Sidecar on a Spyder?

[griffontamer]

Hi all,
I am not asking about the legalities of this idea, but has anyone put a sidecar on a Spyder? Yes, I do have my reasoning behind the question so don't beat me up too badly
Cheers,
Julia

[4 MARIE]

no one will beat up on you here...hee hee
but it might help it you explain your reasoning.
How about symmetrical sidecars ? Then we could have
a five wheel monstrosity.

[tip]

Hi,
Your reason is not my business. My concern would be the overall width with a sidecar - depending on your model.
I believe that someone brought this up last year.
Good luck if you try it,
Tip

[Chupaca]

how about outrigger's. Keeping them not much wider than the front wheels you could hang one on each side like big saddlebags....

[Bfromla]

how about outrigger's. Keeping them not much wider than the front wheels you could hang one on each side like big saddlebags....

Why not a trailer with rumple seat?

[SPYDERGUY1]

SIDECAR ???? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT ?? On a Spyder? Definetly like to hear the reasons behind that thought.

[garb55]

Side car ?
that would give you 4 tires
then you would be a car
seatbelt airbags etc.

[Bob Denman]

I really don't see a practical usefulness to it...
Would you care to enlighten us as to your plans; and why?

[Peter Aawen]

Just thinking about it, it might be a bit of a gnarly problem!!

Regardless of the why, if you tried to set a chair up as an outrigger to a Spyder, you'd hafta be bloody careful where you tried to mount it & hafta think a bit about where the wheel on the chair was with respect to the front steer wheels & rear drive wheel on the Spyder, as well as where to aim it or it'd scrub to buggry whenever you tried to turn towards it.....that is IF turning the Spyder steer wheels but still having another 'load carrying' wheel trying to run straight ahead on the inside of the turn would even let you turn!! Turning the other way, ie, with the chair wheel on the outside of the turn, the chair wheel would only need to turn faster than the driven & steer wheels on the Spyder, & a normal 'ground driven' wheel aimed straight ahead should manage that OK, albeit with some (orright, probably a lot!!) scrubbing as it got dragged around the curve.

Normal suspension should be able to handle any up/down loads during cornering, but that 'inside of the turn' thing would be an interesting problem from a positioning, aiming, and an alignment point of view too!! Going slow enough &/or turning tight enough towards it, you might even force the chair wheel to turn backwards, but if the chair wheel was in the wrong spot &/or it's aiming angles with the steer & drive wheel weren't exactly right, it could inhibit the inside turn a lot, while dragging & slowing an outside turn!!

Add to that the issues that having an outrigger wheel might cause re 'drag' while trying to ride straight &/or braking, plus the difficulties of setting up/aligning the Spyder 2-wheel steering & suspension geometry to run straight with the addition of an outrigger wheel, let alone doing any of that stuff while turning.... It'd be a bit of a nightmare problem. I certainly doubt it'd be anywhere near as easy as it is to hook up a chair on the side of a 2-wheel motorbike - in fact, that's probably why BRP went down the trailer route in the beginning!

Still, it's food for thought!

[pegasus1300]

Hi all,
I am not asking about the legalities of this idea, but has anyone put a sidecar on a Spyder? Yes, I do have my reasoning behind the question so don't beat me up too badly
Cheers,
Julia

Some one asked this exact same question several months ago in almost those exact same words. I don't think it has ever been done,but if you're willing to throw enough money at anything you can make it happen. If you need more passenger carrying capacity then I would suggest a motorcycle/sidecar outfit. There are several that will carry 2 or 3 people. That gives you 3 to 4 people on the bike.You may have to go overseas to find one big enough,though Hannigan does make a 2 passenger model.Gold Wings make good chair haulers. if you have someone else to drive maybe a 2nd Spyder would be a solution? That would give space for 4. Good luck

[pegasus1300]

I forgot there are also custom trike builders,usually on a VW platform that can be built to carry any number people. I have even seen one built around a bus body that would carry 8 people.

[Deer Slayer]

Where would you display the WIDE LOAD sign?

[ARtraveler]

Interesting question.

I am in a bit of a negative mood this AM, so I am getting negative vibes about the project.

: Handling issues: current side car rigs have turning issues that are different when making left and right turns. You have to re-learn how to drive a motorcycle to get it right.

