Make way for Geländehack, yet another GS sidecar

[twintwin]

Originally Posted by Abenteuerfahrer

Thought, they don't like the Dedome

Just curious, why do they not like the Dedome????, I may be the only one in the US with a Dedome, I have it on my rig for 3 years now, very satisfy with it and I do not find even one tiny critic about it. The concept is very clever, and do not drop the front end (with all the downside of a change of the fork angle). So, maybe "they" only do not like the French way!

[Dr Jim]

Originally Posted by RedMenace

What function does the beak serve? You already have a front fender. The beak looks goofy; just leave it off!

RM:

It looks like the beak's primary function is to channel fresh air through the oil cooler, which is most of the cooling on these engines. As hard as I am on machinery, I had to think twice before I messed with it, since the poor oil is gonna need all of the cool it can get.



OTOH, if the damn thing was any more droopy, the Sedate Patrol would be hauling my sorry ass in for some Manditory Vaigra Enrichment Therapy - something had to be done - eeeech!

Time for some serious Rhinoplastic surgery:







Much better, I begged some quality time from a friend who has a very steady hand with a high-speed die grinder, about 10 quick minutes and he produced a pretty creditable job which looks very much like the shortened beak that Boxer-Design of Germany turns out:



We trimmed the valance back a bit further than they did for extra clearence, but it looks pretty decent, clears the inner fender by more than enough, and looks like it will still channel enough air.

Hmmmm - maybe Dr. Bubba should have his own TV show?

I'm considering:

"Doggie Hoser, M.D."

Cheers

Jim

'Dances with Wolves. Sleeps withSheep'

[RedMenace]

Looks like a small air dam or scoop would serve the same function, less obtrusively. My guess it is a Teutonic style exercise. If it were my bike, I'd remove it and see if it actually changed the operating temperature, and perhaps fabricate a small scoop to take its place.

[Bozola]

Originally Posted by RedMenace

Looks like a small air dam or scoop would serve the same function, less obtrusively. My guess it is a Teutonic style exercise. If it were my bike, I'd remove it and see if it actually changed the operating temperature, and perhaps fabricate a small scoop to take its place.

I'd use an old beer can.

[RedMenace]

But I WAS speaking to the aesthetics and function of the beak. And it looks ugly and nearly useless to me, not worth the effort to retain if it interferes with the function of your modified front end.

As to the other issues you raised, I don't have first hand familiarity with them at all, so can not comment.

My experience with Dauntless Motors has been very good and the quality of the work and the parts I have gotten from them has been first rate. I am sorry if your experience has been otherwise.

I have found Jay very accomodating when problems have cropped up(as they will). I do know that you will get much further working with him, rather than confronting him and making demands.

As always, YMMV. Best of luck.

[RedMenace]

Originally Posted by Dr Jim

RM:


Time for some serious Rhinoplastic surgery:


'Dances with Wolves. Sleeps withSheep'

Nice work, by the way Jim. Very subtle I had to look twice!

[Abenteuerfahrer]

Originally Posted by twintwin

Just curious, why do they not like the Dedome????, I may be the only one in the US with a Dedome, I have it on my rig for 3 years now, very satisfy with it and I do not find even one tiny critic about it. The concept is very clever, and do not drop the front end (with all the downside of a change of the fork angle). So, maybe "they" only do not like the French way!

Frankly Inmates. I don't know why I wrote "they"...maybe too many cold mountain sundowners..aarrghghh!! Nuthin' wrong with the Dedome, pretty innovative and clever...Vive la France..hickkkk! burrp..!!

[Dr Jim]

Originally Posted by LiteWait

I've made Jay aware of the fender issue and the front end. No confrontation, no demands made. He is content that both those situations are acceptable to his standards and that I should do some cutting. So I thought that avenue was closed; unless I'm so displeased I want to demand my money back, which I'm not and I don't.

Walt -

I just got back from spending the day down at Dauntless, where they rigged a MUCH better rear mount, and re-aligned the sidecar - but it took some time, so I was able to chat at length with them, and may be able to clarify some issues.

My trail-reducer was his first, one-off prototype, mostly to test their new CNC machine. As such, it may be as much as 2-3mm longer than your production version. Which, on my lowered bike, radically reduced the fender clearance.

The good news is that after riding 100 miles today, I believe that the beak surgery was sucessful. We were riding 2-up with extra luggage, and even under heavy braking, downhill, on a washboarded right-hander - I had no sense that there was any contact with the front wheel, the handling was spot-on, and (most importantly) my engine temperatures seemed well within normal.

I was concerned about this comment of yours:

Originally Posted by LiteWalt

Without the beak there you might not wonder what effect this particular design would have on the triple tree ball joints and seals or note how the forks rub against the front subframe and oil cooler lines.

