Spoke to CA Sidecar about mounts to attach my Friendship III to my new 2010 HD FLHX. They said they sold only 2 sidecars last year and only one so far this year!
They spend all their time building trikes now.
I like trikes too but sidecars seem to be way more fun to ride and attract way more attention (especially with the dog on board). Plus you can pull the car off and ride your bike as a two wheeler.
Do you think hack sales are down in general? With the economy being what it is seems like a sidecar rig would be more economical than driving an automobile and you can carry a ton of stuff in the sidecar. The new HD trikes have a small trunk but nothing compared to my sidecar.
I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here but why do so many people prefer a trike over a sidecar?
Sidecar sales from those who I have spoken to and from what we see here at the shop are holding steady or even on the rise.
I do not know anything about sales, but I have seen more rigs on the road this year than in the past. Maybe I have just been lucky...maybe just an impression.
Denis
Sidecar sales seem to me to be small period - so it must be difficult to determine if they are up or down.
Our local HD dealer always had a new rig in his showroom but the last two years , only Triglides.
The FS III never was all that popular and since the Euro is up and the US dollar down importing them is much pricier than in the past which cuts profit margins.
California, Champion and Harley are are concentrating on the trike conversions because they are the current craze and there is a lot more money to be had sellling them.
The latest trend (fad) for the baby boomers is trikes. Empty nesters who have never ridden a bike or have only had a small 2 stroke (trail 90 Honda or such) years ago find they can handle a big trike withour dropping it. The same may not apply to a large solo bike. Others with balance problems or with diminitive heigth feel more comfortable with a trike than with a solo bike. Only H-D sells a matching sidecar for their big Electra Glide touring bikes.
Sidecars are not as easily available as the trikes these days since many motorcycle dealers will sell a large touring bike and do a trike conversion so the buyer can drive it.
Most large touring bikes weigh over 1,000 pounds with the rider aboard, which is a lot of weight to lift off a sidestand or centerstand. One of the reasons that many dealers do not particularly care for sidecar rigs is that they will not easily roll up onto a bike lift and even if they can get them up to a comfortable working level the right side (US) of the bike is not easily accessable for maintenance since the sidecar and it's mounts are in the way.
With a trike conversion the front end of the bike, motor, transmission, controls and drive components are accessable from either side. No climbing under.
We R&R sidecars for some of the local dealers who can't or won't pull the sidecar for needed work on the bike. Most service tech's. are not at all familiar with sidehacks. Since few bike manufacturers sell sidecar outfits they've had no sidecar training.
Yes, we've installed sidecars for some Harley dealers and they sell sidecars.
I see some of the new factory trikes with two front wheels and a single rear drive wheel on the roads these days also. Most still have very limited passenger and cargo capacity, about the same as a solo motorcycle but the price is much higher.
With a sidecar combo one can remove the sidecar and still have a complete solo bike. If you decide to sell it can be separated and sold as two complete units.
Not so with the big bike trike conversions. You buy the bike for top dollar, then you scrap the back half and pay the price of another bike for the conversion parts and the conversion labor. When done you have a strange riding contraption that may carry two riders and limited cargo. Not much advantage over a two wheeler except it won't fall over. Plus it's much harder to sell a trike for a decent price on the used market.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
No one mentioned that trikes are easier to handle than hacks, but it's true! They are somewhat similiar in handling, but definitely not the same. Honestly, it takes more skill & work to jockey around a sidecar rig.
Connie
Perhaps part of their problem is that they have a reputation for absolutely horrible or nonexistant after sale support.
Interesting points.....Hack'n. Then there is also the rear tire wear of a hack rig..
Hacks certainly are not for everyone as sales would indicate...but I like it that way...of course, I am not trying to make a living selling them.
The big thing that trikes really lack IMHO is the great traditional LOOK of a nice sidecar rig. I guess if a trike was done as a old traditional service vehicle I might like it, but then it would be a single person rig. Also, my wife feels that she has seen the back of my helmet enough already and likes to have her own unobstructed view.
