Quote from Cozy1 on March 30, 2018, 1:50 pm

I have to chime in here - I (Cozy sidecars) also have many customers who call when they can't make one of these fit much less safely. I am appalled at tales of missing parts, no customer service etc. Some of the mounts make me shudder. I feel terrible for these folks because most of them are first timers and didn't know any better. Many have given up and written their purchase off which gives all of us a black eye. There are several very reputable sidecar manufacturers/ suppliers in the US including Jay and others who work hard to sell good safe products. All the US suppliers prices are pretty good given your application and what you are looking for. I only wish some of these folks would check this forum before they make a terrible mistake.
Kevin M.
Cozy Sidecars USA
www.cyclesideecar.com
623-512-0377

Quote from jaydmc on March 30, 2018, 4:04 pm

Kevin is one of the good guys in the industry.
I have worked with Kevin off and on for about 20 years.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793
www.dmcsidecars.com

Quote from Deleted user on March 31, 2018, 4:01 pm

Thanks for your comments Kevin and Jay. Kevin is right. These crooks make all of the legitimate sidecar builders look bad.

Keep up the good work you guys. We need you!!!!

Quote from DRONE on April 3, 2018, 12:51 pm

I'm not a Facebook guy, but for the younger generation info posted on the USCA Facebook page might be more accessible than here. Maybe just a general warning about Safer Wholesale with a link to this thread?

By the way, where are people finding these sidecars? Where does Safer Wholesale advertise?

Quote from Jeff_Online on April 3, 2018, 1:17 pm

I really appreciate the people on this site, I joined the USCA because of them. I stumbled on here, but as Drone mentioned, I'm of the generation where I used to find BBS for my hobbies before there was a search engine or even an internet. I used to download things like some of your ideas on a 9600 bps modem. LOL If you don't know, say a 5 page description of what you are doing, would take about 20 minutes to download. To be viewed later, of course, you couldn't do two things on a computer, like download AND read it. hehe

Quote from Valkrider on April 3, 2018, 3:19 pm

I kind of miss those DOS days. You knew what was on your computer, what it was for and how it got there. Today who the hell knows what's going on. :o:-( I started with a 300 baud acoustic modem.

Quote from jaydmc on April 3, 2018, 4:07 pm

I had some one phone me today having just purchased a Divjot sidecar. I had never seen one. He tells me that they told him it would "fit" his Triumph Bonneville America and gave him no support when it would not. Then less then 10 minutes latter I had some one pull in with a Divjot sidecar mounted on his Softtail. He was quite creative with the "universal" mounting hardware that came with it. The lower rear was/is mounted to the swing arm. The lower front makes it so that the rear brake can not be fully engaged and the entire sidecars mounting system had slipped by the time he arrived. Overall these sidecars seem to be "ok" quality but the mounts are very low quality, the entire mounting system is very similar to what Velorex supplies. While the sidecar has a spot light built into the nose of the body there is absolutely no other lights nor are there even provisions for a brake. He told me that he had to have the wheel trued in order to make it even usable and that the tire did not hold air as the tube had been pinched at the factory. Overall opinion of the sidecar is that they are "ok" but like many of the other lower priced sidecars the mounts are junk. And of course I always advocate for a brake that for some reason the lower priced sidecars (and often the "lower" priced selling dealers) feel that brakes are not important. And like all of these other lower priced sidecars do not expect any product support from the seller.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793

Quote from claude #3563 on April 7, 2018, 11:11 am

If the link to the video does not work go to my
facebook site ( Claude Stanley) ...There will be a picture of a red sidecar and a white
sidecar at the top of the page...Scroll down to April 3RD AND YOU CAN
SEE THE VIDEO THERE.

https://www.facebook.com/freedom.sidecars/videos/962388077229663/UzpfSTEwMDAwMzc1NDM4NzU5MDo5NjIzODgxODM4OTYzMTK...............................................................................Claude Stanley

