When uncertain when in doubt, run in circles, yell and shout……….lol. Kinda describe the Dodd Home For WayWard Bikers That Don’t Play Well With Others, for the last couple of weeks. Well here is a question for all. Since I have added the Escort to my Harley touring bike, we have had a blast, for two. Now come a ride this weekend, day ride, that I would love for the wife to join us on. Now Brian being wheelchair bound is set in the hack, and the wife would resume her princess throne behind me. First is the stock Harley up to the task, and am I asking for too much. Second just what is the combination going to handle like? And is this SAFE?
Thanks
turtleman
Let's start with the theoratical "ideal" weight ratio between bike and sidecar. It is approximately 2/3rds bike to 1/3rd sidecar. For experienced hackers the ratio can drop to 3/4ths bike to 1/4th sidecar.
Your bike weighs about 800+- pounds and the empty Escort weighs 190#.
Add up up your weight and Mom's weight to the bike weight. That's X.
Add up Brians' weight and the sidecars weight plus any other weight in the sidecar.
That's Y.
Add ballast weight to the sidecar to achieve a ratio between 2/3rds loaded bike to 1/3rd loaded sidecar, and 3/4ths loaded bike to 1/4th loaded sidecar.
That's Z, the third leg of the equation.
The Harley will handle it but don't expect optimum performance.
Lonnie
I'm glad someone asked this question, I was wondering the same thing. I'm about to get started on hooking my hack to my bike, and then getting involved riding handicapped and terminal children with the Ride for Kids and summer camps I'm contacting. I was wondering if my wife could ride on the bike with me and the child in the sidecar, either alone, or on their momma's lap. The again, we probably won't go over 45 mph, so it should be safe, right guys ???
Oh yeah, I'm riding a Harley with Harley hack.
never seen that happen before!!!,..hehe,......p.s look at sig pic,.....hehe... wife refuses to get in the car ,..I often run the chair empty with wife on the throne,..no ballastweight,...get the ratios right, and it all works, crawf
It's not ideal. It's OK for a short hop but you are at a disadvantage if any quick maneuvers are required.
I'm afraid I must disagree my friend,..with a heavy, top sided rig, yes,..however my bike weighs less then 700lbs with 2 up full of fuel,..add to that a frame clearence of only 5 1/2" and my unit is very stable for evasive skids or donuts in the snow, darksiding helped that too!! hehe ..an experienced monkey does help with that also,..we have spent many a day long club ride with the two of us and an empty chair,..both in the canyons or on highways,..I have even been known to suprise a few sport bikers through the valleys,..and never once lift the car ,..unless of coarse we were grandstanding,..hehe cheers, crawf.
crawf - 6/3/2010 1:42 PM
I'm afraid I must disagree my friend,..with a heavy, top sided rig, yes,..however my bike weighs less then 700lbs with 2 up full of fuel,..add to that a frame clearence of only 5 1/2" and my unit is very stable for evasive skids or donuts in the snow, darksiding helped that too!! hehe ..an experienced monkey does help with that also,..we have spent many a day long club ride with the two of us and an empty chair,..both in the canyons or on highways,..I have even been known to suprise a few sport bikers through the valleys,..and never once lift the car ,..unless of coarse we were grandstanding,..hehe cheers, crawf.
Disagree though you may, I think it's unsafe to have both rider and passenger on the motorcycle and the sidecar empty. I do, and so does Harley-Davidson.
From the Harley-Davidson Sidecar Models Owner's Manual, 2005, P.6.
"* All addiitional weight should be added to the sidecar when loading the vehicle.
* If only one passenger is carried, the passenger must be in the sidecar.
* If two passengers are carried, the heavier passenger must be in the sidecar
and the lighter passenger on the motorcycle.
* Do not operate the motorcycle with both rider and passenger on motorcycle
and no load in the sidecar. "
The reason they say this is obvious. The sidecar wheel can come up unexpectedly and cause the rig to overturn.
as your motorcycle alone out weighs my entire rig with all 3 passengers on it , and is 4-5" higher,..I can belive it, hehe .... but,..width, height, axel placement in relation to the other two wheels does all play a factor in balance and stability of your rig,..your owners manual is printed generically for all who ride, be they veteren or rookie,..your car manual also suggest both hands on your autos steering wheel at all times too,..but I'd bet you still sip a coffee on the way to work,....???? agreed to disagree,.. ride safe, cheers. crawf.
Many readers here are new hackers and in the interest of safety and prudence the "Passenger in the sidecar, no two up with empty sidecar" rule should be followed. Many different combinations of bike and sidecar are represented here and some may be able to be driven safely with two up and an empty car but most cannot be.
Just like with other darksiders, some have success with the practice, others may be injured or killed.
Passing on curves is safe about 85% of the time too. Russian roulette may be exciting 5 times out of 6 too. lol
Lonnie
Hack'n - 6/3/2010 10:01 PM
Many readers here are new hackers and in the interest of safety and prudence the "Passenger in the sidecar, no two up with empty sidecar" rule should be followed. Many different combinations of bike and sidecar are represented here and some may be able to be driven safely with two up and an empty car but most cannot be.
Just like with other darksiders, some have success with the practice, others may be injured or killed.
Passing on curves is safe about 85% of the time too. Russian roulette may be exciting 5 times out of 6 too. lolLonnie
Amen brother! I just don't think it's a safe practice. I've ridden a person on the back and one in the sidecar when there was a broken-down bike once. We went and bought a battery and took it back. As a general rule, however, it's just not wise. Many have added weight to keep the wheel down. No sense taking any changes.
Ok not to bust anyone bubble, including my own, but the three of us did around 200 miles Sunday, all without a problem. Yes it takes awhile to get up to speed, and won't be setting any land speed records, and, you do have to allow for the extra stopping distance. But other than that, we didn't have a problem, bike seems to handle it well, as always with the Harley touring models we suffer serious heat issues. Yesterday was cool and cloudy, but we did a lot and I mean a lot of starting and stopping, "Dixie Hwy. 41 Yard Sale. From Marietta to Dalton just about anything was for sale, and I did see a few things I would like, but the wife told me I couldn't bring her home.......lol. In all a good day for Brian in the hack, installed a 12 volt fan for him and we had his I-pod full of his favorite music, Big Band tunes, and it did help, we sat as the wife shopped. Not a bad way to go yard sale looking, with a full rig, wife didn't have enough room to bring anything home! Don't believe we will be going cross-country that way, but overnighters pulling a trailer become a possibility. The only major problem that I will be looking into replacing are the air shock on the bike itself, as I can see if this were to fail, well it would make things awful interesting to say the least. In the upper body didn't feel a thing different that a little harder to turn at low speeds, but since I have rake my trees, my upper body is looking not to bad...........lol....a heck of a lot more fun than gold's gym. Thanks once for all the info, as it makes the next step in learning to tackle these wonderful beasts along the road to............need to shut up and get another cup of coffee..........if ya see this old injun on the road, give us a wave............
