Hi JerryI think you are very accurate in your assumptions. I spent a lot of miles in a Friendship model and loved it. The enclosed feeling would make for a better choice for your daughter. The Companion GT model, which I currently have, has a lot more wind and less room to move around in. For a youngster taking stuff is important and having the wheel away from hands and arms is a big plus for the Friendship models.
Jerry, I have friends and family in the Falls and outside of lockport in Clarence Center. The two cars you spoke about are fine I have both the only thing to consider is the HD car is a rigid suspension the leaf springs are for the passengers comfort you feel more of the pot holes etc. thru the rigid axel on the HD car but I still like them . The cal 3 has a shock suspension for the car which is good for all conserned on the rig. The top is nice to keep on for the hot sunny days you can remove the side windows and open the vent in the floor of the cal. 3 and get a pretty good breeze moving thru the car to boost the flow of air I made a Stainless steel air scoop and attached it to the underside of the vent and turned it in to a "ram air system" something else to consider with the removable roof is just because the Parents aren't smart enough to get out of the rain doesn't mean the kids should suffer:) When it all comes down to it it all depends on what you like and do with it we do a fair amount of traveling with the Road Glide and Cal.3 its a couple hundred miles shy of 40,000. now there are other sidecars that have a cover to the Hannigan's and Motorvation also has one. I have seen pictures of a HD car that had a cover made for them its a matter of fabricating a tube frame for a cover to lay over and using snaps to fasten it on. If you haven't yet go to the home page and look at the manufactures that I spoke about and look at their web sites maybe some Hannigan and Motorvation owners will offer some input to. If it mounts to a bike and has one wheel I like it.
Thanks so much Joyce and Chuck for your input and insight about the various rigs that you are farmilar with. There is no substitution for good old fashion experience. You both brought out some points that I have not yet considered before purchasing my sidecar. I really appreciate the valuable info and also your service to the USCA. Oh yea..Chuck I hope you won't mind if I use the last sentence from your previous post (#5398). I think you should consider adding the phrase to the quotes section if you haven't already...lol. Thanks again!
Hi Jerry,
This is "not" a critism of Harleys (I don't want anyone getting all bent because they think it is), it's just something that I picked up from a conversation with a Harley sidehacker in FL. We were both in a gas station at the same time and were comparing rigs. He had a couple of kids in the car and I asked him if he had ridden the bike down to Daytona like I had ridden mine. He said no way because the bike wasn't powerful enough to do interstate speeds with the sidecar. So, just a thought - - a Friendship III is a pretty big sidecar, if you only have one child, why not consider a Friendship II instead. Or at least, make sure that your bike can easily handle as large a sidecar as the Friendship III?
Connie
I have a GL1500 with a Hannigan Astro 2+2 sidecar. Me, my wife and my 5-year old love it! We can now all go ride together. I was most impressed with Hannigan because they were very kind people with which to work and I feel like their product was of excellent quality.
The 2+2 is a heavy sidecar and took some getting used to, but I really enjoy enjoy riding it now. I wish I would have gotten the sidecar years ago.
Connie and Jerry...The Harley rig in FLA. If it was an older rig such as a early 70's on down I could understand it fully as my 72 fl/HD car is a slug With myself the wife and daughter along with camping gear to keep it at 62-65 was a job on the interstate. Constant downshifting was needed to keep it from lugging the motor when traveling at low speeds in town etc.The 03 E-Glide could handle the cal.3 my 01 Road Glide has EFI with a stock motor and can handle my cal.3 and yes at times downshifting is needed when your speed drops shifting is required now the cal.2 that Connie has on her wing is a fine choice also I never intended to sound as it wouldn't be but what I would suggest is that if you choose the cal.2 or something in that weight range is when you donot have a passenger to haul a little "ballast" weight. I use to use a 5 gallon soft sided water container with the HD car when I first started riding with a sidecar when I didn't need the weight I would dump the water out. There is one downside to the Cal.3 with my 14 year old daughter she seems to think she can bring more "stuff" on trips:). Again Jerry you need to decide what will work for you and your family,there are all kinds of sidecars out there single seater's to the Watsonian's that can haul 4. If you click on the link below my signature it wil take you to my site on the home page is a picture of the 72FL and hack and in the photo section look for Chuck's and there is a photo of the Road Glide/Cal.3 Happy hunting...........:)
I don't have any trouble with my '03 ultra with the stock EFI engine and stage I kit. Of course I'm only tugging a Harley sidecar which isn't as large and heavy as some of the other nicer ones. We can cruise easily at 70-75 (and more if brave enough) here in the "flatlands" and only have to downshift in the mountains at times. The only problem my wife has encountered (and not a big problem) is getting in and out. But after a few times doing it, she finds it relatively easy now. One with a door or flip front might possibly have been better, but we decided to go with the HD car. But you're doing the right thing by listening to others. Then consider everything and go with what suits YOU the best.
