Fly,
Were there different Hitchhiker models? Down at the Hack'd Reunion the two machines up near the top of the driveway were Hitchhikers. Sorry I do not remember names ...but...anyhow,the sidecar frames were different on each of them. Also the one was on a Goldwing and I think he said it was his wife's ride(man, I wish I could remember his name..rats!!)..anyhow..I questioned him on the stability of it and he said to get on the left footpeg and check it out..Gotta say that thing was stable. I could barely lift the sidecar wheel. Don't know if it was full of ballast or not though.
Claude
There was a wider two passenger model. Mine was the single seat version.
I need to also say that the HitchHiker was my first non-Harley Davidson sidecar. I was accustomed to things much heavier and more stable, and my current Valkyrie/Dnepr is also much heavier that the HitchHiker.
Just the same, when passing a car, I would have to concentrate on keeping the wheel down as I moved back to the right. That's why I sold it and went back to a heavier car. I do remember,though, that I really liked the air shock on the sidecar. The Minnesota roads I drove to work were really high crowned and it was quite easy to adjust the pull to the right or left by simply altering the pressure with a bicycle hand pump.
sidecar mike ...that air shock is a wonderful thing. better ride than the 93 with torsion bar. winter project is to switch rigs. 90 air to xs11, 93 torsion to gs 850. of course if was easy everybody would do it. have other updates to do to the 11. some body said" it is not the destination, but the journey"
fly..who is also proud to be a skunk #ooowon
claude...that was gary and courtney from mich. i meet them at bean blossom . at hack'd he told me they had just picked up another gw/hitchhiker rig. we had them parked next to each other to compare. i was explaining the mods paul made to the 90 because of my wife's ailments. hitchhiker mde a single seater , a doublewide and a classic style. paul was a very concerned sidecarist. too bad circumstances were what they were.
fly
The Hitchhiker.gif instructions at SCT were put there by me. I took Mike's big file and was able to create something more manageable. I had a hitchhiker for a short time. It was mounted to a GL1000. Never drove it though. The bike wasn't ready for the road. I kept the bike and sold the car.
KEvin
Kevin,
Thanks for posting the Hitchiker mounting instructions at SCT. They are quite interesting and I like the look of them. Too bad these sidecars are no longer made. Anyone have any idea what ever happened to the fiberglass molds??
Thanks again Kevin,
a guy in kentucky bought them and never did anything with them. i believe he pasted away and this son has them now. iam checking on that now.
fly
Originally written by claude #3563 on 11/4/2004 8:22 AM
Anyone have any idea what ever happened to the fiberglass molds??
I bought them last year. They are hiding in my garage. Can't you see them in there?
Kevin
Well now I am just thoroughly confused. IS the dratted thing too light for the Harley or is it not???
I am picking up a "new to me" '96 BMW R1100RT tomorrow to become my primary ride, but it would still be fun to have the sidecar if it would be safe to mount it on the old hog.
Dee
thomas edison said "if you think you can do something or you think you can't do something you are probably right". i have seen many harleys with hitchhikers. my opinion and $3 will get you a beer almost any place you go. good luck which ever way you decide.
fly
Since there is more than one model of Hitchhiker there are some that may be suited for the larger bikes and some not.
If the chassis and suspension will support the Harley (sideloads) and it can be ballasted to approach near 1/3 of the Harleys combined weight, there shouldn't be a problem with normal usage.
An example is the thousands of older Velorexes, American Eagles and Eagle Spirits that have been mounted on GLs and Hogs. And still are. Maybe not an ideal mix, but certainly a common one.
wickedfun...we can't keep meeting like this. but since we are i have been thinking about this for the past couple hours. you already have the bike and the sidecar. you want a sidecar rig. might as well put them together. what was the hitchhiker on before?
fly
I agree with Da Fly. Go for it. Add som eballast ..beef up the shock as/if needed and have fun. Take it easy, read Hal's books and practice in a place where you ain't gunna hit nothing.
But..Lonnie., a Spirit Eagle on Gl or a Big Twin Harley? Nope, can't stretch my feelings that far and feel good about it. Put one on a Honda 750A A WHILE BACK AND YOU COULD NOT EVEN GET ON THE BIKE AND KEEP THE WHEEL DOWN. It took ballast, suspension and a lot of messin with to get to work and I never did feel right about the spoked wheel with little tire ..still don't.
Now that you mention it, we HAVE been spending quite a lot of time in one another's thoughts...good thing we can prove it was not premeditated huh?
As it happens, hubby took you guys at your words on Wednesday. He decided that if you all thought the bike was too heavy, and since it was his lovely wife (that'd be me) and his only daughter riding the rig, he did not want to risk an unsafe combo.
He went to "Bike Night" with a few pals, put the word on the street, and voila he just told me he had sold the side car. ??!!??
Sooo...ummm...can I just hang out here and flirt with you now fly?
Also, I don't know what the side car HAD been mounted on, the buddy I bought it from had planned to put it on a Honda of some sort (I can NOT remember what he was riding back then, but it never made it onto the bike. He sold that bike in favor of a Pacific Coast, and the side car was no longer considered a good match for the new bike. (That is where it came into our life).
Ah well...off to dinner, early to bed, then up the road to pick up MY new bike in the morning.
Dee
toobad about the sidecar. you might as well hang out. once you have been bitten by the sidecar bug you are bitten. keep looking you will find a nice rig. in the mean time study up on them.
fly