So I got up underneath the front fairing and carefully checked the forks lock-to-lock and didn't see any place where they came particularly close to the oil lines, the front framehead, or the fairing support struts - nor did I see any obvious evidence of rubbing or interference anywhere else. I then reduced the preload on my front shock to essentially zero, and had a 260 pound friend stand on the front sidecar mount and sort of drape himself across the bike's front end. Again, even when severely compressed there appeared to be adequate clearance for the forks to swing lock-to-lock.

I'm also concerned about putting additional stress on the both the upper and lower Telelever ball joints, and will closely monitor them for free play and wear. I'm not all that worried about the slider seals, they don't suspend anything and are there only to control the lubricant for the sliders.

I did have to relocate some of the original wiring harness and the added electrical cruft (elsctric shifter switch, GPS power, heat clothing controller leads, and my garage door opener) to free up room ahead of the forks, but a bit of creative zip-tie work took care of the problems.

I talked with Jay about the Dedome trail reducer, and his opinion was: "It's a very well-made, elegant solution - but if I were to duplicate it, it would cost almost as much as our current R1150GS product, and it would require the installer to remove and re-install the lower Telelever ball joint - which isn't an easy job for the typical home shop. The idea behind this reducer was to make a simple, easily installed, cheap solution that worked on the R1100GS."

If you plan surgery on your beak, I saved the cutoff section of mine and can send you more detailed photographs.

Cheers

Jim

[RedMenace]

Originally Posted by LiteWait

...So here we've identified something that you don't have first hand familiarity with at all that you DO feel you can comment on?...

Read it again. I know Jay, have done business with him and discussed business with him. He can be very helpful, above and beyond, if you approach him right. This I know.

Hard to tell, between my lousy memory and the anonymity of the internet, but I don't think I know you. I wasn't putting your words in my head, honest! Just making a general observation....

[PaulRS]

Back in the days the 1100 was hot, there was a conversion to go beak-less.

Remove beak and fit a small cover to tidy up the hole, leaving the cooler in the breeze.
Never heard of this affecting cooling.

Me thinks it was from Wüdo or Wünderlich, google will help

Paul.

[nevgriff64]

Originally Posted by iHop

Made a little progress.

The tonneau we wanted made is finished, so we picked up the tub today:


We had it made with an integrated rain poncho for the monkey:


Cover rolls up and buckles in place:


The Stiggette, or whomever, can be dry and warm:


When closed the zipper is sealed under a velcro flap:


Windshield down:


Windshield up:

That is sensational ihop..

I may incorparate that into my outfit if you don`t mind.. I`m sure there is a couple of grateful children who will appreciate your ideas..

[nevgriff64]

Originally Posted by iHop

Knock yourself out. We stole the idea ourselves.

Let us know if you need a hand. Our canvas guy can retrofit this into an existing tonneau. Otherwise, a whole replacement tonneau would having the tub to position the holes and fasteners. A good local guy could reproduce the concept. I'd expect to drop between $200-$300 on a good pro depending on if this was a whole cover or a retrofit.

G`day iHop..

Thanks for your offer mate but i`m in Australia so will have to organise a local motor trimmer to make one for me..

Brilliant idea and having dry kids at the end of a wet trip will be well worth the extra costs to have it made..

cheers

[Abenteuerfahrer]

Gorgeous....oh, man...can't wait to see you on the road. Hope we'll bump into you somewhere...aaarrgghhh!.

Wow..you're getting good fuel mileage? Me, fully loaded(AK bound)..wife; 2 aux fuel cans..racks packed....windshield up; I am only getting 26.6 mpg going 65 mph. Doh!...changed oil and filters; installed iridium plugs. Nuthin's improved on the gas mileage. Oh, well...Main tank must be filled at about every 110 miles. Dunno I can make the Dempster Highway to Inuvik whose longest gasless stretch is 226 miles, unless I start looking like an Esso truck by hauling and strapping more Blitz gas cans to the sides.

Curious: How much space do you have at the inner fender wall to the side of the tire wall on your Tub. Mine's perilously close(3mm).

[Abenteuerfahrer]

Originally Posted by LiteWait

That's not running superslab speeds. Just around on the roads and a little slab time mixed in. Also, that's the MPG of an unladen sidecar. "What do you mean, an African or European Swallow?"

Range with the orignal plastic tank is 175-200 miles. Jerry can might add 100 more.

3mm, we dream of 3 mm! Tire to fender clearance is super tight. As mentioned before, the brake caliper does not clear the fender at all.

Litewait...fender/tire supertight..hmm...!! Can't have rainy muddy roads on the Dalton and Dempster..eh, wishful thinking? Tubs fender will get filled with muck..then it'll brake the wheel....aarrgghhh...might remove the fender on that road, but wifey will be mummified in calcium chloride.

Did a bit of fenderectomy to clear the brake caliber...and replaced the Progressive spring shock rated 140/200 with one rated 200/350.



Also am toying with an old 1200RT windshield on the Tub in lieu of the current. Much more clearity..less windblast on the passengers shoulder...dunno gas mileage though!

[Qwik]

Looks great. That windshield looks better as well