sidecars for "touring" harleys only

The ElectraGlides have a completely different frame than the Softtail models. Harley will only warrant the cars they make on their bikes that use the FLH or FLT chassis. You don't have one of these models.
You have no conventional swing-arm supported by vertical shocks, solid mount motor, less ground clearance............the list goes on.
There are many other sidecars that will perform better than the Harley factory car and at less cost anyway so if you want to sidehack it go shopping, here or elsewhere.

We put lots of sidecars on Softtails.

Lonnie
Northwest Sidecar
nwsidecar@aol.com

Not sure why Harley would void your warranty unless it was because the sidecar was "not a dealer installed option". But you will have to deal with your dealer about that.

As for a sidecar to fit your Fatboy, you can go to Motorvation Sidecars and they will have one to fit. I emailed and then called them, told them about my 1991 Softail Springer and they had the mounts, the steering damper, and the sidecar. I shipped my front fender and sent them a digital picture of the bike, they painted the car to match, and the paint matches flawlessly. And I used to paint cars and can see when a color doesn't match, they matched mine. In the 20 months I have had mine I have put on 22,000 miles and loved all of it.

Lots of sidecars will work fine on your bike. I would check with the companies that support this web site with advertizing.
We do these all the time and have 8 different sidecars for your bike.
Jay Giese
Dauntless Motors Corporation
www.daunltessmotors.com
866-638-1793

I know that other companies will put a sidecar on a fatboy. California Sidecar will mount a companion GT or a Friendship II on a flstf. I am sure there are others (like Motovation) that I haven't checked. I have a companion GT now on my 1100 shadow and would have liked to install it on the fatboy. My dealer says that if I do, I void the warranty. They said that the sidecar must be a harley, installed by a dealer, and that they will only install on a touring bike (glide or roadking). Do you think this is just my dealers interpretation of the warranty and that I might be able to get work done with another dealer who has another opinion? Lonnie, do you think the differences you mentioned (and the ones you didn't) should make adding a sidecar void the factory warranty, or make the hack unsafe?john

John,
The addition of a sidecar on any bike that does not have a factory compatable sidecar will usually void the warranty.
It's kind of a "Burnt earth" policy of "If we don't sell it we won't warrant it." A disclaimer as it were.
Adding a sidecar will not make a motorcycle unsafe. However it will alter the way it handles and there are certain stresses that are added due to it becoming a two tracked vehicle that no longer banks in the turns. Some sideloading on the wheels and tires, some extra load on wheel bearings, more turning resistance (which can be overcome), more clutch load since you have a heavier vehicle. Nothing serious.
None of these things have stopped thousands of motorcyclists from becoming Sidecarists, however.
Warranty work may depend on your dealer. Some will do repairs if the problem is not sidecar related and can't be traced to the sidecar as being the cause. Some are hard core, but till '07 H-D warranties weren't all that long anyway unless one bought the extended ones.

Lonnie

In addition to the warrantly issues you may want to ask your dealer if they will even work on the bike if it has a sidecar on it. This is a general question whether the bike is a Harley or whetever. I do know of cases and have heard of others where a dealer would not work on a Harley because it did not have a Harley car on it. If it had been a Harley car they would have worked on it. Some dealers will not work on a bike unless the sidecar is taken off first. One example of what can happen was with a guy away from home who had a Friendship III on a Harley. They would not touch it because the sidecar was not a Harley sidecar. The work he wanted done had nothing to do with the sidecar itself. The other had a Harley car on a Harley but they would not work on it because the bike was a 1988 and they said they would not work on any Harley older than a '93! This guy was also away from home and all he wanted was a rear tire change!! Pretty sad!!.

The only shop in my area that will work on my rig is the H-D dealership. The two smaller shops I used to deal with can't get it through their door. But the dealership (Shumate H-D) is happy to work on it and they treat me very well. Also the tech who is doing the current work (rebuild top end and resolve some tranny issues) was very happy with the way the Liberty was mounted. He said it's a much better system than the Harley car rigs he's dealt with. I'll add a photo the the albums. This is how it looked last time I was at Shumate...

Originally written by johny sidecar on 11/28/2006 6:23 PM

I know that other companies will put a sidecar on a fatboy. California Sidecar will mount a companion GT or a Friendship II on a flstf. I am sure there are others (like Motovation) that I haven't checked. I have a companion GT now on my 1100 shadow and would have liked to install it on the fatboy. My dealer says that if I do, I void the warranty. They said that the sidecar must be a harley, installed by a dealer, and that they will only install on a touring bike (glide or roadking). Do you think this is just my dealers interpretation of the warranty and that I might be able to get work done with another dealer who has another opinion? Lonnie, do you think the differences you mentioned (and the ones you didn't) should make adding a sidecar void the factory warranty, or make the hack unsafe?john

Even with an HD car you can run into problems with dealers. The shop that sold me my last rig would blame everything on the sidecar. The left saddlebag lid vibrates loose because the sidecar puts a side-load on the bike and causes a vibration, the light bulbs all burn out if I blip the throttle at a stop light because that taillight on the sidecar puts too much load on the bike's electrics, etc. It's all a dealer thing. One dealer says the warranty is void and the next says it's fine.
BTW, the only dealer out there that flat said "Warranty Void" when I was looking for a new bike was Kawasaki, though HD did say it had to be their car. Honda had conditions, (Valkyrie or Goldwing only), Polaris encouraged it and wanted periodic reports on handling and such, and Yamaha and Suzuki both said no problem.
The Yamaha shop actually had a new RoadStar with a Velorex on the showroom floor.
All insisted however, that the bikes frame not be welded or permanently modified though Honda even said that would only limit frame or electrical claims. YMMV, it was 2002 when I was checking.

