Talk to me about Sidecars

I have an R1150R that I happened to buy out of impulse at a shady dealer in LA because it was a fair price. I worked on it, rode it across the country, and complained the whole ride how it wasnt fast enough.

6 months later, I love this bike and dont want to get rid of it. I did not expect that. I also have a 3 year old daughter, and I would love to ride with her one day.

All this to say, I like the idea of a sidecar but know absolutely nothing about them. Can someone give me a primer?

My main questions are these:

• Do I have to custom build one or can I procure one used?
  
• Do I have to change my steering geometry on the R1150R to compensate?
  
• Are sidecars a permanant fixture? I hear about welding, but never about ones that could be disconnected/reconnected.
  
• Is it cheaper just to buy a bike with a rig already in place?
  

I understand this is a basic question but so many times in motorcycling, it's the basics I never understood.

if you are serious I would sell the 1150R and buy an already set up side car rig

as far as I know the bike stays the same, just which "kit" you buy to attach the chosen side car to your bike

In theory Yes the good side car's are removable, practically not really

Yes buy a bike already set up

Last question first.

 

It's always cheaper to buy a complete rig used.

 

If you want a broader range of opinions than on this site, you need to join ADV Rider and visit their sidecar forum. They are friendly and helpful and have hundreds of years of experience (collectively).

 

Some states are considering a minimum age for sidecar passengers.

 

A few members here also post there.

 

Yes a modification to your front suspension will lower the steering effort.

 

Some can be quickly removed, others not so much. With the modified front suspension, I don't think you would want to ride the bike w/o the sidecar.

 

Having owned one, I found I liked riding on two wheels rather than driving on 3. Others who have tried them will never go back. Takes a lot of practice/experience to be proficient on a sidecar.

 

YMMV

Takes a lot of practice/experience to be proficient on a sidecar.

 

Amen... I've piloted a couple of rigs and I will never be as good as the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darn, that's a lot of hardware!

I owned a Ural Gear-Up, which was fun for a while but I too decided I preferred two wheels to three. Most sidecar set-ups are designed to be removable from a motorcycle, although once you go through the hassle of getting the car's geometry right, taking one off and putting it back on is not an easy task. As others have said, it's much more economical to buy a rig that's already set up than to build one, or have one built. Be warned that driving a sidecar rig is a whole different skill set from driving a motorcycle. The best way I've heard it put, is that if you know how to drive a motorcycle, you know where the controls are to drive a rig. But that's it.

 

Having hit the negatives, there are a lot of positives to driving a rig. One is that many of the people who hate motorcycles love sidecars, and you will attract many waves and smiles as you drive. The other is that you will be everyone's favorite person when it comes time to make a beer or food run at a camping event. The sidecar is, in effect, the world's largest saddlebag, which is nice when you're packing for a trip. Even camping is a lot less of a hassle, give the additional space you've got at your disposal.

 

One thing I did early on was to go to a local sidecar rally in Wisconsin, and one of the folks let me drive their rig around the parking lot so I could get a feel for what it was like. I'd suggest you find out if there are any local sidecar drivers around that you can ask about adding a car, or finding a rig before it hits Craigslist.

 

Let us know what happens. I'm always curious to hear how these stories turn out.

Hi Decaf - welcome to the board.

 

Back in June of 2014 I asked the same question for similar reasons - my son was five at the time and I'd had my 1100RT for about eight years though. I ended up buying a used sidecar pretty cheap via craigslist and hooked it up to the RT. It took about a year of my lazily getting all the bits together and the rig rolling. We had it like that from summer of 2015 to the summer of 2016 when I moved the sidecar to a K1200LT I bought just to put the sidecar on, and then we went on a little trip:

http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=974272&page=1

 

Your questions have basically been answered well above, but I'll go ahead and answer them anyway - but first I'll echo what Bud said: head over to the hacks forum at adventurerider:

http://advrider.com/index.php?forums/hacks.56/

 

This was always my go to forum, but since hacking our bike I have spent a lot more time over there - I tried asking here about sidecars like you did but there wasn't much response (and some of those who did respond - maybe all - here were also over on ADV). The hacks forum has for sale/wanted thread that you will find posted almost all sidecars listed for sale online in the US. Great place to window shop or really shop.

 

Your Qs -

My main questions are these:

Do I have to custom build one or can I procure one used?

Definitely no need to build one. You certainly can if you've got the skills or are willing to learn them, but much easier to use something already built.

 

Do I have to change my steering geometry on the R1150R to compensate?

You do not have to change the steering geometry. As Bud said, changing this will make steering easier. How much you want/need that depends a lot on what kind of sidecar you put on the bike. It's pretty cheap to do this to an oilhead - both Hannigan and DMC in Washington make a bracket that moves where the ball joint sits on the front suspension. I think I even have on one the shelf I could sell you for even less (new from DMC it's about $300-$400 if I recall correctly)

 

Are sidecars a permanant fixture? I hear about welding, but never about ones that could be disconnected/reconnected.

