While I know this is a problem most of you will not encounter, I know there are some very inventive members of the forum and would love to hear some of your thoughts.
I live in the UK a country which for reasons best known to itself drives on the opposite side of the road to almost every other country in the world.
Now I would like to take a sidecar touring Europe and I had a notion to have a rig that I could switch from the right to left hand side of the bike -
Am I mad ?? - feel free to comment !
There are several sidecar chassis that can be inverted easily to either side. Most any without an integral fender could also have it shifted to the other side.
Adjustable mounts not requiring a sub-frame are also easily shifted to the other side.
These conversions would not necessarily be changed over in minutes as some engineering or planning would have to take place beforehand.
Choosing a tug with a frame that would be easily accessible from either side. Choosing a sidecar that had a flippable chassis. Maybe adding a bolt on shock mount tower for the swing-arm that could be bolted on from either side. Little things like that would make a sidecar a leftie or a rightie without undo modifications if the right components are chosen.
When shifted however the rig would need realigning each time as leanout and toe-in will not remain the same due to the road camber and different attitudes of the rig incurred between driving on the left or the right side of the road.
Go for it and post lots of pix of your endeavors.
We're all a little nuts here.
Lonnie
Fantastic -- I think. !! Now that you hold out the possibility it is possible I will have to buckle down and do the research to turn a mad thought into reality.
Many thanks
I wonder if it would actually be that hard. Just as an example, my Moto Guzzi frame is pretty much the same from left to right. As such I think you could attach the same mounts to the left side that I have on the right. Buy two sets, and permanently mount them.
Now imagine a perfectly flat sidecar frame with an axle that bolts on, and a frame/support for the shock and fender that could also be unbolted. You could simply unbolt the body and components, flip the frame over, attach it to those mounts you already have in place, and reattach the components.
It could work. 😉 Here's a link to a Kenna frame.
http://dauntlessmotors.com/Sidecars/sidecar%20frames.htm
You would have to do some serious thinking, like how to put the wheel on the other side of the shock tower, but I'm sure it's possible.
Yep, No question....Yer Mad.. Gone off the deep end... off to visit the wizard...etc...
I once had a "wrong sided sidecar".....and thought I would just flip the frame and remount the fender..... First I tried riding it on the wrong side....Really scarry for the passanger...and a bit thrilling for me.... then I pulled everything apart....... first the torsion bar just would not work backwards...no way...and the threads on the spindle were going the wrong direction so the spinner nut would not tighten as you rode, but would have spun off..... then the fender had major attaching problems backwards...as did the car with it's passanger cut-out (low side) was now on the wrong side....diden't work well at all.....and I ended up building an entire new frame and replacing the spindle and wheel suspension... it was a nighmare... I finally got it all together...but it would have been much easier and cheeper to buy a second sidecar in the first place.... and while yer at it....you will also need a "wrong sided" sub-frame for the bike....
Besides... Shipping a rig overseas today is probably prohibitive.... I have thought about buying a rig in Europe... riding all summer..and selling it when I was through....I rented a bike in New Zealand but that was just a solo...they did not have any rigs...
Joel
But iit does bring up an interesting question......(not that yer mad...that we have already established).... but folks in Europe do like to tour.... and most, like us...ride on the correct side of the road...but when you tour England with a "proper rig" will they let you ride it on their "backwards" roads ? Heven's knows they have rules about everything else... Anyone know ??
Joel
Perhaps....Mad Peter....(Arthurdillo) knows ?? Diden't you say you live in the UK ? Maybe we should just set up a rig tradeing scheme...
Joel
might be interesting, having different handling characteristics to remember every time you switch sides with the chair,can you legally drive with the chair on the right in the uk? good luck.
There is some confusion about the registration of bikes with the sidecar on the right side for use on the UK roads. The interest has become much greater since the Motorcycle Action Group stated in their publication that there were moves to overturn this law.
Any bike registered before 1981 can have the sidecar on either side and be legally classed as a motorcycle and sidecar.
