Snubbed?

Hey Ignatious! It wasn't me but you can bet if you see me in Harbor and flag me down I'll be pullin' over... And I expect you'll do the same when I flag you down in Reardan.

That experience is for sure the exception and not the rule. Sidecarists typically are not that way. Heck maybe he was looking for an emergency bathroom stop or something...or maybe he didn't make it..LOL.

I also would be happy to pull over. Maybe he just didn't realize what you wanted him to do?

By any chance are you in an old pickup, with a gun rack (and guns), are you 6'6", tatoos, long hair, generally mean looking? (please do not take any of this seriously, btw)

Maybe she was frightened?

Hey guys, I was driving my kawa Vulcan 1600 Classic/Velorex rig and you just can't miss a bike that big from thirty feet away.

I didn't get a good look at his rig because I was stopped for only a second at the intersection and then had to turn across in front of him. By the time I got stopped, he was going down 101 and not looking back. I didn't even notice if he had anyone with him. He did have another bike behind him though but I don't know if they were together or not.

Maybe it was Jay Geise taking in a bank deposit.
Claude turns and runs for cover.......

Jay still would have stopped to try to sell him something! (I'm Joking)

Jay would have stopped to see how the car was mounted on Ignatious's bike and discussed at length what was done right and what could have been done better. Then taken it in on trade for the rig he was riding and they'd both have ridden off on the other's bikes. Or something like that.

A few months back I was coming out of Spokane via the "back way" when I saw a rig ahead of me that had the sidecar on the left. I worked my way through traffic and caught up. Followed him off of Francis and onto Assembly. He kept going and I kept following. At his final corner, he paused long enough to acknowledge he knew I was following but he was on his way to pick his wife up from her work at the VA hospital and was running a bit late. He told me to follow him to the spot they meet. By the time we got done visiting, his wife was getting really anxious to head for home... Turns out, he built the car and mounted it on the left because his old Harley has the kick starter on the right. I put a photo in albums under "Jerry's homemade..."

I'm not sure it can be considered a 'snubbing'.. perhaps the other rider had to make an appointment, or was on the way to work or whatever - plenty of valid reasons why he/she/it wouldn't stop, even if you are waving away at him like your seeing the wife off on the Queen Mary II.

The 'sidecar delay factor' (SDF) can play a huge role in one's willingness to stop/linger around to chat with those eager to talk sidecars. I've had people come up to me quite a few times this past year .. "you know, thats a neat rig, i tried to chase you down the other day but you wouldn't stop!" .. well that could be because I'd just been delayed 10 minutes at the gas station by SDF with someone else, and was now 10 minutes late getting to work.

Normally, i don't mind the SDF's, but i am not retired, thus life is pretty well a schedule for me in terms of time-spans. I'm sure it is the same for others as well.

It happens.

Let me add a few more details. Harbor,OR is basically an out of the way place for the majority of America. Most people do not even know there is a hwy 101 on the coast let alone come driving down it. Even though Hwy 101 runs through it, we are isolated as far as society goes. The nearest sidecar owner north of me is 100 miles away. The nearest owner south of me is 100 miles away. The nearest sidecar owner east of me is 100 miles away. I can't find any sidecar owners west of me at all. I can't figure that one out at all. Nearly every one of my 1500 miles of sidecar travel has been along Hwy 101. In all those miles, I have seen exactly two sidecars on the road.

Hey Tom, do you really think jay might trade me a new Liberty or Champion Legend for my Velorex? Of course, he would want a few bucks thrown in!

You think your isolated try Hebo, OR.

Originally written by ignatious on 9/21/2006 12:35 PM<BR><BR>Let me add a few more details. Harbor,OR is basically an out of the way place for the majority of America. Most people do not even know there is a hwy 101 on the coast let alone come driving down it. Even though Hwy 101 runs through it, we are isolated as far as society goes. The nearest sidecar owner north of me is 100 miles away. The nearest owner south of me is 100 miles away. The nearest sidecar owner east of me is 100 miles away. I can't find any sidecar owners west of me at all. I can't figure that one out at all. Nearly every one of my 1500 miles of sidecar travel has been along Hwy 101. In all those miles, I have seen exactly two sidecars on the road.

Hey Tom, do you really think jay might trade me a new Liberty or Champion Legend for my Velorex? Of course, he would want a few bucks thrown in!

Same sort of situation as me, though i live in the Ontario "center of the universe", population about 6 million within 100 square miles. Sidecar outfits are rare here. I know of only one other on the road on a regular basis that i see.. we share the same motorcycle shop, yet i've never talked to the guy since he makes himself unapproachable. I'm sure there are more about and around, but entire summer's can go by without me encountering another rig on the road at the same time that i am on mine.

There seems to be geographic 'hotspots' of sidecar activity in North America - Ohio, Pennsylvania, a contingent in Michigan, an eclectic bunch in California.. but not much in the way of visibility/awareness here at all.

That makes 'SDF' all that much more of a pain in the butt sometimes.. so few sidecars out there, so many questions being asked.

Iggy,
You'll have to go to Pete & Patty Larsen for that Liberty sidecar.
We have Hack customers not too far North of you in Wolf Creek, Coos Bay, North bend, Reedsport and Roseburg. South in Crescent City and Eureka. West in Hawaii, Guam and Korea (More than 100 miles though).
Keep looking.

Lonnie

Originally written by ignatious on 9/21/2006 10:35 AM

Let me add a few more details. Harbor,OR is basically an out of the way place for the majority of America. Most people do not even know there is a hwy 101 on the coast let alone come driving down it. Even though Hwy 101 runs through it, we are isolated as far as society goes. The nearest sidecar owner north of me is 100 miles away. The nearest owner south of me is 100 miles away. The nearest sidecar owner east of me is 100 miles away. I can't find any sidecar owners west of me at all. I can't figure that one out at all. Nearly every one of my 1500 miles of sidecar travel has been along Hwy 101. In all those miles, I have seen exactly two sidecars on the road.

Hey Tom, do you really think jay might trade me a new Liberty or Champion Legend for my Velorex? Of course, he would want a few bucks thrown in!

Sure for the right price Jay would make you a deal on most anything. He'd even do the deal with Pete for a Liberty and be the middle man in the deal. As far as Harbor goes, I have very fond memories of my time on the CG station there. At one time considered staying in the Brookings area when I left the Coast Guard but life took me in a different direction. Of course, at one time I thought I'd go back to Kodiak too but never made it. At least we've been back to and through Harbor a number of times over the years.

Bandit Bill:
I know of only one other on the road on a regular basis that i see.. we share the same motorcycle shop

Other than two local CURD members, I have seen only 5 other sidecar rigs in the Thousand Islands region this summer. I have, however, noticed an increase in the number of trikes - I stopped counting after 20, and that was back in July.