best place for ballast,how much is enough

[IRON NUTZ]

will be having my pre-owned 2000 ural bavarian classic delivered to my house ,been riding bikes for 30 years,first rig though.........i have been reading the handbook/manuals on sidecar training/riding, i have a large parking/driving area down the street from me at a bank to practice first where is the best place to put my "training wheels" sandbags ,in the sidecar tub floor or is the trunk area better ,space permitting to keep the sandbag movement to a minmum and how much weight is enough .............TIA

[QBall]

I started with (3) 40 pound bags of water conditioner salt on the side car seat and floor. try to keep the weight in the triangle (tip lines) between the 3 wheels. You take one out each time you get confident. about a week each. It took me about a month of regular riding to get to a nice comfort level with the transition from 2 to 3 wheels. The biggy is the panic reversion to counter steering that throws you the opposit way you tried to turn.

[seth]

i like sand bags for off roading and for when-ever i feel like ballast is a good idea.
i have a 50 lb bag that i lug around every so often.
the ballast helps at low speed not so tight right hand turns when the car could rise. In the tighter faster turns it's gunna come up regardless of the weight.
be safe
seth

[JohnBG]

I started with 2 - 45lb weight plates from my son's weight bench on the tub floor.

After a week I ditched one of the weight plates and after the 2nd week I got rid of the other one and have been happily ballast free (aside from all of the tools and junk in the trunk).

[Bilgekeeldave]

I haven't ever used ballast, except for all the tools, spares and sh!t in the trunk, maybe 30 lbs of stuff. I figure the steel sidecar is plenty heavy. If you gotta have ballast make it useful ballast.

If I do something stupid, and the car comes up, I'll know not do do that stupid thing anymore. If I were to learn how to drive the rig with a lot of ballast, I would have to relearn how it handles every time I took some ballast out.

I was careful and kept out of high traffic areas until I was confident with my rig with just the junk in the trunk, no extra ballast.

Dave

[wyowillys46]

I never used ballast either. I took it easy and learned to move my rear off the seat when needed.

[redflasher]

I used 3 25# bags of lead shot on my Honda outfit but have not used anything since I got the GearUP. Plenty of crap in the trunk to add weight.

[George Butz]

I never used ballast either. I took it easy and learned to move my rear off the seat when needed.

I tried the ballast thing the first couple of rides. Most of the time the wife is in the hack. When not, ya gotta get that butt over to the hack side. Just keep that yellow book out and take it a step at a time. A hack with tools and tire is pretty heavy anyway. I have yet to fly the chair unless I tugged on the bars.
I prefer to keep all three wheels on the road. [somewhat whimppy face]

[Scott in Shoreview]

I used 2 40lb bags of pea gravel. After a few weeks they were both gone and I'm ballast free. If I was going to ride on twisting and rough terrain I would consider adding a bag in the trunk but on the road I'm good without.

As stated, be sure to keep the weight inside the triangle tip lines. On the seat and in the trunk I think are best. Too much weight in the nose could make for scary left handers...

Good Luck,
Scott in Shoreview
'02 Tourist

[csbdr]

I thought most of the trunk was outside the lines as well. I'd opt for the floor of the tub and a couple sand/salt/gravel bags. They won't shift around. Get rid of them as soon as you are comfortable controlling the rig without the weight.

[IRON NUTZ]

I never used ballast either. I took it easy and learned to move my rear off the seat when needed.

I tried the ballast thing the first couple of rides. Most of the time the wife is in the hack. When not, ya gotta get that butt over to the hack side. Just keep that yellow book out and take it a step at a time. A hack with tools and tire is pretty heavy anyway. I have yet to fly the chair unless I tugged on the bars.
I prefer to keep all three wheels on the road. [somewhat whimppy face]

good points on the spare tire and tools items weight,besides hanging off of the non-sport bike solo seat too

[Mr Natural]

In regards to tools, I keep them in a fat 50cal ammo box mounted on top of the hack fender, thinking it puts the weight out for best leverage.

Items loaded in trunk would not seem to be much a problem.

I've often thought of storing 5 gal of water UNDER the trunk, I'm not much of an off road rider.

[csbdr]

Too much weight in the nose could make for scary left handers...

Scott could you explain this too me? I'm not following how this would effect left hand turns. Thanks! chris

[CCCPBike]

Never used ballast. From the beginning ballast free.

[Scott in Shoreview]

... too much weight in the nose makes for scary left handers...

In a left hand turn the inertia forces the bike towards the sidecar. Add gravity and too much speed and you can nose the front of the hack into the ground. That's why we hang our butts off the left side in left hand turns. This nose dive can happen quick and when it does it can easily cartwheel the rig. Now, throw a full fuel tank or loaded storage box on the nose, add another 40lbs of ballast just in the footwell and the potential to have a problem on a left hand turn grows.

Just making a point that the nose of the tub sits outside of the tip triangle ... as does the trunk as posted. However a tub endo is much more likely than tipping the rig straight back.


Scott in Shoreview
'02 Tourist

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=fEGIVTfMvv0&feature=related

[/youtube]