Took Delivery of our Hannigan Sidecar---MPG Question

The millage of my GL1100/Gemini rig is disappointingly low. I attribute that to my poor mounting job. I'll be remounting it soon to improve millage AND drivability.

Was your hack professionally mounted? Does it pull left or right when you are at constant speed on level roads? Watch your tires for excessive wear as that too is a sign of a less than optimal installation job.

The good folks at Hannigan Motorsports installed it at their factory. It tracks very well. I have the ECC so when the road dynamics change, I change the height of the sidecar. Worked very well during the 450 mile test ride!

Hmmm then it's not likely to be an installation/tracking issue. I would also assume that the engineer checked your tire pressures too before they tossed you the keys. Perhaps some of the more experianced pilots will be along soon with a few things to check.

My 2000 1500 classic fi dropped from 42 to 34mpg. Some drop may be due to the car tire on the rear(Dunlop 195-60-16 @35psi). This is with Hannigan classic twin and 250# load (passenger+ ballast). I may later try to adapt some sort of reserve system for trips but can live with it for now.

I would be happy with your gas mileage...anything close to 32 - 35 would be great. But 25 mpg is unacceptable!

I am also concerned about the sidecar (12" trailer tire) tire pressure. Hannigans said to set it at 30 PSI. The side wall says 65 PSI. I measured it this afternoon, and it was at 10 PSI. So, what should I set it to? I filled it to 30PSI but think it should be more, at least according to the sidewall specs.

You never checked out for the cw-value of a rig?
Its nearly like an open parachute at the same front area as a small car!
On my 2 rigs the first thing to go away were the sidecar's wind shields. That way I can monkey more, drop gas consumption and gain a few kmh more.
A higher consumption of 30% at low speeds is normal. at high speeds the consumption raises square with the speed.
Look into the manuals in the download section, there you get excellent explanations.

Sven

jackstrat - 9/9/2011 9:49 AM

We rode our 2011 HD FLHTC down to Murray KY (450 miles) on Monday and had the Hannigan Classic Twin sidecar installed on it. Rode back (450 miles) yesterday. I have tons to say and report for those interested, but I had one glaring huge disappointment: The MPG with the sidecar is TERRIBLE! On the ride down, we averaged 44 mpg. On the ride back we averaged 24.8 MPG. A whopping 19MPG difference! We had to stop at 112 miles, 110 miles, 105 miles, and then 115 miles. Spent $100 and way too much time filling up. It isn't really the money, it is the stops!!!!

Anyone out there tack on a sidecar a see a drastic change in MPG? I was expecting a hit of 20%. But a hit of 43% is a killer!

Comments? Suggestions?

Jack

I have a Kawasaki Nomad 1700 with a Hannigan Astro GT sidecar, which was installed by Hannigan in Murray. This bike is a known gas hog, and riding without the sidecar I averaged around 36 to 37 mpg. With the sidecar mileage dropped to around 30 mpg, which I found to be quite acceptable. I am really surprised at the size of the drop that you experienced. What speed were you running at? The faster you ride, the bigger an issue you will have with the amount of air that the sidecar is pushing out of the way. Also, the twin sidecar that you have is a big one.

Hi Jack: I'm comparing apples to oranges here, but the MPG on our little carb'ed Sportster rig dropped +/-25%, but both MPG and "drive-ability" improved after gearing it down a little. I know it doesn't make sense that gearing down might improve MPG, but we've found similar results with farm truck pulling trailers at speed, as the engine doesn't "lug" as much.

And, yes, wind drag seems to be the biggest factor in MPG as speed increases. Reckon the FI is "feeling" the extra drag of the sidecar and giving more fuel, as if going uphill all the way home?

Your bike with sidecar 2 times biger now and 50-75% havier. 25m/g is normal for 70-75m/hrs. Slow down relax and ### will be better. If you going uphill or head wind your ### wil be worst. If it make you fill better - any big tack, bus or rv you pass has 6-10m/g.

jackstrat - 9/9/2011 3:49 PM

I would be happy with your gas mileage...anything close to 32 - 35 would be great. But 25 mpg is unacceptable!

Get use to it. it is normal. I have same on 1500goldving/frendship3

Just wonder why i have stupid message like this:"Flood control is enabled on this forum! Please wait for 4 minutes before posting again."

O. I get it sidecar.com train me to slow down. Thanks. Soon i will be green. green. green. green. green. green. green. green. green. green. green. green. green.

 

Mine dropped by about 30% from 35 down to 24

I have a Goldwing GL1500 with Friendship III sidecar and on a recent trip to Oregon I got 27 MPG but while pulling tent trailer that dropped to 21 MPG. I also installed an extra fuel tank to get more range between fill-ups.

As Larry mentioned. an extra tank is great.
The nicest I have seen was made out of aluminum filling up the frame of the sidecar and pumping with a standard gasoline pump from the extra tank to the bike's tank as soon the reserve level would be hit.
As extra that man from Hamburg had a sheet metal mounted so in snow the sidecar would come up and not jerk you to the right.
I made something simular and noticed much less trouble in the forest too. Branches would not hit the s/c frame and stop you.
Sven