my wife is asking me if there is some way to put a door on the right side of the tub on our TLE. im also in the process of either aquiring stock ultra handles or making my own. [this is all related to her 5 bad disks.. the sidecar has been a godsend since she can still go - with the solo bike she quit riding 4 years ago when she couldnt tolerate it more than 5 or 10 mins - now she is hooked....]
has anybody seen a door made? or is there a mfg of such a item? or do i get to be the guiea pig here?
*sigh*
i have all winter to sort this out - i ride some in the cold but she usually wont - but she wants it done by spring..
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I have never seen a Banana style body with a door.
It's no doubt doable but it will take a lot of body reinforcement to accomplish. The access space would be very limited unless it had a "suicide" door that opened from the front.
Lonnie
formed steel u made out of a piece of 5/16" steel sheet.......
i dont know...
the projects i get into when she needs something....
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Check out the Trans-Moto site, they do Harley stuff.
David
Sounds like a fun project.
Some thinking out loud....
I think Lonnie's mention of a suicide door makes sense as far as getting the most benefit for the work invloved.
Beefing up the body for the opening is a good idea if not maybe a necessity. Going overboard with thsi will nto hurt anything but trying to pull it off with little reinforcement might be a mess. To me taking a chance in this area isn't worth the risk.
Possibly do the reinforcing prior to doing the door cutout. If the exisiting inner part of the body where the door was to be placed was built up with a lamination process then possibly the door itself could be cut out afterwards with no ill effects.
The reinforement of the body shoudl probably also be run out away from just the door area to get the best results.
To beef up the body one coudl apply more layers of fiberglass inside it. Could also maybe put in some wood and glass it in. (Some will say this is a no no). Steel can also be used as suggested.
Of course one could also do a full or partial flip front if they really went nuts with the thing.
Keep us posted 🙂
well so far the best options look like
A make the door frame and the reinforcing frame at the same time to fit the curvature of the body most likely out of steel since it can be formed and bent and heated to fit - make a cardboard model first - then a wood model - the form the steel to the wood model.
then bolt it on with 3/8 button heads & hardened washers every 2" all the way around using sand paper and epoxy to bond it all together & THEN cut the body with a high speed 1/4" router with a guide that fits in the metal gap - and have the seal part of the steel inner door...
B just save all that work and purchase a l&w steel body with a door...
*sigh*
i think the sanity path is to set aside the cash for a new l&w body, paint, fittings - then try and make the door - if its a total bust - get the new steel body
WHY cant i just say "no dear that cant be done" WHY!... arrrrrggggg
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timo482 wrote:
>>i think the sanity path is to set aside the cash for a new l&w body, paint, fittings - then try and make the door - if its a total bust - get the new steel body<<
Merle Wolfe's shop is about 50 miles from us. He does make a decent metal body in various styles.
For those who are not familiar with His work here is a link to his website:
http://www.l-wbody.com/
Timo482, remember what you told me when I asked about moddifying the fairing lower. [been there, tried that, it was a expensive total waste of time made a perfectly good part into landfill fodder] Your on a different train this time, but you might be heading down the same tracks. If you get my drift.
You would probley be better off getting an extra body that you can moddify. Then bolting it onto your sidecar frame, and keeping the original body stock. Just my 2 cents.
the reason i have not started at all is that i really do not like the idea of trying to put a door on the body at all. but swmbo really wants it...
arrrrrgggg
im not going to do anything until i have the cash to purchase one of the metal bodies with a door in it. - storing the factory body intact so i can put it back to stone stock for resale has real advantages.... of course with the way they depreciate these days it may be moot -
that said - i could spend up to 400 on a door and still be ahead as long as it has the fit and finish and function of a factory part... and 400 will purchase a lot of material and tooling
Originally written by timo482 on 10/24/2007 8:33 AM
the reason i have not started at all is that i really do not like the idea of trying to put a door on the body at all. but swmbo really wants it...
arrrrrgggg
im not going to do anything until i have the cash to purchase one of the metal bodies with a door in it. - storing the factory body intact so i can put it back to stone stock for resale has real advantages.... of course with the way they depreciate these days it may be moot -
that said - i could spend up to 400 on a door and still be ahead as long as it has the fit and finish and function of a factory part... and 400 will purchase a lot of material and tooling
I've owned three Harley sidecars with the fiberglass torpedo style in the past 25 years. I've had two of them totally apart for painting and repairs. My present one is a 2007 TLE.
The bodies are fairly strong with the standard construction. I'll be the first to admit that they are hard to get into, especially if there are physical problems.
