Hi Guys
Wanted to share my experience and some info with you all and hopefully maybe get some expert advice from you old pros in this forum. As you might recall I am a newby recently joined this group, As said before I am getting a new 2009 FLHTC with a Harley TLE Ultra side car and want to add a Baker F6R Gear set to it. I was surprised to hear from Baker and my Harley dealer that the F6R will not fit the new 2009 Touring models due to the new exhaust design. What I need to do to make the F6R fit is to get a set of True Duals... Ugh! With the True Duals I need to have the race tuner/tuning performed too to make it all work and be within the factory warranty. All that will add approx. 4 thou to the price tag of the bike. Since I am not young anymore and do want a reverse gear I am thinking of going for it! Do you guys have any preference of exhaust manufactures, like Bub 7, Samson, Rinehart systems? You think this is all worthwhile, ealer says yea and it will add 10 to 15 HP to the bike along with a cool sound... Remember I am screwing the motor homes for this so cost is not too much of a factor here, what I am looking for is durability for the long tours me and my wife will take. Any quick info will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Much Guys
Brian from Milwaukee
Gee... 53 gawks and 0 replies ? Must be a bad question!!
Anyway I went for the Vance and Hines True Duals and will tune the bike with a screaming Eagle turner will also install a screaming Eagle Hi Flo air cleaner, all this should work great. Baker is coming out with a new tranny cover that will fit the new stock 2009 exhaust on the touring bikes sometime this summer. Hope you all appreciate this info!
Hmmmm since you are trying to get set up for two-up with a machine that has 3-wheels and reverse. What about the Harley Trike??? Called the Tri-Glide. I know when my knee's get worse, I will be looking into either the trike kit for my '06 Ultra, or just get the factory trike. Should be a few more years before I need to look closer at these options.
__________________ Scott aka Unclepsycho
Redneck without a clue
Hi Brian,
I did exactly the same as you up to the purchase part, have sidecar installed and drive it home. Dealer stated that the reverse gear I picked out (would have to go back and look to see the brand) will probably be modifying the handle to re-route it around the pipes. I have a question for you and anybodyelse: My bike pulls hard to the right all the time. The sidecar owners manual says it should pull slightly to the right during acceleration. What does yours do?
Junior
Junior,
I've worked on a few sidecar setups. The alignment of the rig is critical for good handling. With the toe in and lean out of the bike set correctly it should track down the road fairly straight under steady throttle. Try about .25 to .5 inch toe in and 2 to 3 degrees of lean out. There is a bit of a comprimise in setup depending on the road crown you are running on. This subject could use a section of it's own as there is a limited amount of information available and I'm sure there is alot of knowlege out there on the subject.
Junior,
My Bike is still being worked on at my dealer's shop. Anyway it is still too cold over here in Milwaukee to ride yet, when it warms up a bit more I will let you know how everything goes. I know for sure it should NOT pull hard to the right all the time, just a bit at take off.
Bd.......the upgrades will be a must and should help in longevity of your motor, since pulling a sidecar and your (better half) on most trips.
Good luck with the rig and don't be shy...or timid...about taking it back to the dealer for fine tuning. This too will help for the long run of enjoyment of your new scoot.
Post some pics when you can, I'd really like to see your set-up.
I had nothing going on Saturday, it was fairly warm so I went out in the Garage to inspect and fiddle with the Ultra. I could see that the rear Lolli-pop attachment of the sidecar had not threads showing and the front one had 10 or so. Eyeballing the bike from the front it appeared to have positive inward tilt on both the bike and sidecar wheel but also appeared to have the sidecar wheel facing (toe-out) rather then straight or toe-in. I couldn't quite figure ouit how to get at the front Lolli-pop without taking the bracket off the frame; a little jack pressure on the bike side and it was out. I could see that the bike had a turnbuckle type nut but the jamb nut was too large for anything I have in the tool box. Long story short; I turned the lolli-pop in 3 complete turns (2, test drive, 1 more, drive again no change then when it was 2) and put everything back together and the bike rides way better. Lost the warm weather so Sunday morning double checked everything and reinstalled the knee fairing. I feel comfortable on the next warm day to take her for a nice long interstate trip and see how she feels after a couple of hours of cruising. Thanks, Junior.
if your sidecar is fairly new - ie less than 6 or 7 years old - the eye with the round ball and bolt in it is threaded one way, there is a sleeve that is threaded oposiste inside and out threaded into the sidecar frame - there is a lock nut to tighten it all up, loosen the lock nut and turn the sleve and it gets longer or shorter at will.
however - since you admit to being a sidecar newby - there is a LOT the dealer usually wont tell you because they dont know. ok?
first - the way to align the sidecar wheel is to first get the disk brake on the sidecar to sit vertical with a unloaded bike. then you take two 10 ft long boards or square tubes and lightly camp them to the rear wheel of the bike so it sticks out both front and rear of the bike a foot or so sitting on blocks about 1.5 inch high so the boards are off the floor and then clamp the other board or tube to the sidecar tire so it matches front and rear the board or tube on the bike - then measure - with stock bike tires the measure in front of the front tire between the boards should be about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch less than the distance between the boards at the rear - this mesurement is super critical - you need to do this perfect - the board for the bike side needs to be totally true to the two bike wheels [on new bikes the front tire is narrower than the rear so it cant be clamped to the front tire - it has to have a small space there] then once that is perfect you need to have the bike lean in to the sidecar just barely - 1 degree is the starting point. the idea is that when you sit on the bike the rear of the bike compresses the springs so that the bike is either straight up or very slightly to the left.
in the harley sidecar service manual this is all spelled out - but not in the owners manual.
once lean out and toe in are perfect - to get it to really steer nice you need to install a trike raked tree - liberty in washinton - the hd triglide tree - ezsteer - when the front end is right and the sidecar is aligned properly you can ride with one hand lightly on the grip and just cruise along on most any road
alignment is critical - very few dealers know how to do it.
Very True. I was fortunate to have Hal's Harley Davidson in New Berlin WI do the job for me, they did an excellent job aligning the sidecar to the bike and my bike is a pleasure to ride. Wife loves to ride in the sidecar more than two up, do not ask me why but she loves it. It is not too bumpy nor does it rock like a boat. The best investment I made was to add the Baker F6R reverse gear, I can now park the bike anywhere I wish without a worry in the world! the Vance and Hines True Duals, the Screaming eagle race tuner and stage 1 air make this bike a pleasure to ride, easy tops 80 without much effort. Fuel economy is around 30 to 31 MPG though not as good as I hoped but I am not complaining. Next upgrade I am thinking about will be the 5 degree Triple raked trees from Liberty sidecars, that should make steering the bike around the city much less of an effort as I do not need arms like Popeye!
FLHTC and a Baker F6R Tranny 
Linear Mode
