Designing a Sidecar for a Virago Motorcycle

I'll refer you to CR4 member Blink or Check here

Hey bwire,

Thanks for the lead on Blink. I didn't really expect sooo many folks getting back to us. Thanks!

Adele and Tony

If you don't have any luck here, check out this link to the Virago Owners Club.

Thanks for the link!

I am already a member....and it is an awesome place!

Adele and Tony

Google up "CJ-750."

Then connect with some of the owner's groups. Some of them may have some old blueprints laying around from years gone by that you can modify for your Virago. Here are a few links to start you on your way:

http://www.changjiangunlimited.com/

http://www.changjiangcollective.com/index.php?p=ManualOperating

http://www.cj750.net/index.html

Happy Trails to you !

I have always liked the look a sidecar adds to a bike, but have never driven a bike with one. Glad to hear you are not willing to give up riding but rather are looking for ways to keep having fun. An electrician where I work is having problems with his knees and has been doing some looking around. He has found trike kits that are detachable. These allow you to use the bike as a trike (actually has 4 wheels but looks like a trike) when needed, but in just a few minutes the kit slides off and returns the bike back into a 2 wheeler for the days when you are feeling up to it.

Best wishes and keep on living.

Oh, this is so cool!

But, we aren't that financially free at this time...~~big smile~~.

It is really wonderful how someone figured out how to do this to a bike so that riding is still an option to many!

Thanks for the link!!

Adele and Tony

Thanks for the good thoughts and link.

I am a member of the United Sidecar Assoc. already as I am sure that I will be a full fledged 'hack-maiden', hahaha They have some excellent info there...and so does all the rest of the info and links that everyone has told me.

Thank you lots

Adele and Tony

The posts about operating a motorcycle with a sidecar being different than riding the motorcycle are worth heeding. One rides a motorcycle, but drives a sidecar rig. You no longer lean into corners; you steer instead.

Whichever side your sidecar is mounted on, be cautious when you turn in that direction. Centrifugal force will lift the sidecar wheel off the ground if you enter the turn too quickly or sharply, and could toss the rig onto its opposite side. So, if you drive a hack with the car on the right-hand side, be careful when turning right lest you fly the car unintentionally.

Enjoy the ride. Only motorcyclists know why dogs smile when their heads are out the car window.

Hey HF,

I can't thank you enough for your concern for me on learning safely. Really, Thank You!

Ya can never learn enough when it comes to being safe and still have an outrageously awesome time on and near and with your bike. ~big smile~

Here is a link that I thought was pretty right on about things...http://www.sidecar.com/Files/SC%20OP%20Manual.pdf

With all of the info and help that I am getting from here...I take it all in and it does me right.

Thanks lots!

Adele and Tony

Hahaha

When I was a young wench, I used to stick my head out the window all the time and share with the dogs. Remember now.......I was young....really young. ~wink~ haha!

Oh...and the truck was always moving...... ~big smile~......haha

Adele

I can't add a lot that has not already been said.

For handling alone, a tadpole trike like my avatar is hard to beat -- this configuration can enable Porsche-beating handling. But doing this kind of thing is a huge project, even if the result in not enclosed.

There are two versions of "traditional" sidecars -- those designed for racing and those designed for the road. There is a world of difference between them with the racing ones being more like racing sports cars minus one wheel. The racers are so much different because they overcome the main limitation of the road going sidecar rig -- high center of gravity combined with no ability to lean into turns. For these reasons, the traditional road going hack is, at first glance, a dangerous configuration... but the drivers who are still living have adapted.

The adaptation is to go slow, and realize that when you turn to the right (assuming the side car is mounted on the right) you can lift the car, and quickly go too far, rolling the bike onto it's side. I've had some fun doing this kind of thing intentionally (short of rolling it right over) with an old BMW.

Which leads to this: a fast modern motorcycle with a side car is something of an odd bird: When you accelerate hard it pulls one way, and when you brake hard it pulls the other, when you go into a turn too fast you pray for it to lean, etc. But an old motorcycle with a sidecar fits pretty well, because it doesn't encourage high rates of acceleration or declaration. You naturally slow down, and the acceleration and braking have less effect, etc.

