Last year, after owning 2 Urals and working at a Ural shop for 4 years, I decided to sell the Ural and put a rig together. Many of you know it can be tough to get good info as you cannot just go to the local multi-line sidecar dealer and test ride a bunch.
I bought a 2005 V-Star 1100--simple, air cooled, shaft drive, triple disc brakes. Now what?
I called and e-mailed a lot of people in the industry. Two really stood out for me.
Bob Darden at Texas sidecars answered all my questions and was obviously very proud of his product. It's a simple, no frills sidecar that is very well made.
Bob Wark at the Warkshop in Marietta OH talked to me at length several times. I was well-versed in Urals but not in other rigs. I bought the Texas Ranger through Bob Wark and had him rig it to the V-Star.
Later I swapped the Texas tub for a Ural tub to suit my bride. Bob Wark helped with some of the details just because I was one of his customers.
This year I had a minor problem with the swingarm bushings on the Texas. Bob Darden went out of his way to make it right, sending me all the appropriate parts.
I've put 9000 miles on the rig so far and Kathy and I really enjoy it.
Bob Darden at Texas Sidecars and Bob Wark at the Warkshop have been great folks to deal with and I highly recommend them to any of you looking to put a rig together.
Alan Bond
2005 V-Star 1100 Texas/Ural
2008 KLR 650 solo
Bob Wark re-rigged a 700 nighthawk-velorex for me that held up great.He did a great job and was very reasonable also a very interesting individual 🙂
