Can anyone give me the total width of a BMW 1150 gs coupled to a hannigan dual sidecar. I am considering making up this outfit but need to know its overall width so that I can use my trailer to move it around.
Regards Extreme10
Well #10,
If it help,s I had a BMW R1150 GS with a Sidewinder sidecar, and It would kit in the back of my F-150, if I leaned the bike over to get around the wheel well. You can set the sidecar up so it fits you trailer. But will the rig ride well stuck in to fit in a trailer.
Thanks dave but that doesn't help much. I want to make sure that I can move this outfit around on long hauls without altering any attachments.
Thanks again.
Is the problem the width of the rig or the size of the trailer? You have a lot of leeway in how you mount the sidecar. There was an old Pontiac ad that said "Wider is better" and if stability in right hand turns is what you're after, that's true UP TO A POINT. Sidecar rigs are a series of compromises. Making the rig wider will make it more stable [again UTAP] but it will also mean that there is a lot more inertial force present during acceleration and braking.
With a big car like a dual Hannigan, I'd set things up so that the car was pretty tight to the bike, the weight of the sidecar will help with the stability. If that didn't work, I'd just trade in my trailer for a wider one. While you're at it, get an all aluminum trailer. I love the low maintenance of the all aluminum trailer and they hold their value very well.
Good luck.
Other considerations- When I got the first enclosed trailer to haul my rig on occasion, my thought was to get as narrow a trailer as the rig (FLH/Liberty) would fit in and while towing, I'd be better able to see out the mirrors. That much is true. But the rig would barely fit through the door, then dismounting and tying down were a challenge. Fortunately, my son loved the trailer and offered to buy it. That one was a 7' wide enclosed. I now have an 8.5' wide that is much easier to load the rig into. I bought mirror extenders for the pickup but after a couple times, I no longer use them, just the stock mirrors.
X10
What does Hannigan say? They should know. [FWIW, their website says sidecar track is 52-56". add 18" or so to the left for GS, and a 6" or so inches to the right for sidecar fender and you get maybe 76-80" overall width]
Duncan
Hi all
Some great advice there and all helpful.
I haven't contacted Hannigan yet but will. Just thought there might have been someone in the forum that had an actual R1150gs with a sidecar that could give me some idea of the width.
I have already an enclosed trailer which could be widened to 76 inches but with a higher deck which may prove a problem in loading the outfit. If the outfit fits tight I can always make a door in the side to get in and out.
I would need to keep the width as narrow as possible simply due to the type of narrow roads I ride here in Spain. I am also hoping to do a trip to Morocco in the future which again would require the outfit to be on the narrow side.
Regards To all.
No idea on the Hannigan, I do know our sidecars would fit fine with a 76 inch trailer. If it is an enclosed trailer then you would want to take the saddle bag off before you put it in the trailer so that you can get back out of the trailer. If it is an open trailer with low sides it need not be as wide as the engine can hang over the side some. Also how wide it ends up being depends on if you keep the saddle bags and what bags you have. In general we make our sidecars to work with the widest bag and have the track width pre set however on special order we can build track width adjustable so that you could remove the saddle bag and pull the sidecar in a bit closer however you are still limited by the engine and clearance between the handle bar and windshield on the sidecar. BTW, we are at almost 1400 GS sidecars built so far.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
I have a r1100r with an astro sport and the measurement from tip of left handlebar to outside of chair is 6'8" . I also have a k12lt with a doublewide Hannigan and the outside edge of bike to chair is 7'.
Hi to all those who have helped.
I did receive a direct reply from Jay of DMC (always so helpful). Thanks for all the other replies , seems like a family .
This really settles the question. I need to think on the lines of 7ft or so.
Once I start on the project of putting the outfit together I will post the out outcome.
extreme10
While I agree with you that 7 feet should be adequate, you really should check with Hannigan if you are going to mount their dual sport. It is different from DMC's tubs.
Duncan
Hello extreme10. I have a Goldwing with a Hannigan Astro 2+2 which I can measure when I get home. I'll post my measurements , maybe it will help.
extreme10 Just got home from work and measured my unit. from widest point on sidecar to edge of saddlebag my rig measures 84 inches or 7 feet wide. I used two machinist squares to check dimensions. Remember, mine is a Goldwing 1500 with a Hannigan Astro 2+2 . as pictured in my Avatar, hope this helps some.
Is your trailer open or enclosed? My r11 rig will fit on a 6.5' open trailer even though it is 6'8" wide. My LT rig with the double wide will not.
