Bonnie and Cozy

Trizy, I recently had a Velorex mounted to my wife's '03 Bonnie. We had been looking at rigs for about 18 months. I narrowed my choices down to a Spyder, Cozy, and Velorex. I ended up with the Velorex because I was able to find a two year old used hack in great shape and it came off of Bonnie. I know the person who had it. He ended up buying a Ural with hack as a dedicated rig. He got tired of taking the hack off and putting it back on. Also, there is a dealer across the state who has been selling Velorex for years and he knows his stuff.

To answer your question, yes, the Bonnie will easily handle a Cozy. I have a friend in SC who has a Spyder on his Bonnie. It is a great rig; but more expensive than a Velorex or Cozy.

Please feel free to contact me and ask any questions that you have. I am new to the sidecar game; I have about 1000 miles experience now in varied riding conditions.

Thanks for the reply.

I have a Cozy from an Enfield and a universal kit from Cycle Sidecar.

I tried to piece it together but it doesn't seem like things line up as they should. I called Cycle Sidecar for a referral of someone who has done this sucessfully but, they had no names to give. I then asked for a installer who might be able to do the job. They referred me to someone as local as possible 3 hrs away. I live in the Cincinnati area. He said that the Cozy was to small and not structurally fit for that size of bike. He suggested the Velorex. Seems like a good guy but the money lay out is more than I really wanted to do if what I had (the Cozy)would work safely and satisfactorily. I live in the country and need to travel at least the
speed limit. I've tried it with the Enfield and sidecar and it just wasn't enough to do the job proper without getting ran over by cagers.

How has the Velorex and Bonnie done for you? What is your top and average comfortable speed? How does it handle? Which model are you driving?

I have a 562 model.

There are pluses and minuses to any sidecar choice. I was told that the Velorex is really too light for the Bonnie. Light means better mileage; but the downside is trickier handling. I keep five gallons of water as ballast in the Velorex for me and I put eight gallons in as ballast for my wife. I do agree that the Cozy is on the light side; but it is definitely doable.

There is a school of thought that a mounting system should be designed for the specific bike and one should avoid universal mounts. and I suppose that is the ideal. I used the same universal mount that the person I bought the hack from used on his Bonnie. He took photos of the rig attached and then took photos of the mounts after he took the rig off. So I had a good idea of how to set it up.I ran into trouble setting it up because I could not get the mounts to stay put. They would rotate on the frame throwing everything off. I finally gave up. There is a Velorex dealer in St Petersburg, FL and I live Between Daytona Beach and St Augustine on the opposite coast. It was a 3 1/2 hour haul for me; but it was worth it.

When we unloaded the bike and hack, he looked at the mounts and said they were in the right places. I asked him what I did wrong. He asked me if I followed the instructions? I replied, yes. He said that is where you went wrong. He said with the universal mounts, he gets them set up and tight, then he spot welds the the brackets to the shims and they do not loosen up when one adjusts the I-bolts used to attach the arms from the car. He does not weld the brackets to the frame. His method works; it is solid.

The highest speed I have ridden is about 73 mph on the Interstate and I rode between 70 and 73 for an hour and half. I am most comfortable around 60 - 65 mph. It handles very well. The secret to handling is getting the lean and toe in set properly. It was worth the money to get it set up right.

Here is an example of one of my Bonneville/Velorex 562 Cruiser combos.
No welding, no slippage,no mounting problems. The secret is how you place the mounts. Especially the rear lower mount. Keep them linear. Don't follow the Handbook method.
With a 40# steel plate welded to frame beneath the body.
It handles well at all speeds. Without a damper.
FYI: The Cozy universal mounting kit is a Velorex mounting kit.

Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars

Hey guys thanks, I'm getting closer to making a decision.

that's a great looking rig Lonnie,...very tight package, nice work, crawf.

While I'm not into Black M/C's sometimes things just work and look well in Basic Black as does your rig Lonnie 😉

Jerry

I was thinking about a Cozy Euro for the KZ1000P that I've got, I like the look and the price. But I decided to go with the Velorex 563T as the price was comprable and it comes with the mounting kit, ect... Hasn't arrived yet, but I greatly look forward to when it does.

I think the Cozy would look wicked on a Hinkley Bonnie.

Originally written by Pythas on 6/6/2008 6:20 AM

I was thinking about a Cozy Euro for the KZ1000P that I've got, I like the look and the price. But I decided to go with the Velorex 563T as the price was comprable and it comes with the mounting kit, ect... Hasn't arrived yet, but I greatly look forward to when it does.I think the Cozy would look wicked on a Hinkley Bonnie.

I agree; they do look great on the Hinkley Bonnies. I actually like the looks better than Velorex. However, I am certainly happy with the Velorex.

Originally written by CarlS on 6/6/2008 10:43 AM

I agree; they do look great on the Hinkley Bonnies. I actually like the looks better than Velorex. However, I am certainly happy with the Velorex.

Indeed, and I'm thinking I'll be happier too.

 

Hey guys thanks for comments.
Putting the Cozy on the Bonnie would save me mony but,part of the problem is that the universal kit from Cycle sidecar doesn't come with sliding clamps which would probably allow for a hook up. Possibly 2 neded one for sure.
Does anyone know of anybody who has put a Cozy on a Bonnie and how did they do it? How does it ride? Etc. etc. Referrals, pics and comments appreciated.

Trizy

I have seen a couple of Cozy's on Bonnevilles; but I do not know who owns them. Try this site and see if they can answer your questions: http://www.cyclesidecar.com/ It also has a photo gallery.

Tried them. No luck.

Is there a Cozy dealer in the Cincy area? It would be worth the trip.