Hello,

It's been a long time since I postedbut I need some help. I have an 05 TLE sidecar on my 05 UltraClassic (FLHTCUI). It is geared way too high and I need some advice,pointers, suggestions etc. as I can't pull 5th gear if Ihave head winds or hills and have even had to down shift to 3rdon the Interstate while on my way to Yosemite last summer!

In addition to the load and drag of thesidecar, I have installed a larger diameter rear tire. It is a 175 R16 “Taxi” tire from England. In addition to the adverse gearingimpact of a larger diameter tire, I have some clearance issues andwould like to install longer rear shocks/springs to raise the back aninch or two (this will also help reduce trail a bit). The otherissue is clearance between the belt and tire. I would like to offset the pulleys by about 1/4”.

Three options (or combinations thereof)present themselves. First, I could replace the stock 32 tooth frontpulley with an off set 30 tooth front pulley giving me an additional185 rpm at 70 mph in 5th. I would also have to add anoff set spacer to the rear wheel pulley.

Second, I could replace the stock 25tooth engine sprocket with a 23 tooth sprocket giving me anadditional 241 rpm at 70 mph in 5th.

Of these two what are the pros andcons? Who supplies the parts? How hard is it to change up theengine sprocket as compared to the front pulley? Obviously if I wantto increase clearance between the belt and tire I will need toreplace the front pulley and off set the rear pulley but stick withstock ratios to maintain speedo and tach function while reducingtooth count on the engine sprocket to lower gearing. Is this true?

The third option would be to change thetransmission ratios. I could install a 6 speed but could still needto reduce over all gear ratios. Can transmissions be assembled withother than stock ratios for specific gears. i.e. for a 6 speedtransmission I would like the following set up:

1st gear – Lower thanstock 1st gear to help get the load moving;

2nd gear – Stock ratio OK

3rd gear – Stock ratio OK

4th gear – Half waybetween current stock 3rd and 4th gears

5th gear – Half waybetween current stock 4th and 5th gears

6th gear – Same as currentstock 5th gear

Does anyone supply transmission parts than can be interchanged to alter the ratios of specific gears as above?

I have some experience with sidecars(this is my sixth outfit) but I am new to Harleys having only had my05 Ultra Classic Sidecar outfit for 3 years (only previous HDexperience was in the 1960's when I had a Sporty rat bike). The onlyoutfit I've had that had a good gear set up was a Honda CB900 Customwith a dual range transmission (shift-able on the fly) so I had ineffect a 10 speed transmission.

I bought this outfit with the sidecarattached but it had not otherwise been modified for sidecar use. This winter I plan to disassemble the front end and replace thetriple trees with EZ Steer triple trees to reduce the trail by abouthalf which is necessary with a sidecar attached. I would ratherinstall a “Unit Leading Link” front end which is much more ridgedbut would have to give up the Ultra Classic front fender which Iwould hate to do. It sets the tone for the bike visually :-) On theother hand, I have used modified forks on other outfits and they workfine.

I removed the Air Temp gauge which isuseless (I know if I am cold, comfortable or hot) and replaced itwith an Oil Temp gauge. As I suspected the Oil Temp gauge pegged theneedle (every sidecar outfit I have owned has run really hot). Iadded an Oil Cooler and switched to synthetic oil and brought the oiltemps down to the low 200's.

The only other mod I am considering atthe moment is to install a reverse gear. It is not a high priorityas my Monkey makes a fine reverse, but just like me she is gettingolder and we need to make the outfit as easy to use as possible so wecan keep riding it till were too old to topple out of bed...the onlyproblem with the reverse is it looks like the reverse gear lever willinterfere with the exhaust system on the Ultra Classic. Has anyonehad any experience with installing a reverse on the 05 Ultra Classic?

Thanks for any advice or help you guyscan give,

Nelson

 

Have you considered changing from a belt drive to a chain drive, this may give you the clearance you want for the tire.
Also a “Stage III” engine upgrade (95 Kit with a “Street Port” for the heads, and a Tune) will give you a 100/100 HP TQ compared to the stock numbers.

 

Howdy Kenney,

Thanks for the response. Sorry it took me so long to reply but we just got back to Washington State from Lake Tahoe with the sidecar outfit.
Other than getting caught in a hail storm with my grandson in the hack, the only problem we had was a failed battery, but the guys at the Harley shop in Medford, Oregon had it diagnosed and a new battery installed before we even finished our lunch at Debbie's Diner next door.

I agree I could use more power but then that is always the case as the one thing you can never have too much of is power. For now I have decided to go with the Baker 6 speed with reverse. I calculated the ratios and it looks like it will do the job nicely if I keep the stock 25 tooth motor sprocket instead of using the 28 tooth sprocket they provide with the kit.

I will be ordering the parts next week along with a new set of triple trees to reduce the trail and maybe I will get it all together in time for one more trip this year

Since the car tire I have on the rear does not seem to be wearing any better than the stock tire did, I will probably just go back to a motorcycle tire and that will solve the clearance issues with the belt.

Thanks again for the response,

Nelson

 

put an andrews 48 cam in it give u better torque and hp from stock cam aroud 250 for the cam

 

OP posted similar thread on another part of the forum:

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/hacke...l#post12968279