Here in Costa Rica,
Friend Fernando sold 6 rigs 2002 to 2008 and retraded 2 of them in 2007, this year was no movement on rigs nor Jawas, just on custoum Harleys ,not evenstandard ones.
He says it is wierd, that those few people who come in for Jawa or sidecars blame how expensive they are. But 2 days later somebody else comes in and puts big bucks onthe counter cash for (in my eyes unrideable and dangerous) show off bike. Or others spend a fortune to remodify their bikes over and over again, but never ride it.(one perhaps has spent another 10.000$for custoum partsand changing them. But I have never seen its tire even dirty.
No thanks, I stay with my butt on the saddle wether 2 or 3 wheeled.
Sven
"Then there is also the rear tire wear of a hack rig."
One can always convert to an auto tire or wheel that will accept one. Still less expensive than a trike conversion (better looking aestheticly) and lots better riding.
One would have to agree that most trike buyers haven't tried both trike and sidecar rig for a comparison since there aren't a bunch of hacks sitting on the dealers floors.
Steering is comparable since most if not all new trikes also have reduced trail conversions. Most conventional (one front wheel) trikes also use steering dampers.
Lonnie
For what it's worth..since I'm a bit new to the sidecar thing..my wife and I rode our own bikes for years...she wanted off..so we went to the sidecar...and for me..it's like I'm still riding my own machine..and I don't have someone behind me...we didn't want that..and to me that's the issue with a trike..like you are riding two-up
Well, all due respect to anyone concerned, I don't like trikes. I onwed a couple of 45" Harley Model G Servicars in my day and I've also ridden several of the more modern Goldwing conversions. Frankly, I didn't lke the way they handled. I won't be getting a trike anytime soon.
What Lonnie said about poor resale on a trike is especially true. If you thought that the resale market was slow on a motorcycle with a sidecar, trikes are even slower. It's easy to buy one but they are very hard to sell. It has almost got to be an original purchase from a dealer by someone who really, really wants one before the money changes hands.
Also, the other point that he makes about tearing your solo bike apart to do a trike conversion is particlarly true. There's an awful lot of waste and once you do that, there's no turning back. They are also extremely expensive either buying a kit to modify your bike or perhaps purchasing a new HD TriGlide.
With a sidecar rig, I can have the best of both worlds. Since I use standard trees with a steering damper, I can leave it on or take it off. When it's off I have a solo. When it's on I still have that motorcycle feeling. Sure, you have to watch corners on a sidecar - especially the right turn. With a trike, you have to be extra careful in both directions.
I'll pass.
claude #3563 - 10/28/2009 4:56 PM Sidecar sales from those who I have spoken to and from what we see here at the shop are holding steady or even on the rise.
In the past 5 years I have seen an enourmous jump in the number of sidecars on the road in Montreal. There are at least 5 in a 5 city block radias of my home!!!!
I never thought I would see the day I would consider a sidecar, but with my wife having more and more trouble riding astride the saddle of my bike(arthritis) I broke down and bought a 1990 Goldwing with Friendship III sidecar. I have only had it for 3 months now and have put over 4,000 miles on it (2 week long trips so far). Wife loves it. And she takes the dog along with us on our trips. Still have a lot to learn (or is that unlearn after 30 years of 2 wheel riding) about driving a hack but has been fun so far. People ask me about the hack and I say the bike is mine but the sidecar is the wife's. LOL
david lloyd - 11/7/2009 1:32 PM
claude #3563 - 10/28/2009 4:56 PM Sidecar sales from those who I have spoken to and from what we see here at the shop are holding steady or even on the rise.
In the past 5 years I have seen an enourmous jump in the number of sidecars on the road in Montreal. There are at least 5 in a 5 city block radias of my home!!!!
That is, at least in part, thanks to this website. It amazes me how many times I have seen a thread on another site that starts, "I was poking around the internet" and ends with "I wish I would have found sidecars years ago."
verybody stand up and pat yourself on the back.
