Hi Bill,
Wow!! I looked longingly at the "family" outfit--especially the front end on that beautiful Beemer--and then scrolled down to the Guzzi! Oh, man! I want one--right now. This morning!
Oh well...yes, that's the "family" idea. The one I initially thought about was in an article in Classic Bike years ago, and looked like a hard-boiled egg with the sides cut off and a wheel put under it. Windows all around and an actual door for the kiddies. I like the "convertible"--one could bribe the kids with "having the top down" in the Summer.
Both those bikes have prominent steering dampers--I took mine off and found no difference....now I'm wondering if I really didn't need it, or if perhaps it wasn't working right.
A puzzler...but I have all winter to solve it.
Thanks for the beautiful pictures!
Barb,
If you don't have uncontrollable head shake you do not need a damper.
Many High Performance rigs have them due to the changes in trail under hard acceleration and braking which can cause an uncontrollable wobble.
Many bikes with excessive trail, heavy or wide sidecars may also need them.
They slow the steering, offer low speed turning resistance and reduce road feedback.
Lonnie
Tuther One
still aint figured out how to put pickys here
Hi Hank,
Beautiful! But...it looks like you flopped the film--the chair is on the wrong side!
Kidding, of course. 8^) Every time I kick-start my bike and the sidecar mounts get in the way, I wonder why we don't have the sidecar on the left over here, knowing, of course, that for our traffic pattern it wouldn't work.
But really, it's one beautiful combo. All of you guys have such beautiful rigs--it worries me a little, but mine seems to love going down the road, so I'm not complaining. I'll just run her through a car-wash one of these days....
So, back to the original premise: what do you guys suppose it would take for sidecar bikes to become a really valid and competitive form of basic transportation? Or can it be done at all, whether we want it or not?
Yep i know it wrong side for you & it's a real harley chair so it was quite a trick to chop it up & re biuld it ( i hear you cringe ) i was going to leave it original but the UK government in it's wisdom have decided that after 1981 it is illegal to have a chair on the right. it did look like this
Originally written by Barb on 10/24/2008 1:29 AM
So, back to the original premise: what do you guys suppose it would take for sidecar bikes to become a really valid and competitive form of basic transportation? Or can it be done at all, whether we want it or not?
I think the first thing it would take is for sidecar manufacturers to advertise the fact that they still exist. I can't believe how often I have motorcyclists approach me who are shocked to find out they can still buy a new sidecar.
Next we have to resist the urge to always lecture people on how hard it is to learn to pilot a rig. The more complicated we make it sound, the more people figure it isn't worth the effort.
Finally, we need to change the perception that sidecars are only used by 60 year old men with bad knees. We need to encourage young people and show them that a motorcycle doesn't have to go away when you start a family.
Hi Guys,
Hank, that is one beautiful job of converting that chair! But I have a question: is that a "family" chair on a BSA in the back of the picture? That looks very practical! (The gas tank looks like a late model BSA...)
Mike--good call. I had no idea there were as many people making sidecars as there seem to be. Perhaps it is a vicious circle: they have to sell rigs to advertise, and have to advertise to sell rigs. The way the stock market is going, lots of people may be riding combinations--or bicycles! And somehow it should be possible to make a "Model T" version of a sidecar: a very basic model that would sell for $1000.00 or $1500.00US. Something that could go on medium (350--800cc) size bikes and be large enough to carry an adult or two kids, or groceries.
Interesting thread....it makes one think, which shouldn't hurt as much as it does, this early in the morning.....
Hi Barb it's the one i showed you earlier a 1978 BMW R80/7 with a Pauls Devon Piskie Chair ( not a spelling error ) 15" wheels & leading links & at the moment clapped out gearbox / clutch subject to exploretory surgery. lol Hank
My other one looked like this ( shuda Kept it )
Barb,
Going back to sidecars being a competitive method transportation is not going to happen. Old Hank Ford I accomplished the shift with his Model T, which was cheaper than a sidehack rig, had more weather protection, could carry more stuff and more passengers, was somewhat more stable, could traverse deeper mud and was easier to drive.
With even the P**s pot compacts available now having all the amenities of the luxury models for much less than the cost of a newer sidehack rig I don't see the "All about me, instant gratification generation" embracing sidecaring en masse. It requires a modicum of effort, you see.
Besides, it's not as easy to text message and play video games while piloting a hack with a Latte or water bottle in one hand.
For three wheeling geezers and empty nesters returning to cycling, the trend is heavily on the side of trikes (For some obscure reason).
I don't see the gain here:
You buy a $20,000. +- bike, throw half of it away, spend another $10K to add two oversized training wheels to it so it doesn't fall over, yet it still can't carry any more passengers or luggage than the original bike and it doesn't ride like a motorcycle anymore but more like a WWII Jeep.
The main advantage I see is that you have ruined a perfectly good bike for a set of training wheels and you have narrowed your resale market down considerably when it comes time to get rid of it. "Will separate" doesn't work here.
Lonnie
(Sidehack Geezer)
Hi Lonnie,
Good points. And all it really means is that we get to keep our status in the motorcycling world, which is OK....
Funny you should mention WWII Jeeps--I had a 1941 MB, and I can think of nothing--except maybe a skateboard--that has that hard a ride! You'd think they built it to fight a war!
