Follow along Sidecar project

[Smitty901]

If your are interested follow along ,join in .

Plan is to mount a Hannagan classic twin on a 2017 Road Glide Ultra. This will take some time. Already have a lot of this riding season planned. It is not a low budget project. This will be done right. For personal reasons the path I take may differ from others. I will try to explain as it goes along. There are still some unanswered issue that may come up and we are ready to deal with them.

First , why. Wife and I have been riding 43 years together. Fully loaded Touring bike and the things we must pack as we age, will in the coming years be to much for two wheel two up.

We have ruled out a Trike for us and trailers just a no go. The smaller sidecar we have has shown it is a good option for us.

Why Hannagan? They have been around a long time and are only 530 miles from us. While a little larger than I had wanted the Twin Classic seems to be the right one.

Plan is to have Local HD dealer install the car. I like to keep money near home and they have served me well for a long time. This will happen in Three stages. There are reason for doing this.

1. Front end

2. Order and ship car. This will include a stop in Murry KY. to look the car over in May.

3. Install



I have decided to go with an HD trike front end. The Tree provides the rake, the tubes are 2 inches longer , and the steering damper is a nice clean fit. The longer Tubes will bring the bike back to a normal height in front .

One issue we may need to deal with. The RGU has a frame mounted faring. To clear the tubes stop to stop it may need to be shimmed out some. It will be close. We are ready to deal with it. Parts have been ordered to do the front end and they will be installed around June ,we have riding to do. Once installed we will ride with it and get use to the new front end. As the riding season nears and end 6-8 weeks out the car will be ordered and ship directly to HD dealer painted and ready to install. It will be a winter install.

As this happens I will show the cost of parts, labor and shipping. Things I already know is color matching is not going to be cheap. Going with the HD trike front end route will add about $500 to the cost but IMO will be well worth it. I will be riding with Car off at times.

The Bike has served me well and the M8 107 will have no problem with the car. It is already equipped with the HD WHIM , Communication , headsets radio, GPS all are already fully wireless.

 

[Sidecarbill]

If you're gonna pay for installation and paint anyway, I would bring it to hannigan, as you say they aren't that far away. Theres no harley shop I know of that has sidecar experience. As a matter of fact when they had their own brand sidecar they couldn't even set that up right. Just an oplnion you know how that goes!

 

[Smitty901]

If you're gonna pay for installation and paint anyway, I would bring it to hannigan, as you say they aren't that far away. Theres no harley shop I know of that has sidecar experience. As a matter of fact when they had their own brand sidecar they couldn't even set that up right. Just an oplnion you know how that goes!

Hanningan does not live in my area. I try to keep money I spend in the pockets of people that live and work here. That is not taking anything away from a great company like Hanningan. The people that work at local HD are outstanding. They are outstanding member's of the small community we live near. They have served me well for many years. Some of them that work there have been doing this for 50 years. I know some of the huge dealers are more like car lots and half those working there are not even riders. But This dealership is and has always been family owned. Heck current owner grew up playing on the shop floor. They have also been a BMW dealer for a long time and mounted many on BMW's.

They put a older HD sidecar on a 2014 last year that when found was missing Parts and needed a lot of work. Looks like new and runs down the road 80 mph and you can let go of the bars. HD sidecars work what did not work was back yard bubba messing with them.

 

[stacebg]

If your are interested follow along ,join in .

Plan is to mount a Hannagan classic twin on a 2017 Road Glide Ultra. This will take some time. Already have a lot of this riding season planned. It is not a low budget project. This will be done right. For personal reasons the path I take may differ from others. I will try to explain as it goes along. There are still some unanswered issue that may come up and we are ready to deal with them.

First , why. Wife and I have been riding 43 years together. Fully loaded Touring bike and the things we must pack as we age, will in the coming years be to much for two wheel two up.

We have ruled out a Trike for us and trailers just a no go. The smaller sidecar we have has shown it is a good option for us.

Why Hannagan? They have been around a long time and are only 530 miles from us. While a little larger than I had wanted the Twin Classic seems to be the right one.

Plan is to have Local HD dealer install the car. I like to keep money near home and they have served me well for a long time. This will happen in Three stages. There are reason for doing this.