They are very rarely welded to the bike - there is often welding used to make the components that attach them, and sometimes to attach the components to the sidecar, but normally bolts and adjustable joints are used for ease in aligning the car and bike to track properly. As Bud said, it depends on how much you change on the bike and how you hook up the chair as to whether or not they are "removable." (Obivously you can remove anything, but I think you're asking, can I have it sometimes as a sidecar rig and sometimes as a solo bike?) Our rig only requires four bolts, a wiring plug and a quick disconnect hydraulic brake line to be removed BUT our steering angle has been modified, the bike has a car tire on the rear wheel for longer life and a better contact patch (and cheaper tires!), the side and center stands have been removed to reduce weight and gain ground clearance, and the shocks are sprung for the loaded weight of our rig when traveling (about 2000lbs!) - while it's possible to ride the bike solo like this, it's not very fun. If you did less, you could conceivably switch back and forth, but it will still be a hassle probably requiring two people or at least a custom dolly to hold up the sidecar's bike-side when you disconnect. If you want something to just use as an occasional sidecar to take the kid for a ride once a month or so you might want to consider a "leaner" rig - where the bike can still lean while the sidecar stays vertical. (This is a much rarer form of sidecar and another discussing entirely!)

 

Is it cheaper just to buy a bike with a rig already in place?

Generally yes - and I'm not just saying this because I have one for sale

You certainly can put one together without a huge investment (finding a used car, using the bike you have, fabbing your own mounts), but if you can find a well or mostly well sorted rig then it's a LOT less work, and they usually sell for much less than the money and time that went into building them. A great plus of buying a used unit is that if you don't like it you are more likely to recoup most of your money by re-selling it. This will probably not happen if you build it yourself.

 

Have you ridden one before? I'd suggest trying that before you go much further down this rabbit hole. Your profile doesn't say where you are. If you're in the PNW you could certainly try ours out, but I'm assuming you're maybe in L.A.?

 

Thank you, gentleman! The answers above are thorough and I learned alot. The "leaner" rig does indeed seem pretty cool. I had never heard of that before today. What you described is my situation exactly, have a normal motorcycle but once a month I want to go on a mini-trip with my kid. Even if that trip is the grocery store.

I think I'll look into buying one. The only issue is that I would have to learn how to drive a rig. I didn't expect them to be totally different vehicles!

I have heard a leaner described as the worst of both worlds (has the problems of a solo - falls over - , and the problems of a hack - bulky, weird steering, slower etc.) without the fun of either. I've not ridden one and like you I think they look pretty neat.

You'll likely have a heck of a time buying a leaner though as they are mostly homebuilt. If you have the space and funds I'd definitely get a used rig (and keep the R). I've seen them looking decent as cheap as $2500, and $5000 and some wrenching ability will give you decent options.

Good luck!

I mis-read a couple of lines there. I thought it said "learner rig" instead of leaner. A quick google search brought up an interesting article that you can read about here.

(I have no other input. Never ridden one, wasn't planning to. But they do look like a lot of fun, especially with kids or dogs. Certainly would get you the Coolest Dad award dropping Billy off at school.)

I mis-read a couple of lines there. I thought it said "learner rig" instead of leaner. A quick google search brought up an interesting article that you can read about here.

I just saw those (or rather, just read about those online) for the first time a month or two ago - pretty hilarious idea.

(I have no other input. Never ridden one, wasn't planning to. But they do look like a lot of fun, especially with kids or dogs. Certainly would get you the Coolest Dad award dropping Billy off at school.)

They are a lot of fun - and I don't know about dropping the kid off, but we picked the kid up today in the hack en route to delivering May Day flowers and we certainly got a lot of waves from kids and parents.

Since the main reason you want a sidecar is your daughter, I'd say just wait till she is 6 or 7 and then let her ride pillion. I scared my kids about the horrors of falling off the bike or getting the feet mangled in the wheels. But they sit straight now and wrap their arms around me. Been riding that way for about 5-6 years now. My older girl is 13 and younger one is 11. We ride to the local Y or softball games. They love the RT and really enjoy the feeling of leaning over. Can't really get that with the sidecar.

I've taken them on the R1 (in sig) as well but they definitely prefer the RT as the R1 is too up and exposed.

I am on my 2nd rig. The first was a 1978 Goldwing that I attached a Friendship 1 to. It was a great learning experience and my wife hated that rig. The friendship 1 was narrow inside and was a top loader. It also had a bad suspension setup. I only had about $2100 in it and sold it for $2500. I now have my R1150RT with a Champion Escort and my wife and I are much happier. We have put 30k miles on it so far. If you look around you can find some great deals on just the sidecar. Your R1150R will make a great tug. If you are going to buy a ready made subframe, you are looking at close to $800. Another $300 for the steering mod if you want it. So if you can find a sidecar for $1200-$1500, you can convert the bike you have now and only be in it $2500 to $3000 if you can do the work yourself. Everybody starts out wanting to have a removable sidecar but after trying it a couple of times, most just use it as a dedicated rig. I have both a rig and a 2 wheel bike, the 2 wheel bike hardly gets ridden. A sidecar is never finished. After intially geting this rig on the road, I have since added a lower geared final drive, rebuilt the shocks with heavier springs, car tire on the rear, rear tire on the front, and an aux fuel tank. Now I am thinking maybe a need a swaybar...

I would strongly recomend taking a 3 wheel/sidecar class before you invest many $. For a couple of hundered $ you can see if it is something you like AND learn the basics of operation in case you do proceed. Best of luck with your decision.