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Post by fe2cruz on Jun 22, 2007 5:43:01 GMT -5
So I have a 78 SR500 with I believe the aluminum 78 mag wheels because it doesn't seem they have that safety lip to keep the tire from coming off when deflated. When properly inflated the tires don't seem to leak air. I'm just afraid if I keep riding them on the HWY the rubber will give. Its a shame because there is so much tread left. Here are some photos. The rear has tiny wrinkles. The front is smooth with a weird looking repaired wrinkle. rear  front  1 more concern is my rear shocks. the outer plastic wrap isn't cracked, but its not holding the top cover anymore. There is another bushing left though and it seems to protect the internals of the shock OK. rear shock  My front forks aren't leaking but the bushing looks shot so after I sort the safety of my tires out I'll take those apart and upgrade them. -christiaan |
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Post by StewRoss on Jun 22, 2007 6:57:00 GMT -5
Hi Christiaan, The SR's mags aren't made for tubeless tyres as you say. Yours look like they are probably tubed tyres from what I can see of them in the pic. The sidewall cracks are small so may not be a real problem, however if they're old and there's a fair chance that they won't really grip well anymore. As such it's probably a good idea to change them in any case. I'd replace the tubes as well. Have you a sidecar on it? If you have that's probably another good reason to replace the tyres. The rear shocks look reasonable from your pic...the bushing that I think you refer to is the full travel bump stop. It's normal for it to move on the shaft. The plastic sleeve around the shock body is there to allow the spring to slide over the body and is never attached to anywhere other than where it is now. On this type of shock you will normally always see the chrome shaft as in the pic. Hope I have assisted somewhat... SR  |
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Post by davedunsboro on Jun 22, 2007 7:18:04 GMT -5
Mate just cut off the tread with a bread knife & rub a bit of boot polish into the cracks then take her to the Utah salt flats . No don't do that , get some new tyres & chuck those old ones out before something bad happens . Cheers from Dave.
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Post by miker on Jun 22, 2007 7:44:08 GMT -5
Sidewall repairs used to be a big no-no, I thought? Anyway, pitch the tires and get new ones, you'll love your bike even more. Get natural rubber inner tubes, they're supposed to deflate more controllably and might even seal around a nail if you're lucky. Don't need rim strips with the mag wheels.
miker
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Post by fe2cruz on Jun 23, 2007 0:35:40 GMT -5
thanks everyone
Yes i have a sidecar; the wrinkles on that tire are deep.
I was going to just replace the sidecar tire, but then i took
closer look at my bike tires and thought to take pics to
verify my suspensions. I get embarrassed to mention it has
the mounted car on solo standard-motorbike forums
because i might offend purists.
Any ideas on tires? Flat tread is better, but the AVON sidecar
duty tires are so expensive & rated for low speeds. So far
I've only found cheng shins to match all three. I found
duros too but I haven't seen any reviews on that brand.
BT's are too rounded & pricey for my application.
Are the wheels pretty easy to remove? It seems so. I'm just
afraid of all the deposits that freeze up nuts & bolts. I've
drained the carb & will do one wheel @ a time to spread
the skin & money losses slowly.
Thanks so much for verifying the rear shocks. They actually
work good, i just wasn't sure about the design & internals.
My SR shop manual says just grab them and shake em to
look for play.
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Post by davedunsboro on Jun 23, 2007 7:59:16 GMT -5
I've got Pirelli MT65s on my SR500 they seem OK but they were brand new on the bike when I bought it . I seem to recall having Pirelli Phantoms on my first SR years ago coz they were the rave back then . So until they let me down their staying on , cheers Dave.
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Post by milkman on Jun 25, 2007 8:05:40 GMT -5
Post some pictures of teh HAck mate when you get a chance.
Won't offend anyone here....
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Post by colinjay on Jun 25, 2007 17:44:10 GMT -5
Hi there all,
There is nothing wrong with fitting a sidecar too a SR, I have ridden sidecars for the last 25 plus years and am I building currently one on one of my TT500 as well as my XS1100.
The fine cracks in the sidewalls of the rear tyre are a common occurance on the rear tyre of a sidecar. Tthe tyres just aren't made to handle the side loads that cornering with a sidecar places on the tyre and the continual flexing of the side wall eventually crackes the tyre like yours have. If you can get the Avon sidecar tyre for the rear it would be the way too go, the speed rating should not be to much of a problem because you cant go that quick with a 500 with a sidecar anyway.
The side loading from cornering is also very hard on the rear suspension both the shocks and the swingarm piviot. If the shocks are knackered I would check the swingarm pivot bearings are in good condition before replaceing the shocks as id the pivot is worn a new set of ashocks will not last long.
