I've been having a problem with osteoarthritis of my knees which has been limiting my motorcycling riding pleasures, knees feel like they might fold in a stop. Anyway a friend suggested today that I might ought consider a side car rig, Duh! I do have an '86 K100 that's in partial restoration and... WHY NOT!

So I would like to educate myself as to what to search for, avoid and generally get me started. The '86 K100 is a stock bike with 50K or so on it. I'll be working on the engine etc as I go along. But what sort of modifications should I be looking into and what other sites other than this one might be useful to search. Is there any HowTo books out there?

thanks and best regards
J.Jefferies

I've seen three of these trike add on kits in the last 12 months on a Hardley a Goldwing and a Triumph. A mate also spotted one on a K100. https://www.bing.com/ck/a? Not sure if that was the brand I spotted and also not sure how they would handle?
Regards Martin.

MartinW wrote:I've seen three of these trike add on kits in the last 12 months on a Hardley a Goldwing and a Triumph. A mate also spotted one on a K100. https://www.bing.com/ck/a? Not sure if that was the brand I spotted and also not sure how they would handle?
Regards Martin.

Well they do show "K 100 LT '87-'92 (B)" as being available. Wonder if the 1 year makes that much of a difference.
But for the moment I'm thinking in terms of side cars. I mean lane splitting in a trike?
But they do show some odd parts including "jack stands, and a portable kickstand"
Interesting.

I don't know if a sidecar would be much of an improvement in lane splitting.
Regards Martin.

MartinW wrote:I don't know if a sidecar would be much of an improvement in lane splitting.
Regards Martin.

you Right!

I've been reaching out and a fellow club member sent me the following sites to look at that I'll share. Are there any
other suggestions?:

https://ibmwr.org/index.php/ibmwr-marketplace/
https://sidecar.com/680-2/forum/3-miscellaneous-sidecar-related-for-sale/
https://www.cycletrader.com/motorcycles-for-sale?keyword=sidecar&sort=price%3Aasc
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=sidecar#search=1~gallery~0~0
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=sidecar+used&_sacat=6000&rt=nc&LH_ItemCondition=4
https://www.dmcsidecars.com/
https://boxermetal.com/

QUESTION, I have a picture in my mind of the side car being on the right side. But
in my familiarization I'm seeing ones on the left as well. Is there any advantages/disadvantages
to ether side. Obviously the car has to be built one way or the other.

And how many subsystems are there in a side car rig? car, subframe, front end mods? Anything else?
And what is the division between car and subframe?

Left and right mounting depends on the side of the road you drive on. Lefthand mounting for OZ, UK Japan etc. RH mounting for US, Europe etc.
Regards Mounting.

MartinW wrote:Left and right mounting depends on the side of the road you drive on. Lefthand mounting for OZ, UK Japan etc. RH mounting for US, Europe etc.
Regards Mounting.

Ahh, the obvious that not thinking in the Internationale mode escaped me. Ok. Stupid question do people in OZ, Uk, Japan etc dismount to the right as well on a regular bike. I've been in the UK but never noticed anything different/amiss. The side stands would still be on the left, ?Right?

MartinW wrote:I've seen three of these trike add on kits in the last 12 months on a Hardley a Goldwing and a Triumph. A mate also spotted one on a K100. https://www.bing.com/ck/a? Not sure if that was the brand I spotted and also not sure how they would handle?
Regards Martin.

Ah - I'd forget it. That kit produces what we call a T-tail in the UK. It's slightly more comfortable than a hardtail, but consider hitting a largish ridge in the road with only one side. Initially it will attempt to lift the whole backend of the trike, then the non-ridge side will drop and the uneven suspension forces will attempt to transmit the resulting twist to the handlebars (much like a hardtail will do). However, the twist puts a huge amount of stress on the frame and if it isn't designed properly, it will eventually crack the frame.

I see they illustrate the ad with a picture of a Goldwing. Says it all - the kit is really designed for the interstate. If that's where most of your riding is/will be, then the kit will do fine. If you're going to be on smaller, rougher, roads I'd be looking for independant rear suspension. The problem with an IRS setup is simply the cost - about twice the price of that kit. I'm still spitting feathers at missing a K100 trike complete with IRS for less than the cost of the IRS kit.

Just my 2/100ths of a dollar.

jjefferies wrote: Is there any HowTo books out there?

Here's one. It has been languishing on my desktop for years. Maybe it'll give you an idea or two.

I dismount to the left as the side stand is on that side and have always done it that way. It may be a carryover from horse riding. There is no law stating what side you can dismount on, it's up to the rider. However due to the road camber a RH mounted side stand would come in handy. K bikes can get a scary lean angle on their own without the added angle of road camber. I've got a mate who prefers to mount/dismount from the right, and looked at adding a RH side stand.
Regards Martin.

MartinW wrote:I dismount to the left as the side stand is on that side and have always done it that way. It may be a carryover from horse riding. There is no law stating what side you can dismount on, it's up to the rider. However due to the road camber a RH mounted side stand would come in handy. K bikes can get a scary lean angle on their own without the added angle of road camber. I've got a mate who prefers to mount/dismount from the right, and looked at adding a RH side stand.
Regards Martin.

MartinW, makes sense. Just my ignorance showing.

Laitch, thanks so much for the PDF. I'll definitely be going thru it. Just returned from looking at a club mate's rig. He has a manual from ?DMC? that covers riding as well as setup. It was the first time I have actually "looked" at a  side car rig. I'm wondering if there is any standardization of things like the m/c mounting rig. His had a fairly extensive under the bike kit which if memory serves bolted up to the engine mounts in the front and to where the center/side stand mounts on a regular bike. And then the car bolted up to that rig. Took some photos but need to get them transferred.

best regards
J.Jefferies

An added advantage on mounting from the right is it allows you to draw your gun. Mounting from the left hinders your drawer.
Regards Martin.

