Mongo asked me some questions about my sidecar: Here are some answers: ?1) I live in Eugene/Springfield, Oregon....But I never ever heard of Goodliver? Sounds like a Dry Town In Texas.....Next to--- Liver-a-failing, Texas, where you have to drink. Seriously ,are you up by Portland? Good Liver is what my late Uncle Cart used to refer to Hood River as. I am just out of town in a little canyon off of Highway 35. Hood River is up the Columbia River Gorge, about 60 miles East of Portland. Every year we have a bunch of freinds up for an Easter Bunny BBQ,(potluck) Saturday, the day before Easter. Off street parking is reserved for motos and there are always a gaggle of sidecars in attendence. Come on up and check out the bikes. Or drop by if you are in the area. The Black Dog DualSport ride is in this neck of the woods; I will probably take the Tiger to that. ?2)... a side car on a bike is something I am also thinking would be good. How good is it off road? I prefer sidecars to trikes(my prejudice, I don't try to justify it If set up for for off road stuff they work very well. Most trails are too narrow, but logging roads and abandoned roads are great. Without two wheel drive, deep stuff can cause the hack to drag the bike off the road. You can work around that with weight shifting. Sidecars still require a good bit of agility and strength to use them to thier full potential. ?3)I saw the two wheel post about the Ural and saw the snow pictures(really Cool ,& Cool!!!) but is the Tiger set up as a two wheel drive ? The Tiger is not two wheel drive. The only current production two wheel drive hacks that I know are the Dnepr and the Ural(they also have reverse) The Ural you saw belongs to my best friend since 5th grade; he also has a Kawasaki Drifter 1500 with a Champion Legend sidecar on it. I took my brother for a ride over the top of the ridge Friday. About a 1500' elevation gain; 6" of snow down bottom, about a foot and a half up on top. We gained the ridge with bare knobbies and then I chained up before we got to the deep stuff. At one point Dave had to push and ride bitch to get enuf traction to make a hill,but mostly we just bombed along with no problems. Without 200 lbs of meat in the sidecar I probably wouldn't have needed a push. Course, up in the sticks it IS nice to have some meat along to push if you do need it! Uncle Blastos Ural probably would have done it in TWD without chains and without needing a push. I will post some pictures of the ride if they turn out. ?4) What kind of tires do yo use? I was thinking, as you don't have to lean like you do on a bike, you could get away with agressive non D.O.T. type off road tires.Is that possible? Yes. I use Kenda and sometimes Kings. Big knobs. I put machine screws into the knobs if it gets icy. Sidecar rigs eat tires, so cheaper is better. I had a Cheng Shen on the back last summer which melted after about 45 miles, but usually cheap dirt tires work fine both on and off road. I have run the expensive big bike dualsport treads, but they didn't work any better than the cheap rubber( tho I did like the Conti dualstar knobs). I will put a street biased DOT dualsport tire on if I plan a long highway trip, but knobs are way more fun in the slop. My sidecar is a Sputnik, from Dauntless Motors. Dauntless also built the subframe required to bolt it up to the bike. They are nice folks have an excellent product. I highly reccommend them. http://www.dauntlessmotors.com/ Learn more about sidecars in the dirt here: http://home.sprynet.com/~sidecars/dualsport/ http://www.sidecarcross.com/ UncleBlasto's sidecar came from Raceway Motors in Salem. They have a good reputation amongst the foilisti. I would take what Jim tells ya with a grain of salt, but the shop is certainly worth checking out. Learn more about Urals here: http://www.ural.com/home_frame.htm http://www.narma.org/ http://www.baku-ceyhan.com/ Learn more about Dual Sporting in Oregon here: http://www15.brinkster.com/blackdogds/ and, if you can put up with YAHOO's bullshit, here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oregon_DSR/ (Attached photo taken last winter up on the ridge, Huskey Road)
Thank you Redmenace!!!! I book marked all the links except the DSR one. They don't like my political affiliation and I am too...... well...... lets say... Unlike them.But I still lurk their site and my buddy, who was asked to leave also, watches it and lets me know if he spots anything worth remembering.(Not Usually)! Enough of that, though & Thanks again!!! I really want to check your Hack!!! I think it is really Happening!!!! I would just carry balast in the side car (Gas,Gear & Food!)But it sounds like a passenger can come in handy when a push is needed! I know where Hoodriver is I used to take supplies to the Golf course.I like it up the river,and over the hill towards Government Camp, to 97 is a great road!!! What do you think about a smaller lighter Dualsport with a really light sidecar? I wonder if any are made that would work that way.I will check that Moto-cross site where they race, that might be where to really start, even if I am not going racing! Thanks again, for the pointers and help it will take me a little time to digest all you offered.----- Thanks!!!!!
