i love my /5. i've had it for almost 14 years. i'm considering a sidecar, and don't even know where to begin. the brakes on this bike are typical of 1972 technology. the engine is awesome and has a lot of torque and power. is the frame strong enough? can i get a car that has differential to power 2nd wheel? do side cars have their own brake? what mods do i need to make on the bike? could i make it into a reliable long distance vehicle? i.e. highway ready? thanks for your advice and input, and i hope i can make this a reality.
/5's are GREAT bikes. I loved my R60 toaster and still miss it. Be forewarned, the R50/5 can barely keep out of its own way and the R60 is fine as a solo bike but marginal as a sidecar tug. The R75 is really about as small as you would want to go, engine-wise. ALL /5's require a subframe to mount the sidecar to. See Swaybar2002 or Jaydauntless on this.
No luck on 2wd. Anyhow, unless you plan on doing a lot of dirt-biking, it is pretty useless.
Most sidecars come with a brake but whether it is made operational is up to the user. Two schools of thought on this. For example, my current rig has one. The new rig being built for me won't.
FWIW, Bob Zinda has a /5 with a /2 leading link front fork and a R100 engine for sale. I don't think it has sold yet.
Good luck and welcome to the world of sidecaring!
Sarge
Here, Claude Stanley is known not as "Swaybar2002" but as "Claude #3563". I forgot about that. See him or Jay for a subframe for your /5.
Sarge
(Who will now go and hide in shame.)
I've had my 73 /5 for 34 years now, last 4 with a sidcar attached..they are great! I had the 750 engine in it for first 2 years with the SC, no problems with it...then, at 126,000 miles I had a bigger 77 R100RS engine installed.the 750 engine is now in China, tooling around the country side in a Chiang Jiang bike, thanks to Jim Bryant.
the increased power of the R100RS helps to pull a larger SC, passenger, and cargo trailer.It will cruise at 75 all day easy. we went on trips with it to Ar, Mo, PA, OH. plus all kinds of shorter weekend trips.
17,000 miles on the /5 rig with no breakdowns..'cept for a flat tire :o(
You definately need a subframe, as the stock frame is not strong enough.
I installed an earles fork Leading link on the front for very light steering...highly reccomended!
The brakes on my /5 are still the original drum brakes...but they can be made to perform VERY well, when set up and adjusted correctly. Dont knock 'em!
my first 2 sidecars had brakes, but I never hooked them up. I found no need to.this is a personal choice. the bike brakes stop the rig great!
my new Motorvation FII sidecar [no brake]is much heavier than the terraplane I had before, but the bike brakes still haul it down with no problems.
As Sarge mentioned,,,my /5 bike is for sale, with subframe, LL forks, etc all accessories.[no sidecar]....pics are available.
any questions on /5's and sidecars just ask. glad to help!
Rwzinda@earthlink.net
thanks all. i see you have your bike on e-bay. have 5 bikes right now, so not looking for a new one. if i go forward with this i probably will switch to the Earles. any suggestion on a good, light car. my passenger will most likely be for short trips. the car will be loaded up for long weekend camping type trips. i know that i want a smaller car. oh, and i have been riding for 16 years, but have never been on a SC setup. it looks like a lot of fun, and i imagine that's it's a quite different experience. thanks for your input, these sites are great.
d
BZ, My bike is not on Ebay..must be a different one.
I forgot to mention, the 750 engine has plenty of power for a lighter car, and passenger. mine was getting tired, and needed a top end job, so when a great 1000 engine became available locally, complete with 5 speed,
lectronic ign, I opted to put that in instead of the top end job..nearly the same price.
A light car is nice, but..beware ...it will lift easily on turns unless the proper amount of ballast is put into it and left there, passenger or not. a basic rule of thumb is the SC[no passenger] should weigh at least 1/3 of the bike with rider on it.
The /5 bare bike goes around 500 pounds...add more for fairing, bags, trunk, whatever..575....then add the rider..180? giving a weight of over 700 pounds. a SC about 220 pounds should match up with the /5 nicely.
My Terraplane was perfect in the weight area. no need for ballast with it.
If you get a lighter SC..150 or so.[not reccomended] then you will need to add over 70 pounds of ballast to bring it up to par.
Mike,
Some good replies have been offered here already. I had emailed Bob that you posted knowinghe had run a /5 for a long time.
As far as sidecar weight goes the 1/3 ratio of sidecar to bike weight is not cast in stone. You can get away with a lighter sidecar than 220 pounds as mentioned. Mounting the sidecar out away from the bike helps stability a whole lot for instance. It gives leverage a chance to be your friend in right handers and also will create more stability in lefties due to the tip over line being in a better position.
Riding technique is also an issue. You can shift your weight and all of that in the turns an it helps a little bit. It does move some 'ballast' around and also gives you more security in riding but it is not a cure all to a sidecar that is too light.
Personally I like a heavier chair over a lighter one as a day to day rider. We run a lot of twisty roads here and a stable outfit can be a ton of fun on them. Light rigs can be fun too but will never match the day to day speed a well balanced rig will. Light rigs will give better tire wear on the sidecar side as the wheel is off the ground more than on it in the real twisty sections. This can be fun but does require more attention.
Yes, as mentioned a /5 should have a subframe. The stock motorcycle frames are very light compared to the previously built BMWs and failures have bene reported. A subframe actually does two things. It adds strength that is needed to deal with the lateral forces a sidecar places on a bike. If built properly it also allows one to position the mounts for the sidecar in the optimum place for ease of adjustablility and also good structure. Good mounts make the sidecar and the bike into on erigid unit. We do not want any movement or flexing of the final assembly at all and this can be made to happen with a good subframe combined with good struts and lower mounts.
Read Hal Kendall's Books that are offered here free of charge. The link to them is in my signature below.
You will need a sub frame on this bike, We make such a sub frame. I would also run a sidecar with a brake. The Sputnik or Ural which we have in stock would both work fine with your bike.
Jay Giese
Dauntless Motors Corporation
www.dauntlessmotors.com
866-638-1793
