2018 Honda Africa Twin w/DCT...Cargo Box style sidecar rig

Not at all pleased for the need to be selling, but someone has designed an amazing rig that will be more fun than two barrels of flying monkeys.

Hope you'll get to tour some of the Washington back roads before the rig goes to a new home.  This is going to be an awesome rig for someone to make great memories with. 

For those interested in this sidecar rig, but haven't read every word, or seen every picture posted thus far on the Build Thread of this rig, here is the direct link:

https://sidecar.com/forum/technical-discussion/honda-africa-twin-dct-based-cargo-sidecar-rig-build/

I have 59 pictures so far, and can post pictures for those that ask. I am meeting with Chuck @54vintage next week, to go over final details before he sends all parts out for Powder-Coating, then reassembly. I will take more pictures at that time.

Coincidentally, Mike Paull, the owner and genius behind all things electrical on sidecars, at LBS-USA, used my bike for 3 of his pictures in his build thread on building Africa Twin PakMul rigs at LBS-USA, although in the pictures my bike is staged with a HaulDeck and passenger seat, for display purposes only.

Here are the 3 pictures Mike Paull used to show what CAN be done.

UPDATE:  Dateline December 23, 2025........

After a long phone call with mi amigo, Chuck Loftin...aka @54vintage, we have decided that it would be better to nix the idea of the cargo box style sidecar rig, trade in my Pelican BX255 cargo box to Chuck, and have him install a lightly used Ural steel bodied tub onto the Ural frame/chassis, so that a future owner can use this rig as either a cargo sidecar rig, or to carry a passenger in the Ural tub.

With the Ural steel bodied tub, an owner can still haul almost everything they have a need for, to Alaskia, Mongolia, Siberia, Patagonia...any place that ends in "ia".

Yes, I added the "i" to Alaska, just to make it all work out.....Alaskia.

Therefore, this rig, once completed by Chuck @54vintage, will be a dual use rig....solo as a gear hauling rig...and two-up as a wife/girlfriend/grandchildren/doggie hauling rig.

Any difference in costs for this change, I will eat that, as I want to keep this in a reasonable price zone, to make it easier for the buyer.

It's amazing how much stuff will fit into/onto a Ural Tub.  With the advantage of two distinct loading zones.  Locking trunk, and open cockpit.  

Here is another advantage of what you are doing.  The tub comes off the frame pretty easy, and the new owner can then mount what ever type platform (s)he wants.  Making it a true Sidecar Utility Vehicle (SUV).  They may or may not need a Passport.  😉 

Update: Dateline January 1, 2026...It's a New dawn, It's a New Day....It's a New Year !

Having talked with my personalized Sidecar Fabricator, Chuck in Eugene, he tells me that everything that is going to be Powder-Coated will be sent out first of next week.....then received back a week or 10 days later....then all reassembled on the bike and sidecar, and ready for me to pick up this rig in late January.

Very Important to Know, for anyone considering buying this 2018 Honda Africa Twin w/DCT trans and Ural steel body tub sidecar rig:

The current selling price is a firm and solid $ 20,000.00

I do NOT have a "need" to sell this sidecar rig, for "need" of money. Those that know me, know I am never desperate for money.

The selling price of this completed sidecar rig, as handed off to me by Chuck, will NEVER go down in price....period.

As of March 1st, the selling price will actually go UP in price, as I will begin working on this rig in my own shop, adding lighting to the sidecar, doing all the wiring work between the bike and the sidecar, adding RotoPax fuel canisters, etc.

All this means:  Smart money says to buy this sidecar rig from me as soon as possible..."IF" you want to do your own lighting on the sidecar, and your own wiring, and add your own farkles to the sidecar....rather than have me do it MY way.

If a prospective buyer waits until March 1, 2026....the selling price WILL be HIGHER, because I will be accounting for the parts and labor I do on this rig.

As stated before, I have no NEED to sell this rig, other than my riding plans have changed due to medical issues.

Having said that, if no one ever buys this rig from me, then....fine....I will just keep it, play with it once in awhile, and wait for some person out there to get the full picture....which is...

If YOU want a sidecar rig built by the # 1 shop in The Western Hemisphere today, that is the absolute BEST at fabricating a motorcycle Subframe, and a Sidecar Frame/Chassis, and a Leading Link...should you want a Leading Link....then you are out of luck, because Chuck is NOT going to add any more names to his very short list of current builds on his schedule, and ALL future builds done by Chuck will have to be arranged and scheduled through Mike Paull at LBS-USA, which means....You will have to wait a YEAR or more to get a completed rig of this quality, and the finished price that you will have to pay for such a completed sidecar rig will be at least 50% MORE than what I am selling this one for.

A Mike Paull at LBS-USA sidecar rig is worth every dollar it costs you, as the man is literally a genius at what he does, and the electrical work he brings to the table. However (there are NO buts), be aware that it will cost you $ 14k to $ 20k....plus you supply the motorcycle.                       That added together is at least $ 10,000.00 MORE than what I am selling my rig for.

Those are the facts.

I currently have 3 individuals that are thinking about this rig, and as the olde saying goes....Money Talks and BS Walks.

I have more than enough space and room at my ranch to comfortably store this sidecar rig, as I have said many times, I can store 20 sidecar rigs inside, out of the weather, all plugged in to Battery Tenders.

One last note: If any of you are the least bit concerned about the mileage on this bike, at 38k miles....I will politely say...DON'T Be Concerned.

This bike was very carefully gone over, every nut and bolt, every finite thing that my local shop could check, and adjust, has been done, to the satisfaction of one of our local dealership owners, and he is, in my opinion, the greatest Honda mechanic I have ever met. This local dealership was SO convinced that this bike is THAT good, they offered to warranty the bike for me, for one year, for FREE, even though it is long out of the original Honda warranty.

Seriously upgraded suspension, new Russell Day Long seat, Garmin Zumo GPS, Cyclops driving lights, Bumot panniers and racks, new ScottOiler, excellent dual-sport tires, new drive chain and sprockets, Honda Heated Grips, new Givi windshield, and the list goes on.

Thank you, and have a VERY Happy New Year. 

EDIT:  Several people have been slightly confused about this "build", as I had originally planned to have Chuck build me a Leading Link front end on this bike, and that is what is stated in the Build thread for this rig.

During work on this bike, Chuck was asked by Mike Paull to test something, as Mike Paull has a customer that owns a '24 Africa Twin, and this customer is shy about paying out the additional $ 4,000 for a Leading Link front end, so Mike Paull wanted to know...does an Africa Twin really NEED a Leading Link front end, or not? So it was asked of Chuck to do an extensive test drive of my rig, once the sidecar frame was completed. This way Chuck could get an honest feeling of whether these Honda Africa Twins NEED a Leading Link...or not.

After initial test driving, Chuck determined that a Leading Link is NOT really necessary for these Africa twins, and part of the reason for this exception is that the Africa Twin has a "leading axle", which means the front wheel axle sits forward of the fork down tubes, in essence, partly reducing trail.

Chuck knows that I have no problem affording the additional cost for the Leading Link, however....now that my plans have changed regarding driving this rig to Alaska, and "attacking" the gravel roads of the Last Frontier,  we have agreed to hold off on adding the Leading Link to this bike.

The selling price of $ 20,000.00 is for the completed rig handed to me after Chuck's work is done, without a Leading Link.

Chuck did say....if a buyer wants a Leading Link added to this bike, he will do that, as the work to build a Leading Link is separate from all the work he has done thus far, meaning unrelated work, so there is no do over of his current work.