The Spares Company
Club Shop/Regalia
Parent Website
Contact Officials
Machine Registrar
Club Secretary
Membership Secretaries
MPH Editor and Forum Administrator.
Section Newsletters
Technical Databases
Photos
Home
What's new
Latest activity
Forums
New posts
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Information
Bike Modifications
Machine Data Services
Manufacturers Manuals
Spare Parts Listings
Technical Diagrams
Whitakerpedia (Vincent Wiki)
The Club
MPH Material Archive
Flogger's Corner
Obituaries
VOC Sections
Local Sections
Local Section Newsletters
Miscellaneous
Club Assets
Club History
Club Rules
Machine Data Services
Meeting Documents
Miscellaneous
Essential Reading
Magazine/Newspaper Articles/Letters
Adverts and Sales Brochures
The Mighty Garage Videos
Bikes For Sale (Spares Company)
Log in
Register
What's new
New posts
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Home
Forums
Forums: Public Access
General Chat (Vincent Related)
Steib s501 Advice needed
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="flxible" data-source="post: 149961" data-attributes="member: 998"><p>Hi Tony; besides the Vincent, my other m/c love is the Earles fork era BMW, of which one of mine is a TR500 rig.</p><p>I am by no means a s/c expert, but have enjoyed rebuilding/using/maintaining it for the last forty years or so.</p><p></p><p>My TR500 is a 1960 model, right near the end of the Steib factory run, before Bender took over production, and that yours is torsion suspension means your S501 is a fairly late model also.</p><p>I, too, am of the belief that the axle should be horizontal, and therefore the wheel should be perpendicular to both the chassis and to level ground.</p><p></p><p>A 5-10 degree lean equates to an approximate 2" to 4" overall lean on a 26" tire, (or 1" to 2" if from the axle) and that is significant, and I would suspect something more than a worn torsion bar bush is going on.</p><p>The wheel does not look to have that much lean in the picture, but photos are often deceiving.</p><p>For me your photo and concerns bring more questions than answers.</p><p>How did the s/c perform in use, how true is the level you are using/was plumb checked with a bob or the level/is the frame itself true and free of twists, are the wheel/tire true, etc.</p><p>Bottom line is of course how does the rig track down the road.</p><p></p><p>I use a hand sized laser when checking plumb/level with frames, it is quick and simple.</p><p>My day job is building houses, so there is already a laser in the tool box, it's about the size of a tape measure, and cost $100-$200.</p><p>I weren't a builder, I don't know that I'd run out and buy one, but perhaps you've a friend in the trades.</p><p>Just as you adjust the toe-in on the s/c, and the camber on the motorcycle, one could compensate for s/c wheel lean to some extent, but not 2" to 4".</p><p></p><p>I have used Ideal Sidecar, in Berlin, over the years for various parts, though not recently.</p><p>(ideal-seitenwagen.eu)</p><p>They are the folks who manufacture all the s/c parts, as well as the repop Steib sidecars.</p><p>I believe they also supply the various shops that sell Steib parts.</p><p>And (at least back when I was sourcing parts) they also sold the torsion bars and bushings.</p><p>The fellow I used to email with was Stefan, (an owner, I believe) and his English was probably better than mine.</p><p>Best-</p><p>George</p><p></p><p>I put a 3' straight edge through the swingarm mounts, and shimmed the frame to agree with the red laser level line; and a straight edge through the steering head, to see if the vertical red laser line reads perpendicular to the swingarm axis, (it does in this case) and the vertical red laser is tracking up the center of the frame spine as well as vertical bracketry, so showing all is pretty good in at least those two planes. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]46517[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]46518[/ATTACH]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="flxible, post: 149961, member: 998"] Hi Tony; besides the Vincent, my other m/c love is the Earles fork era BMW, of which one of mine is a TR500 rig. I am by no means a s/c expert, but have enjoyed rebuilding/using/maintaining it for the last forty years or so. My TR500 is a 1960 model, right near the end of the Steib factory run, before Bender took over production, and that yours is torsion suspension means your S501 is a fairly late model also. I, too, am of the belief that the axle should be horizontal, and therefore the wheel should be perpendicular to both the chassis and to level ground. A 5-10 degree lean equates to an approximate 2" to 4" overall lean on a 26" tire, (or 1" to 2" if from the axle) and that is significant, and I would suspect something more than a worn torsion bar bush is going on. The wheel does not look to have that much lean in the picture, but photos are often deceiving. For me your photo and concerns bring more questions than answers. How did the s/c perform in use, how true is the level you are using/was plumb checked with a bob or the level/is the frame itself true and free of twists, are the wheel/tire true, etc. Bottom line is of course how does the rig track down the road. I use a hand sized laser when checking plumb/level with frames, it is quick and simple. My day job is building houses, so there is already a laser in the tool box, it's about the size of a tape measure, and cost $100-$200. I weren't a builder, I don't know that I'd run out and buy one, but perhaps you've a friend in the trades. Just as you adjust the toe-in on the s/c, and the camber on the motorcycle, one could compensate for s/c wheel lean to some extent, but not 2" to 4". I have used Ideal Sidecar, in Berlin, over the years for various parts, though not recently. (ideal-seitenwagen.eu) They are the folks who manufacture all the s/c parts, as well as the repop Steib sidecars. I believe they also supply the various shops that sell Steib parts. And (at least back when I was sourcing parts) they also sold the torsion bars and bushings. The fellow I used to email with was Stefan, (an owner, I believe) and his English was probably better than mine. Best- George I put a 3' straight edge through the swingarm mounts, and shimmed the frame to agree with the red laser level line; and a straight edge through the steering head, to see if the vertical red laser line reads perpendicular to the swingarm axis, (it does in this case) and the vertical red laser is tracking up the center of the frame spine as well as vertical bracketry, so showing all is pretty good in at least those two planes. [ATTACH type="full"]46517[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full"]46518[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
What was Mr Vincent's Christian Name?
Post reply
Home
Forums
Forums: Public Access
General Chat (Vincent Related)
Steib s501 Advice needed
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top