I'm considering 2 different v-strom outfits and I'm trying to sort out the 2 of the big differences between them.
Both are v-strom tugs with a DMC72D car.
Cars are optioned out essentially the same with the exception of the tire/wheel. Both have electric trim and a brake. Outfit A has a 15" wheel with a car tire. Outfit B has a 19" V-Strom wheel and runs a 110/90 tire.
What are the differences that I'm going to notice? I assume the car tire will last 2-3 times longer than the bike tire. How long do sidecar tires usually last?
The other major difference is displacement. outfit A is a 1000 and B is a 650. It's pretty obvious what that difference would be, but I have 70k miles on a DL 650 so I'm pretty comfortable to assume it will be more than adequate for the task.
Thanks.
Sidecar tires last forever, or at least until the rubber starts cracking from age. I'm speaking from Ural experience - heavy bike heavy car. I put my worn out pusher tire (Dro) on the sidecar, and after 3 more pusher tires, I can't really don't see much difference. Car tire as the pusher? Now there's a real difference using a car tire for the pusher. They can last easy double what a bike tire will. Since you aren't leaning the rig for steering, having a wide flat tire just means more traction. If one bike has the car tire, I would go with that, all things being equal. If it's the sidecar tire, just decide which one you like the looks of.
Auto tire has a much larger footprint. PSI load is much lower and it won't be working from side to side as a solo bike tire does. The auto tire will last longer. How long will depend upon what tire you are using. There's lots of difference in either choice. Continental or Dunlop for instance.
URAL: Light bike, heavy sidecar.
Hack'n - 10/10/2015 7:39 AM
URAL: Light bike, heavy sidecar.
I've seen heavy used to describe sidecars before. Can you quantify light and heavy? Where does a 200lb car fit on the spectrum?
Thanks.
For single passenger sidecars: Harley is one of the heaviest at 275#. URAL about 230# (with spare # rack), Terraplane 225#, TR500 Steib 240#.
Lightweights: 140# to 160#: Spirit Eagle, CSC Companion (and similar clones), early Velorex 560 & 562 154#, Steib 350 160#.
I'd say around 200# is a middleweight: FSI & FSII, Watsonian, Champion Escort & Legend.
Lonnie
