I would like to mount my 1979 Harley sidecar on my 2007 Roadking. With the newer attachment hardware that bolts to the sidecar frame with u bolts, will this be possible? Also, has the sidecar frame itself changed from 1979? I bought the rig brand new in 1979 attached to a new FLH and hauled my youngest Son in it. Now I want to haul his children in it. I sold the bike in 1992 but kept the hack. Thanks for your help with this.
The current Harley sidecar service manual's connection kits only address sidecars back to 1989.
Lonnie
Originally written by captainoverdrive on 3/17/2009 2:16 PM
I would like to mount my 1979 Harley sidecar on my 2007 Roadking. With the newer attachment hardware that bolts to the sidecar frame with u bolts, will this be possible? Also, has the sidecar frame itself changed from 1979? I bought the rig brand new in 1979 attached to a new FLH and hauled my youngest Son in it. Now I want to haul his children in it. I sold the bike in 1992 but kept the hack. Thanks for your help with this.
Hello,
I installed a 1980 TLE onto a 1993 FLHS rubber-mounted Harley about 12 years ago. The 1993 FLHS has essentially the same frame as your Road King. I only did it because I couldn't either find or afford a later model sidecar.
First, it will absolutely not fit without major modifications. The rear mount with the two 1-1/2" U-bolts is probably the only part that will fit directly. I could just stop here and let it go at that, but I should tell you what I went through so that you will be more fully informed.
The early upper and lower front mounts won't fit the rubber-mounted frame and even if you had the correct late-model mounts for the frame, the upper and lower sidecar mounts won't fit the late mounts on the bike.
The front cross bar that goes from the lower sidecar tube to the upper sidecar mount is too long and completely the wrong shape. It must be completely reshaped with a torch......that wasn't any fun.
The early front lower sidecar mount has a threaded nut that won't work with the late-model sidecar front lower mount.
So how did I do it, you ask? I cut and re-bent both the upper cross bar and the lower frame mount. I cut off the mount on the lower sidecar frame area and welded on a sleeve with a 3/4-16 internal thread to accept a Hein Joint.
For the upper cross bar, I shortened and re-bent it to mate with the late-model upper frame mount and then cut the end off with the mounting hole to reverse and reweld it, since it is tapered and the taper needs to be rotated 180 degrees in order to seat on the mount.
In short, it was a major undertaking and I was very, very sorry that I had even started the job once I got into it and found out what all was required. It's one of those jobs that has to be fitted up as you go.
If I could offer you any advice, I would suggest that you sell your early sidecar and try to get one that is 1985 or later for a rubber-mounted FLH bike.
In fact, it would be much better to find one that is 2003 or later so that you get the fully adjustable lower standoffs which enable adjustments without removal of the sidecar as well as giving you a disc brake which is 1998 and later.
Oh yeah, the sidecar wiring cable won't fit directly but that's a minor modification, mainly changing to a late-model connector.
If you have the money after you sell the old sidecar, a new one can be bought for around $7,300 in the crate in black paint. It is matched to your VIN number and can be matched to colored paint for an extra charge. They match all pinstripes and the wheel style to the bike as well. That's what I did. I'm not trying to discourage you - just trying to be informative.
Even if you can do all of the work yourself, you would still need a set of late-model mounts. These are seen on eBay now and then but they are pricey even when used.
Good luck!
Thank you very much for the very informative information. You certainly confirmed what I had suspected. Rather than tackle that project, I think that I will sell the hack and look for a newer one, or put together an older rig that will bolt right up. Again, thank you very much for the information.
Originally written by captainoverdrive on 3/18/2009 11:19 AM
Thank you very much for the very informative information. You certainly confirmed what I had suspected. Rather than tackle that project, I think that I will sell the hack and look for a newer one, or put together an older rig that will bolt right up. Again, thank you very much for the information.
If you want to sell it let me know what you want for it.
Will do. I have owned it since new and it is in excellent condition. I also have the complete adjustable triple tree and fork setup for an early harley frame neck.
In my garage RIGHT NOW I am puting a '69 HD sidecar on a '87 E-Glide. Nope, its not a bolt on, but I am getting it done, with no mods to the sidecar hardware, or the bikes frame., Custom mounting hardware for sure, but I really don't want to permanently modify etiher the sidecar or the bike and have managed to hold-true to that goal.
