New Gen 3 Dream sidecar by Hannigan

A couple of things, sorry if they aren't completely on topic.

• Just wait a centon, "BattleWing Galactica" is the best moto name I have seen in many yahrens, hands down. So Say We All! 
• Glad to see rigs out on the road.
• Miss you on ADV, I don't get over here as often as I should.

Happy new year.

-Dynamick

Took BattleWing Galactica into my shop this morning, as I wanted to check the sidecar wheel for grease on the bearings, and I am expecting some new lettering decals to label the rig....BattleWing Galactica.

Before I took this "bike" to Hannigan in Kentucky, I make the intentional act of over greasing the OEM front wheel bearings and axle. I knew they were intending to move that OEM front wheel from the bike, over to the sidecar, as the new front wheel on the bike would be a 16" and super wide to accommodate the new 180/55-16 Michelin Commander lll tire.  I even thought about...like 100 times...of bringing a brand new tub of Timken Red...waterproof bearing grease with me, just to hand to their mechanics, and plead for them to smash as much grease into the new front wheel hub and bearings as they could.

Turns out, as they were attempting to machine my OEM front wheel to a large ID to allow larger diameter bearings to fit in that wheel, to go onto the new sidecar axle...they messed up that machining job, so they had to contribute a brand new Honda OEM wheel to my rig, machine it for the new bearings to fit the sidecar axle, blah, blah, blah.  I again, asked, PLEASE make sure you use as much grease as possible in putting that all together, and they even showed me their tun of Timken Red...waterproof bearing grease.

Home.....and about 5,000 miles on the new rig now, and I thought.....get off my lazy butt and check things over AGAIN on this new sidecar, because you all know....we think about this and that all the time, so there is always something to do.

BattleWing Galactica is in my shop, up on the car lift, and I start TRYING to remove the sidecar wheel/tire from the sidecar.

NOPE !!!!!

Turns out, they installed the new sidecar wheel/tire onto the sidecar frame, and then installed the sidecar body on top of the completed chassis. I find that the only way to remove the sidecar wheel/tire from the sidecar, is to unbolt the sidecar body from the frame, put 2x4 blocks in between the sidecar body and the frame, then there is enough room to slide the wheel/tire off the sidecar axle.

Yes...I did deflate the tire all the way.

Yes, I did have the ECC cranked all the way up, so it raised the sidecar frame/body away from the axle.

All the more reason to do 100% maintenance in the shop, and not be in a position to have to do something like this On The Road.

What I found in moving the sidecar wheel/tire front the axle, was that there was NO grease...as in ZERO....applied in the installation of that sidecar wheel to the axle. It was literally Bone Dry. Yes...they used "sealed bearings", but they could also use bearing grease/axle grease to lubricate metal parts, even if the "sealed bearings" manage 99% of the load.

I was NOT a happy camper. I called Hannigan, knowing well in advance that it was doing me no good to call them, because I am 2,500 miles away, and all they have to do is shrug their shoulders.

I installed Timken Red...Waterproof bearing grease.....almost like it was Franks Red Hot Sauce...I put that &^#@ on everything !

All back together now. Everything works as it should, and if for no other reason, my mind is satisfied that the sidecar axle/wheel bearings are well greased.

To me.....I believe MORE grease is better...and is 100% better than NO grease at all. Sure they used "sealed bearings", but most of us have seen or experienced "sealed bearings" having failed before at times. Extra grease on the axle is simply piece of mind, and added security.

Pics of NO grease on the axle.

Hey Grease Monkey dude,  Sorry to hear that little tale of woe.  Are you planning to do anything to make a field tire swap easier, for the hack wheel?  It is always something with trying to get a new hack dialed in.  I think you had it pretty good though...

I also got another unpleasant, Old DMC (on Jay's watch), surprise recently.

They had trashed the seals on the rear hub, during the build process and had the chain way too tight.  I found out about it early on while sorting out the mess with the front end, at about 250 miles (day after picking it up.)  I put a new seal in, and hoped for the best.

Evidently there was some damage/grit that got into the rear sprocket carrier bearing (think left outer wheel bearing of the 3 bearings on the axle.)  It failed catastrophically last weekend, with about 8000 miles on the hack conversion.  Unfortunately, the bearing came apart and destroyed the pricey Haan Hub that was in the center of the Woody's wheel.  Pic below:

Of course, the bearing failure allowed the sprocket carrier studs to cut a deep groove in the swing arm... sheesh.

Icing on the cake?  Well the Haan Hub actually uses a smaller bearing than the factory set, a 52 mm OD, 20mm ID bearing vs the Honda bearing that is 56mm OD x 22mm ID, and rides on a sleeve to be able to be a larger bearing.   The Haan Cush Drive is also significantly smaller and showing signs of rubber wear at only 8000 miles.  I suspect the Haan hub is underspec'd to be a pusher on a hack.  I will likely figure out a way to get a stout wheel built up for it in the near future, using the OEM hub and cush drive.  Comparison pic below, Haan hub on the left, OEM on the right:

The good news?  One of the few things Jay got right was that there was grease in the hack wheel hub, when I checked it while getting a decent Leading Link front end built up at Chuck's shop in Oregon!

