Sorry for the questions, as I am sure that they have been answered before. I haven't had a chance to search through all of the archives yet. Here goes:
I just purchased a 1997 HD Ultra sidecar to put on my 2003 Ultra Classic. I am getting mixed messages from what I have read. Will the mounts from the sidecar fit my bike, or will the installation shop have to secure new mounts from HD to make this fit my bike? If new mounts are required, any idea how much $$ and what kind of delay I can expect?
From what I can tell, the HD design was changed in 1998 to a disc brake instead of a drum, and the electronics were changed. Is this accurate? If so, will the wiring harness on my bike have to be modified to accomodate the sidecar wiring as well?
Most importantly, does anyone know if there are aftermarket companies out there that can provide me with a chrome wheel for this sidecar, and a matching front wheel for the bike. I suspect that the axle size may be different, but is there anything special about the sidecar wheel that would prevent me from replacing it with a custom unit so I can match this with one on the bike. The chrome rear wheel on my bike is not very visible due to the saddlebags, so I don't need to match all three wheels, but I would like to match the front and the sidecar wheels if possible.
Thanks for the help.
Originally written by the Edge on 6/27/2007 11:46 AM
Sorry for the questions, as I am sure that they have been answered before. I haven't had a chance to search through all of the archives yet. Here goes:
I just purchased a 1997 HD Ultra sidecar to put on my 2003 Ultra Classic. I am getting mixed messages from what I have read. Will the mounts from the sidecar fit my bike, or will the installation shop have to secure new mounts from HD to make this fit my bike? If new mounts are required, any idea how much $$ and what kind of delay I can expect?
From what I can tell, the HD design was changed in 1998 to a disc brake instead of a drum, and the electronics were changed. Is this accurate? If so, will the wiring harness on my bike have to be modified to accomodate the sidecar wiring as well?
Most importantly, does anyone know if there are aftermarket companies out there that can provide me with a chrome wheel for this sidecar, and a matching front wheel for the bike. I suspect that the axle size may be different, but is there anything special about the sidecar wheel that would prevent me from replacing it with a custom unit so I can match this with one on the bike. The chrome rear wheel on my bike is not very visible due to the saddlebags, so I don't need to match all three wheels, but I would like to match the front and the sidecar wheels if possible.
Thanks for the help.
Hello, I presume that you received the three major mounts with the sidecar. The upper front mount and front lower mount should work as is. I'm not exactly sure about the rear mount as I'm not certain exactly when they went from the three-bolt rear mount to a two bolt. My 2004 bike has the two bolt. At the worst, you might have to buy the rear mount if you have the wrong one. You could sell the old one on eBay as sidecar items sell very well there.
There are some other things that you should know....it's possible that you may have to change out the rear brake master cylinder to a remote. It's the same parts as the 1990's FXR brakes. The part numbers are listed in the regular FL parts book. The reservoir on the brake master cylinder won't clear the front mount otherwise. The remote reservoir goes in the middle of the front down tubes just below the front upper mount. Also if you have the newer "laydown" brake lever as I suppose you do, you will have to change to the earlier pre-2003 brake lever. The stock one lays down too far and will also hit the front lower frame section.
Additionally, it's probably necessary to re-locate the oil pressure-sending unit. It only takes a 90-degree elbow with a short brass nipple so that it points down away from the mounts. There is also a tee needed to attach the sidecar brake cable. That's a standard 1-8" female pipe tee with a 3-16 brake tubing female connector in the middle. It goes on the front of the brake line connector under the transmission.
I have the 2006 parts book that shows which sidecars interchange with which year bikes. The 1997 sidecar to a 2003 bike will work mechanically but the sound system is another issue.
In my case, I have a 2004 bike and a new TLE (Non-Ultra) sidecar. I specifically ordered the TLE because I didn't want any of the Ultra radio stuff. I ride alone with the sidecar a great deal and my spouse, when we ride together, is satisfied to hook into the regular sound system as provided on the Ultra. We just moved the cable connector over to the right saddlebag rail so she can plug her headset into it. She then can talk on the intercom and also listen to anything I'm listening to. Her volume and PTT is on the right side at the Tour-Pack upholstery.
The only big problem that you will have is interfacing the 1997 sidecar cables to the 2003 bike. There are two separate cable systems for the Ultra sidecar. One is for the sound system and the other is the standard sidecar taillight-brake light-turn signal and fender tip light. The other is for the hookup of the sound system to the Ultra bike from the Ultra sidecar.
There is a note in my boo
Thanks for all the great information. Hopefully, the technician that will be installing the sidecar knows most of this already, and I will certainly pass on your specialty instructions for his benefit.
The guys at my local HD dealership wanted $1,750 to hook up the rig (25 hours of shop time at $70 per hour). Another dealer outside of town quoted 10 hours of work. I finally settled on an in-town custom shop that specializes in trike conversions, and also does a fair amount of aftermarket sidecar installations. He quoted 8 hours install labor, and already has a paint man available to match the sidecar to the bike.