So, if I were to have a sidecar rig, I'd get either something old (the old BMW's were very well-engineered) or something that acts as if it is old. Today, my favorite (in the second category) might be a Royal Enfield. The Enfields are inexpensive, so depending on the age of you Virago, you might be able to sell the Virago and pick up an Enfield and car without going broke.

The Royal Enfield sidecar can be made to fit almost anything, so even if you convert your Virago, it would be worth considering.

Also consider a "standard" trike conversion. Their handling is not wonderful, but it's OK, and the same from right to left. As others have said, try a couple of the alternatives out before committing.

My avatar trike started on two wheels, with retractable outriggers. In my case, they were foot-powered and independent, so I could keep the bike level (at a stop) when the road was sloped. This would not help in your case, though -- because balancing such a thing is actually a little harder than with leg power applied directly to the road. The Ecomobile automates the outriggers, but even then the bike has a tendency to lurch around when coming away from a stop -- and again the vehicle is enclosed (which is probably not what you want) and incredibly expensive.

A sidecar could be made very inexpensively that had just the extra wheel and frame, without the "container". I think some sort of container would be useful nevertheless, to make you more visible, and to keep people from driving over the frame in traffic. The extra weight helps to keep the car from lifting in turns to the right also.

Sidecars, trikes: all fun, and all can be safe if safely driven. If you switch back and forth, take a little time to get familiar with the changes.

Another possibility: the Piaggio MP3. On these, you can push a button to lock the lean mechanism. I wonder, though if these deal well with sloping pavement. (I didn't realize how sloped pavement can be until I experimented with by outrigger.) You can imagine the locking mechanism getting loaded up on a slope, and being a little abrupt in releasing. (I think, but am not sure, that the mechanism only locks the front wheels in one position, so the scooter is perpendicular to road surface, rather than in line with gravity. This could feel pretty strange starting out, because at some point you'd need to yank the scooter back under you -- but I may be completely wrong -- I have neither seen one up close, nor ridden one.) This could be a really attractive option, because it retains the leaning feature, while eliminating the need to balance at a stop. Seems they recently came out with a more powerful version.

I'm glad you are going to stick with motorcycling as long as you can. Have fun.

Rock 1,

This site that you linked to me is totally awesome!!!!

This is ....I think exactly what I would like to have happen to the Virago. My Honda is so low that it's like sitting on a short bucket when I come to a stop, because of the low center of gravity...that my virago doesn't have.

My fingers are starting to take a dump....so I will be here tomarrow....

Thanks Rock 1 you and the rest of the truly good people that are here to help are like gold for people that are in my predicament and others close.

All of you here are precious!

Adele and Tony

Welcome to CR4 Adele,

Sometimes these sods are a little socially, err... well slow.

I had a over engineered idea. Because side cars are stable in only one turning direction you could add a small outrigger wheel on the other side with a storage container. I considered equal length out-rigged wheels one side a sidecar the other a trunk but that puts your driving and steering wheels in the oil patch on the road.

With a little fancy geometry you could make the bike still be able to lean for cornering. The leaning is not the real trick but making the suspension work while being able to lean toward and away from the sidecar.

Brad

Thanks U V!

This idea was really cool! This is the top 3 of some of the neat things that we can do. Thanks!

Hi Adele.

Many years ago my father told me about an American sidecar that was on something of a pantograph arm, so that when the bike turned and leaned over the side car did too.

He called it a simplex and he had seen it on US bikes that predated the second world war.

I googled it and cam up with this link.

http://www.my-mc.com/messages/1/39085.html?1091137038

I hope it is of some interest to you and the other CR4 bikers.

Happy trails.

BAB

The MP3, while being a great ride, is not a stable three-wheeler. I have had one for a year now and I do not recommend trying to lock the front mechanism when coming to a stop and still in motion. Also, when taking off from a stop, if you are not locked vertically you might veer into the next lane. They are great for giving extra stability when going through a curve, especially when the pavement is wet. Their emergency breaking is great! Many two-wheelers tend to "fish-tail" when braking hard, but the MP3 doesn't do this. As far as "triking it", my wife has done this with her bike with her bike and loves it. She does miss the lean into a curve, but doesn't fear dropping it any more. I have had a limited experience with a sidecar, and highly recommend a steering damper on the rig. This will help limit the "shimmey" on accelleration.

Best of luck and good riding

R Jones, LR, AR