Before I hand this rig off to the new owner, as he will shortly be on his way West, then North, from Arid Zona to the Great Pacific Northwest, I wanted to share a myriad of pictures of the rig, now that it is 99.99 & finished....as far as my work goes. The ONE remaining thing I have left to do to this rig is mount the 2nd RotoPax 2.2 gallon fuel canister, and the mounting location will need to have input from the buyer. Once he is here, sees the rig, makes a decision as to exactly where he wants the 2nd RotoPax 2.2 gallon fuel canister to be mounted, then it will take me less than 30 minutes, and my work will then be 100% done.
There are a LOT of pictures....make sure you hit the bathroom first, grab a cuppa...maybe a few Stroopwaffles, and enjoy the views.
As a "short" explanation, for the uninformed...I purchased this 2018 Honda Africa Twin w/DCT trans from my local dealer, as a used bike, that had been ridden extensively throughout most of South America, and my intent was to build a rig that could handle attacking Alaska. Whilst I have been up to and throughout Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories many times, I wanted to do it a few more time, but now on a sidecar rig, and one that was BUILT to withstand the weather and terrain up there.
As many of us know, health gets in the way, at the most inopportune times, so....I put this rig up for sale, and several people jumped to buy it.
A lot of the fabrication was done by Chuck @54vintage, as he builds the structural parts, the Leading Link, the sidecar mounts, the bike subframe, etc.
After that, it came to my shop, wherein I did all the wiring on the bike and sidecar, and all the lighting on the sidecar...then...I set about making every finite inch of this rig correct, true, and as solid is as humanly possible.
Fortunately, this 2018 Africa twin does not have the CanBus system on it, so wiring to the bike was relatively easy using all connectors and harnesses from Eastern beaver, so the OEM wiring harness from Honda is 100% intact. All the lighting on the sidecar are all HyperLites, so all are LED lights, as are all the lights on the bike, all LED lights. I went over and above in how I did the wiring, and all connectors for these lights, running a 5 stand 18 gauge wire loom from the bike, all around the sidecar, and all in ONE continuous harness, with no breaks in the 5 strands of 18 gauge wires.
Lastly, take a look at every exposed nut or bolt, and see the rubber caps I put on every nut or bolt that I could...on the bike and on the sidecar. I plugged up every hole that WAS on the Ural steel tub, and on the Ural steel fender, as I wanted NO open holes anywhere. I wanted no exposed threads, so that If/WHEN the new owner had a need to touch a bolt or nut, he could simply twist off the rubber caps on any bolt or nut, and find clean threads that had not been corroded or damaged.
Enough talking, let's see the pictures...
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
I agree with Bruce, and Scott and MJ...there are never enough pictures, so let's continue...
You will notice that the mounted 2.2 gallon RotoPax fuel canister on the right rear side of the Ural steel tub does NOT hang lower than the steel tub or tubed chassis.
AND, both of the 2.2 Gallon RotoPax fuel canisters can LOCK in place, so no one can steal you aux fuel...yes YOU, you KTM pilots that are always running out of fuel.
Notice that even the bike rear axle, that typically has a hole all the way through it, is plugged on both ends with rubber plugs, to avoid water penetration creating rust inside the axle.
Yes, some of us are that OCD, or....in alphabetical order...CDO.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
There are NO lights, or wiring for lights going out to, and attached to the sidecar FENDER. This was done on purpose.
IMO, a serious off-road sidecar rig should never have wiring and/or lights out to the sidecar fender, because that is the most vulnerable part of the rig, when traversing rocky terrain, through trees, through bushes, escaping the long arms of an attacking Grizzly Bear.
I wanted this sidecar fender to be stout, mounted as firmly as possible, as we have seen...far too often...sidecar rigs with their fender dangling due to poor mounts, bad welds, etc.
ALL lighting on this sidecar is attached to the Ural steel tub body, with as little of actual WIRE outside the steel tub, and 99% of the wiring is INSIDE the steel tub.
This bike, with a new Russell Day Long seat...with new Electronic version of the ScottOiler...with a Garmin Zumo 365 GPS, with Cyclops driving lights, and...ALL 3 newly added shocks (2 on the new Leading Link front end, and 1 on the new sidecar) are all 2WIN shocks, fully adjustable. The bike's rear shock has a RaceTech HD spring.
I have test piloted (see Bruce, I used "piloted", as you Aussies request)...this rig to 90 mph, and it tracks straight and true.
There is NO brake at all on the Warp 9 sidecar wheel. Yes this rig stops straight, with very good brakes.
Finally, I knew I needed to add weight to the Ural tub, and have tested it with 90 lbs of added weight, then 240 lbs, then down to 150 lbs of added weight. It really liked the 240 lbs of added weight in the tub....3 sand tubes of 50 lbs each, and 3 concrete blocks of 30 lbs each.
Engine on this bike has more than enough power to scare the heck out of you, so the added weight did not tame this beast.
Oh, once the buyer comes up here in his Ural Gear-Up rig to see his new purchase...we are handing this back to Chuck @54vintage to fabricate a Locking Lid for the Ural steel tub, so all the owners personal belongings will be safe.
QUESTIONS ?????
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
Miles
Nice, your quality of work and knowledge is the main reason i jumped on your Euro Wing, even Cy is impressed!
