Hi all. I'm very new to this forum and the world of sidecar rigs. My girlfriend and I just took delivery of a Cozy Rocket using a 2010 Triumph Bonneville T-100 as a tug. The rig was done by Bill Cozzi of Side-By-Side Cycles. His specialty seems to be the Bonneville and Cozy combo and he did a magnificent job with ours. We're planning a "bucket list" 5 week cross country trip late July and August of 2014 and plan to primarily use the Rocket to haul our gear. The rig is delightful, quirky, and eccentric and I hope will turn out to be far more versatile over the years than buying and hauling a trailer ever could be. I know I've dealt with enough bungie cords in my life that I didn't want to be breaking down a campsite and loading up two bikes like camels crossing the desert every morning for days on end. My girlfriend will ride her own bike (probably a Thruxton which I'm giving her the keys to since she donated her Bonnie to the rig) and I think we travel pretty easily as we ride off into the sun. Meanwhile we have some foliage in the northeast to explore before winter sets in.
I've been riding for 35 years and in my short time with this rig I don't think we've ever gotten more smiles and waves from everyone we pass (or more correctly... by everyone who passes us 😉 ) as we seem to get on that rig. What a wonderful little world and subculture sidecars are!
There are several camping trailer that are perfect for towing with motorcycles, I've got an older Kwik Kamp that I pulled with my Goldwing. It trails great behind my VTX sidecar. They seem to run up in the mid one thousand dollar range. There are others that set up very similarly. Packing and unpacking is always going to take time, but I can set up my Kwik Kamp for a quick sleeping in the rain in less than 3 minutes. One of the good things about my camper is I can access my things with the camper set up or road ready. For a trip of that length, it is nice to know you can get shelter quickly in a heavy rain.
Doc
hey doc what is gas mileage pulling camper?
I mean to with out a camper diff.
Those are all good thoughts Doc, but after looking at some of the stuff Google brought up when I searched Kwik Kamp I have to say I was trying to move in a more minimalist direction.
billod1 - 10/6/2013 5:24 PM
hey doc what is gas mileage pulling camper?
I actually got pretty good with my Goldwing, in some weird way, I averaged about 41 mpg, I think I may have been a lot more conservative with the throttle, I was about 1 to 3 mpg over my 'normal' without the trailer. I stayed around 60 mph and would get there a little slower, trailerless I would use the power very quickly and back off pretty quickly. I did learn from that trip and would keep off the twisting, and my later fuel consumption figures were better. Previously 70-72 would be my normal speed. Running 60's and more usage of cruise control, made my mpg rates run up to around 43-45 without the trailer. A big jump, not really, but 12 gallons would about save me the better of 1.
My rationale to myself on the trip was I was going up and down hills, I went from SC to PA, to ME, to MA, to IL, to KY, and back to SC. The Goldwing had more than enough to take the hills with no problem, going downhill, the back pressure reduced the workload and let the bike rest, okay, rest might not be the best description, but ........
Doc
boudiepitbull - 10/6/2013 1:46 PM
... I'm very new ... My girlfriend and I just took delivery of a Cozy Rocket using a 2010 Triumph Bonneville T-100 as a tug.... We're planning a "bucket list" 5 week cross country trip late July and August of 2014....I've been riding for 35 years and in my short time with this rig I don't think we've ever gotten more smiles and waves from everyone we pass (or more correctly... by everyone who passes us 😉 ) as we seem to get on that rig. What a wonderful little world and subculture sidecars are!
Welcome to the offset sidecar world. And congrats on the new rig. Please consider a sidecar training class, typically referred to as the S/TEP course by the Evergreen Safety Council. A sidecar rig looks like a motorcycle, but as you have discovered, doesn't ride/drive like a motorcycle. You have 35 years of some deeply trained skills to modify.
Please post pics when you can. And we're sure looking forward to pics and stories from the road.
Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox
Thank you SwampFox! I haven't been able to find a formal class here in NYC that touches sidecar operation. The training classes I've found are all several states away, in Texas, or clear across the country in the Pacific northwest. I'm still looking. Bill Cozzi did take the time to train us on one of his rigs during our build and I rely heavily on the sage advice of a few other owners. Meanwhile, I'm practicing and avoiding knowingly heading into complex traffic situations and extremely challenging twisty roads. I've got three different books manuals downloaded and well studied and there is a H-U-G-E parking lot minutes from where the rig is kept to practice skills in. I was well forewarned about what to expect. Taking Baby steps!!
thanks doc. think ill still use tent for a while.
I do not know if side by side cycles is still not modifying the front end of these bikes. But if they are not, the bikes steering can be much lighter by reduction trail on the front of the bike which in the case of the T-100 we do by replacing the triple tree's with tree's that change the angle of the forks moving the front wheel forward. This would make it much more pleasant for a long trip.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
boudie hello I got over 500,000 miles on two wheels and I was worrying about the same thing. about having so much counter steering in my head would I do the same on 3 wheels but I did not. I now have 25,000 on sidecar I had no class. not saying swamp is wrong cause he's not. what I am saying is if you cant go to a class you should be ok if you take it easy for awhile. most all my riding is in the mountains and I do fine now. I had no problem going back an forth from 2 to 3 wheels. but now I just sold my last 2 wheel, but I have a blast on 3. been riding for 50 years now my legs and feet are a little funky. diabetic and 4 back surg. but I CAN STILL RIDE no problem now lol. I would learn to get the car in the air a little in a big parking lot, so you know what it will feel like. I am sure not an expert, just trying to help. have fun
Hi Jay! Thank you for your input about trail reduction. No changes were made to the geometry of the Bonnie, but everything seems to work very very well as is. Too bad you're on the far side of the country.
Hi Billod1! Thank you for your vote of confidence. It's funny the old habits that I struggle with. Silly things like not instinctively putting my feet down when coming to a full stop and that it now actually makes a difference which side of the gas pump I pull up to. I believe they call these "luxury problems"... 😉
