Sidecar

Hello All,

I want to put a small (S/A-ish) sidecar on an early Kawasaki GT 750, so I
have two questions.

Does anyone have experiance of such a project? I am aware of some of the
finer points of setting up chairs even though I have never actually ridden
one, and my guess is the GT should cope with hauling a small chair plus g/f
and maybe some light luggage, and we are not looking for the comfort of
modern outfits, just to have some fun.

I am yet to find a suitable sidecar, short of eBay does anyone have any
suggestions for possible vendors? Bearing in mind the GT only cost £250 I am
not looking for anything extravagant, and this project will be to a strict
budget. I was thinking of one of the utilitarian type chairs fitted to small
Eastern block machines, has anyone owned one of these?

TIA

/d

 

Owned a Jawa 350 Combo not so long ago. The chair (Velorex) was
surprisingly good. Much better than the bike that was pulling it around.

 

There is something similar on eBay right now, out of interest what do they
go like, and what are they worth? I am half tempted to bid for it.... ok,
just did and some kind person out bid me. The thing is do you get one and go
through the hassle of swapping a chair to the new machine, or just live the
Eastern block experiance?


/d

 

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Ovenpaa"

Seriously. Get a trike.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10

 

But where do I put the dog on a trike? I was hoping to stick her in the
chair with the g/f (then both of them are out of ear shot)

/d

 

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Ovenpaa"

I knew one trike owner who molished a detachable kennel which sat on the
rear seat so his dog could see ahead. The mutt loved it. You could even
make one up for your missus.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10

 

I live the Eastern Bloc experience. It was hysterically funny. The Jawa
was actually a very good example of its type (there's a pic somewhere on
my home page; url below), but its prehistoric engine and appalling
brakes couldn't be ignored.

Ithought then, and I think now, that the Velorex chair (which came with
seat belt, lockable luggage compartment, braked sidecar wheel and even
natty tonneau cover) would have been far better hitched to something
decent - ie, almost anything over 250cc that wasn't a Jawa.

I bought it because it was ridiculously cheap and if you want to find
out about the Dark Art of sidecarring, it's best not to spend a fortune
and then discover you don't like it.

I loved it. I will have another combo one day, I really will. Trouble
mis, they aren't cheap. Lots of old out of print books from the 1950s
and 1960s go into great detail about how to attach and set up a sidecar
- Bruce Main-Smith is probably the best source here. For most people,
the best way to do it is to buy one that has already been set up by
someone else, or buy a ready-made factory outfit, which invariably means
an old Commie machine.

 

Seconded. I bent mine. The local Jawa dealer knew someone local who'd had
a Jawa combo and still had the sidecar in his garden - so I bought that as a
replacement. It was similar: it had the same body but the chassis was
different. The first one was all-Velorex and its wheel was the same as the
ones on the bike. I think the chassis on the second one was by Squire and
it had a smaller wheel. It was nowhere near as good as the original
Velorex.

True for the Velorex... but a close run thing for the Squire.

 

I have a Watsonian "GEM" which was attatched to a Suzuki GS550
Watsonian were particularly helpfull with clamps and spare parts
I believe it is not made any more
Very light and didnt need gearing change
Great fun particualarly with some weight in chair

 

That's not my experience when I was after some MZ clamps for a watsonian
chair I've got. They were polite though.

"We don't make them any more, Sorry" click - brrrrrrrr .....

 

I got similar when I was after bits/advice about the Watsonian frame in the
back of the shed: basically, "try Charnwood".

Ooooookay.

--
Platypus - (surreal)
Triumph Trophy 1200 (The Incredible Hulk)
VN800 Drifter (still for sale)
R80RT (for sale - spares or repairs)
Z200 (Fear the Distance Monster!)
DIAABTCOD#2 GPOTHUF#19
BOTAFOS#6 BOTAFOT#89 FTB#11
BOB#1 SBS#35 ANORAK#18 TWA#15