OT - BMW R75/5 with sidecar for Dogie Transportation

[Rattus]

Hi Guys,

For the purposes of being able to transport a Canine Companion yet not compromise our Biker Lifestyle too much, I'm thinking of getting a bike with a sidecar. Recently I saw a BMW R75/5 advertised for a pretty reasonable price. What do you guys think of the R75/5? Mainly for low speed short distance runs to the beach and back. Wife on the back, dogie in the sidecar. Kinda nostalgic too...

According to the advertisement: Black, 750cc, 3 owners, 50,000 kms, dusting steel body side car, ural chassis, leading link from end option.

[JonyRR]

Do you have any idea how INSAAANE you can get with a sidecar? Put her in the chair and hang a corner with the chair wheel a metre off the ground (you'll be sleeping on the couch for a month; trust me, I know *grin*)...a sidehack is a vewwwy cool thing to have!

[Don in Oz]

Rattus,

From what I can see the bike looks in great condition.

If it's only for short trips & to get around, maybe doing a bit of shopping etc - What a good idea.

Just make sure the dog is secured into the sidecar on a short leash.

I just love these old beemers.

[tvrla]

A word of caution, though: I've heard too many stories of guys crashing on the maiden voyage. They operate different than a motorcycle and take some getting used to. It's a very good idea to practice a while in a parking lot before taking to the road. Even then, take it easy for a while until you know you've got it. I think David Hough from Seattle wrote a good manual on piloting a hack.

If you get it, by all means get the leading link suspension while you're at it. Over here the going price for a /2 Earls front end is $500 just to give you an idea. I don't know what they're worth over there. But the leading link is supposed to be the best front end on a hack.

What are they asking for the rig?

[Rattus]

Jenny called the seller and we decided against this particular rig. The price was good at AUS$9,500, but lack of registration was a bummer.

Details:
-Currently has 50,000kms on the clock, but it has been 'clocked'
-Is not registered
-Does not have service history

Don - yeah I'd definitely use a short leash
TVRLA - yes I read a bit about sidecars in another of David Hough's books. Certainly, they are very different handling-wise, with no lean or countersteer.

I still have visions of me, Jenny and a dobermann going on little sidecar rig adventures. It would be very cool!

[roger albert]

Hi Rattus,

Have you had the chance to drive one before putting money/time into doing such a deal? Highly advised. They are more different than any book or article could describe. Tough to setup for stability and linear handling. Fun, but a LOT of effort. Picture a riding lawn mower at 60mph, but with a symmetric handling both right vs left, and one/off the gas. Great fun, but go into it with your eyes wide open, and some actual experience before plunking down.

[Rattus]

Hi Roger - no I haven't actually ridden a sidecar rig. I think what you're suggesting is right on. I'm keen to have a try of one... I just need to keep looking and hopefully find one that's not too far away to investigate directly. I have certain assumptions about how they handle which are probably way off.

[tvrla]

What's the problem with being registered? Can't you just register it?

50K kms is low mileage for that old of a bike. What do you mean by "it's been clocked"? It's not an expression I've ever heard over here.

Just because it doesn't have a service history doesn't necessarily mean it hasn't been taken care of. Do you have a way of checking it out?

From what I've heard, sidecars will steer one direction when you get on the gas and the opposite when you let off. And they do something else when on the brakes. So a new rider could get spooked in a turn thinking he's going too fast, let off the gas and it steers him right off the road. But having read Hough's book you probably already know all that.

So it's not just the fact that they don't lean or countersteer - but all those other factors as well. I have heard of some side car rigs being set up so well that those other factors cancel out. That would be nice, but definately not the norm.

[Rattus]

Registration could be costly and fraught with unforeseen expenses. It would have to be inspected pretty closely to make it road legal. The 50K milage is what is currently showing on the dial - the phrase "i'ts been clocked" means its been around the dial already, so the milage is much higher than 50K. It's another unknown factor. I'm thinking it would be a better purchase to find something already road legal, with some paperwork to indicate its condition. I would have checked this bike out personally, but it's being sold by someone very far from where we live.

[JonyRR]

When I was turning wrenches at a yamaha shop, the shop took in an XS11 with a hack in trade. The service manager and I would go to lunch in it; we flipped a coin, and the LOSER would ride chair/be the 'monkey'....faaaaakkkkkk! Ye haw! Oh, man, you can scaaare yourself and the monkey sooooo bad. We'd be going down the road at 40; grab a HUGE handful of front brake and smoke the front wheel and torque the front forks out of alignment s they twisted in the triple clamps; we flogged that thing mercilessly..I just KNOW we bent the frame...oh what fun to beat the krap outta the sidehack rig...the chair seat had hunks bitten out of it by clenched buttock muscles....

[manowicki]

Ya know...another side car option is currently available some locations stateside. There was a dealer at the IMS show in Denver showing the complete line of Urals. For those that don't know, it is a reveresed engineered BMW, stolen from the Germans in WWII. The side car wheel is also driven & also has reverse gear. It is virtually unchanged for over 50 years & still in production today. A literal piece of history in new condition compliments of the former USSR. If I had some extra cash I would have one in my garage today, especially the patrol or combat version. Mount a fake machine gun on the sidecar where they were really mounted & I don't think traffic would be too much of a problem!
Mikey

This website has some downloads of it in action.

www.imz-ural.com

[Rattus]

Manowicki, I have had a look at the Ural in the past and they definitely look very cool - especially the "Patrol" model like you mentioned. Although there is a website in Australia that appears to be the importer, they seem to be "setting up" rather than actually importing. Of course, you have to have major reservations about Russian made bikes. On the plus side they are probably physically tough (to survive use in Siberia and on their really bad roads) but on the minus side their choice of materials may be a tad lacking. The bottom line is if there were new, cheap Urals for sale, I'd definitely consider one if they had a warranty and after sales support.

Interestingly, there's a URAL rider who's done a massive journey on his bike, including Australia - 75,000 km or 46,603 mi, across 5 continents and through 35 countries. So I guess they are tough...
http://www.imz-ural.com/community/australia.htm

[ckcarr]

How about this one? From the Top of the Rockies. I think it was for sale once.

[Rattus]

Yes that's a very nice looking bike. The sidecar integrates very well in terms of style.

[Saintly]

tradingpost.com.au
Honda Z50R 1985 model with sidecar for golf bag, very reliable. Complete with carrying attachment plus ramp to suit Hayman Reese towbar $700 neg. Caravan towing stabilisers $30 neg WOONONA 02-4285 2024

Yamaha XS1100, DJP sidecar fitted, rebuilt, books, 10/2005 rego plus spare bike, $3500, URH-81 KEMPSEY 0412-00 1684

[Saintly]

http://bikepoint.ninemsn.com.au
1976 BMW R75/6
Recently restored sidecar, 12 months registration.
Victoria $6,800


1989 MOTO GUZZI 1000
CALIFORNIA III. Tourer with sidecar. Workshop, parts and owners manuals. Complete service history book, screens, panniers, gear rach 'n sack, sidecar cover, footboards. Honest worker. Reg 3/05. Call for more detail.
New South Wales $7,000


1944 INDIAN CHIEF
Original condition, comes with Dusting sidecar.
South Australia $25,500

[Rattus]

Nice selection. That indian chief is cool. I might give the 1976 BMW R75/6 owner a call. Not sure what the logistics of getting something from interstate would be like. Hmmm...