Thanks for clearing that up about the Hannigan cooler. Glad to hear its not a swamp cooler... I rode across Houston last weekend, it was 103 degrees and hummidity in the high 90's, it was HOT! Felt like someone was blowing a hair-dryer in my face... So, if any of you want to jump in the chair on my next trip across town I will gladly give you a ride. The AC'd hack idea would most likely sound a little better about then. Yea, I'm one of the old time, tough it out guys for the most part myself. Don't even have a trailer to carry my rig to other parts of the country for rides like some do. I pretty much have always believed they are for RIDING to somewhere. HOWEVER, even getting out of this part of Texas to get to the north country somewhere means you will most likely ride through 2 days of hot weather to get to where you are going. The only way to avoid the "hot" ride is to go in the winter when the riding up north is not so great. Yea, I've been in the rain at 35-40 degrees, but its not fun just like the 103 degrees here... Now as far as my passenger, well lets just say that a more plesant ride for her makes for a more plesant ride for me as well =). So the ability to cool the hack would definately be a plus. In the cold a sleeping bag in the hack works well, but we still want to work out some way to deal with the heat a little better. We do have coolvests, which do surely help. Tally-Ho!
Yes I also remember kick starting my carberated bikes, replacing brake cables for the drum brakes, no helmuts, no goretex, no rain proof boots etc. I realize you ride an early 60s bike with none of the modern comveniences to spoil you. I guess its all relative.
Me, I am not a Luddite, I like technology and I like being spoiled. I even stay in hotels when touring (air conditioned ones at that). I love riding all day in the rain and the freezing cold. Connie doesn't love it as much as your wife does.
greg in alaska (on our way home to warm and beautiful southern california)
Originally written by Bob in Wis on 8/16/2007 8:03 AM
man, you guys are getting spoiled.
SC's with air conditioning, glass roofs, removeable "T" tops, roll down windows, stereo, ash trays?, GPS, ETC.
when it gets to that point, just take the car!
whatever happened to the riders and passengers who enjoyed the open air, fresh breezes,changes in temps, a little rain now and then. adventure... thats what its about!!
My wife [and I]looks at those SC's and says.."no way! I might as well just drive my car".
sure, you live in a warm climate...accept it, or move.
or get an open air SC and enjoy the breezes and smells going past on the highways and byways.
Originally written by gregbenner on 8/18/2007 10:51 PM
Yes I also remember kick starting my carberated bikes, replacing brake cables for the drum brakes, no helmuts, no goretex, no rain proof boots etc. I realize you ride an early 60s bike with none of the modern comveniences to spoil you. I guess its all relative.
Me, I am not a Luddite, I like technology and I like being spoiled. I even stay in hotels when touring (air conditioned ones at that). I love riding all day in the rain and the freezing cold. Connie doesn't love it as much as your wife does.
greg in alaska (on our way home to warm and beautiful southern california)
I'm with you Greg. I ride a pretty basic bike, no radio, no fairing, no fancy seats, but I don't try to dictate how others should ride. Likewise, my favorite traveling road names all start with the word Interstate, but I don't expect everyone else to abandon the backroads. There aren't enough of us out there to be chasing away people with different ideas.
Originally written by gregbenner on 8/18/2007 9:51 PM
Yes I also remember kick starting my carberated bikes, replacing brake cables for the drum brakes, no helmuts, no goretex, no rain proof boots etc. I realize you ride an early 60s bike with none of the modern comveniences to spoil you. I guess its all relative.
Me, I am not a Luddite, I like technology and I like being spoiled. I even stay in hotels when touring (air conditioned ones at that). I love riding all day in the rain and the freezing cold. Connie doesn't love it as much as your wife does.
greg in alaska (on our way home to warm and beautiful southern california)
Originally written by Bob in Wis on 8/16/2007 8:03 AM
man, you guys are getting spoiled.
SC's with air conditioning, glass roofs, removeable "T" tops, roll down windows, stereo, ash trays?, GPS, ETC.
when it gets to that point, just take the car!
whatever happened to the riders and passengers who enjoyed the open air, fresh breezes,changes in temps, a little rain now and then. adventure... thats what its about!!
My wife [and I]looks at those SC's and says.."no way! I might as well just drive my car".
sure, you live in a warm climate...accept it, or move.
or get an open air SC and enjoy the breezes and smells going past on the highways and byways.greg, im on your side with this...i dont "dictate" what others should do..just a freindly opinion as with all forum Q's and A's are.
I also use no goretex, use Cheap [$40 ?]rain suits, no 'heated grips, seats, or vests . ETC... K.I.S.S., totes rain boots if it is really bad.
my first bike dates back to late 60's..was a '58 HD ,,then harly, harley, harley, honda, yamaha, then BMW, my last and only rides since then.
i dont ride an 'early 60's bike as you have stated. my current stable includes an '85 K100 BMW /motorvation SC rig, a 2002c Ural rig, and also a MUCH modified '73 /5 BMW bought new.
