I was looking at the pictures of the Chelan , Wa side car rally and noticed there were some wonderful bikes and side cars.
What caught my eye was the BMW bikes with the side cars . If any one on this list has a BMW with a side car , can you enlighten me about what BMW model and type of side car would works well together. Right now I have a Ural and I am thinking of more power. The BMW's certainly have more power and has good road clearance so I can go off road which I love to do. I thought I would start gathering data and see where it takes me.
Thanks
Judy 🙂
Hi Judy. Welcome to the forum. I've seen a good number various BMW rigs; however, I will defer to our more experienced members to address your query re: BMW tugs/rigs; what little I know has been derived from this site.
Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox
Hi Judy, There are quite a few BMWs with side cars. I recently bought a side car to connect to my BMW K1200LT and am still researching the required parts to connect it. I know I will need a subframe and am wincing at the cost. I can't comment on the smaller BMWs but have seen a lot of them with hacks. What model are you considering?
The most popular (and affordable) Beemers for sidehacking are the earlier airheads. Powerwise a /6 or /7 R100 is all most will ever need for off-road and dual sport usage. These adapt well to the URAL/M72 clone sidecars and subframe mount systems are readily available. They also work well for long range touring since there are many Beemer dealers (US & worldwide) and the earlier parts are available if needed.
The K models (toasters) are much harder to sidehack due to extra bodywork and there is some resistance due to single sided swingarms, so they are not nearly as popular for off road use.
You are ahead of the game already having the URAL sidecar as they are no longer imported without a (slow) motorcycle attached.
Lonnie
Right now I am in the research stage . I am not sure what model BMW I will consider. I know that I will purchase a used one.
Thanks
Judy
I am currently running a restored R75/5 with a Sputnik sidecar, and it works well around town. It is a little underpowered for highway use, but will generally hold 60-65 MPH. I agree with Lonnie that the /6 or /7 R100 would be a good tug for the Ural sidecar you already have. It should do most anything you want. Sub-frames to mount your current sidecar to a /6 or /7 should be readily available. Try Lonnie at Northwest sidecar, Lowel Neff at http://www.neffdesign.org/, or Jay at http://www.dmcsidecars.com/ for anything you might need to get the rig setup.
Bill
I'm working on a similar goal, and recently bought a '78 R100/7 with Dyna ignition upgrade for the tug part of the platform - now working on locating the sidecar part...
The 1982-1984 R100 bikes are down a little bit on power from many of the 77-80 R100 bikes (usually ~60 HP versus 65 HP), but the 82-> bikes have better brakes, electronic ignition., and a lighter/smoother clutch with transmission updates which are desirable.
The 77-80 R100 bikes have a bit more horsepower, but inferior brakes, points ignition (unless updated with Boyer, Dyna, or Omega) and the heavier/clunkier clutch and gearbox.
The 81 model year R100 bikes have some slight differences in some frame dimensions that make them "unique", and may pose a bit more of a challenge when trying to fit a standardized subframe.
The 81-84 R100 bikes also have the issue of incorrect exhaust valve seats which cause valve plastic deformation over time, but if you're looking for BMW airheads of any size from that time period, you should be asking/checking as to whether the valve seats have been replaced by now. The /7 frames and possibly the 80-84 frames are sturdier than the /6 frames in general, though any of these bikes should use a subframe with a sidecar.
Have you checked into the possibility of using a bmw engine in your ural? I've seen pictures of such conversions but don't know the amount of work needed to get them to match up. I've also seen pics of a ural with an air cooled vw engine in it. That would be interesting but likely a "project". The engine would be pretty cheap though. The advantage of a conversion is that you get to keep the sidecar engineered frame and suspension.
Is hot rodding the ural engine a viable option? I've read of 1000cc ural engines. Heck, bmw 750s got 50hp back in 1970. a 40hp ural 750 with carb and exhaust upgrade might get close to that. Have you been on any of the ural forums? I bet they have lots of suggestions for more power.
I think I might ask one of the mechanics that has worked on my URal about a conversion. You are right I get to keep the side car .
Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into a conversion. What a project this might be.
Judy
