I was able to put about 1200 miles on the bike before the hack went on, which was a good thing, because it's feeling a lot better than when it was new. I wouldn't have wanted to try to break it in with the sidecar, cause you have to get after it somewhat to "get on down the road", especially with a passenger.
The dealer set it up, and it went pretty well. Everything is tighter than Dick's hat band, and I'm gonna keep an eye on all that. I was pleasantly surprised at the way it handles!
The dealer rode it a little, I rode it a little, then they adjusted the hacks tire placement on the rim, it had kinda a flat spot from being shipped, that caused a little bump at slow speeds.
It blew a fuse while I was taking it home the first day; I found the spare and got it running and back to the dealer. The problem was due to bad (corroded) sockets in the brake and turn lights. They were replaced with automotive units and that fixed that. Also, a ground strap had to be run from car to bike, and a heavier duty flasher was added cause the lights flashed too fast and dim, but now that all that's worked out, which the dealer took care of, everything seems to be OK. I'm just waiting on the convertible soft top, which is coming separately, to finish things up.
When you put on the brakes, you can feel a little reaction as the car tries to keep going for a beat, it tries to steer the rig to the left, and the reverse happens when you accelerate, the car tries to lag behind the bike, especially with passenger, but none of that has been any concern, a few times and you adjust to that pretty quickly.
It takes a fair amount of effort to steer around corners, but that could be because I had a little "trigger finger" surgery 5 days ago, and my right hand is a little tender, so I've been using my left arm to do most of the pulling and pushing, and that will probably feel better as I am able to equalize the pressure.
Changing lanes is a breeze, kinda like on a bike, just a little pressure on the grips and that's all it takes, I was pleasantly surprised by that. And yes, especially empty, the car will "fly" in a right hand turn. I'm being careful about that, cause the two edged sword is that the way you learn a skill is study and practice, but practice can result in a crash. But I'm learning, and all in all it's been a good experience.
I do wish it had a little more oomph, and I may have to do a "stage one", exhaust, carb and intake, maybe the kit that CMW sells would work. I have a one tooth smaller final drive sprocket that I may put on, but I would rather have the lower RPM cruising if I can, and if a performance mod will do it, I'll keep the stock gearing. Another 3 or so horses and foot lbs. might be a noticeable difference. It doesn't have any trouble pulling away from a stop, just a tad weak in upper gear "speed maintenance" power.
I have had the rig, without passenger, up to 75 indicated, which is optimistic I'm sure, maybe that's about 70?, actual, but with the better half onboard, somewhere around 60. on easy terrain, indicated, seems to be a reasonable cruise. Anywhere between 50 and 60 is OK, but if its in 5th at 50, that's really too slow for the power, so 60 does better.
Actually, 65 is probably better as far as being in a power band, but I can live fine with 60 - 62, the engine doesn't seem to mind, I just need to accept that hills will require a downshift. What I'm saying, I guess, is that with passenger, on easy terrain, somewhere in a 58 to 65 range seems to work pretty well.
The ride is comfortable, and the wife says it rides very good, plus she likes being able to stretch out her legs, (she's had a knee replacement); all in all its been an enjoyable experience.
I put on the combo chrome s'bag support / rear rack last night, and moved the saddlebags. I want some bigger bags, plus the mount I did on my current bags doesn't look too hot, but I can fix that if I don't get new bags soon. I will say that the rack/support was a pain in the rear to put on, it's not a very well engineered or constructed item, I'm not sure which, and it contacts the turn indicators, so I did a little padding, and may do a little relocate. Now that it on, its fine, but taking the seat off will always be a little extra challenge, and I may go ahead and get some longer bolts for the four that go into the seat, although my plans for a solo seat will make that unnecessary.
I lost the riders right footpeg due to the install kit; one of the brackets bolts to the footpeg mount; it's no big problem, the bar works just fine for a peg, but I need to devise a little shield to keep from melting the sole of my shoe on the exhaust pipe. I get it against that if I'm not careful. The coupling to the frame makes for a nice "highway peg" location for my right foot, and its comfortable sitting that way.
I guess that's about it for now, but I'll put up changes as they come about, and more thoughts about riding as I progress on this journey. The wife and I have already discussed putting a Hannigan sidecar on the Gold Wing ! Now that would be an exciting ride, I'm sure!
One final thing, I noticed that backing and pushing the rig is very easy - when you don't have to worry about holding it up, it rolls real easy! Just be careful parking, cause without a stand, it WILL roll if its not on the level.
Topic: Better sidecar pictures (Read 5417 times)