April 3 ·
This 'sidecar' looks well worn. It actually has 400 miles on it and has had one failure already. The slag on the frame...oops welds . on the frame had some cracking. Sad very sad. I do need to interject here that even though all of us who build sidecar on a regular basis try very hard to create a structurally sound assembly it is still true that anything that a human creates or fabricates does have a chance of an issue. Face it, all the cars do not finish the Indy 500 every year even though the engineering that goes into them is great. So, we here at Freedom Sidecars have been said to possibly over build our stuff but that is fine and franly I sleep well at night.......okay.....Now...on the example shown The upper 'struts' consist of a heim end ( spherical rod end) at the bottom. Personally not a big fan of them anyhow for sidecar mounting even when they are used 'properly'. In this case the bolts seem to be 3/8" but the rod ends have a larger hole. According to the owner he was told this is fine because the bolts with the washer will hold it okay. BTW no instructions came with the 'sidecar' but some were sent after they were asked for. ....Okay the bolts that the heim ends are attached with are run through holes drilled through the small square tubing frame. Note that when this is done the proper practice would be to drill a hole large enough for a piece of small tubing to be run through the square tube and any bolt go down through that. The struts themselves appear to be a tractor supply item or something of that nature. The upper clevis' on the struts is the wrong side for the plate they connect to and if you look close you will see how the clevis is pulled together by the small bolt running through it to clamp it to the skiiny walled plates. The plates with the tab welded to them to 'hold ' the struts are too thin walled and, get this, they are mounted to the bike by drilling through the motorcycle frame!! If you look closely at the end of the video when we are wiggling the 'sidecar' you will see the plate portion on the so called frame mounts flex. Well Boys and girls you can only bend a paper clip so many times before it is just two pieces of wire and no longer clips paper. ............The suspension? Rubber torsion trailer axle. Yes we have done a few with this on them for sidecar traning outfits. Works great in a parking lot for a few miles a day. Will it do well over time on the roads with family and loved ones aboard? I have no idea but there is no way that we would consider taking a chance on it to keep overhead down and increase profit margins. Ain't happening and I will not debate it if anyone has used it call me wrong but don't call me wrong in an attempt to say that these rubber trailer , inexpensive setups are as good or better than what all of us are doing today. End of story.....I could go on with this and /or blow it off and just say " you get what you pay for".....but when peoples lives are in potential danger due to inferior built things such as we see here it is worth standing up for what is right. This sidecar will never be on the road again.. It might become a planter which should be a good conversation piece.

Quote from rudyr on April 8, 2018, 2:37 pm

I had bought a cozy scooter-sidecar from a motorcycle dealer in Tulsa. He didn’t give it away, but I could see what needed done so I could fit it to my Triumph Bonneville SE, with 17” mag. Got rite of wheel and fender, torsion axel,reinforced the frame, made or had the mounts. I used the back top strut mount but it kept sliping( one pinch bolt). End up going to Tractor Supply and buying a top link for the 3 point hitch on a tractor, just figured they stand up to a lot roughy treement, cut the barrel added 4”, cut the Hemlic joint off booth end and added clevis on each end, ended up with a hand adjustable top link(left & and right thries and lock nut) $25.00.plus free labor me.Rudy

Quote from jaydmc on April 9, 2018, 10:49 am

Sounds like a lot of work and time for a sidecar that was suppose to fit your bike. Buying a sidecar from a reputable company that provides proper mounts for your bike you would not have had to do any of this work.
Also one issue I have with Cozy sidecars and in general most of the lower priced sidecars is the total lack of even an option for a brake. While they may be right that you may not need a brake but if a brake ever even once keeps you out of the emergency room it was cheap!
BTW, there is at least one Velorex dealer who's idea of proper mounts are exact copies of the mounts we make but to a much lower quality standard. We consider this to be steeling as we were not paid for the rights to copy our designs. For your Bonneville you would have received from us 4 mounts, one is a "universal" type frame clamp which we use for the upper rear as this is truly the best mount for this location and application. The other three are proper bike specific. They move the mounting points further apart then you would other wise be able to and put the lower mounts equal distance off of the ground making it easier to align. Also for the T-100 type Bonneville we make new from billet triple tree's to lower the steering effort with the sidecar. We have not developed these yet for the T-120 and the water cooled T-100 however we do make mounts for these bikes.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793

Quote from rudyr on April 9, 2018, 11:46 am

You absolute right, what I did is not for but a few. I’m 75 and been working on bikes a longtime. You know where I’m coming from. Years ago we didn’t have people like you or many other s that had all the thing people need for bikes or sidecars an parts I’m personal glad you’ll Or in business. It just hard to brake old ways a lot is a labor of love we need to make do with we have and ride and have fun. thank you till my next build. An by the way bought one of the trees for a Triumph from you last year, just don’t need it on this project. But I already have plans for the next one.. Rudy

Quote from Cozy1 on April 9, 2018, 12:39 pm

That was very inventive. I don't think that anyone who is involved with Cozy sells the scooter models anymore. No criticism of the unit but a very limited market,
The mounts that come with them work for old Vespas and Lambrettas. I have seen some adapted to newer scooters but it makes me queasy unless it was done by someone that really knows what they are doing - Sounds like you do!

Quote from rudyr on April 9, 2018, 3:44 pm

You know I did buy my Cozy from Vespas dealer, it may have been a littel to much for them?? When got it was 3 point connection, changed to 4 point connection. Got about 5000 miles so for, like the way takes wind and freeway. No windsheild yet, but got me a ride friend( dog). Cutting windshield down a lot( don’t like the rush in my face coming around the windsheild) and pulling seat out and put bigger arm rest.Rudy

Quote from jaydmc on April 17, 2018, 10:45 am

I was just contacted by some one with a 2013 FLH that he was told the Inder sidecar he just purchased would "fit" his bike and that the "universal" mounts were the proper mounts for his bike. Of course we turned down the sale for mounts as this will never be a safe combination!
Safety must always come first! Life is to short to risk to save a few bucks on what is for most people a toy.
If any sidecar you are looking at does not have a brake, or at least have a brake as an option you should be asking your self why? Usually it is as it is cheap product from a company that is just looking to make sales at as low of a price point as they can and usually they have no idea how to make a brake work on a modern bike. This also holds true for any company that only offers a drum brake. Few modern bikes you can make a mechanical drum brake work well with. Usually the companies that have drum brakes are using the wheel off of a low end bike such as a Jawa in which case changes are it was never intended for use with a heavy bike.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793

