My Bike is home, sidecar & all!!

[Gene McCall]

My bike, with an 08 Hannigan Astro Sport sidecar attached was finally delivered last Friday evening. Due to the wet weather I have put just a few miles on and find it is very different to drive. It is so wide! The top does come off and stores behind the seat. The shock going from the sidecar to the fork is a steering damper, makes it stiff to turn but prevents any high speed wobbles. The steering is very quick, the front fork triple trees were modified by a Canadian company, Side Effects, to eliminate about half the trail and make it easier to steer. Darn, I can't find a smiley with a sidecar!

[Ironheadziggy76]

That's a great looking rig Gene. You won't be sharing any parking spaces with that baby! :p

[Trekker]

Looks great with the ST !!

[motomac]

Thanks for the pictures Gene, really good looking rig. Beautiful color. Won't be hard to find you at D2D!!! Are you and Don both going to ride that or is Don going to have his own ride?

[braindead0]

The top does come off and stores behind the seat.er.. I'm guessing that's just the smallish part on top of the main 'canopy'? I was just trying to figure out how the entire top would fit in there, I guess it's possible?

Just curious... way too much like a car for me..;-)

[Mellow]

Looks good Gene, I'll bet it handles really strange from what you're used to. Does it disconnect or is it a permanent install?

Will the seat come out? Then, you could pack your stuff in it, I'm sure you can anyway but seat removal would at least allow you to trade the weight of the seat for equal weighted camping gear.

[Tx White Knight]

That is very nice looking Gene :)

One thing if it :storm1: too much you can just pull over and weather it out in the side car
:wow1:

[Trailace]

Looks good Gene. :D

[Gene McCall]

Thanks for the pictures Gene, really good looking rig. Beautiful color. Won't be hard to find you at D2D!!! Are you and Don both going to ride that or is Don going to have his own ride?

Mac, Don will be co-pilot which means we will have 2 drivers, one rig. Like me Don is a novice sidecar driver but by the end of the trip (12,000-13,000 miles) we both should be fairly experienced. I will post a picture or two with the Lil Bunkhouse attached, probably in the next few days if the damn rain ever quits! This rig is like nothing I have ever driven, the steering is very quick, left hand corner you can take on rails, right hand is something else!:dizzy1:

[Gene McCall]

er.. I'm guessing that's just the smallish part on top of the main 'canopy'? I was just trying to figure out how the entire top would fit in there, I guess it's possible?

Just curious... way too much like a car for me..;-)

You got it, the small wine colored top comes off and stores in its own case behind the seat. I understand your comment about too much like a car:bike1: but this rig is going to enable me to make the trip to Alaska and probably extend my riding life by a lot of years!:bike1:

[Gene McCall]

Looks good Gene, I'll bet it handles really strange from what you're used to. Does it disconnect or is it a permanent install?

Will the seat come out? Then, you could pack your stuff in it, I'm sure you can anyway but seat removal would at least allow you to trade the weight of the seat for equal weighted camping gear.

Joe, the sidecar can be disconnected in about 15 minutes. However, I have had the fork triple trees modified to take out about half the trail. I am told this cuts down on steering effort by 50 to 60% but makes it strange to ride solo. The steering is still somewhat stiff due to the steering damper you see attached to the front fork. This prevents the possibility of high speed wobble in the front end. The steering is very quick, a small input at the handlebars can move you around quite a bit on the road. After over 50 years of riding I am a novice again, it is strange!

The seat will come out but why would I want to? Did I include a picture of the trunk, that thing is a cavern! Put my helmet in there and lost it for 2 days!!:bike1:

[Gene McCall]

I see that I didn't include a picture of the trunk so I will do that now. Later this week I hope to post some pictures with the rig hooked up to the Lil Bunkhouse.:bike1:

[braindead0]

You got it, the small wine colored top comes off and stores in its own case behind the seat. I understand your comment about too much like a car:bike1: but this rig is going to enable me to make the trip to Alaska and probably extend my riding life by a lot of years!:bike1:Yeah, some day I'll likely be in the same boat. Would you mind if I asked...how much did that all cost? Minus the bike, just kinda curious how much the mods cost, sidecar... Just so I can start saving now ;-)

[Mellow]

Yeah, some day I'll likely be in the same boat. Would you mind if I asked...how much did that all cost? Minus the bike, just kinda curious how much the mods cost, sidecar... Just so I can start saving now ;-)

Here's the site w/prices
http://www.hannigansidecar.com/content/sidecars.html

[GoldWingGL]

Very nice setup Gene. Whatever it takes to keep you riding is always a good thing, and it looks great.

[Roadhound]

Very nice rig Gene. I hope you enjoy it a lot,I like it much more than I do a trike.