The Sidecar/Hack thread.

[BattleRabbit]

I'm getting more and more interested in sidecars. As a second bike/commuter it seems like a great compromise, lots of utility, more visible on the road(seems to have the recumbent-bicycle-effect, noticable because of weirdness), and they have a very devout community attached to them.

That said, the only new, OEM sidecar rig available is from Ural, and that seems to be the universe's most divisve bike. Ural owners swear by them, but a few disgruntled ex-Ural owners curse them up and down. The support Ural gives its owners is supposedly the best in the industry(to the point of reimbursing owners for repairs done at home while the bike was under warranty), but apparently they require a lot of upkeep. It's basically a pre-war bike though, so I can almost forgive that(that and the novel 2wd option).

Aside from Ural, Royal Enfield has good support for sidecars. That said, Enfields are sluggish at best. High compression pistons and one of their warranty-friendly "backdate kits," could bring the performance to a level just above glorified scooter(22-ish HP from their 500 stock). It could be interesting, but apparently the build quality is atrocious.

Aside from those two there is always the Bonneville, Guzzi V7 and a few other classic-styled, downtube frame bikes that would be well suited to Sidecar duty new, and there are hundreds of classic bikes that would do well with a sidecar.

I'm really interested in sidecars, so please share whatever info/experience you have with sidecars, and I'll get to work filling this thread with sidecar pictures.

[BattleRabbit]

[MeineFolks'wagen]

If you are not already on these sites, check them out because it's all you will ever need to know about hacks. Liks:

Advrider.com - once in, look for the thread "hacks". People with Urals and TONS of homemade hacks on any number of bikes. People post up build threads who weld their own, etc.

Sovietsteeds.com - nothing but Ural, some Dnepr & Chang Jiang

Russianiron.com - Ural, Dnepr, etc.

Advrider and Sovietsteeds are the two that I frequent and provide tons of information. I've been researching Ural for a few years now and even after everything I've read, I still want one

[BattleRabbit]

My dad is on advrider, it's definitely a neat site, very expansive! One of these days I'll sign up...

[turbinepowered]

Advrider and Sovietsteeds are the two that I frequent and provide tons of information. I've been researching Ural for a few years now and even after everything I've read, I still want one

QFT.

[pknopp]

Aside from Ural, Royal Enfield has good support for sidecars. That said, Enfields are sluggish at best. High compression pistons and one of their warranty-friendly "backdate kits," could bring the performance to a level just above glorified scooter(22-ish HP from their 500 stock). It could be interesting, but apparently the build quality is atrocious.

Build quality is relevant. Now I have no experience with the newer fuel injected bikes. I've never been interested in them. The older bikes are basically just a newer vintage bike. Vintage bikes are not new bikes.

Those from 2000 are better quality than they were before but they do require maintenence. I've got a 2000 I bought new and I just recently had to replace the coil. Other than that, oil and adjustments.

No, you are not going to cruise 70 mph all day especially with a sidecar. The two small lights just above the headlights are known as Pub lights. That's what the bikes do best. A pub bike.

[turbinepowered]

Build quality is relevant. Now I have no experience with the newer fuel injected bikes. I've never been interested in them. The older bikes are basically just a newer vintage bike. Vintage bikes are not new bikes.

Those from 2000 are better quality than they were before but they do require maintenence. I've got a 2000 I bought new and I just recently had to replace the coil. Other than that, oil and adjustments.

No, you are not going to cruise 70 mph all day especially with a sidecar. The two small lights just above the headlights are known as Pub lights. That's what the bikes do best. A pub bike.

I've actually chewed my lip and considered a new G5 Bullet. Would you say they still have issues?

[BattleRabbit]

Here's a 2wd Ural in the snow.

See, my concern with the Ural and the Enfield isn't so much maintenance, because fluid changes and small adjustments are no big deal, it's nonsense breaking for no reason other than shoddy build. On advrider that seems to be a complaint with both bikes. I'd accept the compromise of short oil change intervals and stuff like that if I wasn't concerned that things that shouldn't break would break like they did on my grandfather's old BSA he's always on about(he bought it new in the mid-50s as I recall).

Has yours been mechanically reliable? I understand it might not take deferred care as well as a Honda, but overall does the bike feel like a quality item?

[Knock Sensor]

I don't have street experience with sidehacks, but I did ride in a trials one way back in the day. Fantic 200 with a crazy ex rugby british guy as the pilot. Glad to be alive by the end of the event we had like 6-7 years ago.

[pknopp]

I've actually chewed my lip and considered a new G5 Bullet. Would you say they still have issues?

I do not know much about the new ones. As I said, mine has been pretty great. No complaints. But it's NOT a long distance cruiser unless you are really hard core.

I imagine the new fuel injected models run a little stronger than mine. It's older technology though. You aren't going to put 70,000 miles on one with just oil changes.

