i see alot of sidecars mounted to swingarmed bikes.
but i am looking at hardtailing my xs650 yamaha and mounting my sidecar to it.
what is the pros and cons of such?
Most all the early sidehack rigs were hardtails. Just run lower air pressure and a fatter tire (if possible) to save your back like any hardtail.
We've put fully suspended sidecars on hardtails with no adverse feedback.
That Spirit Eagle will be a good match for the XS.
It'll probably handle better that a XS650 with stock shocks.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
It should do well. I had been comunicating with a guy in Arkansas who is also doing a hardtail rig based on an XS650. His is a weld on with A 2" stretch.
Play with the rear tire air like Lonnie aluded to. A sprung seat may be a good move also.
One of my all time personal favorte sidecar rigs was a simple XS650 with a Velroex on it. The thing took me all over the east coast from New England to Florida with little complaint. It did eat altenator brushes fairly often so I carried a spare set.
Going down one tooth on the front sprocket is not a bad thing. You can run an avon on the front. Running the forks up into the trees is not a bad thing as are wider bars. There are various flat track bars out there that work very well for leverage.
Take your time getting used to the rig as it will handle a little differently than conventional rigs. The spirit eagle will be light so a wider track width is not a bad idea.
Should be a cool rig.
Claude,
It's good to hear I'm not the only one with XS650 brush issues. My first out of state ride was on one and it shot craps a number of times due to my bro fixing it for me before the trip. Funny story but it sure wasn't at the time.
