New Guy With Questions

I'll just piggy back on Roger's post, as I'm one of the "3" he mentioned. I don't have any questions right now but I'm sure I will in the future.

I'm not new to hack's, as my wife had Liberty build a rig for her '90 H-D FXRS a few years back. It's a great setup but not one I'd like to drive around in the winter with.

Like Roger, I've got a few bikes in mind to set up as dual-sport hacks, but I'm not sure which to go with. I could have my '96 R11GS converted, but then I'd lose my long distance ride. Decisions, decisions........

Thanks for the great forum, and I plan to hang around.

Dan
Woodland Park, CO

If you're looking for a dual sport, I would tend to eschew the Bandit. If you're that worried abut freeway speeds, without knowing what you'd be carrying, I'd recommend perhaps the 1000V-Strom.
I don't think using a GS would kill it for solo work. I could be wrong, but I'd guess you could keep the subframe on and just have a spare set of wheels with single track tires.
I also don't really see why a Harley wouldn't make an excellent winter bike. You'd have better weather protection possibilities.

Rather than address the motorcycle choices, I'll answer the warranty question. Before I bought my Valkyrie I posed the same question to the local dealers. In each case I wanted something in writing saying that the warranty would be honored. I asked each dealer for the name and phone number of a regional representitive and called them instead of relying on the dealer. I didn't want the local dealer to say yes, and another dealer somewhere else to say no after the fact. I planned on carrying the document with me when I traveled.
All who said they would honor it, said only as long as the frame was not altered or welded in the process.
Honda's area rep would give me the assurance I wanted, but only on a Goldwing or Valkyrie. Polaris said no problem on any model, as did Yamaha and Triumph. Suzuki and Kawasaki both told me the warranty would be voided.
Harley said only if it was a Harley sidecar and only if it was installed by an HD Dealer.

My information is four years old and things change. I would verify this before taking my word on it.

I'd go with the Bandit and modify the rear wheel to take a substantial car tire on that you could stud! Save some money buying a used bike and put what you save into the components. When is the trip?

if you want to get in cheap i have a rig all setup up for $3500 ready to roll

kz 1300 champion side car leading link front end windjammer faring gm alternator on the sidecar wheel electric lean on sidecar suspension trailer hitch dependable very good handling
no worries on the highway
it needs 2 tires not much else!
probably cost 750 - 800 to ship to you
stacy

I sure appreciate all the info!!! Glad to see you made it over here Dan.

The trip we are planning is a UCC (Ultimate Coast to Coast from Deadhorse, AK to Key West Fl) we have 30 days to complete it once we start. Right now I am thinking it will take place in late Feb or early March ’07. I want to be able to get a bike now and test it out in the cold the rest of this winter and on into next winter. Extreme cold does weird things to stuff. Most motorcycles are ridden in warm temps. I am sure we will encounter quite a few bugs/surprises.

I have been told that with an Ural top cruising speed is just a little over 60. Out west where the speed limit is 75, I figure going that slow is a good way to get mowed over. I am thinking with a KLR or 650 V Strom I can drop the sidecar when we get out of the snow. Which brings up another question…..Will I need to modify the bike any…..triple tree??? Gearing??? Or can I just put a sidecar on and keep the bike stock?

I am looking at new bikes as the trip will be somewhere between 11 to 14K round trip for me. I am not much of a motorcycle mechanic, but figure with a new bike chances of it breaking down would be less. Having lived and wandered around in Alaska for the past 28 years I have learned (sometimes the hard way) any equipment needs to be in top condition to run well in the cold. That’s pretty much why I am thinking new bike. I was hoping the warranty would kick in if I had any problems……looks like I may need to re think that…..eh??

Stacy, if the bike you are selling is fairly new I would consider it.

Does anyone know if any company makes a sidecar for a V Strom? I can’t seem to find any information about that.

Thanks in advance for your info.

You might also consider the Bandit with the new 562 Tour model from Velorex.
The other two bike choices lack a perimeter frame and will need extensive sub-framing. Many sub-frames don't allow good cornering clearance for solo use.
The larger CI displacement Bandit motor won't have to work as hard maintaining freeway speeds or pulling grades without shifting to lower gears, which vastly lowers gas mileage and puts undue wear on the clutches and gear train.
As far as warranty, check with the manufacturers rep. on the bike of choice.
FYI: Electra-Glides with a Harley car have been making that winter trip for several decades so far.

Lonnie

to start with if you a 3rd wheel on most any bike it will steer harder than the 2 wheel version as now you ar steering the bike rather than the gyroscopic effect of lean and turn yada yada yada directing the rig

the more trail a bike has the harder it will steer, while some stock bikes are okay with stock steering most will require some sort of fron end mod

once that is done the 2 wheel version can become unstable
for example my kz w leading link and no sidecar..... and about 5 - 10 mph it wants to fall over and say over 35 you could lean it over REALLY far and still go straight ...... really weird

so if you want best of both worlds i would suggest a leading link with the extra holes to mover the wheel back a few inches for 2 wheel work

sorry to burst your bubble but the kz is a 1980
as the price should suggest the sidecar is worth about 2000 to 2500 by itself

and i doubt very seriously if you find a complete rig "fairly new" for much less than 6 or 7 k unless you go with the ural
but i would not hesitate to take a trip like that in fact i have taken the kz pulling a mc size camper every summer for the last few yrs for our summer vaca

no worries whatsoever

stacy

For all the work this bike is going to do with mountains, speed, all the stuff you'll be carrying, to be honest, I don't think a 650 will do it. I think you'll need at least 1K. Some things aren't good to economize on. You'll have a LOT of thime to think about your choices...

