what are my choices

[MotoJ]

Originally Posted by oppozit

It's only a dangerous arrangement IF you don't know how to ride. Thousands of riders do it daily in Russia. Yes it puts the weight outside the "stability triangle" but a GOOD rider should be able to cope with that.

Well, being his first hack maybe he should take it slow, before he works up to the wife on the back, chickens, goats, and whatever else people load rigs up with. Driving in Mass is no picnic, either.

[usgser]

Originally Posted by sailer

she will be on back, why I want a two up seat on bike, side-car is for super mutt.

she might get into side car and she is thin so should work, but a very good piont

If you're new to piloting a hack I strongly suggest you get proficient at driving it w/o a passender long before you add a passenger to the bike with an empty chair. Carrying a passenger on the back of the bike with a light side car is not not the way to impress your lady. Keep the weight off the bike and in the sidecar. Hospitals are very unromantic.

[bokad]

Since you're just planning short distance rides around town, almost any bike would do and it comes down to looks, price, and maintenance.

Take a look at the main sidecar photo thread at the top of the forum to see what kind of look grabs your fancy. Thousands of pics there.

I'm one of those that say Urals are bad. But, it is easy to buy and already put together and there's lots around, so if you have the time, space, tools, knowledge, and patience for the Ural experience then it may be a good fit.

Mounting a Ural chair (lots available and reasonable price) to another bike is also economical and frequently done. You can mount it to a Honda Shado or Triumph Bonneville or just about anything else.

This guy (http://cozzisidebysidecycles.com/) makes nice new Bonnievilles with Cozy sidecars. They look great. The Cozy is a smaller chair but large enough for short trips. Price is $10-12k but that is with a new bike. Cheaper with used bike.

You should do some reading (and bike for sale looking) here as well:
http://www.sidecar.com/mbbs22/category-view.asp

[windmill]

Originally Posted by sailer

budget is between $5k - $7k but like all budgets it might need to grow

For your budget your best bet is probably a RTR used rig.
A Ural would definitely fit your desires, but no reason to limit your options, you never know what may pop up locally on ebay or craigslist. Your budget is a bit low to have a rig built, but would be plenty to build your own if you get lucky and find a decent used tub.

Like others have said, sidecar training is a real good idea.

[sailer]

I have a friend who races sidecars and will get some riding tips from him, before taking the entire family out for a spin

really like the triumph Bonneville for a bike choice. are there better years that work well then other as far as mounting a hack , will a 2004 T100 work

What tubs work best with the T100

Watsonian
Ural
RTR

the cozzi, are they cozzi tubs or do they use a tub made by some one else ?



are there any that better then others

[bokad]

There a couple free e-books online as well about sidecar riding. Someone else probably has the links handy.

I don't know the Bonnie history well enough to talk about years. It's all about the frame. I've seen plenty mounted on 2004 Bonnies though so that should be no problem.

Any of the tubs you mentioned should mount fine to the Bonnie and you can see examples of all these in the photo thread.
The Watsonians are EXPENSIVE ($5k to $8k) .
The Ural tubs are WAYYYY cheaper.
This guy has a Ural tub on his Bonnie https://sites.google.com/site/threewheelbonnie/Home
I believe RTR means ready to run, meaning no work needed, bike with sidecar ready to go.

Cozzi (the installer) installs Cozy (the brand) sidecars. He doesn't make them, just installs. Similar name.

All the options mentioned (Ural, Triumph, Cozy, Watsonian) would meet your basic needs. It's just a matter of price, looks, and ergonomics.

Mounting a chair is not a simple thing and you should definitely consult a builder with experience or have them do it for you.

Originally Posted by sailer

I have a friend who races sidecars and will get some riding tips from him, before taking the entire family out for a spin

really like the triumph Bonneville for a bike choice. are there better years that work well then other as far as mounting a hack , will a 2004 T100 work

What tubs work best with the T100

Watsonian
Ural
RTR

the cozzi, are they cozzi tubs or do they use a tub made by some one else ?



are there any that better then others

[windmill]

If your thinking about building a rig, I suggest you talk to the folks at DMC or CSM. A poorly installed or matched rig will suck, and could be dangerous.

You want to base your decisions on the expert advice of an experienced builder/manufacturer, not the unsubstantiated opinions of someone with limited experience.

http://www.dmcsidecars.com/
http://www.freedomsidecars.com/
http://www.cyclesidecar.com/
http://www.imz-ural.com/

[sailer]

Originally Posted by windmill

If your thinking about building a rig, I suggest you talk to the folks at DMC or CSM. A poorly installed or matched rig will suck, and could be dangerous.

