! A few death grips are fine now and then. ;)

    Hope you enjoyed it enough to try a couple more times.

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    1. She mentioned that it felt very insecure due to the lack of a seat belt and the low sides on the sidecar. A car with taller sides would probably be more comfortable and feel more secure.

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  5. Lovin' it! Good for her! She will probably find that Dom's sidecar has much more space and comfort.

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    1. The Urall sidecar is quite a bit larger. Both deeper and wider. I think that I would find it more comfortable. The Cozy is more for stability than passengers. Though the Cozy India site list the rear rack as a potential seating position for additional passengers....

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