Thanks for the comments and pic! Nice trike!

I will, of course be locking the steering, probably by attaching the track rods to the arms....but...

there is still negative trail present, so the forces the track rods have to manage are still high...

i've driven enough 2CVs and Dianes to know what happens when you get a bit of lock on, going fast backwards!

As for weight distribution, well, i dont know! there are several combo's around with a car engine in the rear of the chair, some even commercially available; so it can't be that bad!

Anyway, any reasons NOT to turn the arms over????

Early days yet, will keep you all posted!

Matt

Matt,
I'd have thought that forces in the track rods due to negative trail would be insignificant compared to those experienced by a bit of 'lock to lock' when parking, or maybe a few bumps against kerbs by a less than careful driver.

It's a long time since I've driven a 2CV or Dyane backwards at any speed, but from what I recall, as long as the steering wheel was held dead centre there wasn't that much tendency for it to fly out of control.
It was only when you got a bit carried away and tried steering round a corner backwards that things tended to go awry...

Anyway, using the track rods to immobilise the steering isn't a very elegant solution, unless you're building a Cogolin replica ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/derekgottlieb/2459929005/ ), so rather than weld the hub carriers to the arms, this solution below is probably much neater.

That stack of washers at the outer end of the strut can be swapped around to fine tune the toe in or toe out of the wheels, or even compensate for any misalignment resulting from pilot error.

ken


2CV buggy, rear arm detail by slcchassis, on Flickr

Thanks for that pic, Ken... that is a neat solution....

tho i would prefer a screw adjustable linkage... sidecar wheel alignment is critical, so finer adjustability would be nice

Yep,
some other aspects of sidecar outfit design & use are almost as important.

I remember being in the 'wrong' seat of an Ariel Square Four outfit which a friend had just bought, when his lack of experience with sidecar outfits resulted in us running out of road on a fast corner.

Luckily, there was a relatively soft hedge to cushion the impact, rather than a stone wall, but I don't recall ever accepting another lift from him...



ken

Mat by "turning over" i presume you mean just turning round rather than having the arm above the hub, spring shackles on top etc

as long as you shave the tracking spot on the forces at what would have been the track rods is negligible. KP inclination trail etc all affect the steering but as there is none at the back of a trike affair then its not an issue.

Sean