Sidecars?

[silverbear]

Rick,
Had some trouble uploading the photos so finally did screen captures, put them through picassa and finally to the forum, but well worth my small part in bringing this really fun sidecar and bike project to this thread. Please give some commentary on what we're looking at. "My canoe...woohoo!" I'll be happy to pass along any photos you might want to share. Good going.
SB

 

[fasteddy]

Silver Bear, that canoe sidecar has your name all over it.

Rick did a superior job on the bike and canoe. I had seen it on a sidecar site and was taken with it as an idea. Now we know who did it. Like the flame throwers on the side. A remote control and you could give bike thieves a bad moment.

Now Bairco's furtile mind is in over drive.

Thinking that a busted up fiberglass canoe with birck bark glued to it,{I have an idea how} and you would be able to ride in comfort.

Sweet job Rick. You are indeed an artist.

Steve.

 

[tmcbroo]

where did you get the tank?

 

[[email protected]]

I just want that cooler side car....

 

[fasteddy]

Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket

I just put a bunch photos on Photo Bucket. The bike is all together and seems to be working out as I had hoped.
I will have to stiffen the mounting plate since there is some movement in it.

The bike will have Worksman wheels with drum brakes. I used the original ones to take the photos. The decals on the tank are for a year or two older Monark.

Don't know if it will get any farther along until fall since I'm going back east for the summer to look up old friends and cousins that are still going. Lost a lot of them over the years and am going to see who is left.

I may put it in a trailer and work on it as I go along. Need to see if I can afford to travel and buy parts at the same time.

Hope you enjoy it.

Steve.

 

[corgi1]

It sure does look good

 

[silverbear]

Steve,
All of the time and effort has certainly paid off. What a wonderful combination the two make together. I can't wait to see iit with batteries and your new wheels and the smiling kid on the saddle. Just awesome! Do you think it will need the third mounting point as a brace?
SB

 

[fasteddy]

Silver Bear, not sure about the third brace yet. It has been advised a few times with very good arguments but I want to try it without first.

Still mulling over if I should finish it and haul it or not.

Steve.

 

[NEAT TIMES]

Steve

Show It To The World!!! A Craftsman`s Handiwork!! Awsum. Have Been Thinking Of Sending You A Pm For An Update!! Now We Have One. I Think You Better Insure It!! If You Leave It Behind?? At Least Take A Lot Of Pic`s With You. Ron

 

[Mr.B.]

I took a photo of this crazy contraption at last years Davenport AMCA show...

I wonder what Ralph Nader would think? "-)

-Kirk

 

[fasteddy]

That is nice. I see possibilities there.

As for Ralf Nader I think we should back his bare a** into the spinning fan until he admits he was wrong about Corvairs.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

Yep,
Who cares what Ralph thinks. I think I'd like to take a ride in it.
SB

 

[Mr.B.]

I think we should back his bare a** into the spinning fan

Ha,

That would be a proper spanking!

-Kirk

 

[corgi1]

I wonder,,If a 2 blade prop will push it down the road,what would a multi blade one ,kinda' like a jet turbine, do to the speed

 

[silverbear]

I wonder,,If a 2 blade prop will push it down the road,what would a multi blade one ,kinda' like a jet turbine, do to the speed

Yeah and a couple of flat deals out to each side and maybe it would give some lift to the bike, goose the throttle some and get those blades moving fast enough and LIFTOFF! Steering and brakes remain a problem.
SB

 

[corgi1]

should fly at about 25 mph,would the multi blade turbine fan give it faster responce( :

 

[NEAT TIMES]

Started To Post This Yesterday, But Will Now.

Don`t Let Dan See This Air Powered Sidecar! He Will Want To Put A Powered Parachute On It!! Snork.. But He Prefers Rubber Boats !! Ron . " Looking in th Sky, May see Dan Flying by"

 

[fasteddy]

Neat Times, if we can get Dan on the bike, lets take videos. We would own You Tube.
Hollywood might buy the story of the brave young Dan in his flying machine.

With Ralf Nader in the side car he would be wishing he was in a Corvair. He'd learn the meaning of Unsafe At Any Speed.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

HTTP://photobucket.com/sidecar

Well it's time to wake this up again. Took the summer off and traveled through the US and Canada from coast to coast. Stopped in and saw family and friends and if I said I'd stop in and see you and didn't, don't worry you haven't escaped. There is next year.

Spent the better part of two weeks at Silverbears place, building a sidecar out of half an aluminum canoe. You can see it on his thread 'Firebird, Silverbears Worksman Cruiser" on the Board Trackers and Vintage Motorized Bicycles section of the motorbicycling.com. Lots of photos and a description of what we did and how.

Got home and of course the magic elves hadn't finished the Monark/sidecar build. Took it for a pedal and it became evident that the sidecar was indeed far to heavy to have it free to tilt. I really noticed this was going to be a severe problem when I was headed for the ditch in front on the house as I tried to regain control when the bike had tossed most of me into the sidecar. No I didn't fit.

Did a lot of Silverbears creative staring and slowly figured a way to make it a solid mount without welding tabs to the bike. As you can see I moved it up towards the front so the rear mount is now on the axle. I cut what was the front mount off after I welded the arm on that goes just behind the seat post. The front mount is there just to take the strain off the front of the sidecar.
I put photos of the whole thing on photobucket as usual and will put more on as I get it painted and mounted in the next few days.
I am ordering a battery and tires and a rear wheel from Worksman tomorrow. Hope to have this finished up in the next week and a half so I can get on with another project.

Hope this link to photo bucket works. If not you can use one from further back in the thread until I get this working. As always any questions please feel free to ask and comments are always welcome.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

Looks good, Steve. I'll be following things closely as you try it out. The bike looks spectacular, by the way... and the sidecar. Geez, Louise! This all takes a lot of thought, doesn't it? While there's nothing new about sidecars... we've looked at pictures of very early ones from England which had two pivoting mounts allowing the sidecar and bicycle to flex independently. In theory that's great for cornering and being able to lean the bike into curves as you would without a sidecar. But once things get bigger and heavier and faster it all changes. Motorcycles typically had fixed mounts which did not allow for independent flexing, very much altering the dynamics of cornering. With our motorized bicycles we're somewhere in between the old pedal bike Watsonian sidecars going a few miles per hour to a speeding motorcycle on a public highway. So we're in a kind of no man's land, "the twilight zone" of in between. Your sidecar is on the heavier side with electric push motor and batteries, along with a substantial sidecar body. Mine is toward the other end of the scale with a framework from a bicycle trailer minus the inboard wheel and a relatively light sidecar body made from a cut down aluminum canoe. Mine has two mounting points which each allow flexing so the bike can lean into curves. I don't know yet how it will work out as I'm still working through some bugs on the "Indian" pulling it along and have not tried it yet beyond rolling along with it at very low speed. I hope to do some road testing before the season for riding shuts down here in northern Minnesota. I know I don't want to get hurt and falling into that sidecar could be bad news... so I want to feel my way along with this and get an idea of the dynamics involved. I may also need to go to a third support arm and am wondering if it is possible with a lighter weight sidecar such as mine to still have limited flex. So I'm picturing a third arm which dampens the lean and finally limits it... such as an arm made from the support lift rod for an automotive hatchback... something like that. There must be a way.
So, we learn as we go, Steve, and I may well need to go further in your direction with rigid mounts. Testing will tell. Stay safe, go easy. You've got a great setup there, bud!
SB