I dedided to mount my own sidecar (Formula II) to my bike (vstar 1100 classic). WOW, I didn't realize it was going to be such a project. Just finding somewhere to place the mounts on the Vstar frame is a pain. Well hopefully I can get it on one way or ta other. Any advice or moral support is of course appreciated. Rich
Rich,
I bought a Formula II last year to install on my BMW K-100. My bike already had a subframe on it from my other sidecar and I thought this would be an easy thing to install. Boy was I wrong...I found it was better left to the professionals. My kids were going to be riding in this and I sure didn't want an unsafe setup. I learned alot but I also feel better now knowing it is safely mounted. Post some photos of the beast when you get it done! Good luck!
No idea what that frome looks like. I imagine you need a sub-frame. What kind of problems are you having specifically? Just looking at a mess and thinking, "Oh my God..." won't get anything done. Need to figure out what needs to be done first, second, what needs extra hands, what parts do you need to get, etc.
Thanks. Beautiful rig you've got there. I don't have a professional in the area to mount the chair nor the funds to have one do it if there was one. I also would prefer to mount it myself so that I am aware of strong and weak points, which fasteners to especially keep an eye on, how everything is connected, etc. I also will be riding my two young kids in it and want to know as much as I can about it for that reason. Ride safe. Rich
The frame is a double cradle and I am working with the techs at Motorvation to figure out how the best way to set it up would be. Difficult as they have never put one on a Vstar before. I was told at Motorvation that I don't need a subframe but we will see. The top front mount is and eye bolt I will be drilling out a current bolt hole larger to mount, the front lower mount I will be trying to mount on the downtube just as it comes up from the curve I just have to hacksaw off the rear master cylinder mount to get the clamp low enough on the downtube, the lower rear mount should just be a bolt on to the lower frame rail as long as there is no exhaust interference and the upper rear mount I haven't got figured out yet. Just a little overwhelming doing it for the first time as I thought the mounting would have been simpler. Live and learn. THanks for the reply. Ride safe. Rich
Rich,
Drop me an e-mail and I will send pix of the mounting of a 562 Heavy Duty to the V-Star Classic. Same type of mounts, eyebolt and clevis. Mounting position and type will be of interest to you. No sawing off of parts is required.
Lonnie Cook
Northwest Sidecar
nwsidecar@aol.com
What blueflu said- get some pix of the frame on here ( can you do that?). You might be able to cut a couple of arcs out of plywood, glue them together, duct tape one end to the sidecar frame and C-clamp the other end to the rear fender of the bike.
Thank you for sending the pics. I can imagine you have a busy business with such great customer relations. Rare these days.
Just got done mounting a velorex 562 on a vstar 1100 custom, with a couple of modified parts, the process was actually not too bad. Approx. 2 days, part time, after and before work, to get it on. Pics of the unit are available on the album page. Email me THunter33@comcast.net if you need help, i'd be glad to share where i mounted mine.
Thanks, the rig looks really good. Didn't think the Velorex would fit so well on an 1100 and now I've seen pics of 2 that looked great. Appreciate the offer and if I start pullin my hair out will fire off an email for help. Rich
With a Velorex to 1100 VStar installation, I would recommend either one of the new Cruiser models with 20mm axle, adjustable shock and longer swing-arm, or upgrading the suspension with Heavy Duty retrofit for much improved stability and handling.
