Hello,
I am strongly contemplating joining the sidecar ranks and this seems like a fantastic group from which to learn ! I've been riding motorcycles for about 30 years now, but this would be my first sidecar rig. I've a certain fondness for BMW airheads, but presently only have one R65 in the garage. I am hoping to locate either an R80 or R100 to use as the tug, as the R65 is likely a bit underpowered and short legged for being able to handle 65-70 mph with a car on the interstates that I need to traverse for at least part of my commute. I am contemplating either a Velorex sidecar, or possibly an Ural to team up with this, and am very interested in learning your recommendations/opinions regarding these choices. I plan to use this rig for around town errands, commuting with my electronics gear, backroads touring with my wife in the car, and some touring that doesn't involve long extended periods at transwarp-speeds on the super highways.
Many thanks in advance for any help/advice you can offer !
IMHO I would suggest a 1100cc, you can cruise at 70 with one, you say you won't be cruising at warp speed, well nothing like having it there when you need it plus it allows you to cruise at lower speeds with out having to work the tranny to keep it going, if you can have your wife set in the sidecars to see which one she likes the best, most likely it will be the Ural because of the seating position and ease of exit, but then again maybe not, one thing you should put in your budget is getting the triple tree modified to move the front wheel out 5 or so degrees, makes all the difference in the world handling wise, you have to try it with out the mod to really realize what you have when it's done, it's amazing what the difference is.
You can never have too much power with a sidecar attached. Either of the bikes you mentioned will wortk for you but I woudl lean thoward the R100.
Sidecar wise either will work okay especially if you are speaking of a newer Velorex. The new flip front model woudl allow easy access for the paseenger. Of course the Ural sidecar would make for a very nice rig too.
Either way it is best to use a subframe when mounting th esidecar. The BMW bike frames have been known to be less that the strongest frames on th planet for sidecar use (fROM '70 ON ANYHOW).
Steering? Try the stock front end first and then you can make a call , after you get some seat time, on whether you want to go with a leading link or some other modification to ease the steering effort.
Some folks wil tolerate the hard steering produced by the stock trail just fine and some cannot.
Note that we have been running a R100R for a couple of years now and it is doing fine. Stock front end, modified bars and one of our own sidecars on it. It will run the intertstates if called upon to do so with little tp no complaints. It is really happiest on the back roads but that is because i like them better also.
The nice thing about this sport is that one can get into it with minimal modifications to the bike and then modifiy things to where ever they wish to go from there.
This site and SCT are quite active with many members on both of them.
Welcome aboard and post away.
Warning: Sidecars are very addictive.
Note: This is not a bad thing.
Hi and Thank You for your ideas and suggestions, they make alot of sense.
I am definitely going to use a subframe if at all possible, and have been looking at various suppliers. I definitely don't want to tweak the frame of the bike and would want the strongest, most stiff mounting platform available so there are no unintended flexible joints in the system! The newer "oilhead" R850R, R1100R, R1150R BMWs have more horsepower but don't have cradle frames and would most definitely need a subframe, but they don't have quite the same "soul" as the older design bikes that are also a bit simpler to work on. Ease of entry/exit of the car will also be a big factor to consider, for my wife and for my dog, too, I guess !
Another question I have concerns sidecar brakes - I suppose the heavier the sidecar is, and/or the further out it is mounted, the more important/useful it is to have brakes and properly adjusted ones, at that. If using a new Velorex, or slightly heavier Ural, do you use the sidecar brakes much ? How well does the sidecar rig track while under braking conditions ?
Hi Mike,
Here in WA State we have a state subsidized course; I took that prior to getting into a rig so's I could see if it was something I wanted to try. Worked out good, since there were several folks there with different set-ups and they were all willing to let you try it out (same thing at a Ural dealer - within reason).
Find some sidecars at rallies near you and ask the owners about their rig; maybe they'll let you sit onin to get a feel for it. Might find one for sale there already set-up, too.
Check out the links at the bottom of Claude's post - lots of good info there too.
Tony
'76 R90/6
'83 R100RT wUral sidecar
I've had several rigs with all models of Velorex and never have hooked up the brakes on any of them. I just got back from a 2,000 + mile run to Los Angeles (Griffith Park Sidecar Rally) with my '08 FXDL/563 Tour rig. No sidecar brake or damper and no problems incurred.
I've had several bikes with URAL hacks and separate mechanical brake but the only time they were used was for offroad turns.
I installed a linked disc brake on one of my 1200 Sporty/URAL rigs but was unimpressed with the finished setup.
The only outfit that I thought worked well with a linked disc brake was a Harley RoadKing with the factory TLE sidecar. But then Harley has over a hundred years of sidecar experience and engineering under their belt.
Personally I prefer no sidecar brake on my rigs and no steering damper.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Well, this has been enlightening; I just realized I've been a SC driver most of my life. Pretty impressive when you realize I'm only 2o-teen-something.
Never had a SC brake and never wished I did. Go figure...
For those who have (or had) a sidecar mounted on a BMW airhead - it seems that most sidecar rigs I've seen have been the older, pre-1984 models that have the twin shock swingarm frame design, rather than the post 1985 monolover/paralever swingarm design. Is it easier to find/mount a subframe to the older twinshock design, or is the monoshock frame design not good for sidecar use, or is it simply that the older bikes (on average, not counting the highly appreciating models like the R90S) are less expensive ?
I know that the /2 models of course were already setup for rig duty, with reinforced mounting bosses on the bike frame, but they are also very pricey (and underpowered) for my needs/first rig.
I ask because I *may* have found an early 80's R100RT suitable for tug-duty...
Thanks !
Mike
The earlier airheads are more affordable, plentiful, convert easily to LL's for those who want a dedicated rig, lots of aftermarket accessories are available, easy to subframe and lastly, are real workhorses.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Personally, I bought parts and put a 1000cc engine in a /2. It cost 4 or 5 times what it's worth I imagine, but I love it. Mine is pretty old, but there are a couple of companies that can do them cheaper (and maybe better) now.
A couple of companies make sub-frames for the newer bikes, but I get the impression from talking to a couple of people that sub-frames are kinda 'spensive Lucy. So- an older bike will get you there and cost a little less initially. I would think the more recent GS models would be too tall, but a lot of people seem to like them.