Originally written by Lunatic on 3/29/2009 5:59 AM
In my garage RIGHT NOW I am puting a '69 HD sidecar on a '87 E-Glide. Nope, its not a bolt on, but I am getting it done, with no mods to the sidecar hardware, or the bikes frame., Custom mounting hardware for sure, but I really don't want to permanently modify etiher the sidecar or the bike and have managed to hold-true to that goal.
That's yet another approach that would work. If I had to do it all over again with an older sidecar, that's the way I'd do it.
I should also add that I installed a second upright arm between the bike nad the hack. About mid ship. That single arm, all the way forward like that gave me the willies. Paranoia about ONE bolt failure on my part.
Originally written by Lunatic on 3/29/2009 2:48 PM
I should also add that I installed a second upright arm between the bike nad the hack. About mid ship. That single arm, all the way forward like that gave me the willies. Paranoia about ONE bolt failure on my part.
Breaking the upper front bolt on a Harley sidecar simply isn't goint to happen. I've never seen it, heard of it or thuoght about it.
There's nothing wrong with adding a fourth mounting point and brace so long as you don't have to weld on the frame.
So which rules of material failure are brand specific? Now I'm curiou why HD is immune to ever having a bolt failure where every other applicaion in the known universe has that as an option. I never knew Physics as brand specfic.
I think that was meant to be an "IMO" as opposed to a metalurgical absolute.
Lonnie
Originally written by Hack'n on 4/1/2009 8:07 AM
I think that was meant to be an "IMO" as opposed to a metalurgical absolute.
Lonnie
Thatks for pointing that out, Lonnie. You are quite correct. It's IMHO. In any case, no one said anything about brand specific. I said I've not seen it happen. I've never seen instances where the upper front bolt on a Harley sidecar broke in ordinary use.
There have been tens of thousands of Harley sidecars in use over more than 100 years and what he is talking about simply doesn't happen. So if I have an opinion, it was developed from never hearing about the problem.
There's nothing wrong with adding a fourth brace on a sidecar though. You could probably have seven or eight of them if you are worried about it. That would be a "belt and suspenders" approach to sidecar attachment. It would add extra weight and is probably unnecessary but it could be done.
Mr. Lunatic is simply drawing on what he thinks might happen. If he is concerned about failure, he should add a few more braces to his rig. Why not? the more the merrier. I'd even like to see pictures when he's done.
the top front mount on a hd is currently a forged 1" dia taper that the bolt holds the front brace onto. the loading is sideways to the taper - so all the 1/2" bolt has to do is keep the brace on the forging.
the big issue of adding a extra brace is that the hd system is designed to be flexible - the bottom joints are heim joints and the top one is the coned forging
if you add a brace you will make the system rigid - any failures that you will then have will be at the sidecar frame where the extra brace is attached or the bike frame where its attached. remember the sidecar has no suspension - when it hits a pothole - the frame does in fact move a bit.
the irritating part of the stock hd setup is that the bike will lean a bit on curves. the blessing is that it wont fracture. true the current design was put inplay in the late 50's.. its only been working as designed for 50 years. my advise is the rtfm and do what it says.
to
Originally written by timo482 on 4/1/2009 10:37 AM
the top front mount on a hd is currently a forged 1" dia taper that the bolt holds the front brace onto. the loading is sideways to the taper - so all the 1/2" bolt has to do is keep the brace on the forging.
the big issue of adding a extra brace is that the hd system is designed to be flexible - the bottom joints are heim joints and the top one is the coned forging
if you add a brace you will make the system rigid - any failures that you will then have will be at the sidecar frame where the extra brace is attached or the bike frame where its attached. remember the sidecar has no suspension - when it hits a pothole - the frame does in fact move a bit.
the irritating part of the stock hd setup is that the bike will lean a bit on curves. the blessing is that it wont fracture. true the current design was put inplay in the late 50's.. its only been working as designed for 50 years. my advise is the rtfm and do what it says.
to
I couldn't agree more or have said it better. A little give is good. I was out on my rig this morning and smiled when I saw it give a bit going around the ccrners.
Good post!
