sfcl
05/23/09

The construction

First job was to think and build the chassis. François went to the option of two single arm suspensions (front and rear), with the usual balancing system to the front. After some drawings, Autocad and geometry experiences, the job was done by welding some very beautiful and neat structures in aluminium.

Then came the sidecar chassis, also all in aluminium. Hubs and brakes come from a VW Golf GTI, the wheels are from an Audi 80. The tension of the chain is automatically adjusted by an eccentric system installed on the swingarm axle. Shocks absorbers are Fournales air system, especially manufactured for this machine.

Time came to build the bodywork, all in polyester or carbon fiber, depending of the parts. François used not less than 63 moulds for that, all hand made!

The outfit door, Lamborghini style, was mainly in carbon fiber. The aperture system is electrical. The two open roofs are in carbon fiber too. Headlights and blinkers on the outfit came from BMW and Renault cars.

As the man is a true Laverda enthusiast, he wished to show clearly that the engine is a triple!


Before fitting the bodywork, François had to build the new electrical harness, quite complex on such a vehicle...

While doing the first road tests, François was disappointed by the front suspension and steering systems, not too bad but not good enough for him, not better than any usual sidecar. For more safety at high speed in curves and stability on straight roads, he dismantled the vehicle again, threw away the whole front end and draw and built a new system inspired from the sidebike brand concept (1 to 2 arms)! The bike is now perfectly stable at high speed. Another advantage is that the headstock has almost no force on it, so no risk of cracks.

6 comments

# yugopurbalingga on 06/29/09 at 12:26
wow keren... = wow cool...
# yugopurbalingga on 06/29/09 at 12:27
wow keren... = wow cool...
# Detlev Peters on 07/12/09 at 20:22
Very good work! Would be nice to see this bike at the EuroGespannTreffen (Europe's biggest sidecar meeting) on 27.-30.08.2009 in Weiswampach / Luxemburg

Detlev
# Dieter Dorn on 07/21/09 at 20:32
Respect, top work ! Hope to see you at the EuroGespannTreffen
in Weiswampach / Luxembourg (27.-30.08.2009)
# Mike Cecchini on 09/26/09 at 00:24
Sidecars....... the worst of both worlds and benefits of neither.

You, my friend, need a good dog and a woman.
# Barry Fletcher on 09/26/09 at 13:35
Fantastic! A true work of art in the highest form. Sir, your talents are just amazing; Thank you for allowing this form of art to be shared with us by the internet.
Please, get in touch with one of the major motorcycle magazines and surely they will proudly show pictures in their publication.
Sincerely: Barry Fletcher

Leave a comment


Your email address will not be revealed on this site.

Your URL will be displayed.
(Line breaks become <br />)
(Name, email & website)
(Allow users to contact you through a message form (your email will not be revealed.)

How to build in less than 10000 hours an incredible Laverda sidecar! The nickname of this monster is "Snaefell", just like the Icelander volcano... and the highest summit of the Isle of Man!

Search

XML Feeds

multiblog