: The extra wheel(s) will make handling weird and may upset the nanny even more.

: Cost: You are entering new territory here. How much do you want to spend to get it right.

Interested in seeing where the project goes. Post some pictures or solution information if possible.

[griffontamer]

I appreciated the replies, both serious and humorous .

The simplified reason for wanting a sidecar on a Spyder is to be able to travel with 2 passengers and a small dog, but obviously if it poses a safety issue, I would not risk it.

I did ride a regular motorcycle with a sidecar once, and going around a right turn fast enough, it flew the chair and I suddenly found myself turning left. Thankfully it didn't take me long to reach the clutch and brake and stop before I rolled into a motorhome (this was on a friend's very large property so a good place to practice with less likelihood of killing myself in the process). I figured a Spyder wouldn't be as likely to fly the chair or turn the wrong way, thanks to its dual front wheels. Surely I could learn to handle a regular sidecar bike but I'm still a bit scared of it. Plus Spyders are cool

At any rate, you folks have made very good points. I might play around with a prototype if the right setup comes along; and if I do, I will experiment carrying bags of concrete instead of passengers, to make sure I don't risk someone else's life and limb in case something goes south. For now I'll just take the convertible when more than 1 passenger wants to go somewhere with me.

[SteveLaoyster]

How about changing the seat from sitting one in front of the other to like a love seat arrangement? Then both people could drive.

[MRH]

To me this sounds like a horrible idea for many reasons. It would make for a very wide bike, it would do God-knows-what to the electronic aspects of the handling, and I tend to think it would really hurt performance. A trailer feels like a far better idea, and it might even be legal. I would strongly question if a side car can even legally be added to a trike of any kind, and that may be a state issue.

[Doktor]

I've got a sidecar rig, handling is significantly different from 2 wheels or a trike. The steering is very different from a Spyder too. I'm not sure it would even be possible, as someone else mentioned. When I had my Goldwing, we had a level rack on the trunk that we put a dog kennel on, the dog loved it. Perhaps that would be a possibility for you, depending on the size of your dog, we had a dachshund and he would beg to go, if we broke the helmets, he was at the door waiting.


Doc

[Culpjp]

Why not just go with a Sling shot then. I have seen trailers with rumble seats in them.

[MRH]

Just one more thought, you mentioned the issue of safety. I can't how this wouldn't be a significant level of decreased safety for your dog no matter what configuration you choose, at least in comparison to a car.

I would look at solutions that convert the trunk, which I have seen, as the most ideal solution, provided your dog is small enough to fit.

Have you considered getting your dog his or her own Spyder?

[Deecheff]

They make a trailer for your pup. They're pretty cool.

[Snakeeater]

Just one more thought, you mentioned the issue of safety. I can't how this wouldn't be a significant level of decreased safety for your dog no matter what configuration you choose, at least in comparison to a car.

I would look at solutions that convert the trunk, which I have seen, as the most ideal solution, provided your dog is small enough to fit.

Have you considered getting your dog his or her own Spyder?

A brother-in-arms of mine has converted his frunk lid to a wire net cover and has a small wind screen at the base of the opening, because bugs in dogs eyes can become quite expensive. Never leaves home without his faithful companion but always draws a crowd when they're seen pulling in.
I'll dig through my archives and try to find a picture of the setup.

[Bob Denman]

With enough money and elbow grease: anything is possible!

[SteveLaoyster]

I've seen several different pictures of trailers for pets on the net. I'm sure you'll come up with something that everyone will be happy with.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I've been biting my tongue on this one, but I just can't any longer (and I posted on the same thing in the last sidecar thread) I'm a DIY'er to the MAX ..... and IMHO I think you harbor a DEATH WISH with this idea ......... Sidecars with a two-wheeler are a driving nightmare for 99% of the Opr's who try it! .... On a Spyder!!!! ..... If you think pulling a TRAILER is hard, complicated, difficult, tooooooooooo expensive etc. what exactly is the SIDECAR not going to be that I just mentioned?????? ..... Please TOSS this idea ......................... Mike

[Nytemagik]

My motivations are that I have a standard poodle, and I can't take her with me. I camp. My Angel < the bike > can even tow my popup camper, but I can't take my girl with me. I'd love to find a small sidecar I can make a harness for and take the pup along...