Sidecar Installation Guide

Harley Davidson FLH Model Road King

2017 - Up
Rev. 12

Champion Motor Products Inc.

dba Champion Sidecars
11661 Martens River Circle, Ste A, Fountain Valley, 92708
(657) 296 0595 / (714) 847-0949
www.championsidecars.com
HARLEY-DAVIDSON SIDECAR GUIDE CHAMPION SIDECARS

Table of Contents

1 General Information ..................................................................................................................................................... 3

1.1 Installation Information........................................................................................................................................ 3
1.2 For Your Safety ................................................................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Important Safety Precautions ............................................................................................................................. 3
1.4 Specifications ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.5 Maintenance ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.5.1 Paint ................................................................................................................................................................ 4
1.5.2 Wheel Bearing ................................................................................................................................................ 4
1.5.3 Tire and Tire Air Pressure............................................................................................................................... 4
1.5.4 Shock Absorber Suspension .......................................................................................................................... 4
1.6 Wiring Description ............................................................................................................................................... 4
2 Removal of Original Parts ........................................................................................................................................... 5
3 Installation- General .................................................................................................................................................... 6
3.1 General Layout – Bikeside Components ............................................................................................................ 6
4 Installation – Bike-side Mounts.................................................................................................................................... 6
4.1 Rear Mount Installation ....................................................................................................................................... 6
4.2 Lower Front Mount Installation ........................................................................................................................... 9
4.3 Upper Front Mount Installation ......................................................................................................................... 10
4.4 Mounting the Sidecar to the Motorcycle ........................................................................................................... 11
5 Electrical Installation .................................................................................................................................................. 13
5.1 Motorcycle wiring .............................................................................................................................................. 13
5.2 Bank Angle Sensor Modification/Replacement (BAS) ...................................................................................... 15
5.3 T.I.L.T. (Optional) .............................................................................................................................................. 17
5.4 Electrical (OEM Plug) ....................................................................................................................................... 17
6 Installation – Steering Damper (Option) .................................................................................................................... 18
7 Installation - Brakes (Optional) .................................................................................................................................. 19
8 Removal of Sidecar ................................................................................................................................................... 20
9 Driving a Sidecar ....................................................................................................................................................... 20
9.1 General Sidecar Comments ............................................................................................................................. 20
10 General Sidecar Frame Layout ............................................................................................................................ 21

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1 General Information
The Champion Sidecar Kit is designed with the utmost consideration for safety, quality and ease of installation. The kit
comes complete with all necessary hardware and fasteners. It is recommended that the installer obtain an OEM
service manual for the vehicle on which the sidecar kit is to be installed. Please review the installation instructions
before installing the kit.

1.1 Installation Information

The information contained in this installation guide is intended for use by technicians of advanced to professional skill
levels. Attempting installation without the proper training, tools and equipment may result in damage to the vehicle,
cause unsafe conditions, or cause personal injury to you and/or others.

1.2 For Your Safety

Because this guide is intended for technicians of advanced to professional skill levels, we do not provide warnings
about many basic shop safety practices. If you have not received shop safety training or do not feel confident about
your knowledge of safety practices, we recommend that you do not attempt to perform the procedures described in this
guide.

Some of the most important general safety precautions are given below. Champion Sidecars cannot warn you of every
conceivable hazard that can arise. Only you can decide whether or not you should perform a given task.

1.3 Important Safety Precautions

a. Make sure you have a clear understanding of all basic shop safety practices and that you wear appropriate
clothing and use safety equipment. Be especially careful of the following:

• Read all directions before you begin, and make sure you have the tools, the parts and the skills required to
perform the tasks safely and completely.

• Protect your eyes by using proper safety glasses, goggles or face shields anytime you hammer, drill, grind, pry
or work around pressurized air or liquids, and springs or other stored-energy components.

• Use other protective wear, when necessary, for example gloves or safety shoes. Handling hot or sharp parts
can cause severe burns or cuts.

• Protect yourself and others when you have a vehicle up in the air. Anytime you lift a vehicle, either by hoist or a
jack, make sure that it is securely supported.

b. Make sure the engine is turned off before you begin work.