1. Front end

2. Order and ship car. This will include a stop in Murry KY. to look the car over in May.

3. Install



I have decided to go with an HD trike front end. The Tree provides the rake, the tubes are 2 inches longer , and the steering damper is a nice clean fit. The longer Tubes will bring the bike back to a normal height in front .

One issue we may need to deal with. The RGU has a frame mounted faring. To clear the tubes stop to stop it may need to be shimmed out some. It will be close. We are ready to deal with it. Parts have been ordered to do the front end and they will be installed around June ,we have riding to do. Once installed we will ride with it and get use to the new front end. As the riding season nears and end 6-8 weeks out the car will be ordered and ship directly to HD dealer painted and ready to install. It will be a winter install.

As this happens I will show the cost of parts, labor and shipping. Things I already know is color matching is not going to be cheap. Going with the HD trike front end route will add about $500 to the cost but IMO will be well worth it. I will be riding with Car off at times.

The Bike has served me well and the M8 107 will have no problem with the car. It is already equipped with the HD WHIM , Communication , headsets radio, GPS all are already fully wireless.

you mention using the hd trike front end...have you looked into the rake in a set of hd trees?? seems i remember really not that much... may want to look at aftermarket... you mention going 80 and letting go... in my experience plenty of trail will let you do that but that doesnt mean it is an easy handling rig at lower speed ,, i usually have about 1.5 - 2.5 in of trail... which many say isnt enough.... takes some getting used to,, but after a 500 or more mile day my arms an shoulders dont ache from fighting the bars... this is what i use / like.... others will have other likes and opinions

 

[Smitty901]

you mention using the hd trike front end...have you looked into the rake in a set of hd trees?? seems i remember really not that much... may want to look at aftermarket... you mention going 80 and letting go... in my experience plenty of trail will let you do that but that doesnt mean it is an easy handling rig at lower speed ,, i usually have about 1.5 - 2.5 in of trail... which many say isnt enough.... takes some getting used to,, but after a 500 or more mile day my arms an shoulders dont ache from fighting the bars... this is what i use / like.... others will have other likes and opinions

The rake is more . Also the tubes are 2 inches longer. When HD went back to building their own trikes they made some changes. A 2014 that is the same frame as my 2017 near here was done this way , works very well and meets my goals. The bike will be 6-8 inches longer . However it will sit level due to the longer tubes making up for the rake drop. Likely some heavy steering would be something I could deal with , but doing it right . I don't want to come back to it a 2 years and do it. While not every ride wife and I have been known to put 800 mile days when we have a place to be.

The bike I mentioned handles very well at all speeds and less than prefect roads.

When I mounted the sidecar on the 750 Street after a few test runs I did move the car ahead another 3 inches. That really made the higher speeds work well , with little effect at slow speeds. Of course there is a big difference in a Full size Touring bike and the Street. On the Street as was with my Fatboy no rake was needed .

Grandson has no School this week , so he is spending a couple days with me. Worked rewiring lights on the current hack. then of course we went for a good test ride.

 

[Smitty901]

Good news. Paint, I had assumed because of past experience that the Black Hills gold was a two color paint job . And that it was a high dollar paint. Turns out it is a one coat color and only $119 a quart from HD before discount. In a project like this not a deal breaker but still good news.

 

[1dn5up]

Ware are the progress pix , Smitty ?

 

[Smitty901]

Ware are the progress pix , Smitty ?

Riding to do this season . Parts are ordered to do the front end work. That will get put on in June. After that we will place order for the Hack . It will be delivered to HD for install as the riding season ends. They need 6-8 weeks lead to build and ship the hack.

I have not seen a Classic twin in person yet. We are riding to Murry KY. Hannigan, end of May to make the finial call on the one we want. Pretty sure it will be the Classic twin. I like the Heritage but the Classic makes more sense.

 

[Smitty901]

Projects like this go best when you take your time , do the home work. I have been at this stuff with bikes and firearms for years and learn that. The planning and waiting seems to drag on forever , then a over night things happen.

Reservation have been made in Murray KY. We will stop in and get the last of our question answered about the Classic Twin car. Having shipped one before I am not concerned about that part. I did learn with the last one damage can happen.

