Why do I ride a sidecar outfit? Could be several reasons. Got the first one because first wife suggested it after telling me the rear seat of the Sportster was nothing more than a Naugahyde Tampon! Then after getting lots of negative feed back from local Harley dealer after I had installed the first one had to prove him wrong. Well about 100,000 miles later and two sidecars on the Sportster in 2009decided he was right and took the sidecar off the 1988 and put a new Hannigan on the "new" 1992 Sportster. In the mean time I still had the old California Sidecar Companion sitting in the shed and decided to find a tug for it. Local independent shop owner suggested an XS650 he had and I traded a Honda 750SS for it. That has been my ride to work year round outfit for around 15 years. I only have about a one mile commute so I'm amazed at times that all those short runs with never a chance to warm up and the semiannual oil changes have not killed the 650. Asked many times why I would ride it in the winter in central NY I just say if I was to put it in the ditch someday it's a lot lighter to push out than my Chevy pickup!
I originally went to three wheels for my wife's comfort and the possibility of hauling excess un needed camping gear around. We've had a lot of great times / miles in the past 5 years with the hack. Recently I've been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and long distance solo riding has become more of a challenge. We plan on some more long distance hack rides this winter so hopefully I won't fall apart along the road somewhere......wish me luck.
When the wife's mum died we inherited her dog ( a great little terrier) when he died 8 years later, the wife then wanted another dog. I wanted to get back to travelling to work by motorcycle hence...,.
A blast to ride, ... and you can tear down gravel backroads with 'em (without fear of wiping out), ... and carry lots of gear when you travel ... to take you to cool places.
Wife is very short, so riding behind me on a bike had her looking at the back of my head the whole time. Not fun. So we tried a sidecar rig and she liked it much better.
I bought a sidecar because my dog outgrew her tankbag. I don't have any cool pictures because she just curls up on the hack floor and sleeps.
You guys really live the MadMax lifestyle, eh! I had the pleasure of spending 3 weeks on the coast south of Sidney (Nowra naval air station), got up to Sidney of course, and flew low level across to Melbourne for an airshow there. Pretty impressive outback I must say. The thought of potentially breaking down in such vast backcountry would always be in the back of my mind. You guys are the real adventurers IMO. Us Canucks have a little "backcountry" too, but pretty tough sledding in the winter - just snowed here (finally) overnight. Enter 6 months of cold & darkness. :eek1
off road riding in loose sand is no fun on my R100 GS. So this is a great way to have 3 wheels on the ground. But riding a hack requires totally different style than a bike - body English is important -it's fun!! Also see a lot of medical conditions that make a hack the only way to go. My condition had a stroke in 2009 at the age of 49. Big dirt biker had 6 motorcycles. Stroke is like a heart attack but a brain attack instead - spent a month in hospital relearning to walk / talk / use my arms. Balance is an issue. Started riding my bicycle after 3 months. So the sidecar is my mule gets me around is fun still different than riding my GS or any motorcycle. I can and do ride my on/off road GS most of the time and mountain bike. Gotta ride so the sidecar is last resort - sidecars are great for off road stability. That's why I ride / have a sidecar. Been riding motorcycles since I was 15 it's in my blood!!!
I think that's one of the cool things about trikes & sidecars is it gives people with medical conditions & disabilities the ability to keep on riding. I'm in the same boat with degradational arthritis. ...had a badly herniated disk (neck) that actually caused me spinal cord damage. It was a tough go for a while there, but as strength and motor skills returned, I bought a sidecar for my Goldwing... and then a KLR rig. I find it is so good for the spirits to keep on truckin'... I mean sidecarin'
My hat is off to you guys/gals. Driving a hack with an inactive passenger scares the crap out of me. These things handle terribly and they wreck asymmetrically without a very active passenger. Maybe someday I'll get the cajones to try it myself but until then I'll stick with this and this but to answer the question, because it is different. I can't stand being normal.
Apart from stuffed knees, being a little different and always loving things that are or look old, I get to see my son smile like this
The primary reason for getting a rig was Mrs B's bad back and her inability to stay on the (two wheeled) bike for very long. It has turned into a real experience for both of us. We do it because it's fun, it's comfortable, we (meaning her) can pack more stuff...the list goes on. Also one of the best things is giving rides to kids who otherwise wouldn't be able to get on a bike due to some type of disease like cancer or a birth defect. Seeing the smiles on their faces...priceless. Cheers.
Hey Kyler (Hack Nuts) thought that sounded familiar. Followed your entry into P3 sidecar racing online. I hope to make it to WV and NJ as a spectator again this year. Maybe you'll get up the nerve to take my ST1100 EZS Interstate Eater outfit for a spin. Hmmm, on second thought "spin" might be a poor choice of words. Ed Sidewise