Sidecar Musings Part 2 - Diversion vs Kawasaki

How can you tell until you give it a try? If I recall correctly, Nev
had fun riding a CT110 across a swath of Qeensland...


BTH
(Zebee says if it hurts you're not doing it right.)

 

Nah... the real question is why didn't you hold off selling the FJR
until I got around to seriously thinking about the outfit.

After all I did mention a sidecar first 2 years ago ;-) [1]


G-S

[1] I agree, the FJR would make an excellent chair hauler. The problem
is that when you are selling one noone wants to pay going rate, and when
you are buying one noone wants to sell cheap. It'd also still leave me
with an extra bike Tim!

 

I agree with you... but you haven't seen Jodz pack for a trip *grin*


G-S

 

I've ridden Jodz's GPX250. I freely admit that it's got enough go to
stick with the traffic and even enough to overtake on the straights.

What it doesn't have is enough power to 'blast' the traffic... to
overtake in a short distance.

Now I know an outfit isn't like a bike to ride and I won't be able to
zip in and out of traffic like I do on a solo, but I'd like enough
acceleration at highway speeds to overtake like Nev's SV8 Commodore
rather than an Excel (besides I can't afford to keep an excel in sheds)

Honestly BT, slow bikes can be fun, but they are fun on back roads
without much traffic.


G-S

 

snip

you were actually 80KG once upon a time ?

 

Some of that is a myth, it does depend on what size tyre you run. I used to
run a 165R15 Kumho car tyre on the back of my K100RS, it was pretty much the
same overall size(diameter) of the original bike tyre (160/60-17) so no
difference in gearing at all, I changed to an RT "diff" for to achieve that.
Much cheaper though at $90 every 20,000km instead of $240 every 10-12,000km
(solo use, the same bike tyre on a sidecar would likely on get 6,000km). Or
$90 to do 18,000km against $720 of bike tyres (muuuuch less than half the
running cost).

Use a 135R15 tyre will give you lower gearing if that was your aim.

Al

 

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the frame, much easier to mount a
chair on a tube steel frame, what do the Div and ZRX have in comparison. Is
either a stiffer frame?

Cooling will make a difference too Clem, sidecars work harder and run hotter
than solos. Water cooling is definate advantage.

Al

 

I was 73kg in year 12 when I represented the local high school in the
regional cross country interschool races. Back then I was running 5kms
each lunch time, playing competition tennis saturdays and practice
wednesdays, playing competition table tennis thursdays and practice
tuesdays.

The thing was even back then I had to excersise in order not to gain
weight. Once I went to uni and dropped most sports (particuarly the
running) I started putting on the kg's.

They didn't hit seriously until I got over 30 though *sigh*.


G-S

 

Obviously I have a known history of XJs and love-of-shafties (although I've
never owned a Divvy and have only ever ridden one on 3 occasions for a
total of 80-or-so km) but you're (GS) either talking about WILDLY modified
Z1s or you've got the rose-coloured memory-glasses on!
A Divvy would shit all over a Z1 in every comparison [except resale
value!], as any 20-year newer motorcycle should!
15% more horsepower and torque, lighter [don't believe the weight figures
on yesterday's link], much stronger frame and a generation (or three)
better brakes. (Not to mention more performance-friendly wheel and
tyre-sizes).

There's no hot-up bits for Diversions 'cause none are NEEDED!!

 

Both the ZRX and the Divvy are twin down tube at the front end, but the
ZRX is a convential twin shock rear end and the Divvy is a single shock
rear end.

To be honest I hadn't looked that closely at the rear of either, but I
have no doubt the Divvy would be somewhat more complicated.

G-S

 

Ooh that'll be handy now than Leon's jacked-up about being my petrol-bitch!

 

~
They used to make you go up the road at little-lunch so the other kids got
a go at the cream-buns?

 

I don't deny that a liquid-cooled engine will run cooler Al; just that a
Divvy won't (in my opinion) overheat!

 

The first time you try to split you're gonna lose the kid, JL's
BBQ, and Clem's fuel...

That strikes me as an odd request, but if you insist, we can
knobble it for you. You could do it yourself by leaving half
the plug leads off!

GB

 

Meh! You pay your money & you take your choice. Maybe I've been
corrupted by far too many km in my slow truck.


BTH

 

OI!!!! i can pack light if i have to.....usually i lugging stuff and other
peoples stuff in car ....HEHEH

JODZ

 

Outfits can be fun, but they are fun on back roads without much traffic.

-----sharks

 

I rode my K100RT/HRD outfit from Melbourne to Brisbane with midday
tempratures of 38, the bike was very hot but the water cooling kept it
together, I anm thinking of relocating the radator (or having a larger
ratiator made) fom the front of the bike to the front of the chair with the
airflow directed under the chair. At is stands the outfit is too hot in the
summer.

Boxer

 

The main problem with air cooled outfit motors is that they run hotter
than designed to much of the time which can reduce engine life.

This problem can be reduced by fitting an aftermarket oil cooler, the
problem then becomes that the bikes oil remains very cold in winter and
doesn't reach optimum operating temperature which is often worse than a
very hot motor.

A better solution is probably to run a high quality full synthetic oil
with a very wide viscosity range. The synthetic oil will be less prone
to loss of viscosity between oil change intervals, and the large
viscosity range will help with the larger range of temperature extremes
the motor will be subject to.

Liquid cooling (provided sufficient capacity exists in the cooling
system) tends to significantly reduce this problem.

Clem do you remember what happened to Moikes R100RS when we were stuck
in the GP traffic? MargG had less severe problems with his XJR1200 but
it still nipped up, and hasn't been the same since. There were a number
of other bikes broken down by the road.

If an air cooled outfit had been in the same situation the problem would
be worse, poorer air flow and the motor would be working harder than on
a solo.

Now I admit that situation is unusual, but it can happen. A liquid
cooled bike wouldn't be as badly effected. [1]


G-S

[1] I still reckon the Divvy would be a much more comfortable outfit for
the rider, and would have a much better fuel range though. I'm going to
speak to the sidecar guy and see what his opinion on fitting chairs to
Divvies is.

 

Ummm I owned my Z1 (which I fully restored). The motor was stock except
for being carefully assembled and lovingly tuned. The only mods was a 4
into one exhaust and a jet kit and a handle bar mounted bikini fairing
(as per the stone movies, not the full fairing, the bikini version seen
on the 'other Z1s'. The rims were releaced with 1/2 wider rims so that
more modern rubber could be fitted and the front was changed from 19" to
18". The shocks were replaced with Marzochhi strada upside downies. The
frame was braced in several spots as was the swing arm. With all of
that it still didn't handle that well

The Divvy would easily outbrake the Z1, it would easily outcorner the
Z1. The top speed on my Z1 was a genuine 215k. The top speed of my
Divvy is an indicated 210k. Top speed is an excellent indicator of 2
things... horsepower and wind drag.

Given that the top speeds are within a bees dick of each other how could
the power not be? The Z1 also had a shorter first gear (it was easy to
mono), the Divvy has a taller first gear which makes getting off the
line harder.

I honestly believe that in a drag race the Divvy _would_ be slower than
my Z1 was Clem

There were 2 versions of the Z 900cc motors. The early ones had larger
carbs and were more agressivly tuned. The later ones had smaller carbs
and couldn't get within a bulls roar of the early ones. Even the early
Z1000 wasn't any faster, nor did it make any more power than the early
Z1 with the large carbs (which were a bugger to tune BTW). Most power
figures quoted for the Z 900 motors are for the later small carb version.

I love shaft drives Clem, low maintenance, no mess. But that's a
seperate issue


G-S