Pulling trailer with sidecar rig

I think the best choice is pulling from the inside rail of the sidecar to keep from having a too wide rig for narrow back roads.
This is especially important when traversing winding roads, mountain passes and byways like Glacier Nat'l Park for instance where the roads are very narrow with a cliff on one side and a chasm on the other.
Attached is a pic of another 1500GL FS III rig (with a behind the bike hitched trailer that I repaired after it had gone off the shoulder of the road in the Coastal Mountains of Oregon when the lady pilot met oncoming traffic in the middle of a tight turn.

Lonnie

One thing I found out about pulling a trailer is that it will allow you to take twice the amount of stuff than you really need, the only time you will really notice the trailer is when you have to stop in a hurry, the extra weight will push the bike and you will stop at a further point than you normally would, they have elc brakes for towed trailers now and it might be a good idea to look into them, IMHO another to mount it like Lonnie said it that there will be less push on the car when stopping.

Thanks guys.........Shadow1100T......I have been riding two wheels for 30+ years now and most of that time I have had a trailer. I am very aware of the handling and braking issues involved with towing a trailer. The part that is new is the third wheel. Bought the rig in August and have put about 4,000 miles on before the white stuff hit. I took two separate one week trips loaded heavy with wife and dog in the chair. Hardest part I found was steering being very heavy. Will be fixing that very soon. New triple tree is sitting on bench waiting for me to install. Most of the time I will not need the trailer, but if we want to stay for an extended camp be nice to take along some extra creature comforts. I appreciate all the feedback I can get as you can not get too much knowledge. Come to think of it, the only accident I have had was towing a trailer returning home from the Three Flags Classic in 1985. Hopefully I have learned from it.......LOL

Speaking of trailers, I met oldtimer for lunch last week. He was telling me of adapting a center hitch to his Ural rig to tow a Uni-Go trailer. He posted pics of his project here: http://sovietsteeds.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=106935#106935 .

Next month, oldtimer and a buddy plan on leisurely driving their Ural rigs from East Texas out West. We wish them a safe and fun trip.

Wingit,
I see quite a few Canuck sidehack/camper rigs at the Bigfoot Sidecar Rendezvous in Nelson, BC (3rd week in July).
I am told this combination is preferred by many Canadians due to the insurance requirements for larger (4 wheeled) camping units. Does this seem like a reasonable alternative to a caravan or camper trailer, insurance cost wise?
Or are these folks just more oddball hackers? lol

Lonnie

Hi Lonnie:
I saw this rig this spring - Don't know if you relocated it, but the trailer hitch is no longer located behind the bike. - Now we know why. 🙂
thanks for the input.
gp

I'm already used to pulling a trailer behind my bike without a sidecar. Just my thought on this, if the sidecar has brakes and they worked as intended then rig the hitch to the inside rail fo the sidecar and tow it that way in order to decrease the wider footprint the trailer would create being pulled behind the bike.

On a rig with no sidecar brakes I'd prefer to tow the trailer behind the bike until I get the sidecar brakes linked to the bike and working properly on my Hitchhiker sidecar. The stress put on the bike towing the trailer behind the sidecar without sidecar brakes will push the bike more to the left during hard braking on a right side mounted car.

Just my 2 cents worth.

>>The stress put on the bike towing the trailer behind the sidecar without sidecar brakes will push the bike more to the left during hard braking on a right side mounted car. <<<

Makes sense but it really isn't much of an issue from my experince. We prefer to put the hith as basically an extension of the left sidecar frame rail. I have towed many miles with and without a sidecar brake and many times quite loaded down with no problems.
As a side note With a lighter sidecar the hitch between the bike and sidecar does seem to add some stability in right hand turns.

I too am having a trailer hitch installed on my bike, a 2008 Yamaha Royal Star Venture with a Champion Escort sidecar. I am having my hitch installed on the bike rather than between bike and sidecar. But my main concern is that the added load of the trailer in conjunction with the sidecar will put undue strain and extra wear on the engine and make it run much hotter the normal. I am having problems finding an oil cooler for my bike. I think I really need to try and keep the engine as cool as possible.

The trailer I am buying is the Tailwind by Tom Finch at http://www.tailwindtrailers.com/index.htm. The company is a few miles from my house so I have seen the factory and the various stage of construction of other customers. The turn around time from order to finished product is about 12 weeks or so. It is more expensive than some of the other trailers but this one is really worth the extra money!!

I've towed 2 trailers and it's easy to forget it's back there untill you stop then the weight wants to push you, neither was with a sidecar but it can't be that different once your moving.

My new rig is being put together in two weeks at Hannigan. it will be a Electra Glide Classic with a Hannigan Classic sidecar. I've pulled trailers for several years, but I have removed the Hitch from the bike because I want a hitch between the bike and car. (just makes sense) if anyone has advice or pictures, I will entertain any and all suggestions. please E-Mail me at snapgadget@ftc-i.net because I don't get to this site very often. I would like to pull my camper to the Chicken Rally with my new Rig, so that only gives me a week from the time I get it home to install the hitch. I just need ideas and advice, as I am a retired welder & fabricator. thanks Kenny...

Sent you some pix.

Lonnie

Getting my Hannigan Astro 2+2 installed on Monday(5/10/10) on '09 Harley Ultra, guess I'll either remove the hitch on the bike or just have a second hitch ball attached to the sidecar frame. Can you just bolt/weld a ball assembly to the frame or do you need a whole nother special hitch assembly. Got my car tire mounted for rear wheel, a Dunlop sp7000 185/55/16, getting the raked front end, etc...Thanks for any info..Doc Wobblin(aka George Martin)

Thanks Lonnie, thats what I was looking for. Kenny