We expect after the visit to set a date for Hannigan to build it. As I said before expect to have the front end work on the RGU done in June some time.

Still hopping to hear from others here that may have experience with Hannigan and may even have some with the Classic twin.

 

[Smitty901]

Appointment has been made . The Trike front end will be installed June 9th. That will included the HD trike Tree for the rake, The trike fork tubes and Stabilizer. There is some question weather the Road Guide fairing will need to be move out a little to clear the tubes stop to stop.

 

[stacebg]

The rake is more . Also the tubes are 2 inches longer. When HD went back to building their own trikes they made some changes. A 2014 that is the same frame as my 2017 near here was done this way , works very well and meets my goals. The bike will be 6-8 inches longer . However it will sit level due to the longer tubes making up for the rake drop. Likely some heavy steering would be something I could deal with , but doing it right . I don't want to come back to it a 2 years and do it. While not every ride wife and I have been known to put 800 mile days when we have a place to be.

The bike I mentioned handles very well at all speeds and less than prefect roads.

When I mounted the sidecar on the 750 Street after a few test runs I did move the car ahead another 3 inches. That really made the higher speeds work well , with little effect at slow speeds. Of course there is a big difference in a Full size Touring bike and the Street. On the Street as was with my Fatboy no rake was needed .

Grandson has no School this week , so he is spending a couple days with me. Worked rewiring lights on the current hack. then of course we went for a good test ride.

did u mention riding without the car?? with a raked tree that can be dangerous.. loose a lot of stability

 

[Smitty901]

did u mention riding without the car?? with a raked tree that can be dangerous.. loose a lot of stability

Not really people have been riding bikes with a lot more rake than that for generation. We use to rake them by cutting the frame and welding it. The Trike front end is going on in June to allow me the rest of the riding season to adjust to it. To see if I want to make any adjustments.

When the topic of Rake comes up, tail gets left out. The goal or issue is really trail. The raked tree is just away of altering it. You will hear just as many say to can't run a sidecar with out rake. But that has been shown to be a myth also. Each setup has to be tested to find out what it needs or does not just as each ride must know what they can or can not deal with.

 

[Smitty901]

Tuesday morning departing for Murray Ky. Home of Hannigan. Looking forward to the ride and seeing the Twin Classic.

 

[Smitty901]

Made the visit to Hannigan today. It was a great visit. All question answered. Took tour of the shop . Compared 3 models in person and in detail. The Classic twin wins for us. Looking at about a 10 week lead time.

On the road I will post some pictures soon.

 

[Smitty901]

Details all worked on ,this is what it will look like. Ours will be Black Hills Gold. For some reason the back end looks twice the size in pictures.

It was an education seeing how they build them

 

[Smitty901]

Getting it in 3 days early for the install of the trike front end. A bit excited. I wondering if the Road Glide faring will need to be moved forward a bit or not. Right now the experts are divided

50/50. The Frame mounted faring may need a little room to clear stop to stop turns. Because the Trike front end will change rake and trail and also has slightly longer tubes in will be close.

 

[Gorilla]

I put a Road Glide Fairing on my Tri-Glide. The only issue I had was the steering stabilizer bracket. A little fairing modification took care of issue.

 

[Smitty901]

I put a Road Glide Fairing on my Tri-Glide. The only issue I had was the steering stabilizer bracket. A little fairing modification took care of issue.

Bet that looks great on a Tri Glide. tech had the stabilizer bracket figure out a head of time. Seems there was a 50-50 toss up in the shop on if forks would clear stop to stop or not. We will see soon . They are working on it now.

 

[Smitty901]

Minor issue came up with the front end install. The RGU Tac and speedo housing is not mounting correctly so it appears they may need to use some parts off a freewhheeler. All that really means is it is not done yet.

 

[Smitty901]

Dealer ask me to come down today.

We ended up using a Free Wheeler trike Tree slightly different shape. They had to trim a bit off the back side if the Speedo/tack cover to clear the inter faring . Looks good so far from what I could tell not much difference in the way it sits with the longer tubes on it. We shall see soon. This is why I wanted to do the font end first, iron out any fit issue before we mess with the sidecar. using one of the aftermarket tree would not have work without major modification. Due the the RGU faring.

