I've been riding a few years now and the Ural always has caught my eye. Im quite fed up with driving in the winter (Western PA) and Had my heart set on a Ural when I realized...I can get another Suzuki Savage and a hack for about half as much as a Ural T. Problem is...I have no experience with sidecars. Im farmiliar with the different handling characteristics etc but I havent got a clue how to do a good job on mounting one. I'm probably going to go with a Velorex 562 or Cozy Euro unless I can find something else used in decent shape for less money. Anyway...What caught my attention here is that frame reinforcements may ben needed (not really surprising) on the savage to carry a hack any considerable distance. Anyone care to chime in with what reinforcements/mods I may have to be doing to make this a succesful venture? Phelonius is also a member of the savage forum and I've asked these questions there but he hasnt replied yet, and so far as I know he's the only current member of the savage forum to be running a sidecar. I figured it couldnt hurt to ask here too.
On a side note - I had originally planned to keep the sidecar savage stock with the exception of undoing the EPA lean tuning. The solo savage I have now though, I was planning on suping up as much as possible and bobbing. Performance cam, overbore high compression piston etc. Is a savage, well jetted, in stock form powerful enough to haul around a hack or should I be suping up both of them? I don't intend for the hack to be a speed machine. Probably never get over 55 on it, but Id like to know whether or not engine mods would be needed or just a bonus if i did.
BurnPgh - 10/16/2009 11:38 PM
I've been riding a few years now and the Ural always has caught my eye. Im quite fed up with driving in the winter (Western PA) and Had my heart set on a Ural when I realized...I can get another Suzuki Savage and a hack for about half as much as a Ural T. Problem is...I have no experience with sidecars. Im farmiliar with the different handling characteristics etc but I havent got a clue how to do a good job on mounting one. I'm probably going to go with a Velorex 562 or Cozy Euro unless I can find something else used in decent shape for less money. Anyway...What caught my attention here is that frame reinforcements may ben needed (not really surprising) on the savage to carry a hack any considerable distance. Anyone care to chime in with what reinforcements/mods I may have to be doing to make this a succesful venture? Phelonius is also a member of the savage forum and I've asked these questions there but he hasnt replied yet, and so far as I know he's the only current member of the savage forum to be running a sidecar. I figured it couldnt hurt to ask here too.
On a side note - I had originally planned to keep the sidecar savage stock with the exception of undoing the EPA lean tuning. The solo savage I have now though, I was planning on suping up as much as possible and bobbing. Performance cam, overbore high compression piston etc. Is a savage, well jetted, in stock form powerful enough to haul around a hack or should I be suping up both of them? I don't intend for the hack to be a speed machine. Probably never get over 55 on it, but Id like to know whether or not engine mods would be needed or just a bonus if i did.
I know Harleys mainly but there are others here who can help you figure out the reinforcement. Generally with a machine such as yours, you will be needing a subframe. There are manufacturers on this list. One of them will chime in soon, I'd bet.
As to modifications, I would stay away from heavily modified cams. I use a stock motor in my Harley since I want a flat, low down torque curve. Perhaps you could add a bit more compression, perhaps a better exhaust with not too much more noise and that would be all you need. A single is not going to be a fast road machine under modern conditions. The average speed on the freeway here in California is about 75 mph. Yes, I know, that's above the speed limit but that's what the cars are usually doing. As long as traffic is flowing, the cops tend to look the other way. That would be tough for a single with sidecar to maintian or attain, for that matter.
Good luck.
I dont expect the sidecar to go any more than 55 really. I intend for it to be a winter bike for the soul purpose of being able to ride all year. My other savage Im going to bob and definately go for the overbore, cam etc. I was just wondering if any of the mods im going to do on the (to be) bobber would be beneficial on the sidecar rig aswell. The (to be) bobber goes plenty fast solo already and i havent done much to it. Bobber = fast going , SC = snow going.
Here's what Ron did to the Savage. He put a stage 5 jet kit in the carburator, disconnected the hose to the air box and put a cone filter on the carburator and installed a more free flowing exhaust on it. His is a Jardine exhaust. Search ebay motorcycles for Savage parts and your can find most of the stuff there.
The Stage 5 kit got rid of the backfiring completely and this little guy really is fun now.
Pictured rig is bone stock. Will do 55-60mph all day long.
Owner has severe physical limitations and wanted a steering damper but I would recommend wider bars to control the minor nose wiggle for a person with average upper body strength.
Lonnie
I'm running an '03 Savage with a Cozy BUllet now. I did have the subframe & rear upper mount made by Dauntless Motors and they rigged the car from the homemade job the previous owner did. Not cheap but solid as a rock. Will run 55-60 easily, tug mods are stock airbox and carb with 1 size up main and pilot jet, stage 2 cam, SuperTrapp muffler from a Honda XT 500 RVFC (actually bigger ID than the ST sold for the Savage). Lonnie has had good experiences using the clamps from Velorex. If Phelonious checks in he is running a rig similiar to the one Lonnie pictured. Be sure and visit the suzukisavage.com site for lots more information on the tug mods and if they are needed. If I was starting over again, I'd probably try to find a operational rig I could ride and verify it is right. Mine wasn't and it added to non recoverable costs. Max
Threw some pictures on Picsa
http://picasaweb.google.com/jhcn92/10172009?feat=email#
Phelonius runs a velorex. He apparently suffered a large crack in the swingarm after 10k miles with a hack and his box gusseting instructions are there. He also recomends a steering dampner. Thanks for the info. Just rolling ideas around right now.
A crack in the swing-arm? That's a new one. What model and year and what kind of crack are you talking about?
Lonnie
This guy is in PA. He's rather lonely, so I imagine he'd appreciate a call, at least.
http://www.freedomsidecars.com/
