Hello all: I am just starting to investigate the world of sidecars. Plan on doing alot of reading and taking a sidecar class this spring or fall, luckily I am in NC and VA has a number of classes available nearby. At first I thought a dedicated setup with a used bike and smaller used or new sidecar in the $6,000 range would be the way to go. My question is: is that the better arrangement or could I perhaps buy a more expensive sidercar (say a Hannigan)for my BMW R1200RT and take it on and off as needed? Is the performance of a setup that lets me ride solo as well as with the hack degraded too much over that of a dedicated unit? The trade off is that the sidecar on the RT would be much nicer than what I could afford if I was to set up a dedicated combination. What are the pros and cons of either?
Best thing to do is spend around $3 or $4000[or less] on a good SC, and the rest on the bike tires, forks, suspension,and mounting, and have it setup permanent.
Once its set up right you will not WANT to take it off!
as far as performance, the accel will be down slightly, also gas mileage, and tire wear, but when its set right , you will be taking the twistys faster than you did solo. after a good deal of practice, of course.
remember all the pluses.... more room for STUFF, passenger comfort, ease of manueverability, no worries about sand, gravel, bumps, ETC. much more stable.AND.... a big bonus...IT IS VERY PEOPLE FRIENDLY!!!
Mark,
We always suggest the inexpensive approach to wetting ones feet into sidehacking as opposed to the "Cannonball" approach.
Perhaps an older middleweight combo can be purchased or a nice older bike and used sidecar for a minimum investment to use for the learning curve. That way if you decide solo is the best way to go at a later date, you will not have compromised your prime ride. If you choose to pursue three wheeling in more detail at a later date the used rig is easily offed as a combo or separated and the proceeds used for setting up a more sophisticated outfit with your Beemer as a platform.
One can nick and ding up their rig during the learning process quite easily. Some folks find they aren't crazy about having a sidecar rig as their prime mover and other newbies decide they don't care that much about sidecaring after all.
I wouldn't make that big, expensive jump be my first if I wasn't sure that's what I wished to do with my prime bike.
I guess I'm blessed at present as I have a prime Solo tourer and a prime Hack tourer (I just sold my runabout rig). It took me many years to work up to it though, a few steps and a few dollars at a time.
Lonnie
Great comments from Bob and Lonnie already! I spoke with the folks at Hannigan a couple of years ago. They make sidecars that are designed to be easy on/easy off, and their experience is that after a few on/off cycles, the sidecar just stays on.
I would echo the advice of both Bob and Lonnie - get something already together and figure out if you like the whole deal or not, then you can jump in with both feet or walk away, without having blown your life savings. A "high end" rig can easily put you into the 30K+ range if you include the price of the LT in the equation (and the car and the wheels and the front end and the setup and the paint, etc. etc.). You are unlikely to get anything close to your investment back out of it should you decide it's not for you.
Definatly go for the training! The controls are the same, but the rest of the characteristics are different and not especially complimentary! This is another good reason to have a dedicated rig - if you are climbing on the same bike and sometimes it has the car and sometimes it doesn't, well, life could be more interesting than it needs to be.
Tires, especially motorcycle tires, will wear out more quickly. Once you decide you are hooked, you can look at car tire based solution.
Gas mileage will suffer and how hard and how often you like to twist the wrist will have a very notticeable impact. My RT/EZS rig gets between 25 and 30 MPG - the RT solo used to retun 40.
The story of my rig is here: http://home.comcast.net/~stevewoo/Sidecar.htm
Good luck!
Bob, Lonnie, Steve: Thanks for your comments - I do expect to take this very slow before committing $$$ - the class should be the first step to see if this is for me, but I suspect I will like it okay. Probably need to attend a sidecar event as well and talk to some folks, see some combinations. I think a dedicated, lower cost unit is probably my first choice, but I still wonder just how easy it is to take a sidecar off and on your solo bike. The comment from Hannigan may mean people not only like the sidecar setup better but it is just too much of a hassle to change back and forth - any experience in living with such a convertible setup over a long time?
Removing and re-installing a sidecar is not as simple of a task as it appears. I really recomend that you dedicate a rig to the sidecar and leave it on there. I have two sidecar rigs. One based on a CB750 Honda, the other based on an XS1100 Yamaha. Combined investment between both rigs, (thats sidecars AND bikes) is 2000 dollars. Bargains are out there. Even bigger bargains if you are able to do repairs on damaged rigs.
