[chuychacon]

After riding my hack for almost a year now, I notice the shock on sidecar never compress more than 1 inch.
Has anyone tried a motorcycle shock that is adjustable with preload,air, spring rate...etc
I ride mostly empty and on unpaved roads , so it would be nice to adjust from having a rider vs empty and on really rough roads.


Thanks
Chuy

[Karl Childers]

Depending on the mounting brackets for the shock I would think you should have a very large selection of adjustable motorcycle shocks to choose from. Mount a small onboard air compressor in an out of the way location in the tub and you could mount an air adjustable shock if you find one to fit. The last rig I built I used a pre owned Harley shock off of EBay, it was lightly sprung and was most likely a Showa unit  as that is what HD normally puts on their bikes. Full or empty the chair rode fine and I had all of $35.00 invested in it. Keep in mind any motorcycle shock absorber you use with the exception of mono shock bikes is designed to compensate for half of the weigh of a given motorcycle as they are normally used in pairs which is to your advantage on a light weight sidecar.

[chuychacon]

Thanks Karl
I guess everybody is happy with their  cozy !coilovers , went to other sidecar sites and same thing almost no info or replies! or cozy driver are very shy
The side car coil is 10mm and my bike spring is 7mm  , but buying a set of shocks is cheaper than just getting a spring or 1 shock, I would guess the sidecar spring is about 175Lbs per inch, I weigh 180 and jumping up and down on it, it has never moved more than an 1"
I thought since the cozy comes from India it might handle rough roads without tinkering 
and now the county has redone all the unpaved roads,gota find one they missed or head to New Mexico

Chuy

[Karl Childers]

Yes our roads are rough but the food is great, our chile rellanos and posole are worth the trip alone! Add a fresh sopapilla and some honey for desert and you'll think you've died and gone to heaven 


If you haven't already check out the "Hack's" forum on Adventure Rider, there's a lot of savvy builders and drivers who hang out there and it's a wealth of information for the sport.

[chuychacon]

Hi Karl
100% agree, I lived in Chacon NM for 10 years,( near Mora) loved riding 518 to Taos and doing Songs, Docs....etc
before heading back home, sometime a stop at Sipapu was in order.
The big fire burned right up to our former home there, so sad for our old friends and neighbors that lost so much
Hopefully they will get it contained soon

Chuy

[Karl Childers]

Thanks Chuy, that fire has been terrible, so much destruction. A little over a week ago it was 12 miles from my house and my wife and I were advised to be ready to evacuate, it looked pretty grim for us then but much better now. We are off of evac status as of yesterday. The fire is 62 % contained and the hot shots continue to make progress as the winds have died down. They have over 3,000 people fighting it at this point and the dozers continue to cut big fire breaks. Next thing we could use is some rain!

[chuychacon]

My plan is to try  a motorcycle shock , or maybe a ATV style that uses a single shock , they seem to be set up for rough roads with lots of adjustment, the biggie is what  a hard turn away from the sidecar does to the setup
 
Hopefully I will  have more info in a couple  months
On smooth roads the stock setup works great! , but life is full of potholes



Chuy