My wife does NOT enjoy riding in the wet or cold weather. same as yours. when the rain starts, the SC Convertible top goes on, keeping her snug and dry, while I'm out there in the elements...not by choice of course...i hate cold, wet riding...only do it if we are on a trip, and HAVE too.[hard to kick this old dog out into the rain]
as soon as the rain stops, the side windows open, and I need to stop and we remove the convertible top...ahhhhh! fresh air!!
My comment was bout the bigger and bigger SC's that are coming out now, in general. windows that dont open, tops built in, ETC..nice to look at , but
hard to fathom.
I suppose some folks need the all the protection they afford....thats great, if it keeps your wife along on the trips..
mine is my best buddy..we really enjoy our trips together.
cant imagine going on a trip without her.
as far as motels go, we are all for it on a trip...easier, more convnient packing up early in the dark, to leave.
ride a hundred miles or so before breakfast...best time of the day!!
Interstates..are my friend, within limits at night or early AM..my Kbike will cruise at 85-90 easily all day, but......once the trucks wake up and pounce on us, BYE BYE 'states!! welcome secondary Hwys!!
much more relaxing.
Latest chapter in cooling off the wife... I purchased the Koolaire system ($39.95). Unfortunately the 25 quart ice chest that it fits will not fit into our escort trunk (need about 3/4"). So I guess the Koolaire system is out. If we put it on the floor board of the sidecar you barely have room for legs on each side. I thought about the "Cooladvantage.com" vests but it looks as if it requires about a 25 quart ice chest. Plus I think it would take away the riding comfort of the passenger (My wife who falls asleep after we have driven about 5 minutes). If I was to mount a hitch to the back of my bike the ice chest would then block most of my tail lights. What is a man to do to keep his wife cool...
one thing I am going to make is a 'sun top' for the rig. it is an option on my MV FII..it snaps onto the front [top edge] of the windshield and goeas back over the top framework and attaches at the rear. sides are completely open. this way my wife gets her fresh breezes but it keep the hot sun off directly over her head, but still the sides are completely open...more than the original convertible top with windows open. in the shade all the time.
something like this can be made for virtually all SC's.
We have the soft top (leather) on our escort. It does help keep the sun directly off. We also had made some clear plastic zipper type windows. It's nice when it rains or real cold.
our convertible top has a rear plexi window and zippered side windows also..great for bad weather. the Sun Top only has a top going over the head, and down the rear sides, and open sides , wider than the zippered windows on th Convert...sorta like a golf car top... also, the back window area on the Sun Top is open... breeze flows thru completely...nice!!
I just read some of these posts. I wonder. I have one of those cooling/ heating Coleman food and pop chests. Cools or heats with no moving parts except the fan, electronically. I owonder if the sidecar is small enough whether that principle would work? It can heat or cool 40 degrees difference. Maybe if the sidecar was well insulated?
Wayne
Never work, look at the size of the cooler and the size of the cooling unit compared to a sidecar and then add wind.
Wind would make no difference if the car was semi airtight and insulated.
However,the BTU's that a warm body (heat generatior) produced in an insulated area would defeat the purpose probably anyway. Just a thought.
Connie and I had minor change in plans on our return trip from Alaska,and ended up riding 750 miles last Tuesday accross the middle of California. It was reasonbly hot,about 100 or so.
Connie found that she was cooler/more comfortable with the top on AND the side curtains snapped in place, ventilation from the fan (on high speed). Sort of serprided both of us, we had thought we would not want the side cutains in place.
Connie also has a quart water bottle with a pump on it, it sprays a fine mist on her, then the vent air cools.
The heats gets debilitating when you are in it all day, much worse than rain or cold (imho).
Originally written by gregbenner on 8/24/2007 11:22 PM
The heats gets debilitating when you are in it all day, much worse than rain or cold (imho).
I agree. My wife doesn't want to ride until the temp go above 80 and that's about when I want to put the rig away. If it's just an hour or two I can handle 25 to about 80 degrees, but if I'm planning a long trip, I prefer 45 to 70. I think the most pleasant ride I ever took was early in spring of 2004. It was 45 degrees out when I left Madison, Wisconsin heading north and a gentle kind of half mist half rain was coming down. I left the University Hospital about midnite and arrived in Menomonie about 4 a.m. For some reason that ride made me feel more alive and renewed than any ride before or since.
The technology used in the "electric" coolers is somewhat interesting. One of the engineers that works for me has used this technology to build cold boxes for NASA and we are looking at using this as one approach to come up with some sort of suitable heat exchanger that could be used with the cold water system Hannigan has available. We are looking at a couple of other things as well, such as adapting a "vortex tube" (google it for more info) in some way. I will get back to the forum as this develops... Tally Ho!
