Sidecar recommendations for GS

[Bign1971]

Hi
Hoping someone can help, I need a sidecar for my 03 GS1150, storage only not worried about a seat. Can’t find anything on fleebay so hopefully someone can push me In The right direction.
Cheers
Bign

[OnHellas]

You could try Watsonian, they do a cargo sidecar I think. I know that they’ve attached stuff to 1150GS’s before so a subframe should be no problem.

[scotsy]

Would a trailer not be more convenient? There must be loads available second hand

[Bign1971]

A trailer is an option but looking at doing the elephant next year so wanted it more for the stability aspect.

[markoh]

It may cost you less to get a secondhand bike with a frame and attach a sidecar to that. Sticking a sidecar on a GS is overkill. Anything more than about 60hp on an outfit is of little use. You can pick up complete outfits for less than the cost of attaching one to a GS. A 650cc bike would be ideal. Regarding second hand outfits here is an example https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132944001099

[markoh]

David Angel of F2 Motorcycles does a cargo sidecar http://simplysidecars.co.uk/cargo.html

[soho]

Here's my two. Tradesman (on Dommie) - waste of time ! So big you end up putting too much in it, then it becomes a real pain on slow mountain hairpins. People also tend ask what's in it all the time ? Same answer of course " The wife , till I can find a place to bury her ! "

The MotoPodd, perfect for luggage. Locking top + little flip up seat for a passenger if needed. Only as very small number were built (maybe 10/12) as I believe they worked out too expensive to produce..............Why would I be posting ? Well it's in my workshop feeling very unattached to anyone at the moment !

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[Jak*]

A Ural sidecar might be a good choice, again Dave Angel might be able to help if you cannot find one, or need fittings. Generally cheap and robust. The all metal construction means it it heavier than some chairs but that would be a bonus on a large bike. They are designed for rural Russian roads, dirt tracks and with a suitable paint job the looks would match the GS. If you do buy one check the mudguard as they can rot and are surprisingly expensive.
Cheers Jak

[sledgegreen]

I have a Dnepr sidecar on an 1150GS. It seems to work very well - I was a complete sidecar novice until I bought this about March last year, and it took me about 3 weeks to get the hang of it. On my first outing, I had several unplanned visits to the verge and the other side of the road, and had to be rescued from a ditch. There is an enormous difference between the way that a bike handles and a combination handles, and the instinctive responses to vehicle movements had to be subdued before I could learn to really ride the combination. More experienced riders seem to be impressed that it handles well with no steering damper fitted.

I can't really tell you much about the sidecar fitting - that was all done by the previous owner. The tub is a right-hand tub mounted on the left (so the "doorway" is on the bike side). I believe the sidecar chassis is standard Dnepr (Dnepr sidecars are the same as Ural, but Urals have separate boot and passenger compartments, with a door into the boot from the outside. On a Dnepr, you access the boot space by taking the seat back out).

The fittings on the bike were, I believe, fabricated by the previous owner. He seems to have made a good job of it - not only does it seem to handle well, but he made it so that the car is easily detached from the bike. There are 4 bolts to undo, and the sidecar lights attach to the bike through a trailer style plug.

I am in Norfolk (about 20 miles S of Norwich, so if you would like to have a look at it let me know, or it will be at the Malvern meet in a few weeks time, if I can get an electrical issue on the bike fixed.

[sledgegreen]

I intended to say that you should have a look at the ukgser and ADVrider forums. ADVrider in particular has some very interesting sidecar build threads, including a couple on BMW R11xx bikes.

The Ural/Dnepr sidecars were originally designed by BMW before the war (the BMW combinations which chase Steve McQueen in The Great Escape). Some accounts that I have read say that Russia licensed the design whilst Hitler and Stalin were still friendly, others say that Russia copied captured German bikes after the German invasion. After the war, Russia continued to make the bikes and side cars in two factories. When the USSR broke up, one factory was in Ukraine (Ural) and the other was in Russia (Dnepr), and so they became separate companies. At some point, the chinese also copied the design and so Chiang Jiang bikes and side cars came into being.

The military heritage means that there is an unusually wide range accessories available - everything from luggage racks to machine gun mounts.