My last experience with sidecars was a Champion Legend model that I had on a 1997 Vulcan Classic. That was a great ride, and I never should have gotten rid of it. Now that I have the Ultra Classic, I really want to stick with a complete HD package but didn't feel like dropping $9-10K on a sidecar, which is why I bought the used one. It may be a little more challengine to get all the electronics to function properly, but at least the mechanicals should be straight-forward. Thanks for all the information.
the Edge
Originally written by the Edge on 6/28/2007 6:21 AM
Thanks for all the great information. Hopefully, the technician that will be installing the sidecar knows most of this already, and I will certainly pass on your specialty instructions for his benefit.
The guys at my local HD dealership wanted $1,750 to hook up the rig (25 hours of shop time at $70 per hour). Another dealer outside of town quoted 10 hours of work. I finally settled on an in-town custom shop that specializes in trike conversions, and also does a fair amount of aftermarket sidecar installations. He quoted 8 hours install labor, and already has a paint man available to match the sidecar to the bike.
My last experience with sidecars was a Champion Legend model that I had on a 1997 Vulcan Classic. That was a great ride, and I never should have gotten rid of it. Now that I have the Ultra Classic, I really want to stick with a complete HD package but didn't feel like dropping $9-10K on a sidecar, which is why I bought the used one. It may be a little more challenging to get all the electronics to function properly, but at least the mechanicals should be straight-forward. Thanks for all the information.
the Edge
Good. It sounds like you have it under control. 8 hours to install one is really good time. I spent a month doing it but I'm not doing it for a living. By the way, my local Harley Dealer charges $90 per hour for labor so anything less is a blessing.
As to cost, yes, the Ultra is more pricey than the TLE that I have. I paid $7,150 in the crate with shipping, tax and documentation fees and picked it up at the dealer with a pickup truck. The Ultra would have been $2,000 more at least plus extra for one color or more yet for a two-tone.
Mine was paint-matched to my VIN number at no extra cost since black is the basic color (Like Henry Ford, Ha.) I even got the double silver stripes that match the bike. I found an Ultra-style right side lower fairing on eBay and marched it to the rest of the paint myself. I had my daughter, who has a steady hand, do the stripes with a striping tool that I have.
The difference in the Ultra has partly to do with it having a larger, nore comfortable seat. Also there is a hand hold behind the windshileld on either side. The big difference, however, is the radio amplifier that sits in a pod between the passenger's legs and of course the cables. I've owned two other Harley rigs before (Shovelhead and Evolution) and I really don't need or want the radio in the sidecar.
As far as the brake, having ridden thousands of miles on one, I think the drum is every bit as effective as the disc brake that the later ones have.
Good luck on your project. Let us know how it goes. I sure like my rig! I ride it every day when weather permits.
Sounds like you have already traveled the road that I am about to go. Once the sidecar is hooked up and the functional part of the project is done, the cosmetics will begin. With my bike being the all-black Anniversary edition, the sidecar will be painted black, including the fiberglass lower fairing that comes with the Ultra sidecar. The real challenge is having an Anniversary stripe produced by a local striping expert that closely resembles the original HD thick stripe on the Ultra Classic tank. Once the silver stripe is done, this will be applied around the perimeter of the tub, and highlighted with thin gold striping to produce a decent counterfeit of the original Anniversary stripe. I still have to find a tank badge on ebay to complete the look. Once it's done, it won't look like any other Anniversary sidecar, but I am hoping that my design looks even better than the factory model. This would be a lot easier if Harley would sell the Anniversary striping decals but that specific design is copyrighted, and the stripes are unavailable to the public.
Here's a question for the experts out there. Did HD produce any all-black 2003 Anniversary Edition Ultra TLE sidecars? I have seen several of the black 2003 TLE sidecars, and a handful of the two-tone silver/black Ultra sidecars, but not one Ultra in black. Ever seen one?
Here's a question for the experts out there. Did HD produce any all-black 2003 Anniversary Edition Ultra TLE sidecars? I have seen several of the black 2003 TLE sidecars, and a handful of the two-tone silver/black Ultra sidecars, but not one Ultra in black. Ever seen one?.
They did make at least one because it is featured in the 2003 sales brochure. Also, according to the factory they only made 5 TLE black anniversary sidecars.
Originally written by Rotten Ralph on 6/28/2007 3:31 PM
Here's a question for the experts out there. Did HD produce any all-black 2003 Anniversary Edition Ultra TLE sidecars? I have seen several of the black 2003 TLE sidecars, and a handful of the two-tone silver/black Ultra sidecars, but not one Ultra in black. Ever seen one?
They did make at least one because it is featured in the 2003 sales brochure.
Certainly they did. Although I haven't personally seen one, I'm certain that they did, partly because of the brochure but also the fact that the other products for 2003 were featured as Anniversary products. Good luck finding one if that's what you're after. Ha.
While I'm not an expert, I did save a bundle on Geico and I have slept in the Holiday Inn Express recently.
