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Side Car

budking

Big Wheel
I have been looking at Can Am, Trike, and side car. I have a '00 Conc with 50k miles on it, and figure i will ride it for one more year. Maybe 2. I like the Can Am, but the side car appeales more to me. Never seen a trike based Conk. I am thinking side car. Bud in MA
 
Most things have been done http://www.pbase.com/elvin315/image/31915113 Have a look round Elvin's entire Concours album while your there. ---------------------------------- I will answer any question. It is up to you to figure out if I should have.
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<p align="left"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20211686@N05/">My Photos<br
 
Hey Bud; I used a HANNIGAN SUPERSPORT sidecar for 18 months or so. It was mounted to my '02 Connie, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, although Mrs. Sahagan was apprehensive....so I sold it. The new owner, whose wife wouldn't ride the bike, now has over 9,000 miles in the hack. In my opinion, the Concours is a fine platform for a sidecar. Some upgrades are needed, like a fork brace, stronger front fork springs (I went with SONIC 1.2's) and they did just fine. Hannigan didn't have sub-assembly jigs made up for the Connie, so I fabricated my own, selling them with the bike. It's not a big deal however, and overall, lots of fun. Check out a pic or two at: http://community.webshots.com/user/SahaganBeta Later! Sahagan
 
Hey Leon... Some thoughts about side hacks: 1. Tire wear: Seems to me you'd wear tires out like crazy because of lateral movement when starting or stopping. Also, even at highway speed, there must be a certain amount of drag caused by the sidecar. Also, only the very crown of the tire wears. 2. I would love to have done an article on such a conversion. Bob "Flylooper" Burns COG #5887 E Clampus Vitus, YB#1 '04 FJR 1300
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1. Tire wear: Seems to me you'd wear tires out like crazy because of lateral movement when starting or stopping. Also, even at highway speed, there must be a certain amount of drag caused by the sidecar. Also, only the very crown of the tire wears. Hey Bob; Yeah, tires do wear differently, but not so quickly as you would expect. Lots of folks go for car tires, or even with leading links and other ways to make the sidecar more of a single unit kind of thing. I required an outfit that would allow me to remove it on Saturday to ride the twisties on my Connie solo, and re-attach it on Sunday morning for rides with Mrs. Sahagan. That meant using stardard suspension, including tires, but with easily found and installed upgrades. Those did include the fork brace, the heavier springs with heavier fork oil, Gold Wing sized Dunlops, and good brakes. The electrics had to have quick disconnects, and mechanical connections between bike and sidecar had to be very strong. The Hannigan connects at four points to the bike frame, and while it took some time to figure out, fabrication was no big deal. And for sure, forces become a thing of both wonder and consuming interest. When accelerating, the sidecar (mounted to the right side of the bike here, on the left in England, etc.) makes the bike PULL to the right, while slowing and/or using the brakes PUSHES the bike to the left. These forces are countered with sheer muscle power on the handlebars, but having been experienced a few times, quickly become subconscious movements on your part. In turns, the forces multiply, and in some ways, reverse themselves. In a right hand turn, since you can't countersteer the bike, the sidecar may lift entirely from the ground (when that happens, and while there's a lot of debate about it, you CAN countersteer, since you're only on two wheels, but generally, you're so startled, or having so much fun, you don't attempt to countersteer during these times). This 'flying' of the hack can be both exhilarating or terrifying, depending upon your experience and the degree; either though, serves to generate loads of satisfying adrenaline. The first time I flew mine, the body of the sidecar wasn't on the bike, it was just the frame, and my correction was sufficient to throw me, frame and bike, into my pond. The problem comes when beginners fly the car while rounding a curve, and correcting from fear throws them into the paths of oncoming vehicles. Left hand turns on the other hand, are even more exciting. While the sidecar doesn't fly, the forces generated by the wheel of sidecar on the pavement, coupled with the mass of the sidecar, want to push sidecar into bike. THAT'S when the front end upgrades come into their own. In those left hand turns, the sidecar wheel is forced heavily into the pavement, and it can shorten the turning radius immensely. In other words, left hand turns with a hack can be much shorter in radius than with the bike with no sidecar, since the sidecar wheel is helping with the turn. In some instances, maybe most, the sidecar has the effect of helping to stabilize the whole outfit somewhat. Mine would cruise along at 95 - 105 mph as steady as a rock, and buffeting was virtually eliminated. However, gas mileage rumbers dropped by about 30 percent, leaving me with numbers on the order of a Gold Wing. The sidecar experience is another story for sure, but it's still motorcycling, and still exciting. You just learn to steer without countersteering and leaning, and to accomodate your muscle memories to the unique actions required to ride safely. If I recall correctly...sidecar.com...was my go to site for sidecaring, just as this and other forums are for Concours related things. The sidecarists' magazine is 'HACK'D', and I was told, although I never saw it, that one of the photos of my outfit on the Webshots site, was used as the cover photo on one issue of the magazine. Anyone who wishes to escape the 'dropped Connie' syndrome could well benefit from a sidecar (or trike), for truth to tell, I never dropped my Connie even one time, when using the sidecar. And finally, one added side effect/benefit of having a sidecar on my bike, was the total elimination of the Connie's inherent buzziness. In order to insure the bike and sidecar connection was very strong, I pretty much wrapped the engine in steel, which served to dampen the buzzing to the point it wasn't detectable. Later! Sahagan
 
