Sidecar

A week after arriving home from my cross country trip I started planning a trip to Mexico on the Super Quarter. Judy said "What about me ? You can't keep leaving me alone at home" I said 'You could fly to Mexico and meet me there ?" Judy replied "How about getting a sidecar ? " Judy likes sidecars and suggested I get one before. I like 2 wheels better so i never got one. I always said I would pay half if she would pay half. Well this time willingly said she would pay half up to about $3000. I earnestly started looking.

My criteria for a sidecar hack had to be one that was capable of freeway speeds, which ruled out a few of the most common Russian built sidecars and the cheaper Chinese models. I also wanted leading link suspension instead of motorcycle forks. The leading link makes the steering lighter at high speeds and prevents diving on braking. It also had to have car wheels and tires, so that the contact patch would be bigger aiding in braking, cornering traction and tire life. Of course it had to have a sidecar brake.


Judy's criteria was it had to look good and mostly the car had to be easy to get into. Transferring from her wheelchair had to be easy and graceful.


The rigs that I saw posted for sale on the net that met my criteria were all over $12,000. I set a limit of $7000. The guys on the sidecar email group that I had joined laughed at my budget. Even the cheap Russian and Chinese sidecars started at about $10,000. There were none for sale on Vancouver Island. There were a few in Vancouver but just the Russian models. On the sidecar forums I saw one advertised in Pennsylvania that fit my budget another in Florida. But even those did not meet my criteria. I started to consider borrowing more. The more expensive high performance sidecars that I liked, Judy didn't like. My search expanded as far as Halifax, then into the states down as far as LA. I finally spotted one on Spokane's Craigslist. It was a 1985 BMW R100RT with factory installed sidecar with car tires, leading link forks, and sidecar brake for $7000. Judy liked it ! I phoned the seller in Cour D'Alene Idaho. It was purchased by his father in Germany in 1985. I asked a lot of questions and the seller said I should talk to his dad. He had put on 6,000km , shipped it to the US then stored it for 20 years. I asked what his business was and he said he had owned the largest chrome business in the US. I said "What kind of chrome ?" He said "Harley Parts" . I figured he was probably very rich. That's why he was able to afford parking the rig for 20 years. I offered $6000 which was accepted. I made a deposit on it, sight unseen. I was afraid it would get snapped up quick because of its apparently low price. I checked out Ty Cruze and his Custom Chrome business on the net. Yup he was very rich.


That week I hitchhiked to Vancouver to apply for a passport. When I got home I downloaded Hal's sidecar operators manual onto my iPhone. I packed up my helmet and riding gear and the next week I hitched back to Van. again, picked up my new passport and bought a bus ticket to Spokane. The trip east from Seattle was through dry badlands type scenery along a rather boring freeway. I was excited though and reviewed the sidecar operators manual.


Len, Ty's son picked me up in Spokane and drove me to his Dad's home in nearby Idaho. I liked the rig. I tried it out in his paved roads around his house and shop. It seemed to run well and brakes were o/k. They decided I was an alright guy and offered me their guest house to stay in. He had a beautiful 1908 Harley Davidson in his office. It's for sale$100,000. He also has a 1928 Harley sidecar that he used to used for deliveries in California. On the wall of his vehicle warehouse he had lots of pics of him racing with his buddies Steve McQueen and Malcolm Smith (famous motorcycle racer).

The next morning I set of early before sunrise. Ty came out and filled the gas tank for me. That was when I noticed the tank was badly rusted.

I had to get to the Canadian border at Osoyoos before 3:30. I had sent a copy of the title to the US customs 72 hours in advance and was worried that they might hassle me at the border for not having proper paper work. Their rules are ambiguous; changing from one crossing to another. I headed to Spokane where I was going to take Highway 2 east then north to Canada. Right away I noticed that it had no power. I assumed that the carbs were plugged with rust. It would only go about 80 top speed. About 10 km down the highway towards Spokane, the front brakes seized up. I thought it must be corrosion. I opened them up freed them and continued on making a point to keep them for emergency only as they would not release on their own. I was feeling rather frazzled. I saw the exit for highway 2. After riding for an hour I was starting to feel relaxed and was getting used to the odd feeling of a sidecar. I then realized I that the sun was straight ahead. Shit ! I am going east not west ! I saw a hydro line crew on a side road. I pulled i n to find out where I was. I did not want to use my iPhone GPS and pay the huge roaming fee. I few people pulled over to check out the rig. They all agreed that I should head north and take the scenic highway 20 through the park.