• Carbon Monoxide poisoning from exhaust gases: Be sure there is adequate ventilation whenever you run the
engine.

• Burns from hot parts: Let the engine and exhaust system cool before working on those areas.

• Injury from moving parts: If running the engine, keep hands, fingers and clothing away from moving/rotating
parts.

c. Gasoline vapor and hydrogen gases from batteries are explosive. To reduce the possibility of fire or explosion, be
careful when working near gasoline and batteries.

d. Use only nonflammable solvent, not gasoline, to clean parts

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e. Never drain or store gasoline in an open container.

f. Keep all cigarettes, sparks or flame away from the battery and all fuel related parts.

1.4 Specifications

Tire 130/90 16 or 150/80/16 depending on Rim

#6205-2RS-1 (1”) for 10/28 spoke wheels
Wheel Bearings
#1013-2RS for 9 spoke wheels
Brake Pads Ferodo FDB207P

T.I.L.T Actuator (Option) 20A at 1500 lbs.

1.5 Maintenance
1.5.1 Paint
Champion uses only PPG paint products for maximum quality and finish. Your sidecar is painted using only
base coat/clear coat urethane finishes. This finish is hand polished at the factory and requires very little
maintenance except normal wash and wax. It is advisable not to wax your sidecar for roughly three to four
weeks after receiving it in order for the paint to cure thoroughly.

1.5.2 Wheel Bearing

The wheel bearings used on your sidecar are motorcycle grade wheel bearings. It is advisable to check the
wheel bearing adjustment periodically, roughly every 3000 miles. These bearings and seals are available at
most bearing supply stores.

1.5.3 Tire and Tire Air Pressure

There is a good chance that through normal use of your sidecar you will never wear out the sidecar tire tread,
but you must inspect the tire periodically for air pressure, dry rot and sidewall damage. The manufacturer
recommended air pressure for this tire is 28 lbs. psi, but because of the light duty application this tire is being
used for, you may want to experiment with the tire pressure to enhance the suspension comfort. Tire pressure
for the Legend/Vintage should be maintained at 40 PSI.

1.5.4 Shock Absorber Suspension

The shock absorber suspension used is manufactured by Progressive Suspension. Progressive Suspension
has a reputation for manufacturing high quality aftermarket motorcycle shocks and springs. Although the
sidecar is shipped to you from the factory with the shock spring set at its softest setting, there are a total of five
performance adjustments you can set your shock spring at.

1.6 Wiring Description

(Most applications require the removal of the seat.)

1.7.1 Fuse link

When connecting wires directly to the positive terminal of the battery always use a fused connection to prevent
fire or damage to motorcycle and sidecar if a short occurs.

1.7.2 Ground
The ground wire should be connected directly to the battery ground or negative terminal or to another suitable
frame ground. The ground connection on the sidecar is not connected to the sidecar frame, however the
sidecar frame is connected to the motorcycle frame.

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1.7.3 Accessories
This should be attached to the switched accessory terminal of your bike. If you are already using this circuit, it
would be advisable to use the accessory terminal to control a relay that feeds this. This will prevent
overloading the accessory circuit on your bike. On some plug and play Champion electrical harnesses the
necessary application is pre-wired into the harness.

1.7.4 TILT
There are a total of 6 wires involved in the TILT system. The red and black wires of the second harness need
to go to the positive and negative terminal of the battery respectively. This is because of the high current draw.
The switch is momentary only and therefore cannot cause unnecessary drain on the battery. You must run the
power for this through a 20-amp fuse. The yellow and purple wires from the switch are connected directly to
the yellow and pink wires from the harness using the butt connectors provided.

Mount the switch in a convenient location on the left side of your fairing. The switch should be mounted so that
moving it to the left or away from the sidecar causes the sidecar to lift and the motorcycle to lean to the left.
Moving the switch to the right or toward the sidecar should cause the sidecar to lower and cause motorcycle to
lean to the right.

