Gee and I thought I had it bad with a shattered hip and heel. Your one tough guy and an inspiration. Keep it up.
Hey crippled ol man, nice to here from a fellow gimp. I had a chance to go to Doug Binghams ralley in Griffith Park last Nov. Probably 250 side car rigs there, I think half of them were as crippled or worse than me. It was like a reunion. red knecks old hippies veitnam vets. It was a lotta fun.
"I became interested years ago while years ago while watching WW II movies with the Germans riding all those sidecar rigs. All us guys who had fathers in WW II watch every "war" moving that came out!"
Karl
I guess I never really thought about it till your above post but I'm sure this was always hidden in the back of my mind as well.
That and when going to buy my first rig, a new Ural, my wife keep telling me on the 4 hour trip on how she was not going to ride in a sidecar. Listened to that the whole way to the dealer. I told her I was buying it for my grand kids and she didn't have to ride in it so, shut-up! After her sitting in the hack and saying how comfortable it was and how she could have a cocktail while riding and read a book we bought it and headed home. Now I had to listen how great it was and how she couldn't wait to ride for the next 4 hours. Go figure...
That was back in 2003. Now after many miles on the Ural (sold) and hacking the 07 BMW R200Rt with a Hannigan we both will never be without a sidecar rig.
So, old WW II movies, Grand kids and a converted wife are what got me into sidecars.
bigl54 - 1/31/2011 9:36 AM
Hey crippled ol man, nice to here from a fellow gimp. I had a chance to go to Doug Binghams ralley in Griffith Park last Nov. Probably 250 side car rigs there, I think half of them were as crippled or worse than me. It was like a reunion. red knecks old hippies veitnam vets. It was a lotta fun.
I bet it was a lot of fun. Maybe sometime we'll meet up on the road or at a rally.
Outrider, I almost bought a Ural in the mid-90's - but my wife wouldn't let me - she said if I bought that bike I'd NEVER drive a car. She was/is right. I kinda wish I'd gone ahead a bought it then - but Urals have made a lot of improvements since then also. Oh well. I might find a Ural or something else my wife can get into and out of easier than the Spyder I have now.
I was around 6 years old when my parents took us out to eat after the evening milking was done. We went to Cumberland Wi from Clear Lake WI to the A&W drive in. Shortly after our waitress skated away from taking our order a rumble pulled in along side of us, In was a Harley with a sidecar. It looked like the Funiest, coolest, neatest thing i ever saw. I can still remember the waitress hanging the tray on the side of the sidecar. I fell in love with motorcycles that night, and I want my kids to get to have the experience also.
When I was but a mere child in Chicago, I was a junior member of a motorcycle club. I had a 350cc BSA and everyone else had a Harley of some sort or other. They let me into the club with the promise that I would get a Harley, and soon. I eventually did.
A number of the people in the club were messengers and deliverymen for various companies in the downtown Chicago area. They rode machines that were serviced and leased to the companies by a Harley dealer. The dealer, no longer there, of course, was right around the corner from the garage where the infamous "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" went down. That garage is now under the foundation of a high-rise office building. But I digress.
The fellows in the club took a liking to me and got me a job during the summers as a fill-in rider for riders who were ill or on vacation. So, there I was, 16 years old and riding a Harley Panhead with a large commercial box. It was a lot of fun. I got some training, too. They handed me the key to a bike and said "Here kid, get on". That was my training. I did this for three summers until I moved to California.
The bikes were set up with three speeds forward and reverse with hand shift and foot clutch. They had the factory adjustable triple trees which made the large machines very easy to ride. It was really a lot of fun and, during the summers for three years I worked almost every day. I would wait by the phone every morning for the agency to call and when they did, I would ride downtown on the Illinois Central Electric Train. I got there in about ten minutes for ten cents. Can't do that anymore!
So that's how I got started. I didn't get another sidecar until about 15 years ago, but when I did, I already knew how to ride one.
