250cc scooter w/sidecar?

Anyone got one? I want a step-through, automatic around town rig. Any pointers? Suggestions on scooters to use?

I'm handicapped and can't ride a regular scooter. I need a cheap way to get around town. I am very familiar with side cars. I'll carry my manual wheelchair with me on the rig.

Heres a Vespa with a side car.

http://modernvespa.com/forum/topic99643

Texas Side Car Co.

http://www.texassidecars.com/

I had a Vespa P200E with a California Sidecar for quite a few years. It worked well but of course the Vespa was a manual transmission.

We had a Reflex Texas sidecar rig that was originally built for a handicapped person.
I can not compare it to any other scooter rig but I was VERY impressed with the Reflex for tug duty.

Its on road performance I found to be better than the ural rigs I have tried in acceleration and handling.
Never had issues keeping up with or ahead of all but the most determined traffic around town.

Cruised nice at 55, topped out around 65.

Unbelievably practical, great gas mileage, cheap to register and insure, low maintenance

Really like the Reflex rig. How do the Chinese copies hold up?

I have a sidecar. Any pictures of the mounts?

I would buy a used Reflex (or maybe helix) before I would buy ANY Chinese copy.
They are bullet proof and re-sellable.
Any premium you may pay you will recoup in either resale or over the life span of use.

The Texas rig mounts very simply using U-bolts to the 2 rails that run under the Reflex chassis.
It creates a quite strong box section.

Sorry I don't have any good pictures of it, this is the best I have.

That is a great looking rig, I wonder what I could do to the wee zuma I have!
125cc won't beat any records but it might be fun

Ogre, there is no toe-in to set? Are those arms just 1" square tube?

Most scooter sidecars are on vespa. As other have said Texas sidecars make them but wow 4 grand . I ve posted here about the duck which as side care build for a helix. The guys used an old 80 cc kids bike for the wheel and shock. Wield up a frame for it . Bolt under th Search the forum for more post of them. eg http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=647654 http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=649352 Also search for honda helix the duck sidecar. http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/hondahelixdiscussion/message/25610 .

The toe in is/was pre set by the placement of the u-bolts.
Lean out was also pre set.
They did a good job of it, the rig tracked very well with almost zero right hand pull.

They are square tubes, sorry I can't remember the size.
They had flat bar reinforcements inside them as well.

In India, and I've seen it also here in Turkey, they often use additional wheels on a Scooter for handicapped persons; but that won't help you much, as I think it will be a problem to find an importer. Also you can not put the wheelchair on it and the question of lean angle presents itself.

If you want, I could check with the turkish guys who built my and my buddies sidecars- 300$ (with simple freight boat) and it's really solid and the setup was good, too. (see "Winter ride" in my sig line)

The question is, if they make one for the scooter you want, and then the question of freight and customs in the US.

Send me a PM if you want me to check that out

Tugboat, have you spent any time at Scooter Sidecars? In my opinion that site would be about the first Port-of-Call for anyone seeking information about Scooters+Sidecars.

Many aspects including
Mounting/Installation

can be poured over.

Further to your inquiry-

3wheels.org is a site dedicated as being for "wheelies with a love of all things motorbike."
(In this context the word "wheelies" is used to denote folk who use, or are confined to, wheelchairs.)





Honda 125cc sidecar


From another site: Postie Bike Sidecar

just want to add that in 2006, when I was working in New Delhi, 2 old Hippies came to the Embassy with a Sidecar-Vespa (LML-Clone), asking for a recomendation letter for the Pakistani and Iranian Visa.
They had ridden up from south Indie - allready some way - and wanted to drive home to Austria.

They were a bit surprised when they were invited inside for some coffee; as a sort of thanks they wrote us an E-mail when they had really arrived in Austria.

So a scooter with a sidecar is capable of things.

You mean like this?









I shattered my right shoulder during a race at Sears Point, and after the surgical reconstruction it was in an immobilizing splint on my right side. Looking at six weeks before the splint would even come off I bought a Helix 250 and the Armec Tremolino rig painted in the Honda red to match the Helix.

Assembly was straight forward. Bracket assembly clamped (think triple clamp) to the bottom of the two frame tubes in four spots. The sidecar frame then slid into this bracket assembly and was held in place by two large hex cap bolts on the left side of the bracket. No brake on the rig wheel, and simple torsion bar suspension.

Since I had no use of my right arm for a while I stripped the housing off of the stock helix 'bars' installed the throttle assembly on the left grip, and flipped the cables at the carb. I dropped on a clutch master cylinder from a Superhawk and used it to work the front brake.

The rig was super light, and would cruise 70 on the highway comfortably all day long. The only problem I ever had with it was shattering a rear rim with lateral loads railing around the twisties up in the Santa Cruz Mtns. A problem easily and inexpensively solved replacing the cast rear rim with an older used stamped steel rim.

Best thing about it was once my shoulder was healed and I flipped the controls back over to the right grip... I could hop in the tub and bomb around driving from the hack with nobody riding the Helix. I even eventually learned how to fly it while sitting in the tub.

It was a beautiful rig, and my first sidecar. I do miss it... but I sold it to a fellow club member when he shattered his femur.

Hi,

Anyone know of any dealers who sell scooter/sidecar packages?

cheers
Chuk

Jim at Scooter Source mounts side cars to scooters between Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio.

OK, it official. I'm looking to buy a used Honda Reflex or Helix to install my Spirit of America sidecar on. Thanks for the pictures and comments. I learned a lot.

Bump a few months to 5/4/13. This is what I came up with:

Is your handicap such that you have dismissed a Piaggio MP3 variant?