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sidecar mounts 8 years 4 months ago #10299

  • caddypat
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hi trikebldr, here are some pics of the bike side mounts. the front mounts are on a subframe mounted to the left and right down tubes and the eng. mounts.be carefull not to distort the frame down tubes with the clamps.the rear lower is mounted to the rear foot rest and the rear upper is mounted to upper bag guard mount. the bolt size for these clevis eyes are 1/2 inch.you can probably buy all of this from motorvation to fit your specific bike. building your own would be very easy too.if you need pics of the car mounted i will probably have it back on in a couple of days. hope this helps.sorry if these turn up sideways. rick says an i phone does that. and i dont know enough to correct it. good luck pat.




























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sidecar mounts 8 years 4 months ago #10301

  • trikebldr
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Oh, WOW! Thank you Pat. At first it looked like you had hoisted the bike up by it's front wheel, but then I remembered your camera rotates the pic. It's easy to download them and rotate them back.
The rear mounts are almost exactly how I had planned, especially the upper mount. The running board bracket has an unused hole toward the rear, and low, that I might be using, but the bracket is an aluminum casting and not strong enough so I have fabricated a 1/2" steel structure to fit behind it to support it and the mount. It will push the bracket out from the frame 1/2", but that is hardly noticeable. Your pics have changed my mind about using that unused hole, though. I like how yours is directly mounted into a frame boss. Just a slight modification to one of those screw in clevises to fit into the recessed bolt hole.
The front mounts were my concern. On my '83 I actually Tig welded the front upper mount to the frame rail so the strut just disappeared into the fairing through those vents. This time I had sort of planned a modified right crash bar with the lower mount incorporated into it. Those crash bars are fairly rugged and mount at three points, and with some gussets would be plenty strong enough.
You are absolutely right about being careful not to damage the frame with those clamps! It is so easy to crush the tubing if not careful. I noticed your sub-frame used narrow u-bolts. Motorvation uses wide u-straps to clamp around a frame tube. Did they install your car?
My initial idea was to create a total sub-frame using the center stand mounts at the rear and clamps around the front frame section to make a four-point attachment. Much easier said than done. I prefer to not modify this bike at all like I did on my '83 years ago. I have also bought a replacement right crash guard for the front to modify and re-chrome with the lower front mount so my original, perfect guard is left alone. The upper front attachment is my only remaining hurdle, and I think your pics just gave me some ideas to check out so I don't have to weld anything to the frame.
Again, thank you so much! Your pics have helped me so much decide what I need to do. I owe you big time! Also, thanks to Bill for allowing us to share this "extra" info on this site. Sure, it's about a 1300, but certainly not what he had in mind for this forum.
Pics to come when I do get it all mounted up!

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Last edit: by trikebldr.

sidecar mounts 8 years 4 months ago #10302

  • caddypat
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bruce, thismount up is what motorvation supplied for the 86 voyager. when you are building your mount up the most important part is to get the 2 lower mounts the same height from the floor.if not , when you change your lean angle it will change toe in. jay @ dmc sidecars is a very good source for set up info.you can usually get all the help you can stand at the usca website. lots of good folks there. good luck pat

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sidecar mounts 8 years 4 months ago #10303

  • trikebldr
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Set up is no problem for me. Jim Sontag (founder of Motorvation) took almost an hour to teach me how to mount my own Spyder back in 1981. Changes in lean won't be a problem after initial setup and alignment are done. I don't like the Vetter Terraplane method of varying lean. I prefer a rigid mounting that feels good for both extremes of road crown. To compensate for added weight in the car I will use an air shock, or might fabricate up a manual shock-jacker.
I was just over at the Motorvation site to check prices on individual parts. NO THANKS! $105 for a fairly simple frame clamp? Now I'm back to looking to hot rod suspension pieces to use for mounts.
TECHNICALLY, those lower mounts on your bike don't really allow for any toe adjustment without imparting a little bit of bind in the clevis-to-eye fit. Admittedly, good setup before welding should set it close enough that the fudge factor will give acceptable results. Vetter used spherical rod ends (Heim joints) to connect so there would be no connector binding, and to allow for on-the-go lean adjustment, but those rod ends wear quickly and loosen up, then cause clunking noises as the bike's weight loads and unloads off the sidecar.
Using polyurethane bushings found on good hot rod suspension systems will give just a bit better fit misalignment tollerances during fine tuning of toe-in. For about the price of one of Motor's clamps I can buy all the bushing sets I need for this installation. Don't get me wrong,.....Motorvation's parts are highest quality, but there are alternatives to using their mounting systems.
Pat, you did remind me of one important fact, though; keep the two lower mounts at the same height for ease of setup adjustments. First clear, dry day outside I will be going out to look at the planned mounting points to be sure they are close in height!

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sidecar mounts 8 years 3 months ago #10427

  • Yaegunp
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Here are closeups of my sidecar mounts. Hope it helps someone.

Lower Rear


Upper Rear


Lower Front






Upper Front

1983 Z1300 A5 plus Sidecar.

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Last edit: by Yaegunp.

sidecar mounts 8 years 3 months ago #10428

  • kza13
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Well thought i'd post some mount pics of mine, it's on the wrong side for you but anyway thank goodness I decided to take the photos, found a broken bolt, have to fix that, wonder how long it's been like that ???, anyway here's how DJP in Australia mounted their sidecars, then a few modifications to get rid of the quick release ball couplings, cheers Pete.










after tuesday even the calendar goes WTF
1979 KAWASAKI Z1300 A1 WITH A DJP SIDECAR
Frame No: KZT3OA003911
Engine No: KZT3OAE004153
Location: Queensland Australia

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