Trikes. Oh dear. I always wave, because they do have three wheels, but I sort of quietly think to myself, "Yuk. What a waste of metal!" I drove (you can't "ride" a trike)a Harley 45" ServiCar once, and that was enough. If God had meant for humans to have trikes, He wouldn't have made sidecars! Just my opinion, of course, and no offense to trike people, if any, but it seems to me to be the worst of both worlds: as big as a car, no class, and out in the weather!
Trikes--that's a whole other subject...
But it's a fun thread....
Mike wrote:
>>I think the first thing it would take is for sidecar manufacturers to advertise the fact that they still exist. I can't believe how often I have motorcyclists approach me who are shocked to find out they can still buy a new sidecar.
Next we have to resist the urge to always lecture people on how hard it is to learn to pilot a rig. The more complicated we make it sound, the more people figure it isn't worth the effort.
Finally, we need to change the perception that sidecars are only used by 60 year old men with bad knees. We need to encourage young people and show them that a motorcycle doesn't have to go away when you start a family.<<
Very good post Mike. It is really a shame that we do not see as many sidecars out there as we do trikes. Why? Probably due to mis conceptions about sidecars like you alluded to and not the best marketing in the world either.
Misconceptions about sidecars abound in the motorcycle world. These fables do get passed around to many who may be considering going to three wheels and they end up with a trike. Too bad really.
I also agree that sometimes we as a whole are our own worst enemy. Quite a few discussions on the net can get misconstruded by someone considering a sidecar.
Once again the comments pop up about exclusivity. I can't see it. Perhaps I'm just not looking at the issue the same way. I have a rig. Whether or not Joe Anybody also has one has never been of much interest to me. I ride my ride, they ride theirs. I agree with the comments that stress ceasing to point out negative aspects that discourage others from trying out a sidecar rig. Riding is heavily about individualism. So, why is being a member of an "elite" cadre of any importance? If people ask me "Is it hard to learn?" my response is always pretty much the same: "It's just different rather than difficult." although I did mention once that "Once you get over the sticker shock the rest is easy."
Sidecar rigs will never be cheap. They're low in production and require lots of hand work to build. There's not a lot of production lines dedicated to sidecars. There's not a lot of current manufacturers either.
Bike models change often whereas sidecar models change very slowly. The result is that sidecars don't get coverage in magazines and other places. The bike might change but once you're tested a certain sidecar there's not a lot of point in retesting it every time it gets buckled to a new bike.
Unless it's a high performance car like the Armec or Hannigan Bandito, what is there to say? Most other sidecars are simply chairs and have few amenities for passenger comfort. Some of the higher price cars approach the comfort of an economy car with better seating, soft and hard tops, air coolers and other amenities but they also approach or exceed the price of those same automobiles.
Because we chose to own a sidecar rig makes us no more special than those who made other choices. We're not "elite". A better word choice would be anachronistic.
Encourage others, praise the product, stress ease of gaining experience, become active legislatively concerning our sport. Eschew elitism.
If we want to change the image of sidecaring then perhaps we should educate other riders rather than taking pride in being pariahs. I've met more riders who deride sidecars than I have those who don't ride and dis on sidecars. A recent thread on Pashnit featured quite a few solo bikers who derided sidecars even though they had no sidecar experience, not even as a passenger!
I'm riding a rig because it's been a dream of mine. Sticker Shock! You better believe it. I looked into a new rig from Harley, 34K or better and then you had to wait 4 - 6 months for the car. Settled on a used rig, purchased shop manuals for the bike and proceeded to ask a lot of questions. Why? One because I have to ride or trailer the rig for the better part of a day to find someone capable of doing the work on the rig.
Nothing against the folks that have ridden for years, but you almost talked me out of getting my rig, what with the stories about how easy it is to turn one of these things over, or putting yourself into the other lane into oncomming traffic on right hand turns. But then some of you were nothing but encouraging and happy to give advice to someone looking to get into the sport. I still do dumb things, and probably will for the rest of my life, but if I pay attention and take it easy I find that I can have a very enjoyable and safe time. The bonus for me is that my wife loves the sidecar (unlike the 2 wheeler) and we can enjoy this sport and time together. Positive re-enforcement for anyone who wants to know, and there are plenty of them where ever I go with my rig.
Originally written by smokeynal on 10/24/2008 8:34 PM
I still do dumb things, and probably will for the rest of my life, but if I pay attention and take it easy I find that I can have a very enjoyable and safe time.
I bought my first sidecar around 1972. I still do dumb things. :0)
Sidecar ownership doesn't always have to be huge financial investment. I have put together a functional BMW touring rig at a minimal investment. It is not high tech, it is not state of the art, and with 70's technology braking, it is not for the meek or inexperienced. I have scrounged on the internet and fished on craigslist. By locating and purchasing cheap basket case BMW parts bikes I have recouped a lot of my costs by selling extra and un needed spare parts via the internet. I guess it all comes down to priorities. New and higher tech($$$$$$) or vintage and basic($$). Sidecars have been around for many years and they used to function well without ABS disc brakes, power lean outs, stereos, and $3000.00 paint jobs. I bet I have as much fun (or more) on my $3500.00 side hack as the guy on his $35000.00 side hack.