Any bike registered after 1981 must have the sidecar on the left of the bike.
There are moves to over turn the 1981 ruling, and if this happens then I guess from the date it is overturned any bike will be able to have the sidecar on either side. Assuming the law is over turned, the situation regarding bikes registered after 1981 but before the date this law is over turned is still unclear.
Some people have registered them pretending they are trikes though this is not legal. :o:-(
So basicaly you can use one here if you were coming in form Europe for 12 months before having to register it in the UK
Just posted a reply to the legality of in the UK. I thought the rig swap scheme was a great idea I wonder wether one could sign up enough people ??
check out this old thread on advrider:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=304433&highlight=Left
A Brit posed the same question, looking for a round the world rig that would be left mount and legal in the Empire and easily swapped to be right mount and legal in the rest of the world.
I came up with this:
What I had envisioned was a simple box shaped chassis with the front and rear rails extending out a little on each side to accept off the shelf slip joints and heims for the bottom mounts. You could slide these mounts into the chassis rails on either right or left side and secure them with pinch bolts as the Ural frame and many others do.
Tabs for the topstruts would be welded on both right and left chassis rails, positioned so no adjustment changes should be needed.
I'd use a half torsion axle assembly bolted to a plate welded on the chassis. The plate would be positioned a little further forward on the left of the chassis than on the right so that the wheel would touch the ground in the same place on both sides of the chassis even though the swingarm is reversed when the torsion axle assembly is moved from the left to the right side. Thus no change in sidecar wheel lead when swapping sides.
Fender mounts would be fabricated for both sides and a symetrical trailer fender would be used so it could be easily moved to either side.
I'd use a cargo box or top box from an auto jobber. Re enforce the bottom with plywood and mount to the chassis with rubber bolt up mounts.
The sidecar body would stay in place. The mounts wheel and fender would be swapped left or right as required. For shipping the fender, wheel and axle can be removed and placed in the box or elsewhere in the shipping crate.
You should be able to get by with about half the fasteners. I would weld or thread the nuts in place to make it easier for one person to do the swap. Since the cargo box/body can remain in place, you wouldn't need to unpack it each time to assembled or disassembled the sidecar.
If the mounts are marked at proper alignment, you should be able to swap sides without fussing with set up much if at all.
🙂 thanks for that and the link - great food for thought 🙂
Once your custom changeable rig is built, the labor involved at each border crossing to and from the UK areas where they drive on the left side of the road would be rather extensive.
At the very least, it would be 4 to 5 hours of work to make this change. That would include unbolting the sidecar, removing the body, moving to the other side, reversing the mounts, hooking up the mechanical and electrical connections, testing alignment and so forth.
I guess it depends upon your basic energy level. It sure sounds like a whole lot of work to me for very little benefit. At the very least it would require a large expenditure of money for custom work.
A very good example is the amount of work it took to make the home-built sidecar frame and mounts that were done by Wes on his project. It would require some yery intense and demanding work. If you could perform all of the welding and cutting yourself, it might not be all that expensive. If you had to pay someone to do it, the cost might well be very high.
JMO.
Once your custom changeable rig is built, the labor involved at each border crossing to and from the UK areas where they drive on the left side of the road would be rather extensive.
At the very least, it would be 4 to 5 hours of work to make this change. That would include unbolting the sidecar, removing the body, moving to the other side, reversing the mounts, hooking up the mechanical and electrical connections, testing alignment and so forth.
I guess it depends upon your basic energy level. It sure sounds like a whole lot of work to me for very little benefit. At the very least it would require a large expenditure of money for custom work.
A very good example is the amount of work it took to make the home-built sidecar frame and mounts that were done by Wes on his project. It would require some very intense and demanding work. If you could perform all of the welding and cutting yourself, it might not be all that expensive. If you had to pay someone to do it, the cost might well be very high.
JMO.
The work would not be so bad, I could set it up at home in the UK and have say 1-3 hours drive to a port depending on departure point. It would be then set up for use in Europe, when I return to base it could be swaped back for regular UK use.