Lots of good advice here I wish I had taken.After taking a ural for a spin a few times the bug had bitten and i ran out and purchased a harley hack for my indian thinkin I was gonna mount and dismount at will. Its not that easy and now i wish I had bought that ural and kept the injun for solo ridin cause when you look at the attachments you want to add its more costly and you cant switch back and fourth. My vote would be find a cheap rig you can insure cheap and then decide if your willing to give up the solo option. Good luck
Mark
I was in your position two years ago, wondering dedicated or bolt on/off. I did own a bolt on rig many decades ago, and recall it's less than perfect handling. I was always eager to remove that sidecar after a winter of driving it.
I wanted to have a rig to operate for long rides, and easy to handle. Cost was an issue for me, since this was my re-enter into the realm of three wheels. I went to a sidecar rally and talked to folks, which helped my decision. I decided on a dedicated rig, and found a 1981 Goldwing-EML rig. I do have mechanical abilities, which is important for almost any sidecar setup, but especially an older rig. The handling and performance of the EML setup is all that I expected and more. I'm very glad I went this route, and if the funds become available, I will upgrade to something like an EZS or a more performance oriented rig, again a dedicated rig. Until then, I'm keeping the EML set up and putting on the miles.
Hope my experience helps you.
On a side note and edit, responding to Lunatic's post and his rig, he neglected to mention that his Honda is called "Metallic Waste", and the Velorex tub is held together with a lot of stickers. It's a proven rig. Mine is named "White Trash", appropriate for a number of reasons. Let me just say this is the first vehicle I've owned that earned a name, and I've been riding motorcycles since the late 1960's.
Taking it off is usually not a big deal. I use a pair of those four wheel dollys they sell for storing cars. I put one under the sidecar tire and one with a frame on it, under the left frame of the sidecar. When I wired my rig, I used a flat Wesbar connector like you would use on a trailer hitch. I pull four bolts and unplug the wire and I'm riding solo. Maybe ten minutes tops. Putting it back on takes a bit longer, but it's not rocket science as long as you don't alter any of the adjustments.
The problem comes in if you leave it on long enough for your tires to wear flat. Now when you ride solo, it can feel really strange and act entirely different.
My first sidecar spent most of the time in the garage. The only time I mounted it was for family trips. I bought a motorcycle and it happened to have a sidecar attached so I kept it. Then when my son was old enough to ride without his mother I bought a bigger sidecar and a Goldwing and left it mounted maybe 50% of the time. I went the two bike route. I had a Harley and then a TransAlp for 2 wheeled riding and a succession of sidecar rigs. A couple years ago it dawned on me that over a two year period I had put less than 300 miles on the bike and 26000 on the sidecar rig. Now I only own one bike and it's had the sidecar off for about 200 miles total. I guess what I'm saying is, It can be done, but you probably won't.
Mark,
I'm going to weigh in with the rest of the guys here. Mounting and dismounting a sidecar is NOT the same as hitching up a trailer. Depending on your setup and skills it MAY only take you an afternoon, but it could be a weekend project as well. While you may want to mount (or dismount) your hack for a special trip say, it's just not something you are going to want to do on a regular basis. Plus, as time goes by, you'll probably find yourself making more and more mods to your bike (front end trail, tires etc) to improve the performance of the three wheel setup, and these will invariably degrade (or make impossible) two wheel riding. Stay within your budget (as hard as that might be), but your $$ would be best invested in a dedicated setup.
Joe
why not start w an inexpensive rig all set up as a dedicated rig and see if you like it ???
for example a kz1300 6 cylinder with a champion legend sidecar all set up with electric trim, a leading link front end, trailer hitch, and a history of being a dependable rig
all for $3500
stacy
Originally written by stacebg on 3/8/2006 6:11 PM
why not start w an inexpensive rig all set up as a dedicated rig and see if you like it ???
for example a kz1300 6 cylinder with a champion legend sidecar all set up with electric trim, a leading link front end, trailer hitch, and a history of being a dependable rig
all for $3500stacy
And it's a great looking rig! I can't beleive you still have it.
