Handicapped access in a sidecar

If you aren't heading for the freeway the late URAL's are a good choice.
For higher speed touring you might consider a Japanese Cruiser bike with a California, Champion, or Motorvation sidecar that has a lift front end for easier entry. There are quite a few of these available.

Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars

Originally written by Hack'n on 5/23/2008 12:01 PM

If you aren't heading for the freeway the late URAL's are a good choice.

Unlikely I'd ever want to take it on the interstate, which is no biggie - I learned years ago that with both Scooters and VW Things it's not wise to get on the interstate.

I've seen a picture of a guy with a mini-crane mounted on the back of his SC. His wife is parapalegic and he lifts her in and out with it.

I would think for anything less, something as capacious as a Ural would be good. You could get just the tub and put it on a lot of different bikes.
They're a lot easier to get in and out of than a stinky little Miata- I'll tell ya THAT.

Some time ago we had this topic, look into it, there might be a useful hint in for you two:
Subject : For those who are told they couldn't any more!
Posted : 9/22/2007 9:44 PM
Look in the upper part of the menu and use the "search" button for to get there.

Best Luck to you both and keep your wife in action and motivated.

A story of its own:
The wife of a friend offered once to her pretty old father to help him over to the other side of the Hades river after a very hard stroke. Immediately and finally (after one week of coma like status) he reacted squeaking her hand once and a gain. He came up back on his feet and she kept him active for the rest of his life, which became nearly 8 years, (where the docs had given up already). => All is a question of attitude,

(same as with our flower lady who had a bad stroke 2-3 years ago, after 3-4 month she came back to "her" street crossing unable to speek but selling her flowers again for to get her children's education paid / she is very well again even though there was another health related back stroke (tumour in the throat) / I draw my hat in front of her: What an example of mind force!)

I for my part have 27 (respectively 8) years got as a present from above in order for to get something done.

Best of all wishes.

Sven Peter

Robin, if you still like scooters, the Suzuki Burgman 650 is an excellent choice for a sidecar rig. I've also seen sidecars on Honda Silver Wing scooters, but have heard (don't know first hand) that the frame on the Silver Wing needs additional beefing up. My Burgman does 65 down the highway with a 180 pound passenger and power left to get it up to 75 (It had a little power left at 75, but that was my limit when seeing what it would do and only once). I have a Kenna sidecar, but it might be difficult for your wife to get in/out of. Maybe something like a Velorex which the top front tilts up to get in and out.....

Attached are pics of a wheelchair accessible rig we recently finished. When we delivered it my wife JoAnne rode in it while sitting in a lawn chair 🙂
Note that the height of the body is what it is to accomodate the person in the wheel chair being in it. Without the wheelchair the body could be made much lower than pictured.
The flip front feature is to allow access to the right side saddlebag and also to get at the sidecar tire easily.
Any ideas related to a custom body can be discussed to allow easy entry and exit.

Hi Robin,
If you are interested in a sidecar rig that is ready to ride and handicap accessible, check out the 2003 Yamaha Royal star on the Hack'd website, www.hackd.com
It is a beautiful rig and has the flip front nose and an electric lift seat in it. The gentlemans wife had a stroke also, and rode in the sidecar.
I would have loved to have it, but it was a little out of my price range. The 1989 Goldwing with the Motorvation Formula II is now our ride.
My Mom has had two slight strokes. After them she mostly just stayed in the bed. My husbands health was bad and I was his caregiver, so I could not do as much as I used to with Mom.
He passed in Jan of 2005 and Dad passed in Mar. I have had Mom with me ever since careing for her. Things happen for a reason and I know I am doing what I need to do now. Mom's quality of life is much better. She goes to adult daycare while I work and loves being around people, watching the grandkids play ball and race motorcycles.
I quit riding to ease my husbands mind before he passed, now I am riding again with my Mom as my passenger. She loves the sidecar and going places.
If you can afford this rig I think it would work for you.
Hang in there and don't give up. Enjoy every minute with your wife, I love to make Mom happy and share life with her.
The gentleman I bought the sidecar rig from had a stroke at 85, that is why he quit traveling in the Goldwing. He is still riding, he has a beautiful scooter with a mini California sidecar. I hope we have good memories of our travels and as much fun as he did. I hope this might help you in your quest to ride again. I know I am loving it, I really missed riding. Take care, Linda (sidecar memaw) & Myrtle (sidecar granny)