2 Removal of Original Parts

a. Seat

b. Right side exhaust shield

c. Right upper side panel

d. Right footpeg/rear floorboard

e. Right hard bag

f. Left upper side panel

g. If you have purchased theT.I.L.T option remove the gas tank to run the tilt swtich wiring through the OEM
wiring harness location.

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3 Installation- General

3.1 General Layout – Bikeside Components

a. In the figure, the major components are itemized
for installation to the motorcycle.

NOTE: For water cooled motorcycles, the Front Upper Mount is slightly different to allow for clearance with the
radiator

4 Installation – Bike-side Mounts

4.1 Rear Mount Installation

a. See the figure for the bolts supplied for the Rear Mount Installation.

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b. Remove the two screws from the right-hand side (RHS) rear crash bar. (Positions R2 and R3)

c. Position the Rear Mount onto the motorcycle as shown in the picture Take note of the relative positions of the
bolts (R1 to R6)

d. In position R3, place the rear frame on top of the crash bar bracket. Loosely attach bolt.

e. In position R2, place the rear frame under the crash bar bracket. Loosely attach bolt.

f. In position R4, remove the frame joining bolt and loosely attach the Rear Mount to the bike frame using the
bolts provided.

g. In position R5, remove right side floorboard bolt and relocate the floorboard to the bottom position and loosely
attach the Rear Mount to the bike frame using the bolts provided.

h. Position R6, Right side cross-over bracket (already attached)

i. Proceed to the right-hand side (RHS)

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j. Remove Left side lower swing arm cap bolt Position R7

k. Loosely attach position (R7) with the bolt provided.

l. After installing the rear mount torque all hardware. See the following table for torque specifications.

Table 1
Hardware Torque (ft-lbs.)
3/8-16 HHCS 40
3/8-24 HHCS 50
7/16-14 HHCS 60
1/2-13 HHCS (without Nylock Nut) 90
1/2-20 HHCS 72

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4.2 Lower Front Mount Installation

a. See the figure for the bolts supplied for the Lower Front Mount Installation.

b. Near the RHS front floorboard there are three bolts (Front lower motor support bolts) that needs to be
removed. See positions LF1. LF2 and LF3

c. Install the Front Lower Mount using positions LF2 and LF3 with the supplied two 3/4" OD, 1/4" long mount
leveling spacers and two 3/8-16 x 1-1/2” HHCS, with lock washers, and washers.
d. In position LF1 use the supplied one 3/8-16 x 1-1/2” HHCS, with lock washer, and washer.
e. Torque to 40ft-lbs

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4.3 Upper Front Mount Installation

a. See the figure for the bolts supplied for the Upper Front Mount Installation.

b. Attach the Upper Front Mount on the motorcycle as high as possible on the frame by using the two frame
clamps with four 3/8-24x1-1/2” SHCS with serrated washers. The two clamps will locate the support. Torque to
50 ft-lbs.
c. It may be necessary to move the oil cooling line slightly to allow for bolt clearance when installing the upper
front mount.

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4.4 Mounting the Sidecar to the Motorcycle

a. There are 4 points of attachment of the sidecar to the motorcycle, 2 Lower connections and 2 upper
connections. See the below picture.

b. The sidecar is pre-jigged from the factory. No alignment is required, only attaching to the motorcycle mounts to
the 4 points mentioned.

c. Align the sidecar next to the motorcycle with the 2 bottom lower and front connection points.

d. Attach the 2 rod ends (lower front and rear) from the sidecar frame to the lower mounting points on the
motorcycle with the bolts supplied. Refer to picture.

e. Attach the front strut and rear strut onto the sidecar and motorcycle with the threaded rod on top.

f. Both struts are pre-measured from factory for easy installation but may require quarter turn for the alignment to
the eye on upper mount and eye on sidecar frame.

g. The long strut is installed on the front of the motorcycle and the short strut is attached to the rear.

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h. For both struts, place the 3 washers between the bolt head, the strut eyes, mount point, and the mounting nut.
See pictures. Torque the 1/2-20x2-1/4” HHCS w/washers and lock nut to 90ft-lbs.

Note: The best approach to install the struts is to mount the rear and then match the front strut.

i. Torque both front and rear rod ends 5/8-18 HHCS to 140ft-lbs.

