Steve I have a steering damper installed on the Simplex as a precaution already and no problems except the turning radius is greatly restricted at slow speed where lean isn't as easy to employ. With a car attached and employing a rigid frame design would right handers be even harder to complete?From what I've read a steering damper is almost necessary. It seems at speed they are prone to unexpected speed wobble. Not needed at the speeds I travel but it would be more than a little exciting at real road speeds.
The kayak certainly fits the bill. Right size, light, great price and the tinker possibilities are endless. Looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Steve.
Dog catcher that is by far the best explanation of alignment setup I've yet seen for any vehicle. Thank you so much for taking time to locate and post the link. Rick C.In my research on sidecars I came across this blog entry about sidecars.
http://www.steves-workshop.co.uk/vehicles/bmw/sidecar/sidecaradjustment/sidecaradjustment.html
I also believe that the toe-in is also discussed on page 6 of the sidecar thread. That is the page number I had in my notes.
Dog catcher that is by far the best explanation of alignment setup I've yet seen for any vehicle. Thank you so much for taking time to locate and post the link. Rick C.In my research on sidecars I came across this blog entry about sidecars.
http://www.steves-workshop.co.uk/vehicles/bmw/sidecar/sidecaradjustment/sidecaradjustment.html
I also believe that the toe-in is also discussed on page 6 of the sidecar thread. That is the page number I had in my notes.
Steve I would be that guy's twin!I forget that wood working isn't everyone's pleasure. When they first shipped me off to vocational school I met up with a fella who became one of my road running mates for years.
Larry hated wood working with such a passion he was able to drag a bird house build out for the entire school year and still mess it up. Meanwhile I built two pieces of large furniture.
However he was the kid who took the metal lathe manual along with all the other metal working machines manuals home and studied them every night. He was also one of the two or three kids I knew who could put a piece of metal in the lathe and produce something recognizable. The rest of us excelled in chips and shavings and metal, what's that's.
The kayak with your usual tasteful embellishments will have them scratching their head trying to figure out if there really is a kayak under there or is it just their imagination. I have lots of popcorn and a cushy front row seat for when you get to building it.
My guess and that is all it is would be that you already have the feeling of steering with a sidecar by your description. Right hand turns with a chair attached are slower than the left hand turns. I've never used a steering damper so I have no idea what they are like.
Hopefully Ludwig will join in on the conversation since he has extensive experience with racing sidecars. If anyone knows about sidecar handling he does.
Steve.
Ludwig a few posts back I mentioned damping, but wasn't specific as to type, the ensuing short dialog concerned the steering fork aspect alone. I didn't return to damping of the "hinge" connection between the bike and car frame connection. I have an uneasy feeling about a completely loose swivel arrangement at this very active point. Leather washers are a simple way to prototype the swivel arrangement for proof of concept. I see that both adjustable stops which would create limits to the amount of overall travel between bike and chair frames and adjustable damping at the hinge points would also be a quite valuable aid during testing along with the ability to totally lockout the swivel mechanism to form a rigid connection between bike and sidecar.I have no acquaintance with leaning outfits, so this is only my thinking on the subject, not factual analysis. The sidecar will always impose a drag to one side, so a degree of toe in will always be necessary, and so will the same placing of the sidecar wheel approximately 25% on the bike's wheelbase ahead of the rear wheel spindle. The 25% is a compromise between the stability fore and aft that would be gained by placing it the mid point, and all the way back level with the back wheel, where it could lose the toe in.
The dynamics of a banking chair would be similar to a solo, I think, but with a tendency to swing one way accelerating, and the other decelerating. Here a thought occurs. Could a controllable locking device like an old style friction damper be added? You would have the option of fixed or flexi to suit circumstances and use.