...hehehehehe

We will soon have mounts for the V strom 1000. We have one coming in soon for a Ural sidecar. It should be fun. My last bike of this sort was a Triumph Tiger. Lot of bike for the money. The BMW oil heads are great bikes for this. The R1100GS is nice as it is priced very nicly used. We also have steering modes for this bike that are easy to take on and off on the R1100. We have them for the R1150 but they are not easy to take on and off. All of the mounts are 100% bolt on. We have Ural sidecars in stock which work well for this. We will soon have our own platform type sidecar which would also work well. If you are going cargo only we have Ural cargo sidecars in stock as well. For a good road sidecar on a buget that is not really an off road type sidecar is our Kenna which sells for only $2495 with "Universal" mounts. We have bikes spcific mounts for the same price for some bikes and for other bikes the bike specific mounts are extra.
For the long distance ride you are looking to do I would go with a bike that you can modify the steering easy and would also go with the electric tilt which we can add to the Ural sidecars.
Let me know if you have any questions
Jay Giese
Dauntless Motors Corporation
www.dauntlessmotors.com
866-638-1793

Lonnie, I have the Bandit on the list. I just need to do more research on it. There aren’t any available up here right now. I know of David Barr who did a winter trip through Siberia on a Sporster. It can be done with a Harley. I originally was just going to put a car on my Electra Glide. Looked like it was going to cost too much with all the mods on the bike and be a real hassle to take off and on.

Stacy, Thanks for taking the time to explain the mechanics behind how a sidecar works in relation to the bike. I looked up that leading link and see what you are talking about. Never heard of that before…..just heard about changing triple trees.

Ernie, You may be right about the 1,000CC thing. About what percentage of speed/power do you loose when you stick a sidecar on?

Jay, The 650 Strom is about the same as the 1000 as far as the frame goes, at least that’s what I have heard. I would assume the same set up would fit on both?? I am trying to keep this sidecar as small and light as possible. Nobody will ever ride in it. I just need a frame to keep the bike upright on icy roads and hold a car sized battery and a gas can. Is there some type of frame I could buy? I doubt if there will ever be more than 100 lbs in it. Maybe some type of outrigger would work??

Go to google.com and type in "motorcycle snow outriggers"
there is a couple of pictures there.

that 'frame only' your talking about need to weight AT LEAST 200 or more pounds to be stable and stay on the ground [snow]in normal operation.

Wheelguy, you have some interesting questions... First of all, my experinces are all with old Beemers and various Steibs. Some of my experince (I hesitate to actually call it "knowledge") is bike specific, and some is fairly universal. First, somehow you need to get over thing this this is motorcycle related. If all you plan to do is make a motorized donkey cart to have fun with the kids on the estate, you can almost cobble anything together and laugh while they scream. Kids have a bll getting "fun" scared. What you are talking about needs to be properly set up or you are going to look for the nearest airport and just abandon your rig. Misery makes great stories, but while you're going through it, it's, well... miserable at best but severe danger will be lurking. First, you can not just a a frame and wheel to hold up the bike unless you plan on keeping it on a rail road. Turning in no way resembles a motorcycle and it takes quite a bit of practice to get to know your specific rig and the subtle nuances it will take to control it in many different kinds iff situations. You WILL need some kind of weight or ballast. I've seen pictures of Moto Cross rigs, but I have no idea how they work. Maybe someone here does...? Another point is, in order to have a properly set up bike, especially newer bikes, it's not easy to just take the SC off and go solo/single track. Old Beemers can do that, with a spare set of wheels, in a couple of hours because the Earles forks have adjustments built in from the factory. Changing wheels puts normal tires on and you're pretty much set to go. Going single track on on sidecar (block tread) tires will scare the heck out of you if it doesn't actually hurt you. As for how much power would you lose- I have to think most newer bikes have fuel injection now- is that right? If so, mountain passes probably wouldn't be as much of a concern. A bigger bike probaly wouldn't have to have lower gearing to get up hills, so I would get you'd notice about a 10 to 20 percent drop in "power" and about a 20 percent drop in gas mileage. On a smaller bike like a 650 without mods, I'd guess about 30-40 percent "power", especially trying to get up the side of a mountain.
Think of proper set-up like this; if you're sitting in your living room and someone taps you on your forehead a couple of times, it's a distraction/annoyance. If you get strapped to a gurney and that tapping is kept up for hours on end, you may sustain some pain, and you'll go stark raving bananas.
Sorry I don't use paragraphs enough. On this little screen I type into, I don't get a decent perspective. I suggest checking out adventureriders .com (somebody help me- is that the right address?). There have definitely been smaller bikes used for what you want to do. I saw an article in the BMWMOA about a couple who got a pair of rigs and she was pleased as punch with her BMW 650 rig, so maybe I'm full of it. Definitely some good stuff over at the adventure folks site, though.