Is a sidecar right for me?

Welcome West!  You’ve cited many of the same reasons that many of the members here have for operating sidecar rigs.  Good call on making your commute less painful!

if you’re on the super slab regularly for your commute a 1000 cc or larger bike is a good idea when attached to a heavier chair.  Looks like you lean towards Japanese bikes.  I myself mad completely pleased with my Goldwing 1800/Champion Daytona outfit.  80+ no problem.  Others are going to chime in with their preferences and yo will have a lot of ideas to consider.

Now.  Please strongly consider purchasing an already built and sorted rig rather than building onto a bike you already have.  There are several available and I’ll make a shameless plug for Steve Ives’ 1500 Goldwing rig listed here.  One major benefit is that it’s already sorted and ready to go.  As almost everyone here can attest, you learn a lot from your first and get a sense for what the next, bestest rig will be and have for features.  Even better is that if you decide sidecar life is not for you, selling an already built rig won’t be financially painful like building from scratch.  Save that event for your second or third rig!

go peruse the classified ads here and (gasp) at the adv site to see what’s available.  Best rule: ASK QUESTIONS.  Many of our members have vast knowledge.  Some (me) know enough to be silly but can interpret some of the technical terms for noobs, having a more recent history with sidecars .

two more approved posts and you’ll be free to add pics and links.

Welcome again  from down under.

Wet weather.

You will have the room to carry proper rain gear.

Parking always an advantage so long as nobody gets picky about the car part of sidecar.

An already complete rig is the be$t way  to find out how you like it.

As mentioned big Honda's are a good option.

Good for big mile's and fast enough.

There's an ST 1300 rig for sale still I think on the other site.

They are definitely harder to tip over but there's always somebody who can disprove that.

The visual thing is real for the most part.

Usual disclaimers apply. 

Hope to read how you get on.

Link to Steve’s 95 1500 Wing.  It is VERY MUCH dog approved - you’ll be cleaning Sam’s fur out of it for some time!

https://sidecar.com/forum/complete-rigs-for-sale/for-sale-1995-gl1500se-with-california-friendship-sidecar/paged/2/#post-93038

WELCOME...West.

You've heard from Nebraska, and Western Australia.... now hear from France.

100 percent agree that you should buy an already completed Sidecar rig, rather than build your first one. A used Sidecar rig will save you thousands and thousands of dollars, is easier to resell, and eventually you will move on to your 2nd, then 3rd, and finally your 7th Sidecar rig, so buy used to begin with, learn, learn, learn.

Also strongly suggest you buy Steve Ives 1995 Honda Goldwing SE w/Champion Escort ll Sidecar rig... currently listed at $ 8,750. The very complete rig is in Buffalo, KANSAS and is a direct line WEST of you. Fly in to Wichita.... Steve Ives will pick you up at the airport, he can give you hands on instructions on driving a Sidecar rig, then ...head EAST until you reach the Atlantic Ocean, or home... whichever comes first.

I personally know that Sidecar rig being sold by Steve Ives, and ironically it was previously owned by Varn Cummins in .. SOUTH CAROLINA. Which means the owner whom originally built that rig is practically your neighbor.

Very serious.... you will NOT find a better put together Sidecar rig for the price, already dog approved, than the Steve Ives 1995 Honda Goldwing SE w/Champion Escort ll sidecar rig... period.

And, Steve Ives is a very, very good guy to chat with.

If you buy this Sidecar rig from Steve Ives, I will personally deliver a full box of STROOPWAFFLES when you attend the 2026 USCA National Sidecar Rally in Mena, Arkansas next June.

West, East…I see what you did there!  Nice touch with the Stroopwaffle inducement!

Good tires, and full fairing sure makes for a better wet weather ride.  Hard to beat a Goldwing rig when commuting.  Good power, great reliability, low maintenance, enough road presence to be taken seriously by other distracted commuters, but still fun to get on a twisty road.  

I've found sidecars are additive and addictive, but not necessarily a replacement for two wheels.  If you can keep both a sidecar and a motorcycle of some type you most likely will enjoy both.  If you can only have one or the other, that's a bit tougher decision.  Maybe leave it up to your dog to decide.  That's what I did, and it has worked out great. 😎 

For the moment the 2 vs 3 wheel question has been made for me by a balance issue cased by stroke.  I'm not sure I will go back to two wheels in any case.  If I did, it would probably be an "old man's" Goldwing or such.  

I really can't speak to the sidecar questions you have. But as to daily commuting, I can. I commuted 5-6 days a week to my last job for nearly 15 years on two wheels, I probably did nearly 300k miles doing that. While another wheel changes a few things, they are minor.

Doing it daily is hard on equipment, so a model of bike with proven reliability is a must, as is a strong maintenance regiment.

Tires, it's not treadwear that will cause you to change tires, it's the heat cycling they will go through, it hardens the tires up. The traction and braking then suffer the most. My ride to work was with folks on four wheels commuting to the SF Bay area, and they were all running late. So that was always a 30-40 minute 80 mph blast so as not to become a hood ornament, then park the bike and do it again 9 hours later, every day. It takes a toll on the tires.

Rain, I like riding in rain, but on a freeway it's the 20 foot rooster tails behind all the cars that get you. The 18 wheelers, well just avoid them, think riding through a waterfall. Good riding gear is a must, I never scrimped on my gear, but I never liked rain suits. At my job, showing up for work looking like I just rode through a half hour of heavy rain and 35 mph crosswinds was sort of a good thing. So what you need to look like when you punch in is something to consider.

Heated gear. While I didn't mind getting a little wet, being wet AND cold sucks. I loved my heated vest. Keeping your core warm is essential, so look into that.

So commuting is great, you'll get to ride a lot, (drive?) and in rainy weather, folks tend to move out of your path more, because they think you're nuts. Good luck with your decision, hope this helps.

If SC motorcycling community offers a 3 wheel safety class inquire if they supply sidecars it would be a good first step to see if you even like it before you drop $$$$.  Here in Colorado when ABATE ran the state training curriculum they did sidecars and trikes yours or their rigs.  

Wife rode the fender pillion pad on the panhead many moons ago, she prefers the sidehack today!

The family that rides together, stays together. 

I don't recall ABATE here ever doing three wheels, but sounds like a great idea!