2. I would love to have done an article on such a conversion. Bob "Flylooper" Burns
+1, That WOULD be very interesting. Yuma, Summer in Yuma is not hell, but hell is a local call :) 2006 Connie http://community.webshots.com/user/Lateck?vhost=community
 
Leon.... Fascinating. Any way I can contact you via email or p/m off the forum? Bob "Flylooper" Burns COG #5887 E Clampus Vitus, YB#1 '04 FJR 1300
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Hey Bob; Yeah, the sidecar is the ultimate Connie accessory, and as this crop of riders gets older, we may see more Connie hacks on the road. Anyhow, my email address is: templehill@earthlink.net. You, or anyone else, is welcome to use it anytime. We're hospitable in these parts.... Leon
 
I also drive a sidecar as well as two wheelers. Although I do not have a sidecar mounted on my Connie, I do have a sidecar on a BMW K1200GT, see my webshots page http://good-times.webshots.com/album/559001435KOamoU Additionally, I am a certified sidecar instructor. I urge everyone who is not familiar with driving a sidecar to get some training. The forces that Sahagan mentioned can and do cause some new riders to get themselves into trouble. Sidecar trainers in the US are certified by the Evergreen Safety Foundation, http://www.esc.org/step_national_schedule.php Our classes are given in Louisville, KY and at a Ural Dealer in Michigan. If you are interested contact me via PM and I will put you on the training contact list when we set the schudule for 2009. We do have two small displacement "elderly" training rigs, however, it is best for you to train on the rig you will be driving, if you have one. I also recommend the "Yellow Book" on "Driving a Sidecar Outfit" written by David Hough. It is available only through Printwerk Graphics, 219-322-7722. No affliation.
 
I forgot to add that to the best of my knowledge, the only state that requires a "three wheel" MC license is Washington, but you should check with your state as some have been considering this license for added revenue in the name of safety. Tub
 
Hey Tub; You are absolutely right on with respect to training. While many of the skills we've gained riding bikes will transfer to the sidecar outfit, lots of them don't, and those are the ones that can get you hurt. Sidecaring can be as much fun, although different, as riding a two-wheeled bike, and it's another fascinating chapter in anyone's 'moto-life' who chooses to check it out. By the way, my HANNIGAN sidecar had been totalled in an accident, while part of a BMW rig. Since it was fiberglass, repairing it was mostly just sort of scut-type work. Painting, installing and outfitting the sidecar was another story though, but so much fun and interesting to boot. As mentioned above, www.sidecar.com was my go to site for info and inspiration. I wouldn't be surprised to find myself in Louisville this summer, riding. Could I give you a call, maybe get together? I'd love to see your rig....even is it is on an 'off-brand' bike (yeah, I know, I see those old WW2 clips with dozens, maybe hundreds of BMWs, or perhaps reverse engineered Russian clone, sidecar outfits. I suspect BMW wrote the book on hacking). Anyhow, take care and we'll catch you later! Sahagan
 
By all means, let me know when you will be in Louisville, and I will see if I can get down there. It is about 1.5 hours on the I-state to get down there, but I also can find some business to conduct there. Send me a PM when you schedule your trip and we will see what happens. Tub
 
Thanks guys for some great info on side hacks. I am only in the thinking stage at this time. I hit the big '70' in less that 2 yrs. and my balance and stamina are not what they used to be.. Keeping my options open! Hope to see a few hacks in Fontana, NC this summer.
 
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