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First Sidecar question: Why all the low mile rigs?

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Barry

I hesitated to respond to this thread but felt like I should encourage someone getting into the cult. I rode bikes a lot when younger. Swore I wouldn't get back into it. Now, I'm 69 but have a 13 year old daughter and feared she would get hurt (?). Broke down about a year ago and bought an Enfield and attached a Kozi sidecar. We are having a ball. Have put over 4,600 miles on the rig and can't wait to get more. Working on a bigger rig to haul the wife and daughter long distance. Think some of the previous comments were right on target. Some buy the rigs and realize they take extra effort. Like many things in life, what you get out is directly proportionate to what you put in. Big problem now is I'm car pooling and can't talk the other girl's mama into letting her ride on a "motorcycle", ""it's too dangerous!""

Mike in MS

there are so many answers to this question .years ago i had a truckload of police bikes and sidecars .i sold them off .i ran in several of the people at swap meets and other bikers events. most had sold them .they didn't understand how different the handling is from a motorcycle without a sidecar .plus they did not understand setting up the sidecar so the handling was more than likely terrible .that can be a factor .if it scares you you ride it less and less .if you buy it from a young person maybe the wife was scared of it or figured it was too dangerous for the kids .its no fun riding alone .[good reason to have a dog ] if its an older person they may have bought it to extend their riding years because of health reasons .then they ride less as the health problems pile up .or the grandkids grow up .i went back to a sidecar because i could barely walk at one time .now with 2 new hips i am enjoying riding again.do i ride as much as i did when i was in my 30s no .most of my friends from those riding days have passed away or no longer ride very much.then there are a few that are riding as much as when they were young . .the bottom line is not to be one of those owners of a low mileage ride ,ride it as much as you can .

I normally average between 10k -15k a year on my bikes. Some years the 2 wheeler wins out sometimes the rig. This past year i put 10k on the rig and only 2k on the solo. Part due to breaking in a new rig and partially due to the fact he boss monkey traveled a lot with me and she much prefers the rig. Just picked up a new to me solo so we will see what happens this year. Headed to Ironhorse M/C resort this labor day weekend on the rig so it still gets the nod.

Well if you look at the list of plain motorcycles for sale you will likely find all of them in the low mileage catergory also. What you wont find for sale is a ride or a rig with high miles because we have set them up right and we love to ride . I have 40,000 on my Sportster but only about 10,000 of that is with the sidecar and my now 5 year old grandson along for all of those sidecar miles. So just like the Motorcycle OWNERS who dont ride them you have Sidecar OWNERS who dont ride either and decide to sell the dust collector in the garage.

Doug "Rain Man" Plotner 2nd Thief M/M chapter coordinator Eastern Panhandle WV USCA #8789 01 883C Sportster /Velorex combo 95 Ultra Classic Electra Glide /California Friendship combo Iron Butt Association member

wvsporty - 8/25/2014 11:31 AM

Well if you look at the list of plain motorcycles for sale you will likely find all of them in the low mileage catergory also. What you wont find for sale is a ride or a rig with high miles because we have set them up right and we love to ride . I have 40,000 on my Sportster but only about 10,000 of that is with the sidecar and my now 5 year old grandson along for all of those sidecar miles. So just like the Motorcycle OWNERS who dont ride them you have Sidecar OWNERS who dont ride either and decide to sell the dust collector in the garage.

Your mention of the Sportster reminded me of an incident while on a ride up to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. I had stopped at a scenic point when another couple riding a Sportster stopped. They were from Florida and probably 70 plus years old and blessed with good health. They were coming back from Prudhoe Bay and was a little disappointed that he couldn't take a photo with their bike on the shore line. While talking to them he first made a comment that people try to tell them that they have the wrong bike for the kind of riding they like to do (his Sportster was fully loaded for two-up and camping gear), to which he would tell them them, "Hell, it has almost 100,000 miles on her and still running fine. A few minutes later he made another comment that people often tell them that are to old to be riding a motorcycle around the country like they do. He then smiled and stated, "As you can see, we don't listen very well." It was priceless.
I wrote down the encounter in my log book so I wouldn't forget. What I do regret from the encounter was I didn't take their picture. They were so full of joy just enjoying life.

wvsporty - 8/25/2014 11:31 AM

Well if you look at the list of plain motorcycles for sale you will likely find all of them in the low mileage catergory also. What you wont find for sale is a ride or a rig with high miles because we have set them up right and we love to ride . I have 40,000 on my Sportster but only about 10,000 of that is with the sidecar and my now 5 year old grandson along for all of those sidecar miles. So just like the Motorcycle OWNERS who dont ride them you have Sidecar OWNERS who dont ride either and decide to sell the dust collector in the garage.

Your mention of the Sportster reminded me of an incident while on a ride up to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. I had stopped at a scenic point when another couple riding a Sportster stopped. They were from Florida and probably 70 plus years old and blessed with good health. They were coming back from Prudhoe Bay and was a little disappointed that he couldn't take a photo with their bike on the shore line. While talking to them he first made a comment that people try to tell them that they have the wrong bike for the kind of riding they like to do (his Sportster was fully loaded for two-up and camping gear), to which he would tell them them, "Hell, it has almost 100,000 miles on her and still running fine. A few minutes later he made another comment that people often tell them that are to old to be riding a motorcycle around the country like they do. He then smiled and stated, "As you can see, we don't listen very well." It was priceless.
I wrote down the encounter in my log book so I wouldn't forget. What I do regret from the encounter was I didn't take their picture. They were so full of joy just enjoying life.

Thank you Will,
This did a good Start of the Day.

Don't take life so seriously,
its only temporary!
Sven

I still can hear, but don't listen very well...

As the years go by, I'm hard of listening, don't sound so good, and not too good lookin' (don't smell as good either).

Lonnie

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