Hey

Welcome to the slightly off-center world of sidecars, Red! Yes, Jay is top notch, no doubt, as are the vast majority of vendors/ posters here. As for which tug to use, there are a lot of good arguments for either. It's 50% riding style, 50% engineering, but mostly, it's 100% personal preference!

If you plan to go off road a lot, you might want to do a rethink. But for around town, eating highway miles or for hauling significant others, kids, grand kids, faithfull pooch, groceries, bags of tools, etc, your headed in the right direction.

If you have mounts for Goldwing why not to install it on Wing?

Thank You for the advice Old School! This is my thought, am I Ready to attach a sidecar to my 08 Harley Ultra, and basically make it permanent. No more two wheels freedom, or am I ready for the Rocking Chair, as I see it.
This is where the thought of a second bike, a Goldwing came to mind. The attaching bars to a Goldwing are already on the sidecar and the thought of Reverse would be nice. Love my Harley, but wondering how much strain, or how hot the Harley will get with a loaded side car is also a concern I have. Any Input from Harley Riders would be appreciated. Then again, you cannot ride two bikes at the same time, let alone the price of insurance and plates on two bikes.
I am not as strong as I used to be, and we now raising two Grandchildren who love to ride with me. The thought of us as a family to go out riding, camping, what ever we wanted to do, is the main thought behind the sidecar in the first place. I usually make up my mind and do it, but for some reason, this is a big decision that has me in deep thought. Long details, but thanks for your reply Bruce, Later-

If you opt for a Wing and plan to use the mounts you have, make sure the Wing you get is the same year or at least the same frame style. The wing will be easier on your passenger's ear what with the exhaust under the bike, The pipes are also away from where curious fingers might wander. A Wing, being water cooled, will also tolerate stop 'n go traffic better if that's a concern.

Hopefully I will find out the year of the Goldwing that was mounted on the sidecar. Thank You for the replies Old School and VLAD, Much Appreciated! This is a tough decision on which bike to use. Truly enjoy the Harley, and that was my first choice, but the Honda might be a better fit. Guess I will take my time, and make my choice, hopefully soon, and let you know. Thanks again, Later-

Red,

Have you looked at the price of the mounts you will need to put the car on a Harley? Mounts for a Harley aren't more expensive than mounts for for any other bike but you already have an investment [probably bigger than you know] in GW mounts. Do the research on the model year and make the decision after you figure out the price difference. You might be really surprised, the cost avoidance could pay for a good chunk of a used GW.

Hey Al Olme, that is sorta what led me to this debate on the bikes. That and the fact of never owning a sidecar, and after installed, would I Really Like It. Already have $3500 invested in sidecar, and the price of the mounting for the Harley would around $1050. with the mounts, strut, double banjo, wire harness connection. Though, not a lot of money to some, a whole lot to me, but either way less than a trike. Though young at 55, my body is not, many accidents, and when riding two up with the wife, clothing in bags, our last trip I really, really struggled, and all most dropped the bike a few times. Then the other day backing up, I did drop it, now in shop, so all these factors have led to a sidecar, that and now adopting a couple Grandchildren. But, If I can find out what year of gold wing was on the bike, maybe, I can get a great deal somewhere. Sorry for the long letter, but thanks for all the replies. Later-

Red,

Folks come to sidecaring for a lot of different reasons. You have two of them, a couple of kids that you want to include and difficulty handling a solo bike. I started out with sidecars because I'm a contrarian and anything that's different appeals to me. Now, some twenty years later, I'm not sure that I'd do well on a solo bike [although I have a Honda 305 Dream that I think I'm going to try]. I'd strongly advise you to find someone near you who will let you see and perhaps ride their rig in a parking lot. If you publish your location and ask here, I'm sure you'll get some offers. Most folks are NOT willing to let solo riders drive their sidecar rigs because frankly most solo riders run into something on their first sidecar experience. That said, a parking lot test may be possible. Before you spend a lot more money, find out if you think that you'll like driving a rig.

About that brief mention of a trike... You can't carry two grandkids on a trike much less two grandkids and a spouse. You may also have trouble finding room to pack for two people for a long trip or haul a load of mulch home from the garden store. You can do all that and more with a sidecar. 🙂

Thank You Al Olme, I will try to find someone around here. Agree, a trike will be no help in my family situation. One thing is for sure, man do I like to ride, it has been in my blood since a kid. I have always felt I could learn to ride anything, but I think to me, a sidecar must be a "Damn I'm getting Old" thing. Ha, ha. But, having coffee weekly with several of my friends ranging from 45-70, we all agree, at some point if we are going to continue to ride, either go to a much smaller bike, or a trike or sidecar. So, when we adopted the Grandchildren, it was like an awakening to me, and started looking at sidecars for the first time, and man are the really neat.
I do have a question: What speeds can you go with a sidecar? Are they safe on the highway? Thanks again to everyone for their help, Later-

Sidecar rig are just like Motorcycles some are off road only and some will do 200 MPH. And everything in between.

Red Ryder - 7/18/2016 9:15 AM

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I do have a question: What speeds can you go with a sidecar? Are they safe on the highway? Thanks again to everyone for their help, Later-

I hate to start an answer with "That depends" but...

Most rigs are capable of highway speeds. I have one rig that tops out at 68 mph and another that will go 106 mph according to the GPS. "Safe" is something that I'd never claim but I can say that they are at least as safe as a motorcycle and probably more so. People see sidecar rigs because they are different and they are more likely to take notice and be amused by sidecars.

Speed is up to you and your abilities, the rig, surrounding traffic and other conditions. But on the other end of the spectrum, you won't have to put your foot down at the stop light any longer...

My rig ('99 BMW R1100RT/Hannigan) - which I bought from Al - has a great sweet spot at 65 to 70 mph. That is the speed I ride even if it annoys those who think they need to drive or ride 75 or above. I know it will go 85 downhill but I don't have to go that fast. We just did the round trip to and from the National Rally at Hotchkiss, CO and rode some 200 to 300+ days. But - What is the hurry. We enjoyed some great scenery.

Wow, Thank you all for the replies. I was expecting to see backroads only, or maybe on highway speeds of 60, this is a good surprise about speed. I am sure it will take awhile to get use to No Lean, and putting feet down, and just adapting to the steering like portion, but looking forward to getting the sidecar going. Later-