Good luck.
I have a 99 roadking with a cal.III with just carb and exhaust mods. have no trouble at 70 on the interstates. only problem is on hills if i dont get a run on them. wife and grandkids love the car. going to try and put different cams in this winter for more low end.a two into one exhaust also.
One way around the Harley "Horsepressure" problem that worked real well for me was the installation of a Turbocharger on my '95 RK with Spyder chair. The bike was very tractable at idle and at low speeds and as quiet as stock. It delivered between 115 and 120 horsepower in the high blow setting and was quite noisy at high RPM though.
One nice thing was when the other riders were shifting their twin cammers down all I did was twist the wick a little for more power.
It still delivered about 38 MPG highway mileage with the 80 inch motor and gave me no problems.
Okay, now I have a question. Since when do any of you "yanks" do 70 mph on the interstate????(well, you guys or anyone else for that matter)? Interstate speed in VA is 65, but it's 70 in most surrounding states. And if you're doing 70, you get your arse run over. No matter what you're riding, I hope it doesn't top out at 70 if you're gonna do interstates! 😮
Connie
You're absolutely right, Connie, particularly on I-95 between DC and Richmond. Normally on that stretch, I have to crank it up to around 85 just to stay with traffic flow... 90-95 to stay with the faster ones. Also go to SW VA (west of Bristol) some and as you know, I-81 is getting much worse than a few years ago. Last Sunday we ran with the "flow" on 81 at around 80. I don't drive interstates unless on long trips, but have never had any trouble with lack of power yet.
Hi all,
Thanks everyone for your input and/or advice. You all have given me a lot of points of views to consider. My concern about my future sidecar has more to do with convienence, functionality, and safety than it does with weight. The bike was designed from the factory to tug around a hack weighing in at 243 lb. The CSC site lists the weight of Friendship II and III at 225 lbs. Even if I do not plan to buy either of those hacks, I plan to stay in that weight range anyway. Keep the advice coming! I need all I can get. Thanks again!
Fred "sticksfgt"
I went to the Hannigan website and took a look at the Astro 2+2. It is a nice looking car. They look like good quality cars. I also have a soon to be five year old that will have some input into the car that I get. After all she will be the one in the chair most of the time anyway lol. Thanks again Fred!
CHECK OUT MOTORVATION SIDECARS. The Formula II IS AN EXCELLENT ONE TO CONSIDER. I HAVE HAD ONE FOR YEARS AND HAVE HAULED TWO KIDS IN IT MANY TIMES...LOTS OF ROOM. They are also very very service oriented.
Fletch,
You're right about not having the (advertised) weight of the sidecar be a prime factor in choosing the hack.
The claimed MFGs. weight of the car is a far cry from the actual ready to ride weight after adding accessories, passenger load, fuel, batteries, ballast, or whatever.
The same applies to the bike. The brochure weight is dry weight. Add the rider(s), accessories, fluids and about one half the weight of the sidecar to that. This is what you really have to deal with.
The old ratio of about 1/3rd hack weight and 2/3rds of bike weight still holds true for a good starting point, balance wise. With sturdy suspension it will get you down the road with a minimum of gymnastics like hanging off and such.
