Opinions on Texas Ranger vs Standard Sidecar?

jm76 - 8/4/2014 9:24 PM

I'm debating between a Texas Ranger and a Standard sidecar .... 2012 Triumph Bonneville SE....

Hi Jim, welcome to the offset universe of sidecar enthusiasts. We visited the Texas Sidecars shop back in 2007 when first considering a sidecar, where Bob recommended the Standard for our 883R Sportster, but after an hour of discussion and "test sitting" we decided on the Ranger, finding it more comfortable for a passenger. I didn't find the Ranger too large for the Sportster (recently sold). We also mounted a Ranger to Mrs. SwampFox's Burgman 650 - both Rangers also carry 25 pounds of "permanent" ballast.

But it really comes down to personal preference, as either will work with the Bonneville, and either will carry two 40 pound dogs after the seat is removed, as I did with 45 pound Maddie.

Here is a pic of Rangers mounted to Sportster, Burgman & V-Star 1100:

And here is a pic of a Standard mounted on a Bonneville - Pretty ain't it? (Unfortunately, I understand this combination was recently separated):

And here was my solution to riding Maddie, as she sat too tall with the passenger seat installed- made out of plywood & trunk carpet:

I prefer narrower sidecars on this bike as long as it is wide enough for your passenger. Have you looked at our M72 type sidecars? Our M72B is only $3995 and comes with a 19 inch wire wheel that looks very similar to the Triumph wheel? If you need wider then we offer the M72DX sidecar. The M72D also works well and has an external opening and sealing trunk. An external opening trunk may not sound like a big deal but it is really nice to have when you are living with the sidecar on a day to day basis. These sidecars are also very easy to get in and out of due to the cut down side, the optional windshield folds forward and on the M72D and M72DX there is also a step built into the sidecar frame. We also offer brakes on all of our sidecars. Brakes if they keep you out of trouble even once are worth all of the cost and effort. We also offer new from billet triple tree's to lower the steering effort with a sidecar.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793

Lee, I think your rig is the first Sportster/Ranger setup that I saw which got me interested in the Texas sidecars, the lines just sort of mesh with the Sportster and make for a good looking setup (as well as with the Bonnie). Thanks for the info and I'll definitely be using your solution for the dogs as a starting point if I go this route. Out of curiosity, did you ever consider adding a lock to the back of the body to lock the seat down or look into fabricating a locking trunk any other way?
In regards to the Bonnie/Standard rig you posted, I remember drooling over that one when it was up for sale a couple of years ago but I hadn't really decided if a sidecar was the direction I wanted to go at the time.

Jay, I'd looked at the M72B prior to making this thread and I do like the look of it but the Bonneville SE is the mag wheel Bonnie and I only plan to stick to dedicated roads on this (I used to off road and don't plan to take this bike off the pavement) so I was looking at something with a lower center of gravity for my style of riding. That's not to say that I'm dead set on a Texas sidecar and I'm still doing my research but since I'm in Houston and Texas Sidecars is just north of Dallas (and thus only 4 hrs from me) means that for the cost of shipping and crating from another brand of sidecar I can instead have a professional install done which is pretty tempting to be honest...

Thanks for the responses,
Jim

No, I haven't considered a locking trunk, but now that I think about it, it would be relatively simple to reconfigure the dog floor for more "permanent" placement - just make the "trunk door" fit behind the passenger seat and bring a couple of supports from the plywood floor inside the trunk and attach a locking latch for the door. Not weather proof, but certainly a theft deterrent for items behind the open cockpit.