Andy had some problems with his sidecar during the BlackDog. The Spirit of America chassis didn’t allow us to set it up with enough ground clearance and the suspension was way too soft!
The struts failed and he folded up the rig.
We decided to strip the bike and check for other damage and beef up the mounts.
While we were at it Andy decided to replace the suspension with a torsion stub axle. This allowed us to drop the axle below the chassis and dramatically increase the ground clearance while stiffening the suspension.
I cut off the swingarm and the shock mounts with the torch. Andy used the angle grinder to clean up afterwards.
Andy set the chassis up on blocks at the height he wanted it, clamped the axle in place, connected the bottom mounts and set the toe in and leanout to spec.
Then he marked the axle mount location on the bottom of the sidecar so he could drill holes for the bolts.
Nic thinks Andy’s new paint scheme is faster
Andy ended up with about 10″ of wheel lead and 11 1/2″ of ground clearance
the hack is a little light without the body work
Andy decided to add some ballast for the test ride
It needs a little fine tuning, but Andy was happy with the initial test ride
We have our first Advanced Class/Mini Tour scheduled for July 16~18, 2010. We rode out July 3rd to check the Western Gorge Mini Tour route. Amy hopped in the sidecar and my brother, David, joined us aboard his Harley.
We crossed over to Washington and headed up SR14
Road construction was halted for the holiday weekend, but it looks like I may need to find a work around for this leg.
We crossed the Columbia back into Oregon on the Bridge of the Gods
A short hop on the freeway brought us to the backdoor of the Old Highway and, eventually, Multnomah Falls.
We wound our way up to Crown Point
After a lunch break we looped back around Mt.Hood
I picked up a hitch hiker near ZigZag, when Smokey the Bear hopped in the hack
Some of the route had Dave dirtbikin’ the Hawg
The Rhodies and the Bear Grass were in bloom at the higher elevations.
Dave “It is a dualsport bike if I say it’s a dualsport bike!”
Raker Point
A single lane paved go-kart track through the woods-perfect!
We dropped off the mountain into the lush farmland of the Hood River Valley
We had a lovely day of riding;150 miles of beautiful, twisting roads down through the Columbia River Gorge and back up over the flanks of Mt.Hood.
Join Adventure Sidecar on the Western Gorge Mini Tour July 16~18,2010
I just got off the phone with Tawm. Adventure Sidecar will once again be providing the sidecar trophy for the BlackDog Dualsport Rally.
The rally is Saturday and Sunday June 5 & 6 with a special night ride Friday evening. The BlackDog stages out of Hood River County Fairgrounds in Odell, Oregon USA
Get your roll chart holders and tripmeters rigged and join us. Mr.Cob will unveil his Predator Ural rig there
(photo courtesy of Dave”Mr.Cob” Hooker)
and I know at least 3 KLR sidecar teams are planning to be riding. This is too much fun to pass up, come to Hood River and join us!
More info at: http://www.blackdogdualsport.com/bd_events.htm
With a sidecar, I usually set up the rollchart and tripmeter on the sidecar so the passenger can do the navigation. I like to set it up so the driver can look over and see it and have the GPS on the handlebars to use as a back up tripmeter. It’s more fun when the monkey and the pilot can act as a team. This allows you to stop less and concentrate on your driving.
Pay attention to the roll chart-it has important information!
If you have spare airfilters, bring ‘em- you have been warned!
http://adventuresidecar.com/three_legged_dog.htm
Check out what Tawm sez about rollchart holders here:
http://www.blackdogdualsport.com/rollchart.htm
If you haven’t done the BlackDog before, surf blackdogdualsport.com there is a ton of information hidden on Tawm’s site!
Adventure Sidecar’s first S/TEP class for 2010 is a week away! The bikes are prepped and the field is ready.
I was at it 4 1/2 hours yesterday and I finally finished getting the field set up.
We got word from one of the students coming out for the May class. He ’s just left Utah, drivng out for a camping vacation, culminating with the Adventure Sidecar class in Hood River. Should be a fun trip! He has been haunting the sidecar chats for a while now, and the S/TEP class is part of his research. I understand he is interested in getting a Ural if he finds he enjoys sidecars-we will try to ensure he has a fantastic experience here!
Yesterday was cool, but the sun was nice, and the high clouds streaming across the mountains made for a dramatic backdrop as I paced off the course and set out the rest of the marks.
Looking forward to seeing you in a sidecar class soon!
I’ve ordered the books and insurance for the S/TEP class coming up May 14~16. I finished the last oil change today.
Finished changing fork seals and cleaning the airfilters last week.
Tomorrow I will finish installing a heavy duty shock spring in #3 KLR. Jack says he’s run a drag over the field to smooth off the bumps. Next week I will begin laying out the marks and we should be about ready to go.
Good thing I love teaching these sidecar classes. Getting ready is seriously cutting into my mushroom hunting time!
I look forward to seeing you in class soon!
Getting ready for the spring flush of Zombies, as the ground thaws and softens, releasing the undead from it’s grip….
Hood RIver Community Education is closed for Spring Break March 22~March30, 2010 You should be able to contact them during normal business hours March 31, 2010
It was a beautiful, sunny March day. I got off work early. My brother, Andy, called wanting to go for a ride. Why not? I needed to warm up the bike to change the oil. I also wanted to check out part of a route for the Dualsport Tour we are doing August 20~22 this summer.
So, up the mountain we went!
It was a spectacular afternoon for a ride
We took off under the power lines.
This is a fun track, but the new maps no longer show it going through. I was hoping to verify it still is passable.
Normally this would all be under 2 or 3 feet of snow in March
Eventually we did start to see some snow
The snow got deeper. The road was slanted towards the downhill side, with steep drop offs. That edge was eroded with tree wells and slides falling away from the road.
The rear tire was spinning, the engine starting to over heat. I pulled off on a bare spot beneath a tree to wait for Andy to catch up
I’d seen some sketchy spots on the road up. Andy found one…
The snow sucked his bike to the side of the road. The down hill edge was soft, sodden with snow melt. It was giving way beneath the front tire
The two of us lifted the bike by the front wheel and drug it up on the road where Andy was able to safely turn the rig around. I walked back up the hill to get my bike
We headed back down the hill
Mt Adams from Ehrk Hill
It was still sunny when I got home. I love Spring!
We never found out if FS100 still goes through, but I did get my oil changed!
I just got back from a hot lap testing the new handlebars on my Suzuki Bandit rig. I went from 26″ width to 32″.
I don’t know if it will help with the fatigue issue(this rig steers heavily and really needs a front end modification) but it sure makes it more fun to ride!
I was surprised at how much the added width changed the ergonomics. It took some fussing to get it set up where I liked it with the levers and switches aligned. I had to roll it back some so my arms weren’t quite as extended.
The increase in leverage when turning is fantastic! This could be the best $20 I have spent on the rig!
My test run includes some tight paved up hill road, changes to tight dirt and loose gravel, then a twisty paved steep down hill, some rolling farm roads and a short stretch of 60mph highway. The rig feels more precise cornering and it takes much less effort to throw it into and hold to a tight corner both up and down hill. And on the loose dirt up hill hairpins the front wheel did not hunt like it used to!
The family unloading ATV’s from trailers at the staging area looked a bit startled to see me fly by on a bright red crotch rocket with a sidecar, leaving the pavement behind and hitting the gravel with the engine winding up into a howl as the rpms climbed….