MartinW wrote:An added advantage on mounting from the right is it allows you to draw your gun. Mounting from the left hinders your drawer.
Regards Martin.

I didn't think you guys down there were allowed to carry anymore.

You can still get a pistol licence but you can't open carry. You have to either be in a pistol club or have a good reason to have one.
Regards Martin.

I wouldn't dare mount a horse from the right. 

I'm left handed, mount from the left, shoot from the left, your right hand can do the steering and acceleration.

Who in the Ukraine makes side car rigs? On Ebay I'm seeing a bunch offered for sale at quite cheap prices but USD $1290. shipping. Just wondering if the seller is Ukrainian or Russian.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=motorcycle+sidecar&_sacat=0

On a more practical note, there are some side cars at what looks like reasonable prices $2200. But with universal mounting kits. The seller does state BMW but not which model and I wonder how universal the kits are. Any thoughts or comments?

Any comments on these sidecars(link below)? Seller says they're made in India and he provides a universal mounting kit.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/403233075391?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110013%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIMRXI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20190806114717%26meid%3D604e6a516f484bbbae8456f62fea5d6c%26pid%3D101100%26rk%3D11%26rkt%3D15%26itm%3D403233075391%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2380057%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5PairwiseWebNoToraCoCoViewsNoHighIdfOrSortByFinalScoreBlender%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2380057.c101100.m3021&amdata=cksum%3A403233075391604e6a516f484bbbae8456f62fea5d6c%7Cenc%3AAQAHAAABMBS1ch97WVA1APl5r2akcf6H7euV7oh94H2E3PkS6upt3KNC9XwppsZ2dhnN3podPVhP5ILusTu9P4zuJUupl6rcdN3wOjiam2SGGu13RsQqcobWrBZ5N5%252FOS3DiwrlEKhmVW8stVXOaJuKaepLkzlAqnOaZDK0ym74b8FK0g0MYJrtVUpsHjCuRjicg7gJ7vcN3qx6rNioJTydgpuZtGEHhgGsQMW1DOxC%252FtvGOMF%252BH%252FVmyr%252FZwO0rTMRs7iLjWRxt11yROx475wz%252B0QA2W1Crap76l2v4BVgDbPpUIFMWbaDjzXe%252FP4y18hD%252F29LOZc0QlRGHwwydPlZrjwrHSIRoPXHYIMDBAfJzDXV63cgUYMS6m9r9NA97prRxDAWKk5dvdhQchlPZjuVlDganEzPw%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2380057&_trkparms=pageci%3Ab68c9766-394f-11ed-a571-2e5a9d58fd14%7Cparentrq%3A5dbce6e71830a4d34c2b3028ffffebbc%7Ciid%3A1

MartinW wrote:I don't know if a sidecar would be much of an improvement in lane splitting.

It would be indeed. 
But it's the sidecar who will decide when you split the line, not you.

Hi there,
Sidecars in the Ukraine might be a spin off of Dnjepr.
The sidecars made in India by Cozy or Inder etc are all quite ok if you want to use them for general purpose. For more serious use in regards to touring off road and crossing rough roads with holes and corrugations etc etc, you'll need something a little more robust.
K100s and all their derivatives do not have a full cradle frame, thereby necessitating the fabrication of a subframe to fit firstly onto the bike, which you can then bolt the sidecar to,.
Any kind of universal mounting kit will have to be modified to fit the subframe. This isn't a difficult job for someone with cutting and welding skills, and the kind of universal mounting kit you can get will do the job, once again for general use,.

Cheers
Sean

Saxon7 wrote:Hi there,
Sidecars in the Ukraine might be a spin off of Dnjepr.
The sidecars made in India by Cozy or Inder etc are all quite ok if you want to use them for general purpose. For more serious use in regards to touring off road and crossing rough roads with holes and corrugations etc etc, you'll need something a little more robust.
K100s and all their derivatives do not have a full cradle frame, thereby necessitating the fabrication of a subframe to fit firstly onto the bike, which you can then bolt the sidecar to,.
Any kind of universal mounting kit will have to be modified to fit the subframe. This isn't a difficult job for someone with cutting and welding skills, and the kind of universal mounting kit you can get will do the job, once again for general use,.

Cheers
Sean

Sean, Thanks for the info. that actually helps a lot. Regarding fabrication of a subframe for a K100, are there plans, kits or ready made out there already? One would think this is not a new issue. And if someone has already done it, why re-invent the wheel? And then there's the issue of the front wheel to be considered. Can the stock be upgraded or am I looking for a suitable Earles fork. Just trying to size up the project before I really commit or maybe I'm already ready to be committed.

Wasp in the UK makes sub-frames to fit K bikes. I believe Waz here on the forum had one sent to Australia awhile ago, so he would be the best bloke to talk to in that regard. The UK and Australia both fit the chair to the left side of the bike, so not sure if Wasp cater for the other side. ( Looks like you're in Canada?)

https://www.waspmotorcycles.com/on%20the%20road.html

No idea what the laws are for fitting sidecars to motorcycles in Canada are, but I'd imagine you'd have to have it inspected by an engineer etc. You could join a couple of sidecar forums around the place and make some enquiries? I don't know if Bert spends any time on here anymore, but he'd be an excellent contact in this regard. Someone somewhere in Canada can make one for you, given time and some financial outlay.

Cheers
Sean

Hello 
Yes I did import a Wasp subframe, it has connections both sides so can fit left or right side. Sidecar Paul fitted one over 30 years ago to K100 and as far as I know it’s still going, that was good enough for me to get one.