I went a rally on the weekend so there were some preparations to finish last week.

The front end of the sidecar has been getting a bad headshake lately, getting worse as the steering damper is worn and getting worse.  I'm having trouble finding a replacement.  I decided to try a different tack and replace the front tyre (a 145-15 car tyre) with a 15" motorcycle tyre instead, hoping that the narrower contact patch wouldnt bump-steer as much.

So I changed the tyre. When I wheeled it out to take it out for a test ride, the bike started immediately as it usually does, but then it stopped.  Tried again, it wouldnt start.  The fuel pump had been making grinding noises so I tried a spare pump(that doesnt fit the tank) and it fired the way it should.

So bought a new pump and all was good again.

Much better to have a breakdown in your own driveway than 200kms down the road in the middle of nowhere.

Even better, the bike tyre fixed the headshake problem too!

Al

My sidecar started to develop a shake over 110 km/h. I am running a 15 x 145 car tire. Last week end, I checked the pressure and it was down to 37 PSI. I put back the 42 PSI pressure and the shake went away. 
I am running Firestone F560 and the recommended pressure is up to 44 PSI.

About the fuel pump you are very lucky, but with a big trunk on the chair you must carry all the spare parts with you  

For the damper you have the solution to install a damper from a washer(cloth) or the damper for the trunk of certain hatch back car could work too.

good to hear you got on top of it Al. 
what type of pump and where from in such short time?
will you be changing back to the car tyre once you fix the damper?

groverK wrote:good to hear you got on top of it Al. 
what type of pump and where from in such short time?
will you be changing back to the car tyre once you fix the damper?

EB Falcon pump from Repco.

Most likely will go back.  The bike tyre gives me nice light steering, but the smaller contact patch makes it feel less happy in corners and reduces how hard I can brake.  In a U-turn I can 'push' the tyre across the road with the throttle if I give it too much

The down side is that car tyres are a real tight fit on this rim, very very difficult to remove.  The bead on a 15" car tyre is just a little smaller than a 15" bike tyre.  Maybe a grippier bike tyre is the answer overall, I can go to about 140 wide.  I've seen a 140/70-15 scooter tyre thats tempting online.

Al

AL-58 wrote:
Maybe a grippier bike tyre is the answer overall, I can go to about 140 wide.  I've seen a 140/70-15 scooter tyre thats tempting online.
Al

If you install a bike tire, the profile will be round and the tire will wear very fast.

Crazy Frog wrote:

AL-58 wrote:
Maybe a grippier bike tyre is the answer overall, I can go to about 140 wide.  I've seen a 140/70-15 scooter tyre that's tempting online.
Al

If you install a bike tire, the profile will be round and the tire will wear very fast.

In these sizes they tend to be rear tyres and have either a harder compound or a deeper tread but they do seem to last OK.

Al