Any color, so long as it's ....



So I've been tinkering a little - added pedals and a chain, taken it for a brief shakedown. Painted it black.

Verdict? It rides like shit. Hard to pedal, but more importantly, impossible to steer. So I pondered a few options:

  1. Steering damper. The fundamental problem is that the steering is so twitchy, it starts turning of its own volition and won't stop til the wheel tucks under. It's a pain. A steering damper might slow the twitch down to a controllable point. Trouble is finding an appropriate damper. Also, I laugh at choppers with steering dampers.

  2. Shortening the forks and reducing the rake angle. This is probably the most practical approach. So that's a strike against it straight away. Also, it means chopping and grinding the neck again, bending the pipes, shortening the forks, etc. It's a fair whack of fabrication and borrowing a welder to *de-eccentrify* the thing, which irks me.

  3. Trike! A trike isn't an entirely ridiculous idea. It's inherently more stable so it'll offset the steering problem, I could use the space for shopping, and it has heaps of scope for eccentrification. However. It means re-engineering the drive train and rear drive wheel. Not impossibly, but the other problem with trikes is that you need a differential, otherwise one wheel skids when you turn. It's a nifty thought. A lot of work, but unlike option 2 above, it's in the name of further eccentrification. So I was out in the shed starting to measure the beast up for triklification, when a thought struck me....

  4. Sidecars!! Sidecars avoid the drivetrain issues by keeping the stock drivetrain. They provide stability and cargo storage. And people can sit in them! I probably have enough steel lying around to make up a sidecar (or two!), and they pretty much bolt on - no welding, no grinding of the bike itself. This is a Good Plan (tm).

So sidecar(s) it is. Might start with one on the right hand side, and see how it goes. I have a million wheels lying around, fortunately - you know it's a good plan when it immediately uses up stuff you have lying around but doesn't require much more. If you fancy yourself a sidecar designer, send drawings/suggestions to the usual address. Otherwise, hang on for more updates.