Really? Tell us more (I have been considering the same myself but will probably wait to see if and when we go back to the continent as sidecars are not on the same side).
Hello Noddy and Kev. My multiple quoting doesn't seem to be working. Thank you for the warm welcome, like that nasty stain, you know the one, there is no getting rid of me!
SJ - Rumblings of a sidecar have been going around in my mind for a long time. When I found out that the sort that I would want were £10k and above new (without the bike) I decided to look around. I was impressed wit the idea of a Ural. The plan was to buy a matt green one and pick up a deactivated MG34 and somehow permanently afix it
THIS
The more I read about Urals the more I realised that they are extremely unreliable. So I started looking around at sensibly priced (sub-£10k) offerings. A BMW K75RT came up with a Squire RX4 chair on it at £3,500 but like an idiot I faffed about too long and so it went very quickly with a queue from what I understand. This would have been perfect and I am still kicking myself about it.
There was also a lovely Honda CB1100 at the top of the budget, but it had been kept really nice by the two owners, and I knew that exposed to the elements it would look a wreck in no time; I don't have a garage for sole use at the moment so I didn't enquire about that. Ironically the Honda outfit was then bought by the BMW K75RT owner who then put that up for sale again, but quickly withdrew it as his son persuaded him that it was too good to sell.
I have always liked the CB1100; a real muscle bike.
There was also an MZ TS250 outfit, but I decided that it would be too small to travel at speed with a decent load of me, the other half and camping kit. It was really cheap, rightly so!
The only one in the running at the moent is a Kawasaki KZ650, but I would really prefer leading link front forks. I understand that it makes piloting an outfit a lot easier. Then again it would be nice if any outfit coming my way had a sidecar brake - I just want everything!
This has been reduced to £4k. Those Z650 engines are supposed to have a good reputation for longevity. I have had two Kawasakis in the past: a KLR650 and a GT750. The 750 motor was a smooth as silk. The 650 very grunty.
Hopefully this pic heavy post won't bring the site down or even cause the lights to flicker!