1 A lucky breakdown Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:59 am
AL-58
Life time member
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
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
Last edited by AL-58 on Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:37 am; edited 1 time in total
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'93 K1100LT
'08 F650GS (798cc)
'19 R1250RS
+ another boxer engined motorcycle and sidecar
"When I'm too old and too foolish to handle a sidecar I'll buy a Sportsbike"