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Decisions

I am 67, ride an 02 BMW R1150RT and an 86 Harley FX. Want a side car rig. Should I add one to the Harley? to the BMW? Sell the Harley and buy new Ural? Again I am 67, I am afraid the BMW is going ot get me in trouble before to long. Don't want to quit riding and think the side car is the way to go. ????? I know no one else can answer this, but any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks Henry

Wow. That's a lot like saying "hit me!" Both of those motorcycles would make fine sidecar rigs, but let's back up a little. Have you ever driven a sidecar rig? Do you have the opportunity to take a STEP class and "try before you buy?" (www.esc.org) That would be my first step. Lurking here and on Sidecar Talk (http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/SCT/)are also good things to do.
For the Harley, I would look at Liberty Sidecars (http://www.three-wheels.com/) just 'cause I think they look the best. For the BMW, I'm partial to EZS sidecars (www.ezs-usa.com) and have one on my 99 R11RT. They are both here in Seattle (and, as it happens, under the same roof). There is lots of other good stuff out there and lots of people who can put a rig together for you or help you put a rig together.
The research will be half the fun! Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Henry,
After one is sure they want to try a sidehack outfit and have researched it a bit, I am prone to suggest that they start inexpensively. Just in case they find that they don't want to pursue a new dicipline after they have tried it for awhile. It would be a shame to spend 8 or 10 thousand dollars to hook up a hack to a bike that you already own and then not even be able to use it as a solo if you found that you didn't adapt well to sidecaring, due to modifications that had been made to handle a sidecar easily.
I'm a few years older than you, weigh about 91K, with a few corners knocked off but healthy, still riding solo and hacked. I sold a 1991 FXRS recently that I had installed a 562 Velorex on with no bike modifications to accomodate the sidecar. The sidecar was equipt with my own heavy duty suspension option. It handled quite well at speed and took a little extra effort for slow left hand turns but I was quite happy with it as a sidecar outfit. Having no modifications on the bike, it could be used as a solo within minutes if desired. The steering could have easily have been modified to reduce trail and give the effect of power steering but I didn't find it too cumbersome as it was. Total investment in the sidecar, mounting, and attachments was about 3,000. If the present owner decides he doesn't want it any longer he can sell it as an outfit or sell the bike and the hack as is individually. So far he loves it as a sidecar outfit.

What are your goals with switching to sidecar driving?
Short rides? Long trips? local/country roads? Highway riding?
Everything depends on what makes you smile and stay on the road.
Both bikes will make great sidecar outfits, both will be very different.
You can buy a used sidecar and spend less money orou can spend $10,000.00
plus and have every new saftey feature incorporated into the rig.
All the above info is helpful but you need to find out for yourself what you want.
Good Luck We are all here to offer help once you have some ideas of what u want to achieve.
Don't forget driving a sidecar is nothing like riding a solo bike, so that alone will be a new fun adventure for you.