One of the reasons i ride a sidecar One of the reasons my wife rides her own sidecar now .:huh Cheers Ian
Not long after I passed my bike test, I saw a magazine article about the Ural and ever since have had an itch to get a sidecar. Money, time and knowledge meant I never got round to it. In may last year I got a contracting job which meant living away from home during the week, and a total weekly commute of 600 miles. Doing this trip in the 4x4 was costing me £230 a week in diesel, but I had too much stuff to take on the bike. I decided that I could justify a sidecar on the saving in fuel, and finally got one. The savings on the weekly fuel bill, £80 a week instead of £230, meant it paid for itself in just a few months. My only regret with getting the sidecar fitted, is that I never did it years ago........
I've always thought they looked like fun. I've had a couple of BMWs so the Urals looked interesting to me. I went to an open house at Crawford's a year and a half ago and he took me for a ride and let me pilot his Gear Up. I decided to go a different way, just got my Harley rig together, a 93 Tour Glide and a 96 sidecar. I went through the parking lot at my local bike night on my first ride on it yesterday. Its a hoot to ride, I'm sure it needs some fine tuning of the alignment but I don't know how its supposed to ride so it seems ok to me (only got it up to about 35 mph so far). The other bikes may not get ridden as much now.
Some of the best fun I've had in years and a great work out that seems to be what's keeping my bulging disk from pushing on the sciatic nerve.
After purchasing a naked 83 Goldwing with an EML attached, I have to say my GS1100 sits in the garage. Why you ask? because every turn puts a smile on my face. Sometimes I can get my wife and daughter to go with me, not often as its not their thing, but they don't mind that its my thing. I have a 2 week trip in July on my rig, I can't wait
Because my wife wanted a Ural, so she got one. I came home and quickly found out that is was more fun than any bike I've ever owned. That, and it is hard to get this guy to ride pillion. Sent from my Droid 2 Global using Typotalk 2
Decided that after 48 years of riding two wheels it was time to see if an "old dog" could learn new tricks. Took a weekend sidecar class and fell in love. Still have my two wheeler but find that I'm enjoying the sidecar rig maybe a little too much. I'm thinking of hacking the Triumph T100, too. That way I can have a "big" rig (BMW R1100 w/EZS car) and a "little" rig. Karl
Because four years ago I was in a coma for ten days and they thought I might not make it.......... Honda sat in garage gathering dust until last October when I purchased a Velorex sidecar to solve strength/balance issues.... In rehab now............expect to escape and go home in about two weeks.......... Having my fork seals and fluids replaced and a new back tire put on very soon......... Wanna ride with the big boys............
Wife wouldn't ride on the back of the bike with a bellyfull of arms and legs. Once the daughter was born she wouldn't fit in a pannier. Then the daughter wouldn't ride on the back with a bellyfull of arms and legs. Then the grand-daughter wouldn't fit in a panner. A sidecar solved all those problems. (In retrospect a surgical snip would solve all those problems and prove cheaper).
I had gotten to be a pretty decent pavement rider, have always been intrigued by them, they are not a trike ! I got a Mini Schnauzer named Justin whose always along and his folding box bungied on the back of a two wheeler almost seems abusive, time to learn something new, I'm basically a dual sport rider and most of my favorite haunts in Mississippi River Valley are not fast anyway, so its a new adventure.DB
Because I cause a serious case of UDF any time I see a sidecar rig. I've always loved sidecars and just this past week put down a deposit on a DMC rig to be fitted sometime the beginning of next year. Essentially I want it for those times I want to take my dog, nephew, mother or whoever with me and not have tow kery about crushing them with a bike. Plus, I'm a self-proclaimed wuss: the idea of going off road is appealing but the potential ouchiness factor holds me back. :huh Yeah, I'm a total wimp but am willing to bet my riding habits change a lot with this sidecar rig.