This policy of only working on late model model Harley's seems to have arisen with the new Supermarket stores the Motor Company (and most others) have espoused.
As a result most Dealerships are Boutiques and mechanical work is incidental, a necessary evil, with many "Technicians" fresh out of MMI or some other school having zero knowledge of anything but current production models. The sales force may have been selling lawnmowers last week.
I remember stopping into Las Vegas H-D a few years back when this phenomenon first started. Mine was the only Harley in the parking lot. Many Automobiles: BMW's, Audi's, Acura's, Corvette, etc. but no bikes. Inside was a display with a Pink and White, Rhinestone and white fringe covered Heritage Softtail, a H-D Jukebox, H-D home bar, H-D pool cues and lots of Licensed quasi Harley lifestyle junk and apparel, but no bikes to look at. I left without even buying a Vegas T-shirt. Why bother?

A new H-D Dealership (Boutique) opened up here a couple of months ago just a couple of miles up the Hiway from us. Designed like the old Milwaukie plant, complete with water tank on the roof. Cute, Real "Old School" look. The couple who own it are young recent early retirees from Microsoft. Probably very nice folks who might even have their own new Harley, but I have no reason to want to go there for anything mechanically involved.
But it's not just Harley. Most other Marques have jumped onto the bandwagon with sales only oriented stores where service is secondary to immediate profit from (Very colorful) Licensed, lifestyle accessories.
If you have a dealer or shop who treats you well and can take care of your mechanical problems, hang onto them they're a dying breed.
Put them on your Xmas list! Let them know they're appreciated.

Lonnie

Just a comment on dealers not working on older bikes. It is not just Harley dealers. I tried to get some work done on a old GL1500 and the Honda dealer said they have a policy not to work on bikes more than 10 years old. When I asked why they explianed that often the repair bill is more than the bike is worth.

Originally written by Hack'n on 11/29/2006 1:43 PM

This policy of only working on late model model Harley's seems to have arisen with the new Supermarket stores the Motor Company (and most others) have espoused.
As a result most Dealerships are Boutiques and mechanical work is incidental, a necessary evil, with many "Technicians" fresh out of MMI or some other school having zero knowledge of anything but current production models. The sales force may have been selling lawnmowers last week.
I remember stopping into Las Vegas H-D a few years back when this phenomenon first started. Mine was the only Harley in the parking lot. Many Automobiles: BMW's, Audi's, Acura's, Corvette, etc. but no bikes. Inside was a display with a Pink and White, Rhinestone and white fringe covered Heritage Softtail, a H-D Jukebox, H-D home bar, H-D pool cues and lots of Licensed quasi Harley lifestyle junk and apparel, but no bikes to look at. I left without even buying a Vegas T-shirt. Why bother?

A new H-D Dealership (Boutique) opened up here a couple of months ago just a couple of miles up the Hiway from us. Designed like the old Milwaukie plant, complete with water tank on the roof. Cute, Real "Old School" look. The couple who own it are young recent early retirees from Microsoft. Probably very nice folks who might even have their own new Harley, but I have no reason to want to go there for anything mechanically involved.
But it's not just Harley. Most other Marques have jumped onto the bandwagon with sales only oriented stores where service is secondary to immediate profit from (Very colorful) Licensed, lifestyle accessories.
If you have a dealer or shop who treats you well and can take care of your mechanical problems, hang onto them they're a dying breed.
Put them on your Xmas list! Let them know they're appreciated.

Lonnie

Hi Lonnie, check out www.vintagevtwin.com or if you're ever in the Spokane area, head up Market through Hillyard and into Mead. They're on the main street. Old school shop, nearly all mechanical. No botique here. But this is one that can't fit a rig through the door. The most modern thing about them is the web site (thanks to Sue.) Coffee's always on. Good people, Bill and Sue.

Ar SCT in the files section Snowbum has been compiling a list of sidecar friendly, or sidecar knowlegeble , motorcycle shops. Anyone who knows of a dealer like this or a shop may want to post it there. http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/SCT/ Or possibly the USCA would be interested in making a list avaiable as well? Kirk, You are right it is not just HARLEY who does not want to mess with older bikes. I have heard it with BMW and , yes, Honda too. Time are not changing folks ..sorry to say but times HAVE changed.

I have no problem having my local wrench work on my Dnepr. But then, he is me! 🙂

Dave

It seems a shame to have a beautiful new bike and not ba able to bring the kids along for a ride, but I'm not willing to give up the warranty on a new bike so unless HD becomes more sidecar friendly the fatboy will stay two wheeled at least for the warrantee period.

Lonnie and Dave have the right idea. I don't think I could make a living as a mechanic like you guys do, but I have fun learning as I go. I've been wanting to put together an electric bike with a sidecar out of my '70 sportster so I will hopefully get to start on that this winter. john