Sorry you've had problems with DSR. I went riding with some of these guys last summer and they were great folks. I think something like a KLR with a Sputnik on it would ba an excellent combo. I like the Sputnik, it is relatively light and cheap, but stronger than the Velorex(another cheap readily available sidecar). You could put a sidecar on a smaller bike, but I think the lack of power would take a lot of the fun out of it. Talk to Jay Giese at Dauntless motors(it was one of the links I posted).
My brothers family visited from Hong Kong over Christmas. If Ican figure out how to do it I will attach photos of my nephews enjoyiong a death ride thru Granpa Doc's pasture
His little brother, Nicholas, is fearless. He wanted to go out on the street so we could go faster. So we did
I have seen them. Do a Google search on "dual sport sidecar" and you will find some URLS along those lines, including this one: http://home.sprynet.com/~sidecars/dualsport/
seller claims undamaged but for cosmetic dings from being dragged around his driveway. It's located in LA. A lightweight sidecar, it would probably be unsuitable for a big cruiser or tourer, but fine on just about anything else. Comes with some mounting hardware, you can expect to need to do some fabrication to fit it up. I think it will go cheap, might be a good way to try out sidecars. Not mine, no relation, you know what I know, etc. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1862307950&r=0 &t=0 Vernon
Made in the good ol' USA An optional accesory, it is. Apparently, that's "dual sport" meaning "mud" or "water". And it floats! Somebody was asking about this...no engineering needed with Rokon, just buy and bolt: Two-wheel drive. Light. Strong. Slow.
Dirt road side cars - the main problems are Track width - they should be the same track as a 4WD, this way your travelling in the tracks - not one side in a track, the other fighting the rougher stuff. Suspension travel - the road side cars use little travel - like sports bikes ... not so good off the tar. If you set up longer travel suspension then you have sway in corners - some one setup sway bars across the thing - much better (no links sorry) Fuel - once travelling you fuel consumption doubles, you'll need to carry more fuel. Tyre ware - increases (you going sideways through corners ) - most people go for 15 inch car tyres - last longer and are cheaper. --- The benifits ? well about half the dirt road sidecars I meet have fridges The other half - eskys.... get the engel fridge and a car type battery. You can carry more food - so can stay in good spots longer. ---I've go a few side car photos from my trip across the simpson on http://www.geocities.com/fwarner_au/trips/94aug/index.html They don't show much detail of the sidecars, but it is a little warmer that that white stuff above. On of the more interesting ones was/is a Jawa350 with a suspended side car - the boat was pivoted at the front and used motorcycle shocks at the rear. Reported to have a really nice ride.
This would be a great buy for someone Hal hasn't sold his F650/Sputnik combo yet. THis is a great rig, I can't beleive it hasn't sold. Hal is a good guy, even if he does snore, and the bike has some goodies on it. Located in Southern Oregon. check it out...
Redmanace we are kindred spirits! I have the exact same helmet. Very comfy but, and this has only become a serious prob on my Steamer, NOISY!!! Thinking of upgrading to a very expensice Shoei next season, they tell me they are Q-U-I-E-T.
Yeah I like the Nolan; the chin strap buckle/release is particularly nicely done. Gotta have a modular out here in windsurfer town so you don't have to take off your helmet to spit on the tourists! I had Bieffe which I also liked. My wife has an older Shoie flip front. THey are all noisy. Look for one that fairs the hinge mechanism. I think it catches air and causes most of the noise. Also the release mechanisms can be a real pain in the butt! My next one will have a single button for sure. The local shop has a modular helmet from Hong Kong (don't recall the brand)for $99 with a single release button. Tempting, but there is no chin bar padding or chin dam and only a token neck roll. Doesn't really matter right now, as I will be spending every nickle I don't have to get the Triumph out of the shop!
Sorry to hear about all the trouble. I hear for MCN the Arrow Convertible is real nice too and I like the looks and feel - we saw that an a European Bike Show here earlier in the year, price competitive with the Nolan. Or I might splurge for a Roof too, cuz I'm just weird, but NOT the Flip-up, they are U-G-L-Y.
I just grabbed a new (<20 miles) Ural Patrol off ebay for way under MSRP. It is in Green Bay, WI, I am in Albuquerque, NM. I may need some ADVrider help with the delivery logistics. The bike can't really be ridden untill broken-in, so this is a full-size pickup or trailer deal. See details here
that's GREAT, kevbo! I'm really happy for you. I can't wait to hear all the stories that are just starting to figure themselves out. Really cool.
Paying for it is not a problem in my present circumstances. (subject to change per executive branch whim!) Delivery logistics are first problem. Second problem is SWMBO. "Totally Cool Russian Sidecar Rig" has been discussed and nixed by SWMBO. SWMBO is apparantly not as fond of hot sweaty monkey sex as the women Chopper is used to dealing with. No expectation that this approach will be effective. This may require house remodeling, or at least cleaning. As we occupy seperate residences, and SWMBO is not internet enableled, "Totaly Cool Russian Sidecar Rig's" ownership can be concealed for weeks or months....but not indefinatly. Ideas anyone?
