Spotted a nice bike with sidecar

[rogo]

 

[wizel]

A very well maintained K100RS of the first years of construction.
The sidecar brand I can not think of now, as a German I do not know your sidecar companies.
I drove the flyingbrick models myself for over 23 years, K75-K100LT-K1200RS-K1100LT.
Greetings from germany
holm

 

[Sadlsor]

I like the idea of a sidecar, but then you ain't no motorcycle no more.
Swap the forks, put on fat car tires, and that stuff attaching the hack to the frame... not gonna convert it back as quick as taking off a saddlebag, for sure.

 

[rogo]

A very well maintained K100RS of the first years of construction.
The sidecar brand I can not think of now, as a German I do not know your sidecar companies.
I drove the flyingbrick models myself for over 23 years, K75-K100LT-K1200RS-K1100LT.
Greetings from germany
holm

There was a BMW badge on the side car as well. I thought it was factory.

 

[jfheath]

I like the idea of a sidecar, but then you ain't no motorcycle no more.

I beg to differ. You cannot filter particularly well, but if you travel the roads less frequented by other traffic, it isn't a problem.
You are still riding a motorcycle. And it is still fun. Different, but still fun.

I had a combination for about 7 years in my younger years. First a clapped out Cossack Ural. Very agricultural BMW with a left hand chair fitted for UK roads.

Then I got a brand new Yamaha XS650 and fitted a Squire ST2 sidecar. Bolted a kiddy seat and harness in the back. Single Dad, two (very) young kids. Car or motorcycle test not yet passed - it was the only solution available at the time. I loved it.

I do keep looking at them - it is a possibility for our dotage. I'm getting older, weaker, shorter. One thing I do notice is that residential homes for the elderly rarely come with workshop space, or provision for motorcycles. Someone is missing a trick.

 

[Sadlsor]

I'm just saying, it goes from a single- track vehicle to a two-track one. Huge difference in riding dynamics.
That said, I would like to have a hack, but for storage space and wallet space. I would love to fly the thing like I've seen done, and I can only imagine the adjustment.
I can see me with one, should I live long enough to become unable to keep a 2-wheeler upright.

 

[tinboatcapt]

100K on two wheels, and still counting on three. It is a different experience, but I can still ride. Besides, look at all the room to carry comfortable camping gear.
Jim

 

[Nashcat]

I’ve been thinking of getting one, so I can have my dog accompany me on trips. At 90+ pounds, I can’t put him in a backpack. I’ve pulled a trailer, and I think a hack would be more convenient. I wouldn't worry about converting it back, since I usually keep 2 bikes.

John

 

[Sadlsor]

100K on two wheels, and still counting on three. It is a different experience, but I can still ride. Besides, look at all the room to carry comfortable camping gear.
Jim

Camping gear, ...or a dog.

 

[Flexit]

The sidecar brand I can not think of now, as a German I do not know your sidecar companies.

It's an EML from the Netherlands. They still manufacture sidecars. https://emltrike.com/en/sidecars/

Plenty of the older versions still chugging around Europe. All things being equal I should be seeing a few of them in a few weeks as we are planning to attend a sidecar rally in Holland at the end of the month.

Ignore machine badges as a lot of sidecar owners put the machine badge on the sidecar.

My Flexit was originally attached to a K100RS (see the BMW badge on the front)



Then, when we attached it to the Pan we had it resprayed and lo and behold..... a new badge

 

[klaproth]

There used to be ( May still be) a sidecar rally in Hiawassee GA- I used to go to it to see all the cool Airheads, and swap lies.
I did get a ride both in a sidecar ( quite an experience), and got to drive one. I have considered one a few times, but I only have so much space…( and my long suffering wife has only so much patience…)

 

[tinboatcapt]

I like riding the rig. It is a completely different experience from two wheels. The beast demands one to pay attention. Right and left hand turns require different approaches. Acceleration and braking require one to compensate for the asymmetry. And one needs to practice, in a safe place the transition from three to two wheels when a right hand turn causes the car to come off the pavement.

The picture was taken when, I spent a full day of my June '21 ride to the west coast riding logging trails in the Idaho Panhandle. It was a rough road and trail riding that would have been uncomfortable with the ST on two wheels. It made a nice ride through the mountains.