I just dig things that are fun. Sidecars are what you make of them. THEY ARE NOT FOR EVERYBODY That is for sure! Prior to the rig I have now, I have had two old skool (/3 and /2 BMW rigs) and one new skool Honda with all the fixins. They all have their own quirks and attitudes. Right now I am diggin my /2 conversion with a Bottle Cap Ural. Been watching the clutch slip away and have all the parts to fix it now. So gonna quit riding it while I do a little work on it. I guess I ride my bike so the sidecar has a sense of adventure every time we roll out of the garage
Winding up another great year of traveling with my buddy. Will be adding a ragtop this winter to give him a bit more protection from the sun and rain. After the heat of Missouri this summer I had to do something. Traveling at night kept us cooler, but the scenery sucked! Barley ends this year with slightly more than 24,000 miles under his collar.
Well, nine years ago while having heart ablation surgery the doctor flat-lined me. I have the worse stuff you can have V-Fib and V-Tac. I go into V-Fib on a regular basis. It usually reverts in less than 10 seconds and I'm good. I have never passed out or anything close to that. Without meds my at rest heartbeat is around 150bpm. The meds keep it at a steady 68. That night, nine years ago after the failed ablation surgery, the doctor showed up in my room and told me that I "had the bad stuff" and was going to be a cyborg for the rest of my life. NICE! I have a great chest x-ray! Ever since that day they have told me that riding motorcycles was too dangerous for me. I could get hurt! Wow, really! Didn't know that doc! Needless to say, I didn't quit riding. I actually rode more and had a lot of fun doing it. They freak when I show up at my appointments on a bike. Right now, I am on my second (ICD) Implantable Cardio Defibulator and I have NEVER had an issue while riding my motorcycles. Last Spring, I started having more issues and in August, they put 2 stints into me. Again, they started with the "you need to quite riding motorcycles crap," But I still didn't listen to them. Again, I have never had an issue. The latest news is that two weeks ago, I got more bad news and they may actually retire me at less than a year shy of turning 50 years old. During a routine check they found that my heart has weakened, slowed down and it has lost some function. They have a great name for it. Anyway, as it now stands, they say that bikes are pretty much a thing of the past for me. I still have a 2009 Kawasaki KLX250S that I plan to keep and ride 4 miles to church, every once in awhile. I may also make a lap of the area with my riding buddies every so often. They tell me that riding on 3-wheels is ok and that I can ride a trike without any issues. There are NO trikes in my future. My problem now is: what do I hack? I like the new Husqvarna TR650 Terra and I have the money to buy one and pay cash for it. I've talked with Claude Stanley and he will do the hack conversion for me. I also have a 2005 KTM 950 Adventure. It would make a great tug and nobody has a hacked 950. The real dilema is that I also love the URAL Gear-Up. A couple of weeks ago, I went to see Dave Heindl and he took me for a ride in a Tourist. Close enough to the Gear-Up for me to know that I want one. My thought is to just go buy the Husqvarna TR650 and ride it. If they do in fact retire me, then I would get Claude to hack the Husky or just sell it and buy the URAL. The URAL is really the rig that I want, if I am retired and can no longer work. I suppose I'll wait to see what happens next. Honestly, I'd rather wish all this away so, that I could keep working and riding motorcycles. Sidecar rigs are very cool though and moving into that type of riding would be much better for me. I guess it boils down to me not liking people telling me what I have to do.
Bought my first rig a1981RT/Ural in 98.Crashed it in 99.Spent a year rebuilding it then I sold it for a profit..Bought my 2nd rig in 2007. This was a 92RT/EML.We called it the rehab bike...Shattered my left Knee and couldn't ride...3 knee surgurys & 1 replacement and the wifes arthritis the rig was our way to ride together.Now with 4 granddaughters they like it to...Bought a 03 GSA/Ural in09 See the pattern..Its a sick passion....But i love it!!!!
I met a Slovak rider riding cross country, his current residence was MA He saw my first sidecar adv a 83 gl1100 Ural and said "sidecars a pain in the ass, you hate them till you love them ".DB