So now whatcha gonna build next to save you getting bored?
Walk with Joy
Steve Ives
Miles
Nice, your quality of work and knowledge is the main reason i jumped on your Euro Wing, even Cy is impressed!
So now whatcha gonna build next to save you getting bored?
Steve and Cy, I am looking at a 1958 Messerschmitt KR200
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
Messabout.... sounds fun to me. Scary at half the speed.
Truly impressive work Miles! You know I’m kicking myself for missing this one. I’m sure the new owner will have a blast riding around the PNW and Alaska, it’s the perfect rig. Can’t wait to see your next project!
Stopped and actually looked through your pictures there Miles.
I do like the minimalist lighting arraignment.
Never been a fan of the Ural odd shaped lights.
Much prefer the original types. (WW2)
Though the latter round ones are fine.
Thing is with LED'S is it's the brightness that shows and not the light fitting if it's small enough.
And hidden in plain sight.
Such a lovely well finished rig..
Let's hope it gets more than a few long outback runs.
@miles-ladue Oh Miles, now we know fenders never fly off of off-road hack rigs, come on...
Was fixable with some heavy metal, though. Hasn't fallen off in a while!
@miles-ladue I think your buyer is going to have a very fine rig!
Might be worth fitting some sort of rock guard for the underside of the engine/oil filter. That injection molded aluminum is pretty thin stuff. Maybe I missed a bash plate in the couple of pics, though. Even some 1/8" aluminum diamond plate is good enough for the little pebbles that get kicked up from time to time.
For what it is worth; Rotopax mounts will not hold up to two (1 gallon) jugs on the same vertical mount; bolt breaks that goes through the center of the mount. Not that you were thinking of hanging the 2nd pack on the hack side mount that the first one is on, with an extension.
I left a couple of cans somewhere over the 4 peaks trail when the mount broke, internally.
Dane @ben-franklin, two very good points you have brought up, and both have been addressed in this build.
The engine "bash plate" that Chuck @54vintage removed during his build of the subframe, needs to be reinstalled by Chuck, as the lack of it does leave the oil filter vulnerable, so the plan is already in place to have Chuck attach that engine bash plate back onto the bike.
Secondly, there is NO WAY that I....the 3rd smartest hominid on the 3rd rock from the Sun...would mount 2 RotoPax fuel canisters side-by-side on the same mount. Especially since each of these fuel canisters are 2.2 gallons...each.
The second of the 2.2 gallon RotoPax fuel canisters will either be mounted on the left side of the steel tub, between the tub and the Right pannier that is on the bike OR it will be mounted onto the Right side of the steel tub, forward of the monkey step, as in the right front quarter-panel of the Ural steel tub.
And, I laughed at the scrawny bolts and nuts that came with these RotoPax fuel canisters. I used 8mm bolts, washers, and nylock nuts, and used a 5.5" x 10" piece of cedar board on the inside of the steel tub as a backing-plate...in this case a backing-board, to spread the weight of the 18 lbs of fuel and canister, so that the weight, and lateral force on the side of the steel tub is not concentrated on such a small area....it's spread out onto a much larger area.
Used CEDAR board so that it keeps the odor of old grungy riding clothes at bay, like lining a clothes closet with cedar 
And finally, Dane, mi amigo, the fender on this AT w/Ural sidecar rig is made of steel...not fiberglass (like yours), so there is a 93.14 % probability that it is less likely to crack under harmonic vibrations of the washboard trails of the Southwest Deserts, and gives the added benefit of more weight out to the far right, over the sidecar wheel.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
Hard to beat the Africa Twin as an adventure rig! This build came out awesome. Nice work to both you and Chuck! 🍻
Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃
The buyer of this Africa Twin w/DCT trans and Ural steel tub sidecar rig (whew, that is a mouthful) will be here tomorrow, to check out the rig, pay me the balance, and then Chuck @54vintage will come up later next week to pick this rig up, so he can fabricate the Locking Lid for the Ural steel tub.
Oh, and he wants to do an Oil Change, and Valve Adjustment on his Ural....in MY shop...Oh, the Humanity ! 
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
Was paid a visit by the buyer of the Africa Twin sidecar rig today, and....paid in full. We went over every nook and cranny of the Sidecar rig, familiarizing him with as much as possible.... big change going from his Ural Gear Up rig to this Africa Twin w/DCT and Ural steel tub sidecar.
Then (joking... for you thin skinned Ural owners) he had the audacity to ask if he could do some work on his Ural sidecar rig...in my shop.
WHAT ???
No way was I allowing a Russian POS into my shop to fornicate in the place where some of the finest motorcycles and sidecar rigs have previously been massaged into perfect health.
So, I made him work on that Rooskie sled on the apron in front of my shop...in the heat of the day.
Joke was on me.... this guy lived in Mesa, Arid Zona for 18 years, so he considered this to be rather cool weather, compared to what he was used to.
Chuck @54vintage picks the Africa Twin sidecar rig up later this week, to add a couple things to it, then it's out of my hands, and on to the new owner.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
Having been the proud owner of a Ural (for two whole weeks), i have to write he has a pretty cool Gear Up rig there with some great mods.
That wrote, the step up to an Africa Twin Custom Built Adventure Rig by C & M Fabrication Specialists must have him giddy with excitement. 😎
Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