It is a thumper also. Thumpers tend to work things loose. You do have to go through and tighten stuff up fairly regularly which you aren't going to have to do on a new modern bike.

If you like an old bike with better metalurgy, they are great. If you want a get on and ride with no involvement yourself, it's not likely a good choice.

Not that I'm putting anyone down for wanting that. There are times I would like to jump on and go for a 600 mile weekend ride but this really isn't the bike for that even though some do and back in the day, it's all there was for those who rode.

Mine is also kick start only. There is a technique to starting a thumper kick start only which is why I believe they put a starter on them.

[pknopp]

Here's a 2wd Ural in the snow.

See, my concern with the Ural and the Enfield isn't so much maintenance, because fluid changes and small adjustments are no big deal, it's nonsense breaking for no reason other than shoddy build. On advrider that seems to be a complaint with both bikes. I'd accept the compromise of short oil change intervals and stuff like that if I wasn't concerned that things that shouldn't break would break like they did on my grandfather's old BSA he's always on about(he bought it new in the mid-50s as I recall).

Has yours been mechanically reliable? I understand it might not take deferred care as well as a Honda, but overall does the bike feel like a quality item?

To note and I should add on to my message above. My Enfield did float a valve once. That is the rocker arm nut backed off and allowed the pushrod slip past it.

The really cool thing though is that I was able to fix it along the road in maybe 20 minutes. A new bike wouldn't do that but you also can't fix them on the road.

11 years though and I'm still on my original points. I've seen quite a few Urals going long distances.

[pknopp]

I don't have street experience with sidehacks, but I did ride in a trials one way back in the day. Fantic 200 with a crazy ex rugby british guy as the pilot. Glad to be alive by the end of the event we had like 6-7 years ago.

That looks like a blast.

[MeineFolks'wagen]

Urals have their issues, that is absolutely not disuputed by anyone who has them. However, for most of the owners the problems are overshadowed by the sheer joy they get out of having them. You have to keep in mind you are basically getting a 1940's era bike with some upgraded parts. There is also a consensus that if you wish to get a used one, stick with a 2007 or newer because there were some fairly substantial upgrades made to the bikes (for Ural anyway) in 2007 models and up (there were some brake upgrades, material changes, etc.). If you want a break down of the changes made, let me know and I'll post them up or PM them to you.

All of that said though, it's not unheard of to have someone with a new bike to have some sort of catastrophic failure on the way home with it. Again, it's just something that the owners accept for the most part. This is why if/when I get one, it's going to be a used one that has had all of the bugs worked out of it.

From the people I've talked to with the Royal Enfield bikes, it's also hit or miss. The new ones seem to be a lot more reliable than older models (ask anyone who has ever rented one in India ). I personally love the Ural because of its "classicness" and utility. I've also got two small girls who LOVE to play around with them and it's my way of getting them into my hobby (if I can ever get one). I've had some fellow ADVrider members let me play around with theirs and the kids love riding in the sidecar, etc. You've also got the trunk in the sidecar which can hold a ton of stuff, so no need to mess around with side/top cases, etc. But there is obviously a huge trade off. Fairly regular maintenance tweaking on them, don't expect to get more than 60 or so miles per hour out of it, and their mileage isn't fantastic (but keep in mind how much weight is being hauled around). It's definitely one of those love it or hate it type of bikes. But for the money, you can't really go wrong if you're willing to put up with the gremlins

[Paul@VWvortex]

Gimme.

[turbinepowered]

I saw a Suziki of some sort (not a cruiser or standard) with a Suziki branded sidecar today. I immediately thought of this thread, but was driving so I couldn't snap a picture.

[BattleRabbit]

I actually found that a Cozy Sidecar will fit my honda CM400E after a fashion(the front lower mount would need modification), so that may be my ultimate choice down the road.

I've been browsing ADV Rider for ideas, what a site that is...

[MeineFolks'wagen]

I actually found that a Cozy Sidecar will fit my honda CM400E after a fashion(the front lower mount would need modification), so that may be my ultimate choice down the road.

I've been browsing ADV Rider for ideas, what a site that is...

You can pretty much hack anything, it's just the cost (depending on how it's done). Many of the ready made passenger sidecars can start at close to $4000 (depending on the company and all of that) and go WAY higher than that. Then factor in the price of install, mounting parts, and don't forget the price of the initial bike. This is another reason why people end up with a Ural because you can get a base model Tourist for around $10K and can get the 2WD models for around $13K or so. Way cheaper than buying a bike and then hacking it for the most part. There is another sidecar site that I need to dig up for you, I can't remember it off the top of my head at the moment.......When I find it, I'll post it up.

[disenfranchised]

Gimme.

[MeineFolks'wagen]

Here's that other site:

http://adventuresidecar.com/