When the mood strikes, I still have two wheels. A small group in town ride twice a month for lunch or an occasional overnight. for those occasions I ride my 2014 CB1100. It also is an occasional choice for one of the local Rallys; LOCSToc, MNSToc, and WISStoc.

In the past have had two BMW K100's. First was an '86 RT. Then a '90 LT. They were such great rides I just couldn't bring myself to hack one of them.

Jim

 

[Sadlsor]

Went to Buc-ees for non-ethanol gas and this parked next to me.

 

[Sadlsor]

Oh!
It's a sidecar! Ural.

 

[core-aggie]

Did ya ask around for the owner for more information ?

 

[dduelin]

I mounted a Velorex 562 sidecar to my R100 airhead with a dedicated kit with a subframe. After the novelty wore off I did not like driving it. It's no longer a bike and it's not a lightweight car-like vehicle. Mass of the sidecar pulls a hack to the right under acceleration and pushes a hack to the left under braking. Changes in road camber and tilt affect the steering and a hack requires immediate steering inputs in response to changes in road surface and acceleration/deceleration. It's like herding cats. There were fun things at times.... park anywhere at all and friendly strangers walk up and ask questions or relate a story about a crazy uncle of theirs that had one. "Flying the chair" in right-handers is fun to do. No worries about falling over at stops. Lots of room for stuff and a trip to the grocery store becomes an adventure.

To be fair the forks on my rig were left stock and with standard "motorcycle" rake & trail the steering effort was very high and probably contributed to the sketchy handling on uneven roads. Dedicated sidecar rigs usually have different forks with additional trail to settle down the steering and reduce handlebar effort in left turns. My choice of sidecar tug was not optimal. Airheads have very flexible frames and even with a subframe stiffening up the mount it was very flexible going down the road.

 

[Sadlsor]

Did ya ask around for the owner for more information ?

Nah.
It's a Ural. What more did I need to know?

After the novelty wore off I did not like driving it. It's no longer a bike and it's not a lightweight car-like vehicle.

Exactly my concern, and my thoughts.

"Flying the chair" in right-handers is fun to do.

Aright, now this is twice I've seen this. The first I believe was someone in a we-drive-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-road country (I could be wrong)... I must be all screwed up. Seems to me, you would fly in a turn AWAY from the tug, not toward it. So, with a sidecar mounted on the right, taking a right turn would plant the rig, not lighten it. You're turning INTO the sidecar here. Wouldn't it require a left turn, going AWAY from the side the sidecar is on? (If your sidecar was on the left, I can see flying it in a right hand turn, otherwise... I'm confused.)

To be fair the forks on my rig were left stock and with standard "motorcycle" rake & trail the steering effort was very high and probably contributed to the sketchy handling on uneven roads. Dedicated sidecar rigs usually have different forks with additional trail to settle down the steering and reduce handlebar effort in left turns.

And that's just it. You can't just disconnect a sidecar, as you would a trailer.
I'm not "against" owning a sidecar, but to me I've given up a motorcycle. No room for it right now, and certainly no budget.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

So, with a sidecar mounted on the right, taking a right turn would plant the rig, not lighten it. You're turning INTO the sidecar here. Wouldn't it require a left turn, going AWAY from the side the sidecar is on? (If your sidecar was on the left, I can see flying it in a right hand turn, otherwise... I'm confused.)

Yes, you are confused.
A sidecar rig steers by following the direction of the front wheel like a car, not by leaning and counter steering. Consequently the forces applied by a turn are the same as those with a car where the vehicle lists to the side opposite the direction of the turn. The forces when turning right with a sidecar mounted on the right causes the motorcycle to lean over to the left. This lifts the sidecar wheel off the road if the forces are high enough because the motorcycle does not lean to the right when turning right. When turning left, the sidecar keeps the motorcycle upright.
Reverse for left-hand drive countries.

 

[Sadlsor]

Yes, you are confused.

Thanks for the explanation. I'm sure it would be more apparent were I to sit on a seat and try to drive one.
However, at his late hour, I'd best not try to overthink this any longer, as I'm past my brain's prime operating parameters.
So meanwhile, y'all can rest assured I won't be riding / driving such a rig without adult supervision, and that won't be anytime soon, and neither will I try to explain this paradigm shift to anyone considering doing so.
I appreciate the feedback, and I'll continue to admire them visually.

 

[Larry Fine]