Having said that, putting a door in one is a terrible idea. First, although it would have to be a "suicide" style, there simply isn't enough room. Even with the door, the fender and brake are in the way.
If you do this, the body will be terribly weak regardless of how you attempt to brace it.
Finally, after you complete such a modification, the sidecar would be totally worthless as a resale. Let me repeat that, totally worthless.
A far better idea would be to buy a Ural or similar sidecar body (Dnepr?)and mount it onto the harley frame. There are only six bolts holding the body onto the frame and you could even mount it a little farther forward to make it easier to get into. That would make a fairly nice rig with the access that is needed for your S.O.
That would permit you to keep the HD sidecar body in original condition so that it would be more tempting if you ever do a resale.
Just my 2 cents.
oh yes - resale is a big deal
basically thats what gives me pause - changes just kill the value unless its a factory change or very simple to reverse - like changing a tire for instance. [this is why i have a nice box with the bike vin on it with the stock right lower, stock right brake pedal, stock master cyl, seat, rear wheel,front tree & bearing packed in grease and wrapped, etc - when i go to sell ill put that stuff back on and voila! stone stock]
all in all the best plan [if i have to get a door] looks to be to get a replica steel 1967 style body and put the original on a shelf. the bolt pattern has not changed and the size is still the same... the 67 bodies actually look cool too.
probably the cheapest all around actually
of course if i can convince swimbo that a door is not needed or possible that would be the cheapest... but i promised her i would reaserch it for her - so i am.
the ultra style handles - those ill simply have to do somehow. again im highly tempted to just order up the factory parts and install them along with a ultra windshield.
to
If going with one of Merle's reproductions you may want to ask him if they are a bolt on or close to it using your springs and whatever.
If going with a Ural or some other body as suggested you may have to do some mods to spring the body so to speak.
I doubt if your better half would be happy with a Ural body mounted onto a rigid sidecar frame with no springs under it. The stock ural body mounts do have some give to them but that is questionable at best for this application and they more than likely will not mount onto th eHarley sidecar frame.
Anyhting can be done but it is trying to make it work properly that is the challenge.
The original springs on the Harley sidecar would work just fine. There would be no need to remove them. The Ural sidecar could mount directly onto the spring pads on the Harley sidecar. At the most, you might have to make a small subframe to match the Ural body to the spring mounts on the Harley.
Originally written by gnm109 on 10/26/2007 10:30 AM<BR><BR>The original springs on the Harley sidecar would work just fine. There would be no need to remove them. The Ural sidecar could mount directly onto the spring pads on the Harley sidecar. At the most, you might have to make a small subframe to match the Ural body to the sprins mounts on the Harley.
GNM109,
I think you may be right with your idea,the ural body I think is flat across the bottom correct?
Should the body be to wide across the bottom to mate to the HD frame a pad across the bottom to match the "harley holes then spacers to shim up over the spring shackles and then a plate to match what ever hole spacing you need to mount the ural body between the shims something like square or round pipe for shimming material.
I think depending where the holes lay in the ural I would use a plate with matching holes for the ural mounting to the frame to "samwich" it inside and out on the body mounting.
One last thing a compentant welder would be ALSO required for the above fabrication for mounting.
Then again,I believe that Merill still makes the HD bodies with the doors on the "65" and down bodies the windshield would be pushed forward and it may make it a little easier for the in and out process for the passanger to get in and out.
Originally written by hdrghack on 10/26/2007 9:19 AM
Originally written by gnm109 on 10/26/2007 10:30 AM
The original springs on the Harley sidecar would work just fine. There would be no need to remove them. The Ural sidecar could mount directly onto the spring pads on the Harley sidecar. At the most, you might have to make a small subframe to match the Ural body to the spring mounts on the Harley.
GNM109,
I think you may be right with your idea,the ural body I think is flat across the bottom correct?
Should the body be to wide across the bottom to mate to the HD frame a pad across the bottom to match the "harley holes then spacers to shim up over the spring shackles and then a plate to match what ever hole spacing you need to mount the ural body between the shims something like square or round pipe for shimming material.
I think depending where the holes lay in the ural I would use a plate with matching holes for the ural mounting to the frame to "samwich" it inside and out on the body mounting.
One last thing a compentant welder would be ALSO required for the above fabrication for mounting.
Then again,I believe that Merill still makes the HD bodies with the doors on the "65" and down bodies the windshield would be pushed forward and it may make it a little easier for the in and out process for the passanger to get in and out.
I think it would be very easy to mount a Ural or some other sidecar body with a door. It could be done just as you suggest.
