Cozy Experience

I can't speak for the Cozy, but I can tell you that the Ural I had (650cc), only produced about 25hp, and it hauled the Ural sidecar around just fine. I would expect that the W650 would haul it around without too much problem.

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee

The 562C and 563T both fit well with the W650.
20" wide seat and 52" of legroom and they come with all the extras included. windshield, top, tonneau, mount set, full lighting, great fit and finish.
Here's a W650 with a 563 Tour car installed.

Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars

I will let you know aout my new Cozy,
I have a 2002 1200 Sportster and just purchased the Euro-cozy
keep in touch, let you know how i make out next week.
So far my guys who are doing the mount,states dos ot handle well with heavy tall guys they say kinds tight..

You may want to take a look at the Kenna sidecar made by Dauntless Motors in Enumclaw Washington, http://www.dauntlessmotors.com/Sidecars/kenna.htm . I have this rig on my 650 Burgman scooter. Drives great and no power issues.Here's some pics - http://www.sidecar.com/megabbs/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?albumid=317

As a fellow W owner, I think the Cozy is too small and a Ural is too big. I think something like a Velorex or a Spyder would be ideal. For the look, a Watsonian or Steib S500, but then you're talking big bucks.

I appreciate the input.

I suspect I will find the Cozy a bit too cozy. I understand there is one on display in Wilmington NC (about 2 hours away). I'll try to visit it. I really favor it's appearance.

No big bucks here, so the high dollar cars won't happen no matter how good they look.

The Velorex and similar designed cars don't press the nastalgic buttons. The W is itself a nastalgic bike and I'll like to keep the theme going.

The Spyder looks good, but it might be too pricey ... they claim they are the Rolls Royce of side cars. My budget is more like chevy.

This leads to favoring the Ural. Uncle Erni, how much of a concern is the size issue? Does it affect handling or is it a power concern or is it an appearance issue?

By the way, is the level of effort required to turn the front wheel on a particular tug (with it's rake and trail fixed) a function of the weight of the sidecar or is it the geomotry of the sidecar (width, center of mass, wheel location)? How much of a static sidecars weight is carried by the front wheel?

Dan

Factor of steering force depends primary on the distance between the line through the steering heads bearings where it touches the ground and the point where the tire touches the ground. (excuse me I don't know the english word. (german is "Nachlauf"))
Then face area of the sidecar and wids of it.

Myself I dream of the W650 for years. In the case I get one myself I wouldn't put a sidecar on it for not to bend the frame. But if so a nice cigar like the Royalenfield guys are importing or a Steib reproduction would look smart. But possibly they would be too small for to keep a passenger happy. (as smaller the boat as easier and faster the legs will ake)
The Ural probably is too heavy.

Regards
Sven Peter Pan

Wellll... British folks have been putting sidecars on their bikes for eons. Aside from a death-trap Triumph 500 a long time ago, most of my experience has been with old Beemers. The Earles forks have built-in adjustability and frames that were made to accept a sidecar.

The W frame I'm not so sure about. Whether you would need a sub-frame, I just don't know. I'd be inclined to say you would. Yahoo has a W650 group, and you might ask there if anyone has experience or opinions on that. Also, ask some of the sidecar dealers. I do know you'll need better springs/shocks fore and aft. I don't think you have hills that are too bad in your area (I don't get out of the mountains much), but I suspect you'll need 2 more teeth in back, and a longer chain.

Whatever you do, make sure the SC fits properly. I tried putting a SC on a frame with U-clamps from a hardware store, and belive me- it was scarey! The bike would lean into the SC after a left turn, so I'd have to jerk it back to straighten it out-while moving. The fork angle is probably OK, you'd just need wider bars. It's no problem to get 7/8 bars and shim them with something like aluminium tubing cut to size.

I don't know how much weight is on the front wheel, but I imagine there's a fair amount because I've never slid the front the way I have the back. However, that's one reason I like sidecar tires- they hold the road better. I would think a 3.50 in front and 4.00 in back would be perfect.

I have only seen a Cozy on a Royal Enfield and a scooter. That tells me they are too light. Plus, they are very small unless your passenger will be a kid or medium sized dog. A Ural just seems like it would overwhelm the bike, both in size and weight. AS a lot of what you want to do is visual, I vote no for that reason, also; big and clunky (with apologies to Ural owners. I'm just thinking of the W) After you find out what your mounting options are, check dealers for used tubs. Also, the classifieds here, BMWMOA (and all the other clubs), IBMWR, MGNOC (both of those are free), Yahoos /2 group, etc.
IMO- an older, more rounded shaped Velorex is perfectly in keeping with a vintage look.

Thanks again to all for their opinions.

Can someone explain what a sub frame is/does and under what conditions it is required?

By the way, my wife is now putting around the neighborhood on her Rebel .... smiling all the while.

A four point mount requires the mounting points be widely separated to provide a strong, rigid mount. Often the motorcycle frame does not provide strong mounting points-crashbars, swingarms, footpeg hangers just arent up to the streses and sideloads. A subframe can be bolted to the strongest points on the bike frame, typically motor mounts, sometimes centerstand pivots or elsewhere, and can be extended out to provide better locations for the sidecar to mount to.

Another use can be to spread the loads and re-enforce the bike frame, which may not have been built and designed to handle the addtional sideloads imposed by adding a sidecar. Later BMWs have notoriously flexable frames and subframes and/or additional bracing are usally used when fitting a hack to a /5 or later Beemer. Many other bikes can benefit from a subframe for the same reasons.

My Triumph Tiger had no lower frame. Like many modern bikes, the engine hangs from a spine frame. There is no where for the front lower mount. Dauntless Motors fabricated a double loop subframe that basically mimicked the missing frame, providing mounting points and spreading the load to both sides of the bike frame.

I posted some photos of subframes and details of attaching sidecars to my Suzuki Bandits and Kawa KLRs in an article on my website. It begins here:

http://adventuresidecar.com/ASSFLEET/assembling_the_fleet.htm

VW

It's interesting we call 37 year old BMW's "later" 🙂

wow, that Triumph Tiger rig looks so cool!
I was thinking of owning dune buggy or sand rail some day but maybe driving that on the desert is more fun!

If this works a picture of a cozy we attached to a Triumph Trident will be seen in the attachment.It is owned by Angel VanNeida ( wildaswind@dejazzd.com ) and did win the peoples choice award at RON DEE VOO IV.

We lowered the sidecar as shown 5" and also set it out away from the bike for stability. The mounts were fabricated in house. Yes, we did use a subframe fabricated in house with 1 1/4 x .120 wall tubing to distribute th eloads and provide the ability to easily adjust th esidecar by having the mounts placed in proper positions.

Angel, who is in the leather business, fabricated the bike's seat from an English saddle. Her husband, John, designed the paint job. The rig also has a larger sidecar step added which was milled via CNC from billet aluminum.

It is a daily rider and is run pretty hard. It is solid and very stable.
By the way Angel does quite well with the kick start only rig.

That is really handsome, Claude. Is there a place to see more of that?
Am I wrong, then, about the Cozy being too light? It looks like an awful lot of work went into that besides a paint job.