Advice Please

tangle foot

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OK , i have rode one well set up BMW outfit for half an hour . I had a passenger in the sidecar ( the owner ) , so i`m a real novice .

Next couple of weeks , i will be picking up my V Rod and sidecar ( if the painter gets his finger out ) . Prolly get about 4 hrs tuition before heading back the 100 miles home . I`ll stick some ballast in the empty sidecar .

Question is - what is the best way to tackle a left hander ?( sidecar on the left ) . What should i do if the car comes up ? What should i not do if the car comes up ?:eek: What is the best way to keep the car grounded ? I`ve done a bit of homework but would appreciate any advice :thumb
 
OK , i have rode one well set up BMW outfit for half an hour . I had a passenger in the sidecar ( the owner ) , so i`m a real novice .

Next couple of weeks , i will be picking up my V Rod and sidecar ( if the painter gets his finger out ) . Prolly get about 4 hrs tuition before heading back the 100 miles home . I`ll stick some ballast in the empty sidecar .

Question is - what is the best way to tackle a left hander ?( sidecar on the left ) . What should i do if the car comes up ? What should i not do if the car comes up ?:eek: What is the best way to keep the car grounded ? I`ve done a bit of homework but would appreciate any advice :thumb

1) Slowly to start with!!! You'll get faster with practice :thumb
2) Don't panic Mr Mainwaring :D Back off the throttle (until you're really proficient - then you'll be opening the throttle to drive the bike round the chair :eek: )
3) DO NOT BRAKE - this will make the chair try to travel faster than the bike and force the whole plot to the right (sidecar brake no good if chair is up, even if it's an air brake :augie )
4) Practice - and listen / take advice from those that know :thumb2

Hope the above provides a bit of help.
 
You`re far better off asking your questions at tuition time.

Then,you can actually be shown what happens and how to deal with things.

More to the point,you`ll be able to FEEL for yourself and get a far better idea of lifting point,balance point,etc etc than any amount of reading will teach you.

By far the most common novice error is closing the throttle or braking in a left hander because the chair feels...or is...light.
Doing so will send you straight across the bend into oncoming traffic/walls,trees,etc.
Invariably the chair`s only just going light or no more than a couple of inches high,but you`ll think it`s going to flip over and panic,so get a lot of left hander tuition and ideally get shown how to lift,lower and ideally fly the chair (at or near balance point) on command.

I find it best to ease off throttle and maybe use the rear brake approaching a left hander until I`m on line,then gradually and progressively accelerate and smoothly power around....effectively you`ll be pointing your front wheel at the apex and ride around the chair.

It`s up you ultimately but I wouldn`t advise ballasting the chair.
You`ll only create a false sense of security because the chair could still lift anyway...and come the day you remove the ballast everything`ll feel different and you`re back as square one.
Best to learn your outfit as it is.
 


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