250 miles on

[Sidcar]

Have now completed 250 miles on the 'Wing.
I stripped and cleaned the carb's a second time and that got rid of the flat spot. It now pulls like a train, and does a few more mpg praise be.
I bled the foot brake again and adjusted the pedal round one spline upwards, that plus taking almost all the play out of the linkage got me a good brake pedal but I wouldn't say the brakes were sparkling. I know it's a big (very) sidecar but with 3 disc brakes I expected better.
The big problem to solve next is the handlebar wobble caused by the sidecar. It's so bad I daren't take a hand off the handlebar under 30 mph. Ideally I need some leading link forks. If you hear of any let me know.
Until then my shoulder and arm muscles are going to get a good work out every trip.
Any good tips for restoring the front screen? Despite using a very fine polish mine is still cloudy, add raindrops and I have to sit bolt upright and peer over the top (it's on it's lowest setting) to try and see where I'm going.

Sid

[WingAdmin]

Sometimes when the screen's coating is gone, there is no amount of polishing that will get it clear again - you have to bite the bullet and replace it.

[m2102]

you could try NUVOS. they offer a set that will help to restore wind shields. got mine at AMAZON.works great for cleaning and polishing plexi

[Sidcar]

To add insult to injury I've just noticed a small pool of oil under the front wheel, the right hand fork leg seal is leaking!
I could do with lowering the screen about an inch. Can the slots be filed out or do I have to find some way of cutting an inch off?
I'd prefer to file the slots especially if I buy a new screen.

Sid

[bustedwing]

Sid, glad to see you are making some progress , got the carbs going, the brake slack worked out, may need some more tlc here, and now a front shock leak. But you are doing good so keep it up. Ride safe.

[st4r50]

Just saw it off, it's easy and I doubt it would do any good to file the slots like you suggested.
Here's some tuts to read, this should help. The first one is one I wrote and the other one I got on a Google search. I've sawed off several of these. In fact about two weeks ago I sawed off my 1800 shield.

http://www.goldwingfacts.com/forums/forum1/92845.html

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/r ... indshield/


The handle bar wobble may not have anything to do with your sc, most wings have a low speed, decelerate, hands off handle bar wobble. There are many myths about a fix. Everything from fork stabilizers, different springs, new head bearings, re-torquing the head bearings, etc. New tire on the front usually fixes it at first, however it's just covering up the problem that is still there. I don't know if any one of the "solutions" have fixed this, there are no confirmed long time fixes to this problem other than keep your hand on the handlebar. I'll be honest though, I've never been around a sc rig so you may have a different wobble than I'm thinking of.

Good luck, if you need help sawing off the shield, I can offer advice.

[Bouvier1]

Was your outfit pulling before the fork leak? If not I would suggest that you have lost too much oil without realizing it and this is the cause of the wobble. To stop the leak is a simple case of replacing the seals. I would, at the same time, replace the top and bottom bushes which tend to wear and cause movement within the fork.
By the way there are two similar forums in the UK to look at Goldwing riders and Goldwingforum.uk if you don't already know.
Between all three there has been some very helpfull advice.

[Sidcar]

Its wagged its head from the first time I rode it. It might be a sidecat alignment problem but the sidecar was fitted by Watsonian and it's only done about 1500 mls since. On the other hand it might be why the previous owner stopped using it.

I've browsed other Wing forums but this one is certainly the friendliest and has the most information.

Anyone out there fitted an EZ-Steer tripple tree (fork yolk) conversion?

Sid

[WingAdmin]

I might suggest that an EZ-steer conversion (which reduces trail, to make steering easier) could possibly exacerbate your problem, as trail is normally what STOPS steering wobble (castering). Try reducing front air pressure to zero and increase rear air pressure to maximum. This will rotate the bike slightly forward, reducing front wheel trail. If the wobble gets worse, then you probably don't want to go with the EZ-steer conversion until you at least have the source of your wobble dealt with.

That said, I'd also have a look at the sidecar - is the wheel alignment adjustable? Can you check it against the alignment of your rear wheel? If it's out at all, it can cause front end wobble.

[Sidcar]

I think the next step is to have a word and possibly visit Watsonian, they're not that far away and if it can be cured by adjustment, a black art if ever there was one, they aught to know (and they might have a used RX4 sidecar at an affordable price! Dream on).
If adjustment cures the wobble I'd still be after a l/link or yolk conversion as the steering is very heavy. You'd think after wrestling sidecars all these years I'd have arms like Popeye, but alas no, they're much more like Olive's.
As far as I can see there's no air adjustment on the front forks but I've just bumped the pressure up at the back and I'll see if that helps tomorrow.

Sid