Thoughts?

[1olbull]

CAR TIRE ON FRONT!!!
Kewl beans!
Always liked a side hack, but have never ridden one.
Spent time working on a Hog trike way back in the early 70s.
A real slug that was only fun when cornering on two tires.
Butt chewing from the Captain, not so fun!

 

[Grumpy Ole Codger]

Well, it's a very nice colour Blue so it cannot be bad !!
Back in 80's (during Margaret Thatchers reign) A friend owned a 425cc Suzuki twin a with an open light weight side car attached. Went all over the UK in that thing, mostly up in the air at a 45 degree angle! Used to scare the living sh1t out of me in traffic queues!!!

 

[barbagris]

Tidy build. Hope the gearbox has been reinforced.

But I'd rather have a little Lotus.

 

[Starmanut]

Interesting front end. There's a bunch of side cars in the lot. Don't they do two wheels over there. Might be a sidecar club, too.
Double Dark side?

 

[TheKid]

Maybe I need to lean in that direction for my crash project. Or a trike. We ain't getting any younger fella's. Physically, not mentally.

 

[Bondysbike]

Grommet will love it!

 

[Al Burdon]

Love it! Even if the sidecar is on the wrong side.
Any info on the front tyre. I have been unable to find an appropriate CT to run on my chair.

Al

 

[Navigator]

Love it. Tis a thing of beauty she is.

As a side car kind of guy I've learned much about them over the years. An front end modification must be made on most bikes, except for the early Earls Fork BMWs, in order for a sidecar rig to be "steerable". This looks like a very beautifully done sidecar rig. I have it in the back of my mind to put a car on my Touring when the time comes but finding a shop to do the proper front end modification is very difficult.

I'm downloading the photo and will be posting it on one of the hack web sites to find out who did the front end and the entire setup.

And yes, on the heavy sidecar rigs, it is common to install car tires front and rear.

 

[Ishrub]

Love it! Even if the sidecar is on the wrong side.
Any info on the front tyre. I have been unable to find an appropriate CT to run on my chair.

Al

I think the narrowest 17" CT you can get now is a 195/40/17 but it is still 45mm wider than your stock tyre. See at bottom.

Would it even fit between forks and on your R3's 3.5" Front rim width without fouling somewhere??

Long term the best option is a leading link front end to suit a better and common light sports car tyre range rim diameter and width.

I had a Melbourne engineered Suzuki GS1000 with leading link using VW steel rims laced to a Suzuki hubs and disc brake set up with 15" car tyres front and 18" rear flat car retreads on early radial m/cycle tyre carcasses

My '78 BMW DJP has leading link but stock R100RS alloy snowflake rims with Avon stiff sidewall sidecar tyres. I am pretty sure you can still get them but not sure about sizing.

See @Seanii Plunkett 's set up he gave me the details for the Front end makers near Bathurst, Country NSW.

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Link Removed

https://www.vredestein.co.uk/car-suv-van/tyre-finder/tyres/product/1/195/40/17/895-sportrac-5
https://www.vredestein.co.uk/car-suv-van/tyre-finder/tyres/product/1/195/40/17/895-sportrac-5

TYRE e.g. VREDESTEIN SPORTRAC 5 195/40 R17

SPECS

195 WIDTH
40 ASPECT RATIO
17 RIM DIAMETER
81 LOAD INDEX
V SPEED RATING
149 mph MAX SPEED
Yes RIM PROTECTOR
'E' ROLLING RESISTANCE RATING
'A' WET GRIP
70 NOISE (DB)
Yes EU LABEL

 

[Ishrub]

I was going to suggest Avon stiff reinforced sidewall sidecar tyres but they only have the 19" which I have on m BMW. Glad I found it I need another.

Avon Sidecar Triple Duty

These Au$229.95 AVON SAFETY MILEAGE MK11 AM7 - REAR 5.00 - 16 69S are an ideal rear in a flat block tread but may be too narrow for your use even though they do have a 16" rear. The low 'S' speed rating ( 112 mph 180 km/h) would maybe be a worry though!

The 5.00 - 16 69S is too narrow for a 240/16 rim but could suit a Touring's 16" narrower rear rim or MAYBE even front reversed usage too but their would be more choices in 16" as there is likely a range of older tyres for vintage cars with narrow 16" rims.

AVON SAFETY MILEAGE MK11 AM7 - REAR
Classic block pattern rear tyre

• Available in a variety of different tread patterns designed to suit older bikes
• Modern rubber compounds deliver enhanced durability and performance
• Best used in conjunction with the Speedmaster MkII front tyre

Avon Safety Mileage MK11 AM7 - Rear

In the mean time with a sidecar you have a lot more scope and safety margin to experiment without too much risk!

I would use a cheap Au$137.00 Rear Shinko Sport Touring 150/70-17 reversed for the front and experiment with pressures. If you find a reasonable pressure and wear / performance setting use that as starting point for a better quality front tyre next time.

Shinko 712 Sports Touring - Rear


Do not buy sport bike front tyres as their performance requirements are completely different to that of a sidecar with a side profile and design focus on dynamics not of great concern or opposite to those of a sidecar.