X-NEWS: cerritos.edu rec.motorcycles: 79668 Relay-Version: VMS News - V6.1B1 12/08/92 VAX/VMS V5.5-2; site cerritos.edu Path: cerritos.edu!nic.csu.net!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!engr.uark.edu!mbox.ualr.edu!chaos!dave.williams Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles Subject: rec.motorcycles FAQ of 93.02.01 (Part 6 of 6) Message-ID: <35130.89.uupcb@chaos.lrk.ar.us> From: dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) Date: 30 Jan 93 20:19:00 GMT Reply-To: dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) Distribution: world Organization: The Courts of Chaos * 501-985-0059 * Public Access Usenet Lines: 96 ===================== Q: I'm interested in adding a sidecar to my bike. What's the deal? A: spencer@hailwood.asd.sgi.com (Paul Spencer) says: I posted this once before, and have been mailing it out to those who ask. I'd love to work on it more, but my current schedule is a little insane. Have fun. I'll critique the sidecar FAQ you come up with if I have time. ....paul ===== sidecars ===== Having a sidecar is a lot of fun. You can ride all year, you can use it for errands a lot more, you can carry more people, you can go on much longer trips with others (since they can sleep in the sidecar). People come up and talk to you a lot more; they don't have the greasy biker' syndrome. However: sidecars are _NOT_ motorcycles. They handle very differently. I had over ten years and over 100,000 miles of riding experience before I got a sidecar; it wasn't very useful. Be prepared for a totally new experience. You can get yourself into trouble just as easily as you can on a bike; but you have many fewer options on getting yourself OUT of trouble. Unfortunately, many bikes these days are poorly made for attaching a sidecar. The entire outfit will be very difficult and dangerous to ride. Get expert advice in this field. (Even if you buy a bike and sidecar as a unit, it may be set up wrong; I'd say from informal looking around at sidecar rallies that about 50% of outfits are badly put together, and 20% are downright unsafe). The idea of having a sidecar that is removable is a poor one; a good sidecar unit is just that, a unit, which is never taken apart. Many desirable modifications that make the sidecar unit better - such as reduced trail, and flat-profile automotive tires - make the bike unrideable as a solo anyway. The only motorcycle manufacturer who sells sidecars is Harley Davidson. They are excellent sidecars, and Harleys are ideal for pulling them. Adding a sidecar to a Honda/Yamaha/Kawasaki/Suzuki /BMW motorcycle will void it's warranty; it will also make most shops refuse to work on your bike. Sources of more information: United Sidecar Association (USCA) 130 S. Michigan Avenue Villa Park, IL 60181 Regular magazine, books on building a unit, books on riding with a sidecar, books listing all available sidecars on the market. Also offer training courses on riding. National and regional rallies. Hack'd Magazine P.O. Box 17640 Portland, OR 97217 Monthly magazine. Better mag than the USCA. California Sidecar Garden Grove, CA (800) 824-1523 Wide range of sport and touring sidecars; handling packages. Motorvation Engineering 3702 Clifton Place Montrose, CA 91020 (818) 248-9631 Both sport and touring sidecars. BMW Motorrad of St. Louis / EML USA 4011 Forest Park Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63108 (314) 531-4010 Sell EML and Ural sidecars, along with a lot of parts for Steibs. Lots of handling improvement stuff. Great place, lots of free advice. Hitchhiker Sidecar Company 1665 Cumberland S.E. London, OH 43140 (614) 852-5373 Only make one touring-oriented sidecar, but it's well liked. ============================================= END OF FILE =============================================