The 12X12 build...

Nice set up. You will notice the big difference if you take it off.

4 struts on heimjoints are not stable.Put some diagonal struts in.

Gary

I was thinking that. Looks like there is going to be a lot of bending stress on the welded ends of the lower struts.

would the damper not work better, longer travel, so it can damp more effectively if it were fitted to the front lower mount area of the subframe. I guess its not getting much travel as it is.

Time will tell I guess, it's mounted in a similar way to mine and that works brilliantly. It all gets changed when the LL's arrive.




Sorry for the hijack Alan.

I need all trhe help I can get.I have no friends,family or people around her with hacks.SOOOO everything I have done I found on here.I'm going to change the bottom mounts and get rid of the joints,and I talked to the guy who built my suspension and he insists that he sent me a 250lb setup.I asked him why with 350+ lbs on it in only moves 1/2 inch,he said it will break in and SHOULD have 3" of movement when worn in some!!.So I will redo the bottom mounts,RE setup all the adjustments ( toe in,leanout etc) and give it a go !!.Do you guys think I should mount the steering dampner to the bottom mount ( strut ) and down to the caliper area??.

Diagonal braces would be a start here as well as stiffening the lower struts so they dont flex to much up and down. They still need to be adjustable for the chair wheel toe in ( tracking).
Make sense?
You have done pretty well here so far so stick with it.
Test rides are for testing! Hope to hear about yours soon.
Been nearly 5 weeks away on a 2 week job
But should be finnish here in a bit over another week.
Will put up a video of a great place to visit with a hack

What you might have missed is that the lower mounts are actually welded to the sidecar frame, making them rigid on one end. That removes the instability issue that you are talking about...

However, I do think that the lower mount rods would benefit from some angle bracing due to how lightweight they are. Mainly front-back to counter the offset drag on the lower links, and some gusseting on the upright brackets that the upper struts mount to. But that is just my opinion, the lower struts may work just fine as they are if you don't hammer on the throttle/brake.

But I would definitely add some gusseting to the upper mount risers, they will be seeing a large bending stress where they meet the sidecar frame during cornering.

And I think that having the rod ends on the lower mounts to adjust toe-in should provide plenty of adjustment.

THANKS guys for the advice.I redid the lower mounts tonight and got rid of the joints.I'm also adding braces from the lower struts to the front of the sidecar frame and the back ( also in the middle).After you guys brought to my attention the need to remove the bottom joints I sat down next to it and started to think about it and WHAMMMM it hit me what you were talking about.Here's the new joints..

On the bike..Also when I pull it all off to do the final welds,I will be gusseting ALL the strut mounts...

That will cut down on movement.

I hope so,like I said this is all new to me and YOU GUYS are my only guide..Keep up the comments and help a brother out !!.

My goal is to get the bike and car setup,ride it for awhile ( making sure it's right ) and then do what Dave did and mount them together without swivle joints.

Damn! they now look solid! That sucker isn't moving anywhere.

Add to that pic 4 braces from the bottom struts to the sidecar frame..10 hours in the shed today,frame is DONE !!,just waitng for paint ( tomorrow).Also I added some bracing to the subframe,and got the tub primered..

Well it's now 3pm and I'm waiting for the paint to dry on the frame,then I can hook them together and go for a test ride.Here's the frame..

And the finished subframe..I may still need more bracing,but I won't know till I ride it.

Well you have been busy there NWR you done good so far so stay with it till it's sorted. It is amazing how with 2 very similar machines we can have such different aproaches to the build. Though the left to right is a big change and different chair frames to. I got home on Saturday after 5 weeks away working so hope to have some progress soon. Easter is my goal for a road trip with 2 young friends and don't want to miss it.
Cheers Bruce

Bruce and Alan, when all the outfits are finished we should all post pics of our different sub frames and chassis.

Hey Northwest Rider,

Do you know the weight of that tub (without the frame, etc?)?