Looking to add a sidecar to a HD 2005 Heritage Softtail. I have just started researching possibilities and was wondering if anyone out there has any recommendations on a good quality sidecar that may fit.
You might look at the Hannigan Classic. It looks good on a cruiser
style bike. Check www.hanniganmotorsports.com . I believe that they
have pictures of such a rig on their website. I have one on my
V-Star 1100 Classic and it has made a great rig. If you want pictures,
let me know.
Wecome to the site wvusquirrel.
To answer your question....well I can't. Lets just say that you can spend a little or alot. The real questions are 1 or 2 seater, hows your motor(are you ready to give up some prefomance or possibly up grade your motor)and are you going to make it a dedicated rig or are you going to want to remove the side sometimes(very important if you would change the trees out for better steering) I have a almost stock 06 Ultra with a ultra side. I'm currently changing the trip trees to gain better steering(check out libertysidecar.com of info about trees and there Sidecars...thay are NICE). Also check the vendor lists on here. All i can really say is you found the right site to get started. There are a lot of great people like Joyce, Lonnie, Mike just to name a very few, that are a pleathra(big word for the day)of info. Anyways welcome, hope you get it figured out. Best Wishes. Ed.
If I had a Softail, I would take a look at the Liberty sidecar. They are beautifully made, engineered for a softail and no welding on the frame is required. (Liberty does require some welding for an FL but not on the Softail.)
Harley doesn't make any mounts for their TLE sidecars to fit a Softail. They also discourage installation of sidecars on the Softail. My understanding is that the Liberty does work well on the Softail, however.
There are other units on the market that I'm not familiar with. A little research on your part will find a lot of information.
Good luck.
We have many different sidecars that would be good and safe on your bike. Any on our web site other then the Velorex or Sputnik would be fine. The Sputnik with an up graded wheel would be fine. We would not recomend the Velorex. We make bike specific mounts for your bike and can provide you with reverse gears, steering modifications and automotive tires that will fit the stock rims.
Jay Giese
Dauntless Motors Corporation
www.dauntlessmotors.com
www.mysidecar.com
866-638-1793
I don't want to hijack the thread, but why is a Sputnik with upgraded wheel OK and not the Velorex? Is the Sputnik a better match based on weight? Is the Sputnik roomier than the Velorex or just heavier?
What wheel upgrade is needed? Does it have a common axle size so a wheel swap is indicated or are you talking better spokes, rim and bearings on the stock wheel hub?
They look so similar in pictures.
Originally written by wvusquirrel on 2/21/2008 10:37 PM
Looking to add a sidecar to a HD 2005 Heritage Softtail. I have just started researching possibilities and was wondering if anyone out there has any recommendations on a good quality sidecar that may fit.
Lots of options depending on budget etc.
Google 'Liberty sidecars' for a really nice Harley match as mentioned earlier. They are top quality with suspension, tilt etc but stil retain the harley sidecar look.
The Motorvation Spyder is a popular Cruiser match.Gret folks to deal with.
Merle Wolfe (L& W Body Shop) makes some reproduction Harley tubs out of metal.He also offers one with a door which is nice for the passenger. We can do a custom frame to support this body with suspension , tilt etc to create a nice rig.
SEE: http://www.l-wbody.com/home.htm
The Ural type bodies (Ural, Chang etc) also look good on a Harley if done right. We have lowered a few of these and also Sputniks ,as Jay at Dauntless mentioned, and it can be a decent deal with possibly less expense overall.We have also mounted these on our own frames with very good results.
The Champion Legend if avaiable is also a nice looker.
Hannigan as mentioned is a great one even though 'the look' is different.
There are others as well.
The Sputnik wheel is a bit weak. The frame on the Sputnik is much stronger then the Velorex. It is also a heavier sidecar. The Velorex frame will flex with a heavy bike and the suspention on the Velorex is way to soft for it to ever handle nice.
Jay
All of the Velorex Tour models have a cross reinforced frame amd have a redesigned swing-arm with adjustable shock, wide wheel with 130/90x16" tire and the 20mm axles. The Cruiser models have the same suspension but without the crossbraced frame and use a 3.50x16" sidecar tire.
They will support a much larger bike than the old (and discontinued) models Jawa 560, 562E, 562S and 700S sidecars with the short swing-arm, non adjustable shock and 15mm axles.
Though well detailed and finished, they are still a lighter weight fiberglass bodied sidecar and may need ballast for some of the applications.
I would not recommend them for use with the large full bodied touring bikes.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
