I'm 65 and still ride 10-12K miles per year. A number of my Brothers my age have gone to trikes, but they have no appeal to me. In preparation for my old age I just got a '95 HD sidecar. Do anyone of you EVO people have mounts that will fit my '98 FLTR, or know someone who does?
No hurry, I'm not quite dead yet.

 

Geez, went on the Indian demo ride and went w/ a pal from church and he brought a friend. Liked the bikes but my pal is 20+ older and he got on the geezer glide by stepping on the left side passenger peg. His buddy more or less just pulls his whole person up and over the saddle and twists onto the bike. He caught me paying attention and scoffed saying they make the bikes too tall nowadays.

I have been thinking about this for two weeks now and found your thread as my outlet to relieve myself about mine and all of ours impending mortality.

If I can find one for you then please let me know if you scour local craigslist and find something. A few guys remove the side car loops from the taiwan ted re-pop frames. I am sure that your 2-wheel days are many more in front of you because we '98 Fltr guys gotta stick together. Lol

Apologies for the hijack, BV.

Tom

 

I'm 62 and picked up a sidecar from one of my Patriot Guard buddies about 2 years ago. Haven't attached it yet, but at least I've finally got it. Was complete with all the hardware. The brackets show up all the time on eBay; start watching and get them one-by-one.

 

You chaps are making this 67 year old feel ancient! Took Buttercup the Buell on a 350 mile lunch trip just yesterday - yes I'm feeling a bit stiff this morning! As for sidecar fittings there is a Hacked etc forum on HDF, where you may get some help, also there are a number of sidecar organisations such as the imaginatively named USA - United Sidecars Association - who may be able to help.

 

Can't help you out with the brackets, but I have been looking for a decent 'hack' for my 'glide. It seems with current prices, I am better off just looking for the whole rig, as opposed to just the sidecar. Harley has a habit of discontinuing things, than bringing them back later. I hope they would do the same with the sidecars.

From my research, I would recommend a new set of triple trees that provide a bit more rake. I'd also would look into a 'dark side' automotive tire conversion, as running a hack accelerates the rear tire wear. This, along with a Baker reverse setup, should keep me in the saddle for another 10 or so years (I'm 64).

 

Here's a softail rig using the British solution to forks etc. It is routine for European sidecars to use car sized wheels and rear tyres, as going smaller on diameter also improves gearing for the extra load.

 

It's early in the morning for me, but is that an Earles fork setup?

 

Yes. Widely used on racing sidecars for road and off-road as well over here, so we have several people who make them. Also used for a few years by BMW on their post-War twins. They correct steering geometry and isolate braking forces from suspension travel, so the forks still go up and down while braking. Almost time for 'elevenses' here!

Here's a smart custom one:

 

and a Sportster to boot !

 

I thought about buying a complete rig then selling the bike and keeping the sidecar, but the math never worked. It's hard to sell a $7,000 bike for $10,000 just to get a sidecar for $3,000.
HD left the sidecar business when their trikes killed it. I'd be surprised if they brought back sidecars, at least in the recent form.
My plan is to be able to disconnect the hack when I want to, and I'm getting conflicting info about riding with the +5 degree rake trees. I still have lots of time to sort all this out, thank goodness.