Quick detach sidecar?

Easy and affordable might be a bit contradictory. The best way to go would be a dedicated rig and another solo bike. I'm sure others will join the conversation with more detail.... Good luck!!

I'm starting to think the expensive quick detach may be the cheapest way to go. Just looking online, it looks like about 6-7000 complete. Thanks for your input.

Hey Trooper13,
Just attaching a sidecar to a motorcycle gives you an inferior handling and much less enjoyable experience. Modifications to the bike will make the experience much more enjoyable and probabbly safer. Once the bike is modified it becomes unrideable as a motorcycle, that's why the majority of sidecar drivers who still like to ride two wheels have another solo track available. I have three others to choose from. In my thinking there is no such thing as an easily removeable sidecar outfit.

On the sidecars we make that come with bike specific mounts, as the mounts do not move you can take the sidecar on or off in about 10 minutes with only 4 bolts, a plug for the wiring and if you order the optional brake a quick disconnect for the brake, However, A few things to keep in mind, the lower two bolts are not all that easy to get to and once you have the sidecar off it is not all that easy to move around so if you are going to do this often you will want a cart to hold the sidecar when taking it on or off. Also when ever you add a sidecar to a bike you end up with heavy steering. If you want light steering then you will want to reduce trail on the front end of the bike. The way we reduce trail on the street glide is to change the triple tree's to tree's that move the front wheel forward about 2 inches. However if you do change trail to make it a better sidecar bike, it is not a good idea to ride with out the sidecar. Almost all of our customers who order a sidecar with the idea of taking it on and off find that they are having so much fun with the sidecar that they do not want to take the sidecar off.
I would be glad to answer any questions you may have if you want to give me a call.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793

Good question Trooper, but I am of similar opinion to Sidewise and jaydmc. Our 1st rig was the Sportster, and, over a couple+ years, it has been modified strictly for sidecar duty, including the triple trees to reduce the trail which was worth the trouble and expense. As for as easy off/on, I haven't found it. Seems it takes me an hour to dismount the sidecar and about 4 hours to re-mount it, but I admit I'm kinda slow. As Jay says, we have so much fun with the sidecars we do not want to take the sidecar off. And as Tom points out, the best way to go would be a dedicated rig and another solo bike -- I have, but after this summer I'm now down to 1 small two-wheel motorcycle.

Thanks for the input! I have a 1200 sporty as a 2nd bike. We do a lot of highway miles, will the sporty have enough oomph to get our combined human weight of 320 lbs up the highway if I put a sidecar on it?

Your 1200 should have no problem, We had an 883 for a while that would pull us on the highway no problem however we seldom were in 5th gear as 4th worked out much better.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793

What year is your sporty? I ask because of gear ratio and cams. I found over the years that a stage one upgrade does perfect increase in HP/torque.

It's a 96 with a stock engine and trans.

I have a 1200 sporty as a 2nd bike.

I to have a '96 883/1200cc conversion Sportster as one of my two wheeled bikes. What is your primary bike it may be better suited to sidecaring than your sporty?

'08 Street Glide. It is probably better suited, but it is my main ride and I really want to keep it as a 2 wheeler.

Trooper13 - 10/24/2013 4:18 PM
It's a 96 with a stock engine and trans.

Trooper, should you consider the Sportster, I make a couple of recommendations for a dedicated rig:

 1. Gear it down by replacing the front pulley with a take-off from an 883 -- makes both 1st & 5th gears more usable; and

 2. Install appropriate triple trees to ease the steering effort -- ours is "raked" 5-degrees.

We have made similar changes to our 2002 XL883R rigid-mount Sportster.  It's a great little rig, handles very well, and is quite efficient -- returning 40+mpg up to ~60mph:

 

Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox

 

Thanks swamp fox, gonna think about this some more.

A 96 1200 sporty runs a "w" cam set which give you good low RPM torque ,a set of SE 497's would be better for performance with a stage one ,but the W's will work.
The 883 front sprocket (28 tooth) will give you better take off and highway cruising since it will increase your RPM's at speed...keeping you in the torque band ,but your MPG will be less.
Also if you keep the same final drive belt ,you will be right at the end of adjustment ,since the 883 sprocket is smaller in diameter ,I would use an 883 belt so you can have some adjustability.

If you need some advice on a stage one upgrade or parts ,let me know,I'll be glad to help in both departments .