pae@aluxz.UUCP (ernst) (02/16/84)
Are there any sidecar enthusiasts out there ? I recently
(last year) put a Velorex sidecar on an elderly Yamaha 650
that I got for just that purpose. I'd like to exchange ideas
on riding techniques, setting up, sidecar oriented events, etc.
Pete Ernst
(aluxz!pae)hsc@hogpc.UUCP (H.COHEN) (09/27/84)
Doug Bingham's sidecar company is probably the most consumer-friendly
in the U.S. They sell their own brand and several others.
Motorvation Engineering makes big, expensive, luxurious sidecars.
Motorvation sidecars also have a unique optional suspension-preload
lever that lets you retrim for the amount of weight in the hack
*while you are driving*. This largely eliminates empty-sidecar handling
problems. I love it.
Motorvation and also California Sidecar use trapped-ball lower mounts
instead of clevis, which makes them *much* easier to get on and off the
bike (after the initial installation and alignment).
Prices range from less than $1K to more than $4K, and there are conversions
that also include new bike frame and front end (EML) that cost even more.
Neval has a bike/sidecar rig with powered third wheel for pulling your
plow.
Handling is radically different from either a bike or a car,
but the suggestion that it is dangerous (compared to normal motorcycling)
is just plain silly. A hack rig will seem terribly disorienting and
"quirky" to the novice, but the bottom line is that tripods are *much*
less likely to fall over that bipods. I commute by bike all year,
and got my first hack right after a long unscheduled trip on an ice
slick. Now I can go where cars fear to tread in winter. (Try braking
just the right wheel or just the left wheel on a sports car!)
My four-year-old has been hacking since he was two. He sleeps when he
wants, uses the convertable top when it's raining or too cold, and
enjoys the ride. A few weeks ago my wife and I got on our bikes,
threw my son in the sidecar along with the tent, sleeping bags,
camp stove, picnic cooler, toys, books, etc., and toured New England.
A sidecar may not fit everbody's (sometimes myopic) idea
of "sensible," but it can be the world's most practical toy!
Harvey S. Cohen hogpc!hsc (201)576-3685