As we know, they can be a lot of fun and very useful. I'm on my third one now.
gnm109 - 2/8/2011 8:17 PM ...I got some training, too. They handed me the key to a bike and said "Here kid, get on". That was my training.....
Reminds me of my instructions when I got a job jockeying cars at a Chevy dealership. When I applied for the lot boy position, the guy said it was good that I could ride a motorcycle as I would be using one to deliver cars.
They had an old Harley with a sidecar and a towbar on the front. You'd clamp the tow bar to the back of a customer's car, deliver it, and ride the bike back to the dealership. When I told them I had never run a sidecar, the service manager said, "That's OK, just don't turn right". I chased a lot of parts on that old girl.
One of the mechanics ran it off the road one day and they decided to replace it with a Servicar. I talked them in to selling me the sidecar bike, though I pulled the car and left it at the local landfill. At 16, I was too cool for a sidecar. 😉
Eventually, I bought the Servicar as well.
Mike ,sounds like you had such a kool job as a kid.
horrorguy - 2/11/2011 12:07 PM Mike ,sounds like you had such a kool job as a kid.
Not really. Most of my day was spent washing used cars and getting yelled at by salesmen.
it sounds better than flipping burgers for a buck an hour .the manager was a nut case who used to nail a burger to a tree and shoot rats ..those were the days ...
I got started in sidecar rigs when my new wife and her 80+ year-old mother both told me I needed one. I really had never been all that hot to get one, but when some unexpected money dropped in my lap I hunted up a likely-looking used one and bought it.
I took my wife on a 500+ mile weekend trip -- she loved it. I also took her octogenarian mother for a ride around the neighborhood. She loved it. Me, I'm getting a bit more comfortable with it, but I still manage the occasional Ex-Lax moment.
Right now it is as much a project bike as a daily rider. But I've made a lot of improvements to it, and have more planned. Just wish I could find somewhere to get some real, supervised rider training. Scarce around here.
Best,
Ed Bianchi
Delaware USA
'87 K75C/Dauntless "Lady Carol"
PS - I'm keeping my wife. Any woman who tells you you don't have enough motorcycles is a keeper.
Ed Bianchi - 2/11/2011 3:27 PM
I got started in sidecar rigs when my new wife and her 80+ year-old mother both told me I needed one. I really had never been all that hot to get one, but when some unexpected money dropped in my lap I hunted up a likely-looking used one and bought it.
I took my wife on a 500+ mile weekend trip -- she loved it. I also took her octogenarian mother for a ride around the neighborhood. She loved it. Me, I'm getting a bit more comfortable with it, but I still manage the occasional Ex-Lax moment.
Right now it is as much a project bike as a daily rider. But I've made a lot of improvements to it, and have more planned. Just wish I could find somewhere to get some real, supervised rider training. Scarce around here.
Best,
Ed Bianchi
Delaware USA
'87 K75C/Dauntless "Lady Carol"PS - I'm keeping my wife. Any woman who tells you you don't have enough motorcycles is a keeper.
Ed - I am so glad that I took the STEP course here in Texas. It really helped me out. I hope you can find one near you.
I'm new to the ranks of the sidecar. Just got my 1990 FLHTC last Sept. and had just enough time to put about 1400 miles on it before the Michigan weather closed in on me. But I got it for the same reason as a lot of you. A factor of age and failing knees, and wanting to ride a little longer.
When I started riding again I bought a VStar 1100 and I thought I could get my wife to ride behind me. Ok that was a non-starter. I went on line looking at sidecars. She liked the ones that open up like a clam shell so we bought a Champion Escort or we ordered it from the really great people of Texas Sidecars up in Leonard TX. They ordered it and installed on my VStar. Was great riding for about 3 years. We do a lot of riding in the Texas Hill country, it was falling behind from my riding group. Time to move up to something with a little more power and torque. I decided to go with the Yamaha Royal Star Venture V 4 1300. With a modified triple tree and steering dampner my ride is nearly perfect. My wife said "I wont ride behind you but I will ride beside you"
End of Story
Rick A.
A Man Of Few Words.