Sorry, but I hadn't been to my photobucket account in many months, so I didn't have ready access to the pics of the Ural that had been modified for handicap access. I just found them and hope it may be of some help in allowing you to see at least one other idea for access. I tried to speak to the fellow about how he modified the Ural, but I have never been able to do so. I heard that his wife has since passed away, but he still rides I have been told. I don't know his name or email, but these photos have been at the IMZ site in the past. The photos are not in any particular order. There are probably some more photos as well, but these were all I could locate.

I have a Troyka just like this one, so I was interested in what all it took to modify the hack in the same manner and still keep it safe. I also wanted it done to where it looked like a factory option and not an amature body job.

Hope it helps give some ideas.
Huey

Originally written by Pat Huey on 6/22/2008 4:05 PM

Sorry, but I hadn't been to my photobucket account in many months, so I didn't have ready access to the pics of the Ural that had been modified for handicap access. I just found them and hope it may be of some help in allowing you to see at least one other idea for access. I tried to speak to the fellow about how he modified the Ural, but I have never been able to do so. I heard that his wife has since passed away, but he still rides I have been told. I don't know his name or email, but these photos have been at the IMZ site in the past. The photos are not in any particular order. There are probably some more photos as well, but these were all I could locate.

I have a Troyka just like this one, so I was interested in what all it took to modify the hack in the same manner and still keep it safe. I also wanted it done to where it looked like a factory option and not an amature body job.

Hope it helps give some ideas.
Huey

That looks like a great way to simplify access. I'd like to see more details. Maybe the owner or someone who knows him is out here.
Thanks for posting them.

I guess someone at the IMZ website knows him, but I don't. I had a few questions about it that I'd like answers to as well. I couldn't see up close enough in the photos to determine how it all worked or pieced together. I sort of wondered if the nose kept getting scratched up when he lay it on the asphault all the time. I also wondered exactly how much weight was on that nose section. I've had two shoulder surgeries, so anything heavy is sometimes tricky for me to handle. Holding the nose and alighning it with a pin or such would probably be a chore for my right arm to handle. I'd like to see how secure the nose is when it is on the rig and buttoned up. I sure would like to actually see the rig or find out how it was all done. I suppose one could even make a fiberglass nose section to reduce weight.

Some of it I can figure out. If you look at the first and third photos you can see that when he cut the nose off he put a peg in the pipe that goes around the top edge. There's also something across the bottom edge(picture 5), in front of the sidecar frame, but I can't make out just what it is. Likewise, there's a "T" on the floor in picture 5 and on the ground in picture 6? I'm guessing the front bumper extends under the nose to that tube on the frame. Maybe it's actually a set of short pipes, some on nose and some on body, that line up with a full width pin that allows it to pivot down and is then removed to pull off the front. Kind of like this, . On each side of the body I can see a latch that would pull it tight. The two pipes of the front bumper would be effective in protecting the bodywork when it was set on the ground.

Can't figure out that T though. Anybody else have an idea?

The T shaped item is a lock to hold the sliding seat in the rearward position. In picture 6, the seat is moved to the forward position. In picture 5, the lock (seat keeper) is being released and or removed from the car. The front bumper is a handle for the right hand to use to get a grip on the moving section of the body. The left hand grips the hand rail. The item across the lower edge looks to be a foam pad to protect legs and clothes from a sharp edge. This is what I see but I have been wrong at least twice in my life.

I guess that it would be overly simplistic to have a hinge set up on the outboard side and clamps on the inboard side. That way, the pilot could come around and unhook the inboard clamps and swing the nose outward so that the passenger could exit out front. Lot of weight on a hinge, so maybe that would be just too simplistic and idea. However, it sure looks involved in him having to do all the work just to get this nose unhooked and then put back into place. It would likely be no fun at all in doing so in the rain or such.