That was a great choice and I am very glad I went the wrong way and missed all the boring freeways east of Spokane. The road almost completely void of traffic. It wound through rolling hills and golden tamarack forests. If you read my previous blogs you will know how much I like riding twisty roads and highway 20 is twisty ! Many corners were posted slow to 15 mph. This was great practice. Its a bit of a trick to keep the sidecar wheel on the ground on right hand corners. Ty had placed an 80 pound bag of cement in the car as ballast. I wanted to find the limits of the rig. On a couple 'slow to 15mph' left hand corners, I found that I could comfortably go 45 km per hour. I tried 40 km/hr on a right hand 'slow to 15' corner. the side car went way up into the air, along with my heart. I had to turn left to get it back down and prevent a roll over. Whew. Glad no one was come as I crossed the center line. At the next 'slow to 15 corner' I tried 35 km/hr. Up the car went again and again I crossed the line. I guess I am a slow learner, or maybe I was trying to learn too fast. Since those 2 errors I have had no large surprises. I am now able to ride with no ballast and I even enjoy the feeling of going up onto 2 wheels.

In between the parks/national forests that I was riding though, there were a few villages and small towns. As I neared the Osoyoos crossing, with a few hours to spare, I stopped at a farmers market and bought some organic vegetables and enjoyed a veggie burger. On I went, north towards the border.

I accidentally went into Canada instead of to US customs first and had to loop back with all the uniformed agents watching me. The sidecar hack is rather noticeable. I showed the American custom agent my signed title, and about 30 seconds later he came back with the stamped approval . I was so surprised. I made a comment to how fast they were and he said wait until I get to Canada for the hassles. The first Canadian customs agent said I had to get a letter from the manufacturer because we could not find a Department Of Transport sticker saying it complied with American laws. My heart sank. It seemed like I would have to park it there while I waited for a letter from Germany. Another agent came forward and had a look for a sticker. She said I could pay the tax and bring it in and ICBC might later ask for the letter before I could license it. Finally another agent came out and said all they needed was a date of manufacture and said "how about Jan. 1985 ?" I said sounds good and away I went with Ty's Idaho plate on the back. I figured I was not really legal riding with the US plate, but nobody said anything to me about it.

That evening I made it to Ben and Rebecca's (Judy's x). I spent the next morning cleaning carbs and tuning the motor and working on the brakes. I headed out on the highway towards Vancouver but had to immediately turn around and go back to Ben's. The rear tire was bouncing up and down. The old tire was failing. I was warned not to ride on 25 year old rubber but Ty and I assumed they were probably o/k because it was stored in a heated garage. Good thing it had no power or else the tire might have gone sooner at a higher speed.

I could not get tires locally and had to order the antique tires from Tennessee. I hitched to Vancouver.

10 days later the tires arrived at Ben's and I took the bus back, installed the tires and drove home the following day.

I took Judy for a short ride. She loved it. It was real easy for her to get in and out of. I also took Ryan and a friend for a ride. But after only 100 clicks or so of riding the rear brakes failed. I could not find the parts to rebuild the rear brakes so with a lot of searching on the net I found a similar master cylinder that I had to do some machining to get it to fit. The side car tire was even harder to find. It was a French tire for an antique Fiat. Amongst other things, I had to do more work on the front brakes, replace wheel bearings, replace seals, do a major tune up and fluid change . I also beefed up the roll bar, especially since I had to add a seatbelt for Judy. It was a lot of work getting it into good shape. I was lucky to get it home with the few problems that I had.

One of the members on the sidecar forum told me that the sidecar is actually an EML and not BMW. EML was a sidecar manufacturer that made high quality kits to convert motorcycles for efficient sidecar usage, including the leading link forks, fender, car rims and tires , sidecar brake and rear master cylinder. But BMW stopped making strong frames that were suitable for sidecars in 1969. Instead of dropping BMW from their list, they made the frame for the BMWs . So technically its actually a unit, not a rig or hack (as in hacked together).

I only just finished touching up a few scratches and sending off photos and an application for a collector plate. ( 60% reduced insurance). Now if it will only stop raining so we can go on a bit longer trip. Maybe Mexico next year.
pics at http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee38/ross-judy/sidecar/