Lost Cause

Here is my KZ1000 sidecar rig. I built the bike as a solo and rode it that way for a couple years. Then I decided it was too fast and I better add some drag coefficient in the form of a third wheel. First two pics are when I first rolled it out of the garage for test rides. Originally conceived as a free swinging rig that would stay level as the bike was ridden like a normal bike by leaning and countersteering. Front pivot is slightly higher up on the centerline of the bike and so guides the front end of the sidecar either left or right as you lean the bike. Pretty cool idea in my head. Somehow, the fukt up math I came up with worked too. But if you've ever ridden a traditional sidecar, you are scratching your head, saying, "What kind of fun is that?" And you would be right! I had never ridden a sidecar before and didn't know the joy that is riding a rig on two wheels with your monkey screaming their head off in delight/fear. Riding the rig around in the swinging config was like riding around a heavy slow steering bike dragging this shit beside you the whole time.

 Once I added the diagonal stablizers and made it rigid to the bike... well that's when the real fun starts!  And first time out after adding the bodywork (which includes a hydraulically assisted hatch) I flipped sumbitch in a parking lot.... ok... I'll be honest.... it was at a car/bike show in front of a hundred people at least, and I was showing off trying to do donuts on entirely too rough pavement. It hooked and threw me clear (tuck and roll grandma) and I landed on my feet, porkpie hat still on my head! Well, the old rig, she looked like a cockroach with all three wheels in the air. Luckily a couple guys quit laffing at me long enuff to help me turn her over before all the oil came out the vent hose. Put two quarts back in her (and it was still low) and rode her an hour and a half back home. You can't kill a KZ. Oh yeah, my "Bros" turned and walked away from me as soon as I embaressed myself. But the guys who helped me flip it over said "that was the coolest thing I ever saw!" hahaha. Guess you might never know who your real friends are. Notice in the last pic the smashed bullet lights at the back of the bike, that was the only damage suffered to the bike (there wasn't any windshield on the sidecar at the time of the wreck). I've also since made a fender for the third wheel and a lower windshield. I'll try to post up a newer pic of it soon, maybe after I install the VW distributor for the new ignition..... muhhehehehe.....