I have a 1985 Honda GL 1200 and am considering mating a Velorex 565 to it as my initial foray into the sidecar world. Would like to know if any of the seasoned membership has had experience with this combination and, if so, what I need to consider when doing so as well as any upgrades, etc. that should be entertained.
You will need a sub-frame and you will need ballast since the 565 comes in at about 180#.
2 pieces of 1"x7" steel plate between the body and frame works well for ballast. Spot weld the lower rear sliding clamp to the sidecar frame to eliminate rotation due to the paint to paint connection. The clamp will shift later if you don't.
A damper won't be necessary.
Consider any other mods to steering or whatever after you have lived with it for a while. Once you go for dedicated outfit modifications there's no turning back without spending a bunch more $$$$.
Lonnie
My first rig was a 1200 Goldwing with a Friendship II California Sidecar. I don't know how the two sidecars compare, but I enjoy the same sidecar much more on my 1500 Goldwing. Don't know how long you've had that bike and you probably know this anyway. But just in case, if you haven't had problems with the stater, you will. If you have already addressed that issue, sorry, that I mentioned it. If not, I'm pretty sure that you will, sooner or later. Hopefully not far from home, like I did. Have fun, 1200s really are neat bikes!
Connie
Another sidecar to look at is our Kenna. With bike specific not "universal" mounts the price is only $2995. It even comes with a built in trailer hitch.
Jay Giese
Dauntless Motors Corporation
www.dauntlessmotors.com
866-638-1793
Connie, appreciate the input on the stator, point of fact, I never heard anything about it up to when you mentioned it. In doing some research on the subject I learned that the failure is due to Honda going to some lighter wiring in the stator allowing them to fit additional coils (target being greater output) but due to heat etc. the wiring breaks down and hence the failure. Most folks seem to agree that the failure occurs btw 30K and 60K, naturally I would have 27K on my bike : ( I’ve put out several emails to various forums trying to find out if there’s some sort of pre-emptive measure I can take to avoid or mitigate such a failure. I read where one owner w/sidecar put in a automotive alternator to run aux items & charge an automotive battery as an avoidance measure but there was no way to contact him and find out if it was successful. If you have additional info on the stator issue; know of any pre-emptive measures or can point me in the right direction I would welcome the help/advice. Regards
Bljacque
Jay,
Appreciate the advice and I did go to your website to check out the Kenna...very nice. My problem, as with everything else, comes down to an investment decision. I want a reasonably good rig and, I'm told that the Velorex 565 is adaquate. If I could find one of your Kennas used in the same condition & range as I'm paying for the Velorex I would certainly go in that direction as it certainly stacks up to be a more refined unit.
Regards
Bljacque
I had it happen twice on my 1986 Aspencade, once at about 30k and again at about 50,000. The problem starts with corrosion in the plug in. They recommend that you unplug the stator wires, make sure you have a clean connection, and coat it with dielectric grease. It was recommended that you do this at least every 10,000 miles or once a year. Once the dealer told me this, I was able to run it till 156,000 without another problem. I ran in to the guy I sold it to a while ago. It now has over 200,000 miles on it, most of them with a HitchHiker sidecar, and still going strong. We compared notes. In all those years, the two stators, a right side head gasket, and 3 timing belts are the only repairs it's ever had.
Lonnie, Thanks much for the advice and, although I haven't yet acquired the sidecar, I have began my scrounge for some 1" plate steel.
Regards
Bljacque
Hey Mike,
Looking over my Clymer manual right now. Soon as I can track the connector I'll see what condition it's in. Other than the cleaning and dieletric grease, do you know of any "upgrades" or other mitigation for this particular malfunction? From what I've been able to derive from one of the other websites, the failure is related to both current draw, impedance/resistance (corrosion in connections) and heat. One suggestion on the heat front involved placing a fan (like is used on high speed CPUs in computers). The fan is focused on the voltage reg/rectifier, have you heard of this and do you see any specific value there? Thanks much.
Regards
Bljacque
Hi, BJ
I had a 1984 and 1985 GL1200. I hard wired the 84 because the connector was all burned up when I discovered it. The stator was still good. It's the connector just ahead of the battery. To hard wire it you eliminate the plug. The three yellow wires coming out of the stator housing are all the same and don't have to be connected to any particular yellow wire on the other side of the plug. However, you will probably have to use little pieces of wire to make the connection because they will be too short. Use shrink tube and you should be good to go. In your Clymer manual you will see how to check out the stator before you hard wire it. My 85 had a burned up connector when I got it but the previous owner had bought a heavy duty plug kit from Honda and I put that in and used lots of dielectric grease on it. As far as I know these two machines are still running great and had no trouble with the stators. Hope this helps.
Ralph
We just converted a GL1200 over to a GM altenaror. It was a pain to do but works out really well and is hidden behind the plastic.
The Velorex is pretty light duty for a GL. The 565 has an extra frame brace but it runs the wrong way to be of much help.
The Kenna with mounts for a GL1200 is only $2995.
Jay Giese
Dauntless Motors Corporation.
www.mysidecar.com
866-638-1793
Originally written by bljacque on 8/26/2006 8:18 AM
Hey Mike,
Looking over my Clymer manual right now. Soon as I can track the connector I'll see what condition it's in. Other than the cleaning and dieletric grease, do you know of any "upgrades" or other mitigation for this particular malfunction? From what I've been able to derive from one of the other websites, the failure is related to both current draw, impedance/resistance (corrosion in connections) and heat. One suggestion on the heat front involved placing a fan (like is used on high speed CPUs in computers). The fan is focused on the voltage reg/rectifier, have you heard of this and do you see any specific value there? Thanks much.
Regards
Bljacque
Once we learned to keep the connector clean and greased, we had no further problems. As to current draw, mine had lights everywhere, including the sidecar and trailer and I never experienced any other problems. The only heat problems were related to corrosion causing resistance changes.
Hi Jacque,
Sorry that I didn't see your question about the stater. I haven't checked out this site for several days because I was writing a book - seriously, I was. Anyway, I think that my chief mechanic (my hubby) did what Ralph said. We sold that bike to a local State Trooper six years and as far as I know, it's still going strong. When I hadn't the 1200 too long, I had an old guy in NC ask me if I had replaced my stater. He assured me that I would sooner or later. At that time, I had no clue what he was talking about. I think we were up in NY when I started having problems with it. It's a long way from NY to VA with an ailing motorcycle. Well, at least, now you know about the notorious 1200 stater and you have a couple of options for dealing with it.
Good luck!
Connie