 

[Smitty901]

This is why I wanted the front end done ahead of time. Issues came up and it gave us time to over come them. talked with shop they were swapped so it was no big deal if mine sit a day or so. The panel the covers ignition switch was not lining up so that needs some custom work. Bike looks different with the trike front end but hard to really get a feel for the looks with the front fender still off. Front stabilizer was being installed near closing time yesterday.

Issue that came up were not serious ones. They were a result of the RG faring fit .

When you step outside the box expect a few stumbles.

 

[Smitty901]

Front end is on more details latter. The wheel base in 4 inches longer now. As for handling with the rake/longer tubes and change in trail. It Handles great, better than it did new IMO.

It feels a little different for sure. Phase One is done. Next order the Sidecar.

To those that say once raked you can't ride it with out the sidecar. They need to try it when done right it works.

RGU faring supports removed and replace with an internal support, TRI Glide steering Stablizer installed.



Close look you will notice the rake

[url=https://flic.kr/p/28dfcsF]

How it looked during the process

[url=https://flic.kr/p/26QFgq4]

 

[Smitty901]

you mention using the hd trike front end...have you looked into the rake in a set of hd trees?? seems i remember really not that much... may want to look at aftermarket... you mention going 80 and letting go... in my experience plenty of trail will let you do that but that doesnt mean it is an easy handling rig at lower speed ,, i usually have about 1.5 - 2.5 in of trail... which many say isnt enough.... takes some getting used to,, but after a 500 or more mile day my arms an shoulders dont ache from fighting the bars... this is what i use / like.... others will have other likes and opinions

The Front end is done. We had some fab work to do with the RGU faring but all went well. It handles like a dream.

 

[ragsflh]

side car

lowers ?had to take mine off

 

[Smitty901]

lowers ?had to take mine off

Lowers will not have to come off. They have the Radiators in them on the m8. End up going from 26 degree factory rake to 32 degrees . Wheel base is 4 inches longer now. Front fork tubes are 2 inches longer also. I pretty much have a whole front end sitting in the bike room now. Part, labor added up to $3,300. I am happy with that had budgeted a little more.

I wanted no short cuts on this and maybe went a bit over board, but it worked out great

Thunderstorm right now . Soon as it stops going for another ride on it.

300 miles on it now with the new front end Bikes handles well. The classic twin will be ordered for delivery first week of 2 in October

 

[ragsflh]

side car

then show me pics of top and bottom mounts

 

[ragsflh]

side car

for sidehack.

 

[Smitty901]

then show me pics of top and bottom mounts

Soon as the Car is installed I will. Dealership has done it several times All the do is move the Engine guard forward a bit. A bracket for any mounting position can be made.

While visiting Hannigan had a chance to see where the make mounts and customize anything they need to.

two of the mounts for the Street I made, while so many were saying it can't be mounted.

They have mount hack on Liquid cooled head Rushmore both after market and Hd one that had been restored.

read this thread shows one for a Champion.

https://www.triketalk.com/forum/threads/49570-Champion-Sidecar-Bracket

 

[stacebg]

Fr r.

To those that say once raked you can't ride it with out the sidecar. They need to try it when done right it works.

lol

for me if you can ride it as a two wheeler comfortably once the 3rd wheel goes on it will steer hard than what i like... but thats just me... when the trail gets down around 1.5 in or so 2 wheeler is pretty unstable up to about 30 or so but thats just me as far as "done right" other than choosing the wrong amount of trail pretty tough to mess it up...

 

[Smitty901]

Fr r.

To those that say once raked you can't ride it with out the sidecar. They need to try it when done right it works.

lol

for me if you can ride it as a two wheeler comfortably once the 3rd wheel goes on it will steer hard than what i like... but thats just me... when the trail gets down around 1.5 in or so 2 wheeler is pretty unstable up to about 30 or so but thats just me as far as "done right" other than choosing the wrong amount of trail pretty tough to mess it up...

Well I know of 3 2014 or newer wet heads done the same way that all work perfectly. 1 has an HD side that was refurbished, 1 a liberty and the other a Champion.