Quote from Cozy1 on April 17, 2018, 1:39 pm

It is very disconcerting to have a customer like the one Jay mentioned above. I get them as well. We all know that there is no such thing as a sidecar that "works with any bike". For example the sidecars that I know best are Cozy's since I have been selling them for 20 years. Many years ago I bought a small container of Inders and while they have a couple of good features but I had nothing but trouble with them. That was the last of my ventures outside the orbit of Cozy. My customers have little or no trouble with the Cozy's which is much better for them and for me. More importantly they have US based support and warranty qaccess. The key as Jay says is the proper match between sidecar and bike.

The Cozy is a great sidecar if....... it is used in the right application. I get some calls from customers looking for a sidecar for a full sized Harley, Indian etc. While I hate to lose a sale I'd rather do that than lose my reputation and sell someone a product that is not right for them and might be unsafe. All of us in the industry owe them that. In general I draw the line after a Harley Sportster, Triumph Bonneville etc. When I get a customer wanting a unit for a larger sidecar I pass them along to Jay at DMC. He sends me folks for whom the Cozy is a good fit. This way the customer is best served.
BTW Jay and I agree to disagree on the brake issue with a lighter sidecar 🙂
Kevin M
Cycle Sidecar
623-512-0377

Quote from claude #3563 on April 24, 2018, 11:42 pm

We have mounted a few Cozy sidecars and as mentioned they are okay within their element. We do turn away a fair amount of 'business' if the combination is not felt to be safe in any way. Sidecar brakes? Yes, we do them and, yes, I could make a case for them that would make a newbie think they would die tomorrow if they did not have a sidecar brake but cannot force myself to go down that road. In many cases a sidecar brake can be inconsistant , especially in a panic situation. This has nothing to do with the mechanical operation of the brake but is related to the load on the sidecar wheel , the size of the sidecar tire and also the situation at hand. In a right hander the sidecar can be unloaded , so to speak, with minimal traction available. When that deer jumps out in front of you there is very little time to react. Through diligent practice we can form good reactions which can save our butts but if we have to react to the 'target' and then react again to what the brake did or did not do the overall reaction time can be a bad situation. Many sidecar manuafaturers offer brakes as an option , especially on the smaller sidecars. Hmmm....why an option if it is so important? We can plan our actions but not our reactions.Good reactions come from practice. The inconsitancy that can accompany a sidecar brake in many cases can be more of a negative than not having that brake at all. Some say they are non agressive riders and that is fine but it is a favor to themselves and their family to be able to make an agressive move if needed. It is a problem when any of us step out of our skill envelope but to throw in an item that is naturally inconsistant can potentially do more harm than good in a bad situation.

Quote from jaydmc on December 17, 2018, 10:27 am

I wanted to bump the back to the top. I just got off the phone with some one who spent a lot of time on the phone with saferwhole sale to make sure that the rocketeer sidecar they were selling here would fit on her Harley FLH before she purchased it. They managed to install it, but very quickly figured out that there was no way this was going to be safe.

If the price seems to be to good to be true, chances are it is.

Always pay with a charge card, and check with the BBB in doubt.

Jay G
DMC sidecars

www.dmcsidecars.com

866-638-1793

Quote from jaydmc on January 15, 2019, 2:23 pm

Another bump to the top as it is important. Just got off the phone with a dealer who's customer had come in with an RK sidecar that he calls the biggest piece of #*@& that he has ever seen. His customer told him that this is a "high" quality sidecar that WILL fit her bike.

Her bike being a 1500cc Kawasaki Nomad there is no way this sidecar will ever be safe on this large of a bike!

After 6 hours of trying to figure out any way to make it work he phone us. He will now not be installing the sidecar as he was mainly looking for a second opinion and is having his customer phone us. He figured he MIGHT be able to make it work for $4500

Jay G
DMC sidecars

866-638-1793

Quote from jaydmc on February 25, 2019, 11:46 am

Just got off the phone with some one who purchased a sidecar from Saferwhole. Their sidecar car came with out a swing arm, shock or axle. They told the customer to go out an buy one and they would pay for it. So, where do you buy these parts for an Inder sidecar out of India with out going to India.

They seem to be unable to provide the parts, they also will not refund the customers money. So, what he has is in essence a really expensive planter box that came with "universal" mounts that have no chance of working correctly on his bike despite being told that the sidecars would "fit" his Harley.

The person is a disabled vet on a limited income that spent all he had to put a sidecar on his bike so he could ride. Now he is out the money and has nothing but aggravation to show for it.

Saferwhole sale is NOT a case of you get what you pay for. You get a whole lot less in the way of a product then you pay for and a whole lot more in the way of aggravation.

Jay G
DMC sidecars

www.dmcsidecars.com

866-638-1793