Hello all, I have a Motto Guzzi Jackel with a california sidecar body mounted on a homebuilt frame.I am thinking of makeing a trailer to haul our camping gear and "stuff" to the rallys we attend. My question is, where is the best place to mount the hitch? Behind the bike, behind the hack, or somewhere in between? I've seen some photos on this sight where it looks as if the trailer was mounted behind the sidecar,but I would think that would put even more side pull on the bike. Would'nt it be better to have it directly behind the bike? I appreciate any thoughts of you "more experianced" sidecarist. Thanks Ron,
One favored position is to pull from the inside frame rail of the sidecar. That way the combined outfit is narrower, since the trailer is between the bike and the sidecar. Some heavy camper trailers will pull better behind the bike. The choice is yours.
I agree with Lonnie. Off the inside sidecar frame rail (between bike and sidecar)is a good place. We have pulled some pretty heavy loads with the trailer and had no real complaints. The reasoning for putting it behind the bike makes sense but in the real world 'between' works quite well.
Lonnie, Claude , Thanks for the reply, I welcome your input. I'll try some expieramenting inbetween the bike and the sidecar. Maybe I could make it adjustable? Ron
Yes if you made it adjustable maybe you could give us all a report on your findings.
Oh..another thing about it being between the hack and the bike...I really think it adds some stability to the rig in right handers.Probably depends greatly on the rig itself though.
Claude
When I put the sidecar on my old Goldwing, the bike already had a hitch on it. I pulled a Time Out camper. There were times that the sidecar wheel was on the shoulder and the left trailer wheel was over the centerline. After a few close calls on narrow streets, I decided to try to move it inboard. We just extended the left frame rail of the HitchHiker straight back and attached a ball. The Time Out was a heavy trailer, but we never felt a bit of difference in handling, braking or cornering.
