Bandit hacks

[Bandit_Bill]

Doesn't the red one belong to the dude at Max-'Zuki whose wife can't walk or something like that?  Can't remember his name . . .

Not my cup of tea, but I think they're pretty neat.  

I know, old post and all that..

You are thinking of Tim Killmeyer..  his wife is a quadraplegic, same level of spinal cord damage/paralysis that Chris Reeves had.  He does have a Bandit 1200, but it's his solo machine.  Tim has a trick, Red BMW 1200RS / Armec sidecar rig that allows him and his wife to share riding time together.  Truly remarkable considering the level of disability/fragility of his wife with her paralysis.

Anyway, yes, the black rig is mine, it's a 3 year project/focus of my obsessive-compulsive disorder... just about done now, with the sidecar suspension being cut out and replaced with a beefier/sportier setup than the original Hannigan bits.  And no, I don't have a wife/GF/significant other/SWMBO for the sidecar ...  i enjoy the nature of rigs, without need to have a passenger.

[Bandit_Bill]

The red one belongs to Hannigan Motorsports. The black one belongs to a guy from Max-Suz - don't know about his wife though. Could very well be him.

The red one is the 2nd in a series of 9, that Hannigan built, using a serial-production line setup.  The owner had just taken delivery the week before the rally that the picture was taken at.  

The last rig, in Hannigan's possession, his 'demonstrator', was just sold.  Hannigan is now working on other performance sidecar/trike setups using BMW's as a basis, including that very trick center hub front end.

[amboman]

A Bandit is a Bandit in my book.  I like the concept and it would be great to take my 3 year old in for a run.  Are they safe???

[Bandit_Bill]

A Bandit is a Bandit in my book.  I like the concept and it would be great to take my 3 year old in for a run.  Are they safe???

Only as safe as they are constructed, aligned and bolted together..  there are rigs out there that are unsafe (too many factors to get into in a brief post as to what makes an unsafe rig) but following the parameters and geometry and proper setup, as well as following the motto of "when in doubt, build it stout" in construction, they are as safe or safer than any solo bike out there.

Note: sidecar rigs do have their own unique handling traits and characteristics that need to be acclimatized to... you can and will kill yourself in short order, if you hop on a rig thinking it'll handle similar to a car, or what a solo, single track motorcycle does.  A period of acclimatization is necessary, preferably starting in an empty parking lot, before you venture out on the roads for the first time.

Lots of info to browse through on the http://www.sidecar.com forums for people interested in entering this niche of the sport.

[silvershadow]

Handling is very different with a sidecar.  My dad has one on his Goldwing with power lean and tilt and the thing is a beast compared to the bike.  Sharp turns and corners are so different than on 2 wheels that you almost have to forget about what it is like on 2 wheels and learn the way of the sidecar.   I am not a personal fan of the thing but, dad loves his sidecar and it keeps him in the motorcycle game even with MS.

[B6mick]

Them there are way cool, but I reckon the flexi is the only way to go.
All mounting points to the bike and side car, pivot, yes pivot.
So when the bike leans over for a bend so to does the chair.
I seen one up in our local twisties a few years back, and I must say he was making damn good time though some of the tighter stuff, unlike most conventional sidecar setups.

[jlmoulto]

So why the change to what appears to be car tires and a different front end?  Is this for handling or specific to this sidecar?  Most other rigs simply have utilized stock compoonents.

[Red01]

The use of car tires on non-leaning hacks and trikes is because the machine can utilize the improved contact patch and stability improvements provided by the square profile of car tires. The heavier front ends are to compensate for the increased stresses of steering the machine by turning the front end instead of leaning and countersteering.

You can run a hack with stock stuff, it just works better with the beefier stuff. If you're gonna convert back and forth between a 2 & 3 wheeler, then you'd wanna keep m/c tires.

[jlmoulto]

OK that explains a lot!

I actually am thinking of a hack but not fo the bandit...maybe for my old GS850.

[Bandit_Bill]

As Paul stated, running car tires, enables a sidecar rig to corner faster and resist loss of traction in bumpier corners, whether braking or accelerating.  The rigs you do see with these setups - they are now dedicated, full time rigs - if the sidecar came off, trying to ride solo with automotive tires would be funny, if foolish :)

There are a number of different designs of front ends used on rigs.. the tried and true BMW Earles Fork design, the similar leading link design, and the newer. quite radical center-hub steering front ends.  The front ends themselves are changed for the purpose of altering the front end steering geometry.. most, street-bike based, unmodified front end rigs handle like a decrepid Mack dump truck with shot power steering, and soft tires.  On these rigs, the front end trail characteristics are changed from an average of 5" of trail, to often less than 1", sometimes neutral trail measurements.  It makes for a very sensitive, responsive, "think about it, and you've already made the turn" ride.  

The red rig uses a center-hub front end, which is much superior to my leading link front end in camber/castor issues of an automotive tire going on edge as a leading link front end is turned - a correctly designed center-hub front end has absolutely neutral camber/castor characteristics, which makes it the most precise, sensitive front end type of the two...  I had the knowledge and ability to design and build a leading link front end for my bike.. a center-hub front end is way over my head in the design department..