Hi there,
My name is Scott Mellor. (My screen name is a clever alias.)
A little bit of history to establish my motorcycle-funky quotient street cred:
I grew up in England, and my hall of shame reads thusly:
1965 BSA C15 250 which I sold after one week because it caught fire when I tried to start it.
1968 Triumph T200 Tiger cub. Much better. Hardly caught fire at all.
1957 James Captain 200 with a chopped hoover vacuum cleaner body for a headlight, no kick start and a bungy cord holding the center stand. (My nadir)
196x TRIBSA 3TA 350 Triumph motor in a C15 frame. Evil. Handled awefully.
1975 T120 Boneville. Not so bad.
1974 Laverda SF2 750. Sublime. BUT the exhaust balance pipe was as big as a sewer pipe and hung really low causing a few high sided tumbles, one in front of the Jaguar factory in Browns Lane Coventry.
1978 Suzuki GS1000. Nice, fast quiet smooth. Shrug.
Moved to Texas.
1976 Laverda 3C 1000 triple. BEAST! Nearly hit an Armadillo doing 125 mph.
1992 Harley Davidson FatBoy. Girlfriend and I loved tooling around on this.
Married girlfriend had child and sold biike.
Ten years later I am 5x something, and wifey and daughter espy a Ural and fall in love. Karen pulled out her old leather jacket and said we should get one of those......
Well heck I'm ALL over this BUT:
I know bugger all about them.
I do a little webvestigating and contact me old biker mates in England for advice.
I live in SOCAL and I need to go on the freeway so the Ural seems to be out of the question as it can barely get out of it's own way.
I do like retro, and have no real interest in JAP (unless it is attached to a Brough Superior, which I can't afford.)
So I'm thinking that leaves BMW. But I'm told everything after a /2 is not set up for a chair.
I could also go for a Guzzi.
Should I find a /2 with a motor transplant, or would a /5/6/7 with a subframe be stout enough.
Also I read you should never carry a pillion passenger as it will help the rig tip over.
I dig the look of STEIB S500 or TR500
Do I need a chair big enough for wife and 10 yo daughter? Is there such a thing?
OK any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Scott
Scott,
The /5's, /6's and /7's are plentiful though overpriced and will make great tugs if the sidecar is sub-frame mounted.
Several vendors make the bolt on sub-frames available. Usually a steering damper is also needed with these bikes unless steering modifications are performed to reduce trail.
Wide singles and doublewide cars can also be found. Not so many in the used market though.
Good luck with your quest,
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Scott, you are in the same predicament that I found myself in. I too wanted a retro looking outfit but did not want to drive a mobile road block. The only way I was going to get around the problem was to get a decent BMW and stick a chair an it.
I don't agree that the old BMW's are overpriced, they are quite a bit cheaper than Harleys I have seen advertised, and a MUCH better bike as far as I'm concerned. ( yes I have owned a Harley )
Scott, check out the Orange County Craigslist daily.
Select motorcycles and then search on "sidecar" and
you'll see what's available in LA and OC. You might
also check San Diego too.
So what did you end up with Mick?
It's all in this thread........... http://www.sidecar.com/megabbs/thread-view.asp?threadid=7209&posts=7
Hi Scott,
I've got no sidecar advice for you but I admit to having never heard of a James Captain 200. I had to find pictures on the web. Nice looking bikes. Of course the pics on the web don't have a Hoover headlight conversion.
Hello Scott
I purchased my rig not quite a year ago. I was looking for something that could haul an adult and a child or two children ( I guess a 90lb dog could qualify as a kid). I looked at the Harley rigs, too small and very expensive.
I finally settled on a rather large rig, a Honda GL1500 with a champion Daytona 2+s/c (yeah I know it's a jap Bike) I don't recommend it but the car is heavy enough that a passenger can ride on the bike with the car empty. Guy I got it from rode that way with his wife.
Total weight w/o passengers is about 1200 lbs.
This weight really cuts into your fuel milage.
I settled on the Honda GL1500 because the bike is darn near bullet proof. Do the maintenance, and you will get 200k out of the engine easy. It also has the power to pull a car the size of the Daytona at freeway speeds with no problems (70-75 mph). It rides really well, has a reverse gear, and cruise control, plus the rest of the bells and whistles. So if your not dead set against a jap bike, check it out.
Chapion Sidecars is located in Garden Grove, Ca. not quite the retro rig you might be looking for but a really good looking car.
Best of luck with your search, take your time and make sure you get what you want. Oh yeah make sure you check into a riders course for the rig, it is really worth the time and money.
Originally written by punkozuna on 5/15/2009 8:46 PM
Hi Scott,
I've got no sidecar advice for you but I admit to having never heard of a James Captain 200.
I bet you have not heard of a Norman 250 either.
Thanks for the advice, I will definately take a course, 'cause I realize it's a whole'nother ball game.
Yes when it comes to conversations about who has had the weirdest motorcycle, I usually win, except for my old mate in England who hade a Greeves Essex twin.
It's enough to give you the Villiers. (These bikes were old crap when I was a kid!)