Grasshopper.....er...Ben Franklin, remember that I read all of your posts on ADVRider, so I keep up with all the destruction that was done to your 2021 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports..."rig".

Regarding "On The Road" service to that sidecar wheel/tire, wife (Boss Monkey) asked me the same question this afternoon, and my reply to her was...all 3 of the tires on my sidecar rig are tubeless tires, and in fact all three of them are either tires designed for use on the rear of a motorcycle (tug front tire and sidecar tire) or car tire that is a run-flat (tug rear tire), so if I were to get a flat tire on any of them, I have a tire plug-gun kit with me, and an air compressor, and I have experience using both.

If the tire is damaged beyond the ability to plug it and go, then I would have to install a new tire anyway, so tow the rig back home and deal with it in my shop.

Oh, and yes...I am going to CHECK on whether or not they greased the new front axle, when they installed the new custom made 16" front wheel, new wheel bearings, etc. Since I already have it up on the car lift, it is all prepped for me to loosen the front axle pinch bolts, loosen the axle, remove the axle, and inspect...without having to actually remove the front wheel/tire off the bike. I have a roll-around cart that is nicely positioned immediately under that front tire, so it can support the weight of the front tire/wheel once the front axle is removed, so it doesn't need to actually be removed from the bike.

With the axle removed, I can inspect the front bearings, and grease the bejeesus out of it (that means put grease into it), then reinstall the front wheel axle, tighten the axle pinch bolts, and....waalaa....job done.

For those of you that only get 3k to 10k out of your tires, you have to remove those tires much more often that I do, but with my rig getting 30k+ out of each tire, and probably a lot more out of the sidecar tire, I have to make sure everything is well greased to last that duration.

Follow-up, after the work was done:  Good thing I checked this, and performed this work, as I found the front axle bolt to be less than finger tight.  Yes, the front axle does have the pinch bolts, and I do remember checking those when I got home from Kentucky last September, and I threw a wrench on them and made sure they were properly tightened down. But I did not check the actual axle bolt that screws in to the end of the very long axle. On checking it today, and just placing a socket on it (without the handle)...just the socket to confirm what size of bolt head I thought it might be, the axle bolt turned in my hand.

Yes....that is also now remedied.

Beautiful rig!

Would you know/measure the width please? We are looking to tow the rig in an enclosed trailer behind our small RV when we retire next year. This will be our get around and explore vehicle. 

Thanks so much!

Randy in Florida 

Randy, the full width is TOO wide for 99.99% of enclosed trailers made and sold in the USA, or Canada.

It is 79" wide at the lowest parts of the bike and sidecar, meaning from the far right of the sidecar fender, to the far left of the motorcycle, but down low, as in lower than the left side footpeg.

But if it is going to be INSIDE an enclosed trailer (sadly...NOT going to happen) then you must include the upper parts of the bike on the left side, such as the fairing, engine cylinder head, and mirror (even after you have folded the mirror in.

I look very seriously at the Ironhorse trailers, made in Tennessee. as they are the widest enclosed trailers made. https://ironhorsetrailers.com/

Even went to their manufacturing facility in Tennessee whilst Hannigan was attaching the new Dream sidecar to my bike, and I talked to them in person.

Technically, they CAN custom build a super wide trailer just for you, but at a cost exceeding $ 13,000.00, which was not worth it to me.

In the end, I decided on, and have placed an order for a Bear Track BTU82120S trailer, and it will be here next month. And the dealer I ordered this from in Oregon, has also ordered two more of the exact same trailers, and it IS wide enough to easily carry my wide sidecar rig. It is an open trailer, ALL aluminum, built quite well, and the President of the USCA already owns one of these same trailers, and hauls his 2018 Goldwing w/Hannigan sidecar on it.

My new Bear Track BTU82120S cost me around $ 3,800.00, but that included a spare tire and wheel, and 4 extra D rings.

https://beartracktrailers.com/product/82-wide-utility-trailer/

I see you are in Florida....too bad....but there might be a Beat Track trailer dealer somewhere in the southeast that can order you one of these.

Randy, I actually traveled from Texas to Florida to pick up my BearTrack trailer. I bought it from Florida Trailer Solutions in Zephryhills, Fl. 813-779-8400, near Tampa.

Todd and Cindy Kingsley (owners) were super nice to deal with, made sure I had everything I might need before returning to Texas.  When I later had an issue with the spare tire mount, Cindy took control and had a new part shipped from the manufacturer to my home in Texas. Zero cost to me. I highly recommend dong business with Cindy and Todd, they are honest, hard working people who will do you right.

Post some pictures of the trailer.  With the rig on it. It helps other see why the work so well

There is an outfit in Phoenix who builds an 82X12 trailer with a ramp. It is on my list to go see when the temperatures get below 100.

https://primotrailer.com/atv-trailers/atv82x12/