As Brian said, you at least have the basic hardware to do the job,.....maybe. Each bike is unique in it's requirements to safely connect to a sidecar. Heavier bikes, like yours, require even more considerations. For example, one of the biggest contributing factors to steering wobble on a sidecar is when the car's frame/body can flex in regards to the bike's frame, setting up an oscillation in the steering. So, it is very important to have a very solid connection. Sorry Craig Vetter, but your three-link design just doesn't work well with heavier bikes! There is too much flex at the front of the car when the weight of the bike is on the car. AND, the on-the-fly lean adjustment of that rear upper link also contributes to that not-so-solid connection. You also cannot have an on-the-fly lean adjustment with a fourth link up front. So, the three link system is a flexible compromise and not good for heavier bikes. having said that, I must say that my own bike is even heavier than yours, Riggs! When I mounted mine I started from scratch and fabricated extremely heavy duty struts and used a four link system. I scrapped that adjustable on-the-fly upper rear link completely. Good thing I never intended to use it because the spherical rod ends on it were completely worn out anyway, and it's rubber boot was torn to shreds. Completely new base plates that bolt to the sidecar's plates were made up from 3/8" steel plate. Instead of the original 1" OD, 1/8" wall thickness tubing used for the struts I used 1-1/2" OD with .157" wall tubing. The more angle you can achieve between the upper and lower mounts, up to about 45 to 60 degrees, the stiffer the whole system will be, too. I did use the two little drilled tabs that the rear adjustable link used to connect to. I wished they were heavier, but they were the ONLY upper link connection on the original three link design, and they are still there, undamaged, so they must be suitable for the rear upper link in a four link system! A new boot will have to be found, though, or, as I am doing, an aluminum shield cut to fit snugly around those tabs, then sealed with a caulk.
Attaching the links to the sidecar is really easy! Finding the CORRECT places to connect to the bike is often very difficult, and generates the most controversy among installers! Ask 50 of them and get 50 different ideas! The basic bottom line is to keep each of the four points as close to the bike's frame, or actually on it, as possible to create a solid connection that won't slip or crush the frame tubing. A lot of guys will tell you to never connect to a "crash bar". It all depends! Some of them are huge loops of tubing, mounted with ungraded bolts or even self-tapping screws, and are mostly decorative. Never mount to those! If they have short lengths of tubing, are connected at three or more points and use better grade bolts of at least 3/8" or 10mm diameter into a frame member, then it can be used. As for clamps, never use the "highway peg" style of clamps with the stepped washers for more grip into the tubing. They will crush the tubing with their smaller contact area and will also slip eventually, tearing away part of the tubing's surface.
one last consideration is to try to keep the two lower connections to the bike as much inline axially as possible to help in future adjustments of bike lean in/out. if they don't line up very well, it will cause bind in both of them as you move the bike to adjust for lean. Heim joints (spherical rod ends) work well to accommodate this need, but these joints will wear rapidly and loosen up, contributing again to possible steering wobble. A good, solid, tight connection is best, even if it does require more work to make the lean adjustment.
I have a Kawasaki Voyager 1300 that weighs 960lbs, empty, closer to 1000lbs ready to ride. It demands a four link, extremely solid mounting system to get by without using a leading link front end. I haven't even had to use a steering damper yet.
I have posted the whole build story with 32 pics of making the parts over on the KZ1300.com site as well the AVA forums. If interested I can get the links to my threads on them if you are willing to sign up. I
View attachment 2006 View attachment 2007 View attachment 2008 View attachment 2009 could also post up all of my pics here, too.