I am considering getting a bigger scooter and adding a sidecar.
Around here all I can find for scooter sidecars are vintage vespas or modern 150s. I'm not interested in the vintage vespas because I'm looking for a more enviromentally friendly mode of transport (correct me if I'm wrong but I was told that the newer engines are better for the environment) and the 150 engine just seems to be too small to pull 2 people plus a sidecar for any distance.
So I'm wondering what kind of sidecars and mounts are out there for which modern scooters. And if anyone knows of any suppliers in/near Ontario Canada that would be great.
I'm also in the market for general information:
1) Are modern scooter engines better for the environment?
2) My small engine scooter gets great milage. What can I expect from a larger scooter with/without a sidecar? Will it still beat a car for mileage?
3) Can you dismount/mount the sidecar easily so you can use the scoot with/without whenever you want to switch?
4) What would you recommend for the minimum engine size for a 250lb man commuting?
TIA for any advice/information
B
Texas Sidecars manufactures, sells and mounts sidecars for scooters.
The same Cozy brand sidecars you see on vintage scooters are also available for small motorcycles. For the larger scooters something like a small velorex might be suitable.
1) Are modern scooter engines better for the environment?
In general, yes. Most modern scooters over 50cc are 4 strokes and are better from an emissions standpoint (and fuel consumption too) than a vintage, 2 stroke vespa.
2) My small engine scooter gets great milage. What can I expect from a larger scooter with/without a sidecar? Will it still beat a car for mileage?
My Kymco 250 (top speed indicated on speedo of 82mph) used to get 52mpg (no sidecar). Other users reported approx. 60mpg. The 400/500/600 and 650 scooters will get lower mileage (approximately the same mileage a similar sized motorcycle would get).
I'll leave others to give details about gas mileage with a sidecar except to say that the sidecar causes a substantial decline in mileage in most cases.
3) Can you dismount/mount the sidecar easily so you can use the scoot with/without whenever you want to switch?
Others can also answer in detail but in general it is not recommended.
4) What would you recommend for the minimum engine size for a 250lb man commuting?
What is the distance you commute and the traffic speed you need to keep up with? I weigh 320lbs, the Kymco was completely adequate for a 25 mile one way commute at sustained speeds of 65mph. It was OK for short trips on the 70mph speed limit freeway but I had little passing power in reserve and I wouldn't really recommend regular freeway riding. No sidecar. Any decent brand, modern 250 scooter should perform similarly.
If the 150cc scooters are any indication, expect to lose 10mph or more off of your top speed with a sidecar.
If you need more speed, consider a 400/500cc scooter - they have 95mph top speeds without sidecar and will be fast enough for regular freeway riding - Suzuki and Yamaha both make 400cc scooters. Piaggio makes 2 types of 500cc sccoters and Kymco has one also.
The 600 and 650 scooters (Honda Silverwing and Suzuki Burgman) are large, fairly heavy and have top speeds over 100mph. These are the best bet if you intend to do any longer distance sidecar hauling with a person in the hack.
Price wise, the 250cc+ scooters start to look too expensive IMO. For the price of a new Honda Helix, you can buy a 250 Ninja and have $1600 left over (US prices). The ninja is also faster than a helix and is truly freeway capable. You come close to being able to get a KLR650 for the same price (an excellent commuter bike BTW).
The 600/650s are almost $8000US and that leaves you a lot of motorcycle options in that price range.
We have a Reflex (250cc)/Texas sidecar rig.
Here in flat Florida the rig cruises nicely in the 50-55 mph range and tops out around 65 with me @ 265# and another 150#'s in the car.
We see upper 50's for mpgs with the sidecar.
Without the car and ridden in the 55-60 mph range we see low 70's for MPG's.
The bare Reflex will approach 80 mph, but mpg's drop off to the 60's when ridden over 65 mph.
Yes you can dismount the car for bare scooter use.
It takes about 10 mins to remove the car, but over 30 to re-install as body panels have to be removed to re-mount.
It needs to be done often or not at all due to funky tire wear in rig mode.
Every commute is different. If you have no hills and can stay under 55 a 250 scooter rig is sufficent, but you have very little reserve.
