My bikes stay garaged, but when traveling they do sit out and sometimes get rained on. No biggie -- I've never had a problem with wet starting. Go fast and they dry off quick enough.
But I'm thinking the sidecar might benefit from a tonneau cover, or maybe an overall cover. It'll probably have to be custom. Anybody know of a shop that makes such?
Ed Bianchi
'87 BMW K75C/Dauntless "Lady Carol"
Delaware USA
PS - Carol and I made a 540-mile weekend trip to upstate Pennsylvania and back last month. It was our first long ride on/in the rig. Despite some normal and some abnormal on-the-road challenges, things went pretty well. I was surprised that after a whole day on the road my arms were NOT tired from steering the bike, even though the front-end trail has not yet been modified. Nor was I sore in the morning.
The K75C had very adequate 'punch' for all conditions, including going across the "Endless Mountain" ridges. This despite hauling a full load of camping gear and a case of liquid refreshments.
Carol LOVED the ride, even after 6 hours in the sidecar. (Bad traffic, long detour.) I had a few Ex-Lax moments trying to work through the twists and hills of backcountry Amish roads. But we pulled through.
I've learned the rig is really very capable on the superslabs -- up to 80mph. (Frankly I was too chicken to go any faster -- the bike could probably have handled it.) A BMW K75 is a really fine tug!
I agree that the the early k bikes are a good candidate for sidecars. Rear car tire conversions are simple if you desire to go that route. Steering isn't that bad as you mentioned. If you get to central pa by all means stop by the shop if you can. Feel free to call anytime.
Sidecar cover? Some have modified large outdoor grille covers. Some have had them made by upholstery shops or places that do boat tops and such.
I bought the largest cycleMax cover from Competion Assecories thinking it would cover the side car. When I got it I discovered that it would almost cover the whole rig. I have a K100RT with a EML GT2. Only the outside of the nose sticks out. I have used it for 3 summers or 6 months every night. Still good and they are very reasonable.
Harold in Kansas
I got my sidecar cover from Exigent. Good people to deal with but at the Chelan rally last May, I'd left both the bike cover and sidecar cover at home. Went to the local Wally World and got a couple cheapies thinking it was going to rain and I wanted to heep Archie's bed in the sidecar dry. Seems that one was an RV cover.
I'm having good results using two cheapo (J.C. Whitney) motorcycle covers. One goes on the bike and one on the sidecar.
Bill
While I have a full cover for the sidecar, I very seldom use it. My sidecar (Champion Escort) has a convertible top which keeps the interior dry. What I also did was take the sidecar rig to a place that makes tonneau covers for boats and trucks that will snap in under the windshield and across the cockpit. It stores easily, keeps the interior dry if it rains, and keeps items in the sidecar out of sight while parked. Also keeps the hot sun off of the seat for when the passenger returns. We use the tonneau cover much more that the convertible top, it's so much easier to attach and remove. I was charged $75.00 to have the tonneau made. Drop the rig off in the morning and picked it up in the afternoon.
