Is there away to make a HD sidecar fit a Heritage Softail? If so what do i need to do? Any advice would be appreciated
The Electra Glide has a completely different frame than the Softail. Lots of modification and fabrication would be involved.
It's been done as has a Sportster/TLE conversion, but it entails a lot of work.
If you are a certified welder/ fabricator, go for it. Otherwise I'd consider looking elsewhere for your sidehack.
Lonnie
Hack'n - 6/18/2010 3:59 PM
The Electra Glide has a completely different frame than the Softail. Lots of modification and fabrication would be involved.
It's been done as has a Sportster/TLE conversion, but it entails a lot of work.
If you are a certified welder/ fabricator, go for it. Otherwise I'd consider looking elsewhere for your sidehack.Lonnie
What Lonnie says. I've seen an older TLE on a Softail but it was cobbled and I didn't like the setup.
The Liberty can be set up for a Softail but it has specialized mounts and the Liberty frame is considerably different from an HD sidecar.
If you don't already have the Harley car the Liberty classic has the same body lines as the earlier Harley cars.
They are considerably less expensive than a new TLE that starts at $10K in black, even painted to match and installed, look better (in my opinion), have full trailing link coil over shock suspension (unlike the TLE which has none) and other amenities are also available.
Lonnie
I paid $7,300 for my TLE sidecar delivered with tax, dealer document fee and shipping included in that price. That included matching Vivid Black paint with stripes.
According to the Liberty website, the base price on the Liberty sidecar is $5,495 in black gel coat. Custom painting is extra. I would estimate another $1,000 to $1,200 for that. Then there is crating at $165.00 and possiblly another $200 to $300 for motor freight shipping. There would also be a document fee and sales tax either at the factory or where you reside.
Thus, the standard Liberty is about the same price as the HD TLE, assuming that you want to match the paint on the motorcycle. If you have a Softail and want to have a factory unit to bolt up, the Liberty would be a good choice since HD doesn't offer a sidecar setup for Softails.
I got the 2010 price from the Harley site. It said the 2010 sidecars start at $10,000.
Also said check with your dealer so that may mean more or less I suppose.
Regardless that is a bunch of bucks for a car that hasn't evolved that much through the years.
And Yep, it won't bolt up to a Softail.
Lonnie
(Installing a Liberty Classic on my FLHX as soon as the paint dries.)
Hack'n - 6/19/2010 5:37 PM
I got the 2010 price from the Harley site. It said the 2010 sidecars start at $10,000.
Also said check with your dealer so that may mean more or less I suppose.Regardless that is a bunch of bucks for a car that hasn't evolved that much through the years.
And Yep, it won't bolt up to a Softail.
Lonnie
(Installing a Liberty Classic on my FLHX as soon as the paint dries.)
The Ultra Classic sidecar is $10,000+. I priced one when I bought my TLE. I didn't want the Ultra sidecar anyway since I have no use for the radio unit They get an additional $2,500 for the radio, the higher seat and the handholds.
The Liberty has no radio complement. The standard Liberty is comparable to the Standard TLE.
qcontrol23 - 6/18/2010 5:50 PM
Is there away to make a HD sidecar fit a Heritage Softail? If so what do i need to do? Any advice would be appreciated
I had the same problem. I ended up buying a motorvation engineering spyder because HD didn't make one for the Softtail. My spyder ended up costing $6700 with installation and a few extras like a dog tether, a cover, deluxe emblem and brookland wind screen (rode from VA to IA and back). Of course everytime I go in for service at an HD Dealer they inform me that Softtails aren't suppose to have a rig installed. Once I tell em how far I ridden with one they shutup.
Bubba
bubba48 - 6/20/2010 7:08 AM
qcontrol23 - 6/18/2010 5:50 PM
Is there away to make a HD sidecar fit a Heritage Softail? If so what do i need to do? Any advice would be appreciated
I had the same problem. I ended up buying a motorvation engineering spyder because HD didn't make one for the Softtail. My spyder ended up costing $6700 with installation and a few extras like a dog tether, a cover, deluxe emblem and brookland wind screen (rode from VA to IA and back). Of course everytime I go in for service at an HD Dealer they inform me that Softtails aren't suppose to have a rig installed. Once I tell em how far I ridden with one they shutup.
Bubba
Harley only makes two sidecars which are essentially the same (TLE/TLE Ultra) . At the present time, they only offer one frame for sidecars, their largest, the FL. Formerly they built attachments for the FXR which had a robust frame much like the FL. They did that for a few years when the Evolution motor was introduced to satisfy the needs of police departments who bought large quantities of FXRP's (Police Models). There were never that many built and, today, FXR sidecar mounts are as rare as hens' teeth.
They introduced the Softail, which has a smaller, lighter frame, as a light tourer and never envisioned that it would be fitted with a sidecar. Obviously, they will take a sidecar if the mounts can be fabricated, either homemade or by a company such as Motorvation.
Their unwillingless to recommend sidecars for the Softails, and Dynas too, probably has as much to do with marketing as anything else. In any case, your sidecar will do just fine on your Softail.
