An international forum for people interested in modern high performance road going sidecars.

[Ken F]

I'm hoping you folks can give some advice as to how to fix this problem;

I've an EML/K100 sidecar rig. I'm currently running 37 psi all the way around. The steering seems very sensitive at highway speeds, and gets much worse at city speeds.

I've never ridden a sidecar rig before (I've got about 60 miles under my belt), so maybe I'm just not used to it...
but it just doesn't seem right to me.
At city speeds it is very hard to keep it tracking straight, and is very sensitive at highway speeds.

Where do I begin to provide information, so maybe someone could help?

Thanks,
Ken

[docmike]

Ken,

It shouldn't be twitchy, the stock EML setup is usually fairly good.

37 seems a little high,,,,,

Does it have the EML leading link front end?

What size tires are you running?

Does it have a steering dampner?

Mike
_________________
Mike Currin
93 BMW K1100RS / EML Speed 2000
89 Honda GB 500 (6,700 miles, all original except tires)
67 Triumph 650 chopper
92 Suzuki GS500 (eldest son)

[JayBoy]

Good questions. With car tires I run 21 lbs front and rear, 19 on the sidecar. Tracking straight sounds like it could be your toe in on the sidecar. My setup guru says each rig is different but he starts at around an inch or so of toe in. I cant point you to a particular spot but There's lots of data and sketches out there on setup. It's difficult on most roads to tell if it's tracking perfect, find a nice flat parking lot for that.

Plus My tendency at first was to white knuckle the grips which just adds to the twitchy ness .and panic. Getting use to the rig pulling you one way or the other under braking or acceleration takes some seat time to adjust.
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Corret me if I'm wrong, everyone else does!

[Ken F]

>It shouldn't be twitchy, the stock EML setup is usually fairly good.<
I think I was maybe trying to over correct it in the first few miles! I was able to put a little over 100 miles on it yesterday, and learned that you need to drive it like a 1959 VW....just let it wander and keep it pointed in the general direction you want to go! lol
>37 seems a little high,,,,, <
I spoke with the previous owner, and he said he had always ran 30 on all 3 tires. I guess some experimenting is in order!

>Does it have the EML leading link front end?<
Yes, it does.

>What size tires are you running?<
They are the 15" Firestone 560's- don't remember the exact size off the top of my head....

>Does it have a steering dampner?<
Yes again DocMike, though I've not pulled it off yet to see if it is still working properly.

JayBoy, I was definatly white-knuckling it at first, just as you explained.
I believe the toe-in and lean in are set pretty well correct as it seems to track very straight on a good road. On two lane blacktops however, it wants to follow the tire tracks worn into the road. By relaxing and just letting it "wallow" seems to be the best course on these smaller roads.

I'm going to check the set-up soon. Just for my peace of mind, and to know that it's right. Who knows, maybe an adjustment or two will improve it some!

Thanks,
Ken

[docmike]

When I first got my rig the dealer told me tire inflation numbers in the high 30s to low 40s. There was a different value for each tire. If I hit rain grooves it flet like all three tires were trying to go in different directions. I'm now running 24 psi in all three and it seems to be much better.

your results may vary,
_________________
Mike Currin
93 BMW K1100RS / EML Speed 2000
89 Honda GB 500 (6,700 miles, all original except tires)
67 Triumph 650 chopper
92 Suzuki GS500 (eldest son)

[Ken F]

Thanks for that info Mike! Obviously I've got quite a bit of experimenting to do with pressures. I'll try lowering them to your 24 first and go from there.

Also, I want to check toe-in and lean-in to see where I'm at since the rig is new to me. Although controllable after getting used to it, it still feels as if it should be better.

Currently in the process of attempting to turn the windscreen from "milky grey" to clear again! lol Riding into the sun last evening made up my mind that this was next on the agenda!!!

Ken

[bmcsheehy]

Hi Ken,

Is the trail adjustable?
Sounds like you need more trail (move the front tire back).

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

[docmike]

Ken, any progress on this?

I may be wrong, but I think some of the EML front ends had two pivot points for the leading link, that allowed you to adjust the trail.

Mike
_________________
Mike Currin
93 BMW K1100RS / EML Speed 2000
89 Honda GB 500 (6,700 miles, all original except tires)
67 Triumph 650 chopper
92 Suzuki GS500 (eldest son)