You want to base your decisions on the expert advice of an experienced builder/manufacturer, not the unsubstantiated opinions of someone with limited experience.

http://www.dmcsidecars.com/
http://www.freedomsidecars.com/
http://www.cyclesidecar.com/
http://www.imz-ural.com/

thank you very much for those links Windmill

I would like to buy a RTR rig but not seeing much in my area.
Buying a bike and then a tub to match looks like a possaiblity.
Looking at a 04 bonneville T100 this weekend.
still trying to learn which tub/hack would mount up best with that bike.

I do not plan on mounting the bike to hack myself.
I do have a network of close friends (who have skill and experties to do)
I would rather find a shop for hire to mount bike and tub togather.

are they any such shops in New England?

like the look of "cozy" sport max standard
would that tub mount up with a 04 bonneville T100

you guys have been great
thank you all and keep feed back coming

this is such a great site

[jaydmc]

If you can, take a sidecar class, www.esc.org If not at least read the book "Driving a sidecar outfit" by David Hough. We sell the book for $34.95 White horse press also offers the book. It is usualy not a great idea to have two on the bike and a dog in the sidecar, A better option would be the wife and the dog in the sidecar. This is covered both in the book and the class. My wife and dog (60lbs lab) both ride in our M72DX or M72CX sidecar fine. There are many bikes that work great as sidecar bikes, The most important thing is to start with a bike you like in the frist place. For me it is dual sport bikes as I like running on pavement. Others it is cruiser bike or "Standard" bikes. Standards are few and far between right now. As it has been said the Triumph T-100 is a great choice. Start with a bike that mounts are made for and also steering modifications unless you are going to have a sidecar shop that fabricates install it. We have mounts and triple tree's for the T-100. Other bikes that are popular are the Moto Guzzi bikes. Moto International in Seattle often has new bikes that are returns from other dealers that may be a few years old but sell for much less money and have the full factory warrenty. If you do not want to assemble the bike your self there are shops around that can do it for you. We have a few in the North East. If you are going with a new bike people often will buy a bike local to us, we pick it up and ship the finished sidecar bike back for not much more shipping then a crated sidecar runs. With this option you need not worry if mounts or steering modifications are made for your bike as we would fabricate them. You might also want to look at sidecars first as if you find a sidecar you like, it may not look right on some bikes and look great on others. Can you make it to a sidecar event? You would be able to see lots of sidecars and bikes at an event. The national rally is next month in Idaho. We will be at the event.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
jay@dmcsidecars.com

[sailer]

can any one tell me who in New Enland is the go to side car shop ?

have a bike in mind just want to find some one to mount up side car to it

[toastmuncher]

Jay is right on. Find a chair BEFORE the bike if an R2R outfit eludes you. Chairs are rare and once you find a suitable one a bike to match will be easier to choose than the other way round.
Any bike with a FULL frame and 500+cc will suffice as a runaround, my local rig is a light velorex and gn250 suzuki single cylinder, its great.

[motorat]

you could try poking around here for the enfield stuff.
only thing is you want to get a newer efi model.

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/fo...c,14569.0.html

[sailer]

Originally Posted by motorat

you could try poking around here for the enfield stuff.
only thing is you want to get a newer efi model.

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/fo...c,14569.0.html

had one offered to me for a really fair price about two years ago but was still on fence weather I wanted a sidecar bike.

there is a ural with a bad motor on e-bay was thing of buy just for hack.

would a 2001 ural hack mount up to a 2004 bonneville T100 ????

[matman1972]

Originally Posted by sailer

had one offered to me for a really fair price about two years ago but was still on fence weather I wanted a sidecar bike.

there is a ural with a bad motor on e-bay was thing of buy just for hack.

would a 2001 ural hack mount up to a 2004 bonneville T100 ????

you would have to either build or purchase a subframe.

[gspell68]

Originally Posted by sailer

had one offered to me for a really fair price about two years ago but was still on fence weather I wanted a sidecar bike.

there is a ural with a bad motor on e-bay was thing of buy just for hack.

would a 2001 ural hack mount up to a 2004 bonneville T100 ????

It'd be cheaper to swap the 650cc engine in the Ural combo. Sometimes, some of the dealers have used engines for $350 to $500. I bought a slightly used one for $250 in 2007 and it was still running strong when I parked it in my back yard for my one year trip to Afghanistan. I fully expect for it to run just fine when I get back, yank the tarp off, put some gas in it and charge the battery.
If you prefer, you can get a 650cc Dnepr engine, a Soviet 750cc flathead, or even a Chinese CJ-750 flathead or OHV engine in 750cc. Don't laugh, One of the guys here, Immulmen I think, drives his CJ-750 powered Ural back and forth to work ... 60 miles round-trip...