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A bit of help with my Bill Balou CHS Concourse HPS please

 
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High Octane



Joined: 24 Jan 2017
Posts: 19
Location: South Dakota

PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:17 pm    Post subject: A bit of help with my Bill Balou CHS Concourse HPS please Reply with quote

I think I have enough miles under my belt on the hps rig I bought from Jay Hall to base a bit of fine tuning on. It's subtle but the rig has a touch of pull to the right, enough to feel it in my arms and back after 100 miles of riding.
I was running 30 psi rear, 28 psi front, and 28 psi in the sidecar tire. I went up to 30 front and 32 sidecar with some improvement, but not enough. The steering is also a bit heavy, both at speed and in the parking lot. But befor I start to change anything I took a few measurements. It's got 5/16 of tow in, and pretty much straight up and down, no lean in or out.
My thoughts are to go back to 28 psi front and sidecar air pressure. And add about 1/2" of tow in to see if I can eliminate the right pull. Add a more tow in up to 2" max. Then change caster for lighter steering a bit at a time until it gets too twitchy and back off some.
What say a you?
I don't have a pic hosting account so I don't think I can get a pic posted but it looks to me like to adjust caster, I need to loosen the 4 front bolts, jack the turnbuckle a bit and retighten everything back up. Sound right?
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bmcsheehy



Joined: 22 Jan 2005
Posts: 991
Location: Massachusetts USA

PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would start with more toe in closer to 1"
Keep adjusting it until it doesn't pull to the right.
The bike should not lean out.
Again correct when adjusting the caster.

Bill McSheehy
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Bill
High Performance Sidecaring... ...There is nothing "HACKED" about it.
2006 ZX-14 / HANNIGAN HP.
2011 Concourse / California Friendship III.
2016 Suzuki Bandit 1250s
1936 Ford Fordoor Humpback
www.Yankee-Engineering.com
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High Octane



Joined: 24 Jan 2017
Posts: 19
Location: South Dakota

PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Bill
I did pm Bill Balou and get about the same info from him yesterday. Maybe today I can get some time to experiment. Weather looks like it will be good for riding.
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High Octane



Joined: 24 Jan 2017
Posts: 19
Location: South Dakota

PostPosted: Sat Apr 15, 2017 11:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's taken me a while to get back to this. I'm at 1 7/8 toe in now. I rechecked it before I started and found it was really at 7/8 not the 5/16 I thought it was. But I went to 1 7/8 in several steps and test rides.
Then I set the caster in several steps to 1/4 from where it was. I put a digital angle gauge on it, it looks to be about 8 degrees now.
It all seems better now. I'm planning a 300 hundred mile round trip tomorrow so I should get a good read on it.
Do you have a recommendation for tires? Getting down to the wear bars on the front.
Thanks for the help
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Ralph



Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 603
Location: Lexington, Ky

PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 12:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Use the same thing that is on it now. Smile
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High Octane



Joined: 24 Jan 2017
Posts: 19
Location: South Dakota

PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 1:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Ralph. It's got three different brand tires on it. Did you guys set it up that way for a reason? I figured I'd baseline it with new tires all the same but if you guys tweaked it to run theses brands I'll stick with them.
I ran it 425 miles last weekend and I think I will add just a bit more toe in and maybe reduce the caster a bit more. Sorry to say but most of my roads are pretty straight compared to you roads. I feel it in my arms holding it to keep it tracking down the straight roads around here.
The bike tires are 195 55 15 and the sidecar has a 195 45 15. Do you think a 195 55 15 would cause a problem. Just thinking that a bit taller tire might just be all it takes to get rid of the right pull.
Don't get me wrong it's a great rig but I'm kind of a tweaker!
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Ralph



Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 603
Location: Lexington, Ky

PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 12:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Smile You may get into clearance problems with a 195/50/15 on the sidecar. The kind if riding you do you could put a narrower tire on the sidecar to reduce the drag a bit. Just a thought.
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High Octane



Joined: 24 Jan 2017
Posts: 19
Location: South Dakota

PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah that's a good thought. I have a 165 and a 145 15" tire rolling around my place I could try. They are about shot but for a quick test they might tell me something. I have a biker neighbor with a nice coats tire machine that works well.
I'm leaving in about an hour to come back out your way(PA,VA and parts between) but this time I'll have the k1600 solo in tow. I really wanted to bring the hps but SWMBO was stuck on the solo bike for this trip. I think she just wants to make sure I don't spend all my time with my dog.
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Doug



Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 41
Location: Tallahassee, FL

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 2:11 am    Post subject: Tire Recomendation Reply with quote

I use Toyo Proxes R1R (extreme performance summer) tires 195/50/15 price $119.45 from Tire Rack. Maybe since you are using 195/55/15 on the bike and Ralph suggested not going to a taller sidewall on the sidecar tire because of clearance concerns, you could get the same result you are looking for from a lower sidewall on the front and rear of the bike. The Proxes R1R tires may not be the longest lasting tires but they sure are sticky and I love the look of the tread pattern.
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Doug



Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 41
Location: Tallahassee, FL

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:00 am    Post subject: Tire Sizes Reply with quote

Just checked and the overall height of the 195/45/15 tire you have on the sidecar is 21.9" and the 195/50/15 is 22.7" so the difference in overall height is .8" so any clearance between tire and sidecar bodywork would be only half that. If it were me, I would start with reducing the bike's sidewall profile by going to the 195/50/15 tires and then if necessary, and you have the clearance, increase the sidecar from the current 45 sidewall to something with a 50 sidewall also. Just my 2 cents but before I did anything I would check with Jay who put the outfit together and also the two Bills to see what they think (they are the smart guys). If you don't already have a SpeedoHealer, it might be worth adding to the bike so your speedometer will be correct. I have one and the speedometer is now spot on.
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High Octane



Joined: 24 Jan 2017
Posts: 19
Location: South Dakota

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Doug. I plan to digest all the info and make a few more tweaks once I get back home. We are leaving southern VA in a few minutes, hope to crash through the big storms cutting us off from home. One of the few times that we are glad The bike is on the trailer!
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High Octane



Joined: 24 Jan 2017
Posts: 19
Location: South Dakota

PostPosted: Mon May 15, 2017 11:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anyone know what bearings were used on the rear of my C14? I got a new set of Yokahama S-Drives ready to put on the tug, but I have a rough bearing that needs replacing. Bill B is out of touch for a while but I thought maybe someone here might know.
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bmcsheehy



Joined: 22 Jan 2005
Posts: 991
Location: Massachusetts USA

PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 12:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bearing should be a 6304 2rsc3prx
There are 4 of them.
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Bill
High Performance Sidecaring... ...There is nothing "HACKED" about it.
2006 ZX-14 / HANNIGAN HP.
2011 Concourse / California Friendship III.
2016 Suzuki Bandit 1250s
1936 Ford Fordoor Humpback
www.Yankee-Engineering.com
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High Octane



Joined: 24 Jan 2017
Posts: 19
Location: South Dakota

PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 4:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Bill. I did knock the bearings out and pressed in new ones a couple of weeks ago. I was concerned that I would have to order them but my local bearing store had them is stock. Gotta like the four bearing set up.
I broke a lower mount so I'm making new ones now.
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