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5 Electrical Installation

5.1 Motorcycle wiring

a. The Champion harness layout is described in the following figure.

b. Plug the T connection into the rear fender bike harness as shown in the figure below.

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c. Route the Champion wiring harness through the motorcycle as shown figure below.
d. Make sure the harness does not make contact with exhaust system or moving parts and secure to the bike with
wire ties.
e. Route the harness from the bottom up, this is because the rubber connection plug is relatively large and feeding
from the top is difficult. Tie strap the harness to the rear frame as shown in the below picture and then feed it to
the top.

f. Tie the Champion harness to the bike frame as shown below and then feed the harness under the bike frame to
position the Champion electronic box and TILT plugs/connections.

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g. Attach the positive and negative terminal wires to the battery.

5.2 Bank Angle Sensor Modification/Replacement (BAS)

a. For safe operation of the motorcycle with a sidecar, the factory

installed BAS must be replaced with an external BAS. With a
sidecar the motorcycle doesn’t lean anymore when going into a
turn and this may cause the engine to cut out because the internal
BAS sensor thinks the bike has fallen over.

b. The following lists the components which are required for safe
operation of a Champion Sidecar. These components can also be
purchased from Champion as a complete kit. Part # A-CH-F00-
357:

Quantity Harley Part Number Description

3 72484-08
3 72486-08
1 72544-07
1 72589-09
1 72222-11
1 32495-98
1 83943-09
TERMINAL, SOCKET, #20AWG
WIRE SEAL, #20AWG
SECONDARY, LOCK, 3-WAY
HOUSING, 3-WAY, SOCKETS
TERMINAL(0.6MM) SCKT, #18
SWITCH, BANK ANGLE
LEAN ANGLE SENSOR BRACKET

c. Connect the sensor bracket onto the bike. Mount the sensor bracket onto the bike frame using the
supplied hardware. See Figures below for correct connection and mounting.

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d. Connect the black wire from the sensor to the negative battery terminal. Then splice/solder the red wire
from the BAS to the purple wire as shown in Figure below.

e. Route the green wire to the backside of the BCM connector. Install the wire to the indicated location (B4)
on the BCM connector. See Figures below

f. After the complete installation send the FLH to a certified Harley-Davidson dealership to flash the bank
angle sensor. The service mode for the BCM is set to “External / Sidecar / Trike” (FLHCUTG).

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Note: It is important the bank angle sensor is flashed for safe operation of the Sidecar. Failure to do so may
cause the Sidecar to stall unexpectedly during operation.

5.3 T.I.L.T. (Optional)

a. Remove gas tank.

b. Attach the tilt switch bracket near the clutch lever as shown in
figure.

c. Reuse the OEM hardware.

d. Route all four tilt switch wires on the neck of the bike and under
the gas tank through the plastic sleeve.

e. Connect the 4 Champion TILT switch wires to the same colors

on main Champion harness

f. Install the removed gas tank.

5.4 Electrical (OEM Plug)

OEM Plug Layout
Plug Number Wire Color Description
1 Brown RHS Turn Signal
2 Orange/White Accessory
3 Purple LHS Turn Signal
4 N/A -
5 Black Ground
6 Red/White Brake
7 Blue Running
8 N/A -

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6 Installation – Steering Damper (Option)

a. Remove the OEM hardware on the RHS fork tube housing attaching the brake caliper.
b. Attach the steering damper bracket to the housing, using M10 SHCS, w/lock washers and washers. See figure
below.
c. Make sure the two spacers are located between the caliper mounting position and the steering damper bracket
d. Torque the M10 screws to 40ft-lbs.

e. Attach the mount bracket for the steering damper onto the sidecar by using the 1/2-20 HHCS w/washers and
lock nut. Snug tight the 1/2” bolts. Note: 1/2” bolts will be addressed later. Attach the steering damper to the
mount using a 3/8-24 jam nut and two washers. Torque to 43ft-lbs. See figure below for details.
f. NOTE: On most sidecars ordered with the steering damper option, the sidecar side bracket is installed at the
factory.

