Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Custom Corner America with Sidecar

Posted over in the Delphi Bonneville forum, so I stole it and brought it over here.

Wadda ya think, needs painting red?

No, the bike could do with some black.

Does anyone know what sidecar that is? I think it looks sweet...

Interesting... the Steib sidecar is worth as much as the bike !!

I believe there is a lot of work to be done to change the bike, to make it pull a sidecar, also thought you had to change the tires, I like the sidecar, reminds of something from the 60s.

All the bikes my father had the sidecar always was placed on the other side. Does it matter which side the sidecar is attached?

i think the bike needs painting black
suits the old school look of our bikes
put a stereo in it

Hey Ray
Driving on the right or left determines which side the sidecar goes on.

We have the sidecar on the left of the bike - so it's pavement side.

However, America et al have it on the right hand side so it's sidewalk side!

Simple reason, judge the width wrong and your passenger doesn't do a head-on with the oncoming traffic .. ouch!

Anybody here ever actually ride a bike with a side car attached. I was wondering what the handling was like and if it was very different from just two wheels. Not that I'm going to buy a side car, but there was a lady in my MC saftey class who's husband would only let ride a bike with a side car because he thought it was easier/safer. Personally, I thought that was a redicules notion and that it was probably harder and more dangerous to ride with a sidecar. She passed the saftey class with no problem and as far as I could tell she was fine with two wheels. Anyway, she doesn't live too far from me and sure enough one day here she comes practicing riding up and down the street with her new HD/side car. The husband is right behind on his HD, no side car attched!

hey adey most of the world drives on the right exceptions are uk ozz kiwi japs and i'm sure some of the old colonial islands

vintage,

Years ago I "drove" a friend's hack for about an hour. After I got off the thing I told myself that I'd probably never own one since I found it too compromising in the handling department. Hacks want to do almost the opposite of what you have experienced riding on two wheels.

Maybe I just didn't spend enough time on it to feel comfortable, but when I got back on my bike I was thankful that I could lean into turns again.

Dwight

I've ridden them with side cars, and ridden in side cars.
I hate them. I will NEVER EVER get into a sidecar again. The total feeling of complete lack of control just doesn't suit me at all.

The MSF here in NoVA has sidecar classes which I took. I was thinking about getting a Ural at the time and may well turn my Bonnie into a sidecar rig in the future.

Driving a sidecar rig is very different from riding a motorcycle. The main differences is that they lean like a car and not a bike and you don't countersteer. You have to muscle the front wheel to point in the direction you want to go. Also when you accelerate you ten to veer to the right as the sidecar lags behind and veer to left when slowing down as the sidecar keeps on going. You tend to slide the whole rig when turning hard to the left and flying the car when turning right. It takes a while to get used to and it's important to have the whole rig setup correctly to minimize handling weirdness.

Havin said that driving the sidecar rig was a blast!

later,
Hugh

On The NTB forum (Sidecar on a Bonnie thread) SCbonneville talks about the hack he mounted on his. Good read if you're thinking about one.

New Triumph Bonneville forum

There's a woman who turns up at nearly every big ride I've been on with a Triumph Adventurer that pulls a sidecar. She puts her big golden retriever in it, wearing a leather flying cap & goggles. She uses the original wheels, but has car tyres fitted to them and the front fork lowers have been replaced with a swingarm affair, using a set of rear shocks for suspension. Apparently this keeps the wheel & suspension travel in the original planes while changing the plane the steering operates in to be more suited to driving an outfit. Next time I see her around I'll grab a photo or two.

Matt

I can't ever remember important (lucrative) stuff, but I remember a guy (screen name?, Location - midwest) off the old board that had a side hack fitted to his TBA. I think it came from this Iowa company, Motorvation.

http://motorvation.com/mepg2.htm

The occasional sidehack that passes through here always seems to have a dog passenger, not a people passenger. I have a photo, here I'll hold it up to the monitor.

JH

Great photo John. Thanks for sharing!

Sidecars are great if the reason is to carry kids , pets, or lots of stuff... I've had three (3) the latest is a two (2) place motorvation rig on my '96 Trophy III. Took the son to New Mexico last year and before that a longer trip to the Grand Canyon and Durango Colorado. It is fun in as it is unique but outside of the novelty, Bonnie is much more fun to ride ( my solo bike) .. An old 95 or newer Thunderbird would work just fine with a good hack... over time the dynamic forces will bend the frame on the bike so it ends up being good for only a sidecar. i.e. if you do it, dont stick it on a perfectly good TBA or Speedy unless you have compelling medical reasons. ( lack of limbs, etc)

Hey! Who stole my bike and put a side car on it?

That's pretty cool.. a spot for my dog!!

I have a friend that has a side car rig (she does take it on and off occasionally - and is waiting for the day that she doesn't have to have it to cart 2 kids around with so she can get rid of it). I think its actually harder to ride in some ways - you have to muscle it around a lot more than on 2 wheels. Also, if there isn't enough weight in the sidecar, it will come up off the ground and can kinda pull the bike around some. It also makes the bike suck the gas! Have to be careful you don't run out!
But that is a sweet looking rig.
Becky

Looks good