Sidecar
 

I would like to hear from anyone that has done extended travel or around the world trip with a sidecar. I am interested in the types of sidecar out there, reliability of the Ural Pros and cons of the sidecar etc
Cheers
Shawn Johnson

Cons -
shipping - close enough to a car space so that is what you'll get charged.
driving/riding side of the road .. one idea is to have the side car swap from one side to the other
costs - fuel + tyres.. cheaper with a small car.

Pros ...
it is a sidecar. :thumbup1:

First question is have you driven one? Any motorcycle experience is about as much use as sending a 747 pilot to drive an underground train. Quad bikes are the closest, then cars.

Cons:
Mechanical reliability, you are straining the bike part in a way it was never meant to and commercially available sidecars are 1950's designs. Velorex clamps etc. need to be understood. Urals require knowledge of what's new and what's still Soviet era tat. You can make your own, but need industrial equipment to produce industrial strength.

Tyre wear can be extreme, you want at least a car tyre on the rear which can restrict the choice of machine.

Shipping space as noted above.

Legal stuff. In some countries they are banned or need to be on a particular side. This should not change the requirements for a visitor, but they stand out so attract the authorities attention.

Pros:

Stability. Snow and sand in particular are great fun.

Load carrying: If you cannot bring yourself to leave the fridge and BBQ at home you can carry them. Likewise dogs and children.

Having done a lot of places within a 1500 mile radius of London on three wheels I would not recommend it unless the way an outfit handles is the reason for the trip. The time you spend building a working and reliable rig and fighting the bureaucracy has a poor level of return against the few days you will be on pristine ice roads or trundling across bits of deserts MX bikes can't carry enough water to reach. A 4x4 will have you BBQing in the same spot with less work.

Now, if you love having to think about camber and the direction of turns and using the power to slide/drive through without the thing killing you, then it's fun.

Andy

Thanks
 

Thanks for the replies, advice taken on board
Cheers
Shawn

Two wheels good, three wheels better.
 

1) Forget everything you know about motorcycling, and start to learn a new skill like no other you will have experienced.
2) Practice in the middle of a big, empty space initially.
3) When you think have mastered three wheels and think you can start to speed up, that's the time to slow down. The thing WILL turn around and bite you in the arse. Hard. Trust me on this.
4) When you HAVE got the hang of the thing, you might experience the satisfaction of riding/driving an asymmetric anachronistic vehicle that is like no other and have a whale of a time.

Snow, sand, greasy roads, all tremendous fun. Or maybe you will hate it.

Some people have said that sidecars have all the disadvantages of a car and none of the advantages of a bike.
Personally, I see it the other way round.
Sure, you cannot filter and lane-split, but how long, in percentage terms, do you spend doing that on a solo?

Google "The Timeless Ride".

Take a look at Huberts website some day when you have a lot of time. Amazing.

Great experience
 

Have a look at our website:
www.smilesandmiles.com - Tracey has been messing around with it and it needs some updating, but you will get the gist of it.

We've ridden our Ural two-up from Canada to Argentina and in Europe. Lot of great challenges and I would happily hop on it tomorrow and repeat any of the trips.

It was a great tool and really helped to break the ice with locals everywhere. The other posters are right - it's not a bike and it's not a car. There were times when I craved two wheels on a great road, but a lot more where the sidecar was better, just different.

It's not any more difficult to ride than any other bike - you just need some experience. We rode ours to 5200m in Peru and spent a pile of time in deep sand in Bolivia. I hit a taxicab in La Paz Bolivia and knocked it out into an intersection. Didn't leave a mark on the bike.

When our brake pads wore out....... A kid in Puno made a new set out of an old clutch for a couple of bucks. They stayed on the bike all the to the UK! Unlike the fancy new ones (not Ural branded, the originals lasted 20,000km) that only lasted two days in Peru.

In 40,000 km we have broken six spokes and got sand in the carb jets in Dakar, those are the only repairs outside of flat tires and routine fluid changes. Other than handlebars the bike is completely stock.

Great fun, still has not broken down.

There is a pile of misinformation out there. I found a lot of advice but no experience.........

PM me if you want to have a discussion - I'd be happy to share.

Cheers,
Miles

I owned an EML-Honda GL1100 rig and put around 50,000 miles on it, mostly highway. This was an exceptionally well sorted rig, and it was a hoot to pilot. I've ridden some very big mile days on it and many long trips. I've also traveled two wheels in Central & South America. 1) Gas economy is bad, a consideration for a RTW trip. 2) I live in a part of the US with lots of gravel roads, and the width of the track on the rig is not the same as 4 wheel vehicles. This made for handling and safety issues on gravel, an item to consider. 3) Being well sorted is important for RTW trip; ease of steering (modified steering fork or triple tree), balanced so you don't have pull on normal road camber, and as mentioned, tire wear (proper toe in and a car tire on rear). 4) I would also think shipping via container will be your only option crossing between continents. 5) I suspect in less western countries you'll be treated like a three wheel moto taxi; namely you are expected to get out of the way of the cars and trucks. Narrow mountain roads can be dangerous in this way. 6) You should know how to work on a sidecar and keep it aligned. You won't find moto mechanics with that knowledge.

Andy/TWB makes very good points.

Find sidecar groups where you live and go to several rallies. Also, make sure you own a sidecar for a year of local travel before you go RTW.

That said, I'm very much in to small cc two wheel moto for travel, with minimal gear so I can go to the difficult to get to spots where not everyone goes. Sidecar travel will be more like "The Timeless Ride" blogged by Hubert Kriegel. Both are good, have a good trip!