I have a friend with a /5 he loves, who can't ride anymore as old age affects his balance. He wants to put a sidecar on the bike. Anyone have suggestions for sidecars that work well? I know I can get a Chang/Ural sidecar for him easily, though I don't know whether it will fit the /5 frame well.
The actual sidecar isn't a great issue, although lighter-weight rigs would suit a R60/5 while the R75/5 will better handle a heavier chair. Its about the horses and the limitations of the original solo; factory 46 vs factory 57. Don't be forgetting that a 36 y. o. bike will have less hp than at its debut. Factors- Lower the final ratio (fit R60 to R75, & R50 to R60). On a chaindrive you just fit more teeth on wheel sprocket. Rather than changing the Hypoid ratio one can change the rolling tyre circumferance to a smaller size. Reinforce the frame. /7s (particulary last models) are more crossbraced than /6 and /5 models. Some fit a subframe. Reduce the trail at the front wheel. If the original geometry is retained, steering effort will be high as you are fighting the drag of the chair reinforced by the self-centering effect of the trail measurment. This factor affects trikes & outfits because they do not (or should not) lean in corners. That's excepting outfits like Equaleans, Flxibles & Armec Sidewinders. Changing to Leading Links is one method (and quite sturdy if well built), but not the only way. When an outfit is built, and has the geometry set suitably, there still remains re-training the driver! Many an accomplished solo rider has come to grief trying to pilot an outfit! Why not peruse threads here at ADV to learn what chairs are fitted to Airheads? There's no RIGHT or WRONG choice really; its more whether the execution of its design & building is adequate.
i just put one together.jay @dauntless has the subframe you need.works well and easy to put together.
I put a Velorex on a /6 R90 and had a barrel of fun. No frame reinforcement but it wasn't ever loaded too heavy. A heavy chunk of flat stock steel to give the two lower mounts something to mount to is a good idea. To change gearing on a shaft drive bike you can switch out the rear ring and pinion or find a complete rear drive unit from a smaller displacement bike that will be geared for more RPM for a given road speed. Then if your speedo is off just install one of the bicycle type speedos or a GPS.
R75/5 with a Velorex. The Velorex was quite light, so much so that even with a car battery behind the sidecar seat there were places on the Washington DC beltway where I'd fly the sidecar at highway speeds. Scary the first time it happened; but it certainly worked to get the cars behind me to stay waaay back . I did not have a subframe, so there was noticeable frame flex. The front trail was stock, so it took a fair amount of muscle to ride on twisty roads. The gearing was stock, but it was not a really an issue at anything but highway speeds. Going up long hills 4th gear was simply too tall, and I'd end up having to run about 50 MPH in 3rd gear. Not a big deal, but I always kept a real close eye on the cars coming up behind me to make sure they were paying attention. If I was going to do it again, I'd start with an R100 or K100, or a /2 conversion (a /2 with an R90 engine). With the amount of work it takes to get a /5 properly set up for a hack, you might as well start with a bike with an engine that has the power needed to comfortably run at highway speeds.