GRAVELTRAVEL
Pack Dog
About more than a year ago the whole idea related to sidecars started intriguing me. Based on the fact mostly that traveling at speed on unpredictable gravel roads on two wheels started scaring the living daylights out of me. This was aggravated by moving on in years where arbitrary people started calling me "oom" , the local Fruit and Veg offering me a pensioners discount , friends and acquaintances having bad falls (and in some cases fatalities ), the whole idea of getting more wheels on the ground sounded more and more interesting.
I also noticed more and more threads on this forum related to sidecars and their applications. I started surfing the net and found a huge following of side hacks all over the world.
The first part of my search centered around buying a purpose built hack that will just bolt on to my pig. This was easier said than done. I did find a few companies in The US of A that does this for a fair amount of US$. telling them I wanted one that fits on the wrong side of the bike made the US$ increase at an alarming rate. What with exchange rates and transports and import costs , this option started dwindling at a rapid rate of knots.
The idea of building my own started surfacing. I started searching for ideas on the Net and came across a few people which have actually done this successfully . Including our very own Wild Dogs from various parts of the country.
Getting a completed design is however a different kettle of fish and as such I started playing around with various ideas from different established manufacturers. I even had a close look at the URAL which seems to be a tried and tested idea.
Eventually after many hours behind the "drawing Board' I have all the ideas together for a hack that I think will work for what I have in mind.
I have no intention of altering the GSA to a point where it can only be used with a side car. Leading link front suspension and car tyre at the back etc. I want to keep the bike in a state where I can unbolt the hack and be on two wheels in short order if need be,
I even thought of the idea of fitting it to my R80G/S but I am convinced that the GSA will be a much more suitable tug. The fact that it does not have a conventional frame made things a bit more difficult but a few tried an tested ideas seem to be doing the trick.
During last week I started assembling the materials for the chassis and frame and during the weekend I actually completed the basic frame. I decided to go for Schedule 10 316 Stainless steel tubing due to the reduction in weight as well as our ever present rust problem here in Walvisbay.
In terms of suspension I will be using a wheel , swingarm , shock absorber and braking system from a R 80 G/S that I have available. It works well on the original bike so why not on here.
I will try and document everything on this forum to keep all interested informed and willingly share any ideas that might come up. I have no intention of turning this into a business so all experiences are freely available. Conversely I will also welcome any suggestions or ideas from my fellow Dogs that have more experience in this.
I also noticed more and more threads on this forum related to sidecars and their applications. I started surfing the net and found a huge following of side hacks all over the world.
The first part of my search centered around buying a purpose built hack that will just bolt on to my pig. This was easier said than done. I did find a few companies in The US of A that does this for a fair amount of US$. telling them I wanted one that fits on the wrong side of the bike made the US$ increase at an alarming rate. What with exchange rates and transports and import costs , this option started dwindling at a rapid rate of knots.
The idea of building my own started surfacing. I started searching for ideas on the Net and came across a few people which have actually done this successfully . Including our very own Wild Dogs from various parts of the country.
Getting a completed design is however a different kettle of fish and as such I started playing around with various ideas from different established manufacturers. I even had a close look at the URAL which seems to be a tried and tested idea.
Eventually after many hours behind the "drawing Board' I have all the ideas together for a hack that I think will work for what I have in mind.
I have no intention of altering the GSA to a point where it can only be used with a side car. Leading link front suspension and car tyre at the back etc. I want to keep the bike in a state where I can unbolt the hack and be on two wheels in short order if need be,
I even thought of the idea of fitting it to my R80G/S but I am convinced that the GSA will be a much more suitable tug. The fact that it does not have a conventional frame made things a bit more difficult but a few tried an tested ideas seem to be doing the trick.
During last week I started assembling the materials for the chassis and frame and during the weekend I actually completed the basic frame. I decided to go for Schedule 10 316 Stainless steel tubing due to the reduction in weight as well as our ever present rust problem here in Walvisbay.
In terms of suspension I will be using a wheel , swingarm , shock absorber and braking system from a R 80 G/S that I have available. It works well on the original bike so why not on here.
I will try and document everything on this forum to keep all interested informed and willingly share any ideas that might come up. I have no intention of turning this into a business so all experiences are freely available. Conversely I will also welcome any suggestions or ideas from my fellow Dogs that have more experience in this.
