Over the weekend, I finally finished putting together my baby... it still needs a lot of work - and I could definitely use some educated help with it - but it is together and drives. Turns out that when the frame was powder coated they never cleaned out the front holes in the Earles fork swingarm, which meant the swingarm axle didn't want to go in until some cleanup work. It's good until about 25-30 MPH, but if I hit a manhole, pothole, or anything else, I get a very scary tank-slapper, or damn near. I'm thinking it's part toe-in, part lean on the chair, and I should probably buy a fourth mounting point for the bike and chair... it came with three ball joint mounts, and I thought it'd be sufficient given the bike, but maybe not... Still, it's a hell of a lot of fun: 1960 R69 + 1953(ish) Steib LS200. My monkey likens it to a carnival ride. The solo transmission seems to pull it just fine, even up the hills around here. The drum brakes on the bike are another story, though. Maybe limiting it to 25 mph isn't a horrible thing
Yes and no. I didn't do the restoration on it myself, but it did get a complete restoration. The guy I bought it from found it rotting and did it over a period of two years, with considerable help from Seth Jaramus at Northern and Pacific Moto in Portland, Oregon. I've owned it for about a year... Otherwise, it is a matching-numbers, original owner bike that sat outside under a barn for more than half of its 53 years. Fortunately the gas tank had been removed and stored inside, so it was flawless. The carbs and headlight bucket were lost, so no idea on the original miles. It's now bored first-over. I even found a vintage WA 1960 moto plate for it, which we can use up here as a year-of-manufacturer permanent registration (no tabs!) I've improved it a bit since I got it a year ago - found the right Bing carbs for it (instead of the later R69S versions), fixed the ignition, kickstand, etc... the little things that most people wouldn't notice or care about that peeve me. I wish I could find the right exhaust system... it's got the R69S-style one on it...actually helps, but I would kill to find the right pipes with the "third muffler" still intact. The hack I found in Michigan. It's a "10 foot" restoration that I paid way too much for. After I get some riding time on it, I'm going to take it down, blast it, get rid of the rust/sloppy trim assembly, etc, and do a much better paint job. I'd like to do it all in metal (no bondo crap), but I will probably have to sub that out, as my welding skills are not that good. If you don't look too closely at it, it looks great, but I'm kind of anal... I have the cool hoop "bumper" sitting in the garage ready to fit after the restoration. Stefan at Ideal Seitenwagen has been awesome to get bits for it. I'd actually like to try to fit a brake to the chair, even though it's not "right." The hills out here and the rather ineffective brakes (by modern standards) on the bike leave a lot to be desired. In the mean time, I just need to get the alignment set up so it's rideable outside the neighborhood...
I would do the fourth mount too, be sure everything's aligned and really tight...it will be worth it to persevere with this nice sidecar outfit. Have you cleaned the brake shoes with acetone to de-grease them, and made sure they fit properly to the drums? Check the steering head bearings for play. Enjoy your ride.
Thanks for the suggestions. I rode it solo for the last year, so brakes are good, and the bearings in the steering head are new. She's tip top in that regard. I'll get it sorted... :)