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7 Installation - Brakes (Optional)

a. Locate the rear brake master cylinder usually located near the
rear brake pedal.

b. The brake connection is accomplished by removing the existing

banjo bolt connecting the rear brake line to the rear master
cylinder and replacing it with a longer double banjo bolt
supplied by Champion.

c. The double banjo bolt will go through both the new brake quick
coupler banjo end and the existing brake cable banjo end
shown. (Be sure to use new crush washers between all
banjo fittings and connecting surfaces).
Drawing and photo
d. The brake cable to the sidecar is aircraft quality steel braided showing ’99 bikes
hose with a quick disconnect coupler. This coupler is sealed in and older
both directions to prevent any brake fluid from leaking out.

e. The sidecar is shipped without any brake fluid so it will be necessary

to replace the fluid with DOT 4 brake fluid and bleed the brake
system before riding the sidecar combination. Also, at any time the
rear brake pedal feels spongy or softer than normal, the sidecar
brake line should be bled and checked.

f. On 2000 and Up, the quick disconnect coming from the rear master
cylinder after assembly should be pointing towards the sidecar.

(NOTE) It is recommended to bleed the brakes every 3rd. or 4th time

the sidecar is removed.

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8 Removal of Sidecar
NOTE: If the sidecar needs to be removed from the motorcycle, please follow the instructions below.

a. To remove the sidecar from the motorcycle first remove the two ½" bolts connecting the struts to their upper
eye mounting positions.
b. Be sure to have someone support the motorcycle as you remove the last of the ½" bolts.
c. Now with the side stand in its down position lean the motorcycle to the left so it rests on the side stand.
d. Now with the sidecar frame supported with a jack or dolly remove the two lower 5/8" bolts connecting the
lower mounting positions.
e. Disconnect the wiring harness plug, brake quick coupler, and steering damper if you are using one.
f. Now slide the sidecar away from the motorcycle.

(IMPORTANT NOTE) (UNLESS IT IS YOUR INTENT TO RE-ALIGN THE SIDECAR DO NOT LOOSEN
ANY OF THE JAM NUTS OR PINCH BOLTS DURING REMOVAL OF THE SIDECAR)

g. To reinstall the sidecar, reverse the process.

9 Driving a Sidecar
NEW OWNER DRIVING AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
It is important to know that driving a sidecar will be nothing like riding a solo motorcycle. So take my advice and forget
most of the twenty years of experience you have spent riding motorcycles and be prepared to spend some time to
change habits and learn some new tricks.

9.1 General Sidecar Comments

1. It is normal for a sidecar to feel different during a left or right turn.

2. It is NOT recommended to drive a sidecar with a passenger on the rear of the motorcycle without either a
passenger in the sidecar or sufficient weight in the sidecar.

3. A sidecar could lift while making a hard right-hand turn without sufficient weight in the sidecar. To prevent the
sidecar from lifting either reduce speed on the right- hand turn or increase the weight in the sidecar.

4. It is normal to feel a slight movement in steering when reducing or increasing the acceleration of the rig.

5. Champion does NOT recommend the use of a EZ Steer product and a steering damper at the same time.

6. Champion does NOT recommend and advises against removing the sidecar to ride the motorcycle solo if an
EZ Steer option has been added to the sidecar rig.

7. It is common to experience increased wear on the motorcycles rear tire if the sidecar has been installed.

8. An automobile tire can be used to replace the motorcycle rear tire which will increase the life of the tire but it is
NOT recommended to ride the motorcycle solo after adding the automobile tire to the rear wheel of the
motorcycle.

9. Changes in the sidecar passenger weight will affect the handling of a sidecar and without Champions T.I.L.T.
device the sidecar may require some minor adjustments to compensate for the weight. The T.I.L.T device will
allow the driver to adjust the sidecar rig for weight and road crown changes. The adjustments can be made as
the vehicle is driven.

10. It is common to experience some low-speed wobbling (after installing the sidecar) in the steering without the
use of either a steering damper or Champions EZ Steer products.
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10 General Sidecar Frame Layout

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