Dnepr Sidecar help!

Some basic instructions are available at the Sidecar Industry Council website.

http://www.sidecar-industry.com/techpages.htm

I am sure others will offer suggestions

I run a Dnepr on a Valkyrie. At the very least, go to www.dauntlessmotors.com and get the weld-on clevis and replacement clamp so both lower mounts are adjustable. It will make things much easier for you. I'm in Menomonie, Wisconsin and there are a bunch of sidecarists over here who won't judge your combination and can be very helpful in setting things up. Come to Menomonie and look at my Honda setup and I'll give you some generic pointers.
Check us out at http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/SKUNKtails/
We have a member with a Motorvation on a Glide and one who came very close to replacing his Harley car with a Hannigan, so you won't be alone.
While you're on the SKUNK site, look at Sidecarmike's photo album. That's what a direct 40 mph hit from a minivan does to a Dnepr. I will never bad mouth Russian Iron.

Thank you for the tips! I am now in the process of joining your Yahoo group to learn more about being a "skunk"! (Funny because I hit a skunk last summer on a trip and later skinned it for revenge...it is now the stuffed backrest on my sissy bar.. 🙂 ).

So the weld-on tabs are a must eh? I was on the Motorvation site and they actually had a set of pics for my bike model and year with a welded on back lower tab..I thought it was for a Motorvation specific mount but i am guessing not now..

My rig is coming to me from Dneprworld.com via air freight for really cheap, It should be here by next thurs. so I will know more about my sidecar by then.

How many sidecar riders are there in Menomonee? I have only seen two in the 24 years I have been living in St.Paul, MN.

You will not be bored at the skunk site as it is surely a good time there. You may also want to check out : http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/dneprheads/ which is a Dnepr specific site. I am not that familar with them though.
Heck..come on and check out SCT TOO WHILE YOU'RE AT IT...THE LINK IS BELOW.
Proud to be a Skunk 🙂 #0001

Originally written by drdusty007 on 8/21/2004 10:35 PM

Thank you for the tips! I am now in the process of joining your Yahoo group to learn more about being a "skunk"! (Funny because I hit a skunk last summer on a trip and later skinned it for revenge...it is now the stuffed backrest on my sissy bar.. 🙂 )........

You're going to fit right in!

How many sidecar riders are there in Menomonee? I have only seen two in the 24 years I have been living in St.Paul, MN.

There are two members on Lake Tainter, about 9 miles north of town, I with the Valkyrie/Dnepr and Gust with a Virago/California and a second Virago soon to be married to a brand new Motorvation. There's also Sheldon in Houlton, (Guzzi Stone/Flying Tiger), Al in Minneapolis (Al has three rigs), Troy in Rochester (Ultra Glide with a Motorvation) Chippewa AL, (Ultra/Harley), Jerry in Duluth (Goldwing/Velorex) Kevin in Rice Lake, (Kevin is breeding sidecars in his backyard) He has an XS1100 Yamaha with a Watsonian, a Goldwing with a HitchHiker, a Kenna orphan, and he borrowed my trailer to go look at a Sabre/Motorvation rig this weekend. My daughter (Brwnidgrl, the fence killer) has a Honda CX500/California rig down in Watertown that was once Kevin's.
These are only the ones closest to me, we have 98 members since Sept. 9, 2003. Not all of them within a two hour drive, but all of them willing to help you out on a moments notice. Post a message over there and you'll meet the rest of us. Check out the photos of our last rally at www.cybermotorcycle.com/skunk and plan on another one the first weekend in June, 2005 also at Cameron. We're also planning a Fall "Look at the leaves through the Freezing Rain" Rally in September and a christmas party at my place if I get the remodeling done.

Thanks! I am really psyced to start riding my hack... you have no idea how agonizing it has been piecing that motorcycle together from the pile of parts it came in. I just hope I can get that sidecar to go straight down the road at a reasonable speed (60mph) or is this too ambitious?

I have a bunch of buddies up here that ride classic / newer Japanese bikes consisting of XS 500 yamahas, Honda supermagnas,Vmax's and honda SL 350's. We have all been looking to start up a sidecar club in the cities but finding sidecars around here is proving to be tougher than previously imagined!

Does Kevin really harvest sidecars? Does this fearless leader of sidecar accumulation have any leads on rigs for smaller bikes such as 500cc yamahas?

