Fred's sidecar rig.

[fredintoon]

Someone asked me to post photos of my Heritage Special/Spirit of America sidecar rig build once it was completed.
Here's some walk-around shots of the rig in my driveway:-

 

[MaxPete]

Hey now Fred - THAT looks very cool!

It definitely deserves a genuine:

 

[Superjet]

Very nice Fredintoon! Is that a car battery next to the sidecar or a storage box? Real cool J-C

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Superb rig, Fred !
Thanks for the photos.

 

[fredintoon]

Very nice Fredintoon! Is that a car battery next to the sidecar or a storage box? Real cool J-C

Hi Sj,
yup, big ol' car battery in a plastic box meant for a boat battery. Both items from Canadian Tire.
The instant cold morning fire-up I get using a car battery demonstrates that the stock battery's CCA is kinda marginal.

 

[mrtwowheel]

That's a big hunk Fred. Curious, which tire will wear out first on a rig like that?

Scott

 

[Mailman]

Very nice Fred! I’ve always been intrigued by side car rigs.

 

[fredintoon]

That's a big hunk Fred. Curious, which tire will wear out first on a rig like that?
Scott

Hi Scott,
the rear tire wears out first unless you've screwed up the alignment.
My experience, 5,000 miles on a rear, 15,000 miles on a front and the 13" Vredestein car tire on my sidecar
hasn't worn down to notice since I bought the sidecar.
Time was you could get TwinTires (125/90-16 flat cross section car tires that ran 2-up on a custom car rim)
They got good mileage but they ain't made any more.
These days sidecar rig operators run whatever bike tire they can get for a bargain.
Note that the one time I screwed up the alignment (Back 'ome in the 1960s on my BSA/Garrard rig)
setting the toe-in at 2-5/8" instead of 5/8" wore out the Garrard's 3"-16 tire in 200 miles

 

[JesseeS]

Love it! Still have all the info you sent me in storage waiting to be unleashed!

 

[FLEA]

nice , if f/glass would be a lot of weight , how does the xs handle the extra weight ? (one of my future ideas when the legs give out properly, never ridden a chair), have you thought about car tyres?

 

[fredintoon]

nice , if f/glass would be a lot of weight , how does the xs handle the extra weight ? (one of my future ideas when the legs give out properly, never ridden a chair), have you thought about car tyres?

Hi FLEA,
the chair is an American Spirit which was built by the Spirit of America Co. The American Spirit's body ain't FRP though, it's rotomolded from Marlex
It's body shape became the pattern for the FRP-bodied California Friendship I which had a different chassis with a failure-prone torsion bar suspension.
I've never weighed my Spirit but the paperwork sez the complete chair weighs 135 lbs.
As the XS650 only has ~50HP the rig ain't the ticket collector that my XS11 rig was.
Running 17/36 sprockets it rides nice around town and likes to highway cruise at ~50/55 mph.
Driving a rig is different to riding a bike. "It ain't a bike no more, it only looks like one" A rig steers like a lopsided quad.
The other difference is social. Folks that shun bike riders bring their kids across the parking lot to see the nice man's sidecar outfit.
Sure I've thought about car tyres.
Mainly that you can't get 'em no more in a size that'll fit an XS650 back wheel.
Avon still makes a "sidecar universal" in 3.25-19 that'll fit the front but it ain't tubeless.
Sure, my sidecar has a car tire because it's wheel, along with it's hydraulic drum brake, came off a Honda Civic.

 

[FLEA]

thanks ,gives a better practical view on chairs , when you say torsion bar failure , curios has to what type of failure and the cause as one of my other bikes/ projects (both) are a 350cc douglas (1946 t35)with torsion bar rear suspension ,as for not riding a bike any more , that's one of the reasons stayed clear of them and the can am spyders, trikes etc and such like but when the time comes think the chair option will be the way to go plus will mean being able to still use the xs .. think the 750 upgrade would make much difference

 

[fredintoon]

thanks ,gives a better practical view on chairs , when you say torsion bar failure , curios has to what type of failure and the cause as one of my other bikes/ projects (both) are a 350cc douglas (1946 t35)with torsion bar rear suspension ,as for not riding a bike any more , that's one of the reasons stayed clear of them and the can am spyders, trikes etc and such like but when the time comes think the chair option will be the way to go plus will mean being able to still use the xs .. think the 750 upgrade would make much difference

Hi FLEA,
the Friendship's torsion bar was an abortion, a square section of stacked spring steel ribbons. It's end twisted off for a pastime.
I was born & raised just up the road from the Douglas factory in Kingswood and I'm sure their design people would never dreamed up anything that stupid.
Yeah, a chair is a great way to get in an extra decade or so of riding. It's also a great chick magnet, far more so than a trike or a Spyder.
While I don't plan to upsize my XS650 engine, a 750 upgrade sounds nice. Don't tune for more top end though, what a rig needs is more mid-range grunt.

 

[FLEA]

damm .. 82 next summer .. your doing well . hope I can still be riding then .. the douglas I bought was off a 81 yr old bloke who was selling off his collection of douglases before he got to old .. but he was keeping 3 , 2 1926 and 1 1928 models , 1 with a side car he built himself (off a original chassie) I got the last of his post war ones , the project bike iv got has a crack in the torsion bar so not sure what to do at this stage but plenty of time and projects , out of all the different chair designs which would you prefer for the xs

 

[fredintoon]

damm .. 82 next summer .. your doing well . hope I can still be riding then .. the douglas I bought was off a 81 yr old bloke who was selling off his collection of douglases before he got to old .. but he was keeping 3 , 2 1926 and 1 1928 models , 1 with a side car he built himself (off a original chassie) I got the last of his post war ones , the project bike iv got has a crack in the torsion bar so not sure what to do at this stage but plenty of time and projects , out of all the different chair designs which would you prefer for the xs

Hi FLEA,
congrats on the Douglases, I'd get the torsion bar dye-penetrant checked but if it's got a visible crack, likely it's fucked.
As to what chair design to put on an XS650, I reckon a copy of a Velorex 562 chassis is about right.
Best use a subframe that bolts to both sides of the bike though. The stock Velorex frame clamps ain't too sturdy
Here's some photos of my Velorex frame
View attachment 140936
But what kinda body? that's up to you. Box to haul stuff in? Single seat shell with a windshield for a lady to sit in?

 

[fredintoon]

Today I (finally!) found my 2 quarts of Castrol Grand Prix 20W50 and did an oil change.
Then started building an adaptor to lower the sidecar's stance as although the rig rides OK the sidecar is tilted sideways and don't look right.