Keep the chair on the SR and have fun!
CJ
PS. It must be a pain to kickstart with the chair on the Right hand side?
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Post by fe2cruz on Jun 25, 2007 21:12:45 GMT -5
      Thanks for the interest in the sidecar. I got ripped in a sidecar board. They think my front mount is not strong enough and will either come loose or snap my bike frame. CJ, How do you deal with the vibrations from the engine? There are no engine mounts on SRs sending resonant vibes throughout its frame so in theory my mount's nuts and bolts have to deal with this at highway speeds and will supposedly shake themselves loose. I was also concerened with the way the oil travels through the SR500 frame and if there are weak points. Or does the oil travel with a rubber tube within the frame? I spoke with Doug Bingham the old sidecar racer and builder over the phone (he has a shop here in California) He told me he raced an old stock SR500 with a sidecar through dirt and all and did ok. He told me to test the mounts as is and if they don't move I should be ok. But if they do move, some washers or a spot weld would be safe enough. It seems Avon only sells the front size in Sidecar duty and they are super expensive. What tires do you use on your RIGs? The flatest, hardest, compunds at reasobable prices I could find were Cheng Shin Marques. Its actually easy to kick as the car is a very thin and light sprit- eagle/style bodystyle and the builder gave plenty of room on the subframe for you to kickstart the bike. The sidecar frame is strong enough to hold up the bike on blocks. I can even jump on the frame and it won't budge. |
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Post by davedunsboro on Jun 26, 2007 8:12:42 GMT -5
Do they ever put brakes on the side cars or do you adjust your riding skills to suit . I recon if you hit a bit of slippery it would be real scary for all . Cheers Dave.
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Post by milkman on Jun 26, 2007 9:23:50 GMT -5
That side car looks great.
Looks like a batman and robin toy one I had 20yrs ago, but it shot off and became a boat aswell.
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Post by fe2cruz on Jun 26, 2007 10:46:14 GMT -5
Thanks guys, Yes they do everything even add drive shafts, realign and center your front forks so it turns at an angle better for performance. All that is too much for my light RIG though. It'd be safer to just have all the angles aligned correctly and then learn how to ride it properly and adjust my weight accordingly. Just think of riding your tricycle as a kid and taking a turn to hard and falling nose-over. Its awkward at first, but completely predictable. |
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Post by colinjay on Jun 26, 2007 21:55:19 GMT -5
Hi there,
It looks like a nice body on the outfit, is the drum of water (?) for ballast of just coincedence that it was in there when you took the picture?
I have not had problems with vibration loosening off my mounting bolts, but I always use high tensile bolts done up real tight and with Nyloc nut ontop of spring washers. If you are really concerned or have problems with Nyloc nut loosening, go overboard and use Loctite on them as well, that way they will never come loose.
The only time I have seen a XT/TT frame break with a sidecar mounted was during a NEWS 24Hr trial back in the 80's and it had hit somthing hard enough to push the front wheel under the engine, so the frame was allowed to break!
As most of my sidecars have been dirt orientated, I have always fitted block trials tyres on the rear, these do tend to wear quickly and they also tend to flex quite a bit which can make the rear end feel a bit "wiggley". On the XS1100 that I am building, I have made up my own wheel to allow me to run 15" car tyres on all three wheel. A possiblity with the rear tyre for the SR, would be to fit a XS650 special 16" rear wheel, this would open up the options of fitting tyre designed for Harley's and cruisers which often have a flater profile than most of the 18" tyres that you can fit on the SR.
As for brakes on the sidecar. On the XS1100, I have fitted a SR500 rear disc, RH front caliper to the wheel hub and suspension controled by a SR rear master cylinder and brake lver that will be positioned near the gear lever (we run chairs on the LH side here in AUS). The long term plan is to link the sidecar brake to the bikes rear brake master cylinder using a proportioning valve, although the seperate sidecar break has a lot going for it when it comes to turning and "showing off".
CJ
PS, If I can find the picture of the TT500 outfit on my computer at home I will post it here.
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Post by StewRoss on Jun 27, 2007 3:15:54 GMT -5
My first SR had been fitted with a sidecar when it was with the previous owner...it only had 5,000Ks on it when I got it. he decided to get a bigger bike for the sidecar so he bought an XS850 and I got my first SR...and it was immaculate. It still has the front mount under the tank welded to the frame. This is what it looked like after I'd had it for short time.  SR  |
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Post by StewRoss on Jun 27, 2007 3:16:42 GMT -5
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