I finally made up my mind to put Dnepr on my H-D and not on my Honda supermagna. I figured I haven't really ridden the H-D yet and I wouldn't miss riding it for another month of fine tuning. I am also really interested in the strength of the old Russian workmanship. I will be riding teens with disabilities around in my hack and will need all the support i can get! My Supermagna was originally going to be slated for a Velorex 562 but I got some bad leads on a used one on ebay and it fell through.

Take my word for it. You'll be a lot happier with the Dnepr than the Velorex. Especially if you're looking for stout.
I don't think Kevin really harvests sidecars, I just think he has trouble saying no. 🙂
He's like a friend of mine who has about a dozen old Land Rovers. He says he won't stop until he has one of each one they ever built. 🙂
By the way, Kevin is also known as Hahnda around here. He check in to defend himself soon.

Hey, are you guys talking about me! I might be selling a sidecar or two in the near future. I might just have a hitchhiker sidecar that would work well on a 500cc bike. I can't flat out say it's for sale yet but I will know in the next week or two. Since I did just buy another rig I do have to thin out the herd a bit.

Kevin

The weld on mount clamps and associated hardware are handy, I use them at times myself. However one can save several hundred dollars (if that matters) by using the ball & collet mounts, some minor fabricating (if you are a good welder (or know one) and a bit of yankee ingenuity. Handy does come with a price.
Be sure and check your Dnepr wheel for trueness and concentricity. Many are not either one and can make you feel like you are riding a trotting horse when going down the highway. Though less expensive, the Dnepr QC is somewhat slacker than their URAL cousins.
If riding passengers who are physically challenged, the Dnepr is a lot easier for ingress and egress than the 562 or the 700 Velorex. My 98 year old mother can still get in and out of a URAL or Dnepr, Not so the Velorexes. A safety belt should be used though as they are also easier to fall out of.

Dusty (?),

Welcome to the madness! I am rather south of the above-mentioned SKUNKS, but I still live north of others, so I qualify!

I had a Dnepr car. Planned to install it on my 1960 BMW /2 but ran into some problems and ended up selling it to help finance a new Ural Retro rig. Anyhow, two things: Dnepr wheel rims give only lip service to the word "round". Their wheel bearings are nothing to write home about, either. The bearing is an easy/cheap fix. The wheel is not. Face the fact you will probably have to replace the (obviously) welded steel wheel with a good cast rim plus re-lacing, etc. Couple hundred bucks are possible. Somewhere I have the number of the replacement bearing. I'll try to find it for you.

You can (and probably will) get away with the original wheel for a little while but if you plan on anything over 40-50 mph, expect to have to replace it. Dnepr cars are good solid items but one must remember they are built for motorcycles that are designed for moderate speeds over marginal highways, not US super-slabs.

Sarge

Au Contraire! My Suzuki GN400 Mag wheel was $35 at the bone yard and included the complete disc brake setup from master cylinder to rotor and the wheel bearings were $13. each at NAPA. Dusty, you have the advantage of having the big cycle junkyard in Savage/Jordan and AAA motorcycle parts in St. Paul. Last time I was at Sport Wheels they had an antique Coupe Royale sidecar there! Grab your tool bag and forage! Your H-D probably has wires which makes it even easier to find something that will look like it belongs there.

ah yes Jordan,

I have made that my home away from home for all of the old hondas I have... Never seen the old sidecar, would have tried to buy if I had...was it in the yard or in the museum part? I have some honda mag wheels and a bunch of bearings but I shall go to Napa and get some new ones. True to your word I have wire wheels and they are cast aluminum Akronts which is going to make it pretty hard to match. I think I know where to go to get a stock HD rim, I'll just have to figure out the bearing types.
Dusty

Actually, it was in the back room by the tire changer, but that was a couple of years ago.

ahh well, they probably wanted too much for it anyway. They really make you pay for vintage. You should check them out (sportwheels) again some time, they just added what looks like another acre of bikes/parts just outside the main gate.. I just about have a heart attack everytime I go in there..wow!

To anyone that is wondering what we are talking about, Sportwheels is a Huge junkyard / treasure yard full of 10's of thousands of old bikes British, Asian, and American. They also have entire Semi trailers full of vintage parts that have never seen use. The yards are so huge it is really hard not to have to sit down right away after first glance. 20 foot high piles of wheels and forks, Frames stacked to the sky...really amazing.. A must see if you are driving through southern Minnesota on 169.
Dusty