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| Toe in: (of the sidecar wheel, towards the motorcycle, measured at the front of the front wheel tyre and the rear of the rear wheel tyre) for a motorcycle on diagonal tyres the formula is: lead in cm's X 2 = toe in in mm's For a motorcycle on radial tyres this is: lead in cm's = toe in in mm's Here too, a margin ± 10% is acceptable. |
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| THE MOTURIST-FORMULA
Ed Pols developed his own formula for the key measurements of motorcycle-sidecar geometry. Universal rules of thumb that are very handy, especially when mounting the sidecar for the first time. The standard measurements are calculated as follows: Lead: (centre of sidecarwheel to centre of rear wheel, measured parallel to the longitudinal axis of the motorcycle) dry mass of the motorcycle in kilograms = lead in milimeters (for example: when the dry mass of the bike is 220 kg's, the sidecar wheel lead should be 220 mm's). A 10% margin is acceptable. |
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| Lean out of motorcycle: on diagonal tyres 2°-5° on radial tyres 0°-3° Track: as narrow as possible Sidecar position : horizontal in all directions (measured on an unloaded rig, standing normally on it's wheels). |
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| The sidecar wheel is not positioned next to, but forward of the rear wheel. The distance between the wheel axles is called "lead". |
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| The sidecar wheel does not point straight forward, but slightly towards the front wheel. The difference between the measurements "A" and "B" is called "toe in". |
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