Whom Shall I Take In My NEW HACK?

Thanks for Jay, Barry, Tara and EVERYONE AT DMC in ENUMCLAW, WA, my GS-Adventure Hack is done. it won't be back in florida for a while. here are some pictures to tide you over (and me over) until it does arrive "home." By the way, much more will be coming about the hack in the near future. suffice it to say: it is beautiful... and incredible result... the culmination of months of planning. to say that i am THRILLED with the final product would be a massive understatement

so.....
whom shall i take in my hack once i'm comfortable riding it alone?
give me some ideas, please

a few more pictures, taken IN THE SUN:

I would have to say the dogs deserve the first ride.

Seriously sweet rig. I see you have the Clearwater Krista lights on the car and bike. When you get the bike back to FL, I'd like to know what you think of them and if they work as advertised. I'm looking at doing a R12GSA hack build and considering the Krista's as well. When do you expect it?

the bike is fairly new
i have ridden on 2,000 miles with the kristas and they are even better than advertised, quite frankly
i love them
i'm sure it'll be twice as nice with the 2nd set on the sidecar
they really are worth the money, though many won't choose to spend that much (which i certainly understand)

i hope that you WILL do that GS-Adventure rig
i'll have mine home in a month
can't wait for its maiden voyage
thanks for looking and your kind comments
i really appreciate it

There is no "maybe" in our hack plans. It will be done (my wife's words). We will be doing our build with Claude (http://freedomsidecars.com/index.html) in PA. We did a visit at Claude's shop this past Spring and he's a great guy, full of knowledge and willing to share it. Not enough kind words to describe him. It's gonna be a while before we can afford it, but I would rather do it right the first time. For now, I'm relegated to research. Thanks for your input and enjoy your new rig.

Yeah, like BeeMa said, take the dog. Get a seat cover if you do that. Maybe the guys who did the work can whip one up for you.

Claude IS awesome
i'm THRILLED with jay's build (and barry)
in the end we chose fiberglass over aluminum and the timing of the finish of the build was better with DMC
yes.... i sent my almost new GS-Adventure 3,200 miles (along with my friend from jacksonville (jpalamar) on blind faith, of course
the 1,300 mile trip to PA would have been no different

in the end....
i'm thrilled with what DMC has done for me
but, i want folks to know that CLAUDE was super nice and helpful to me, as well and i mean no disrespect to him by asking DMC to do my build

DMC has been AWESOME, EVERY SINGLE STEP OF THE WAY.... folks need to know that

this FORD V. CHEVY crap of CLAUDE STANLEY V. (JAY/BARRY)/DMC is ridiculous.... but, probably won't end here, sadly

sorry for my long-winded speech about it
claude will do a great job for you, i'm sure
the very best to you, always

I feel the same way, and mean no disrespect to DMC. Even though Claude and DMC compete for the same business, I know there is a mutual respect. Sidecars are a "dark art" with very few understanding the finer points. These are two of the Masters of that art.

by the way....
i'm glad there is no maybe...
that is wonderful
good luck

you hit the nail on the head
plus...
and it's our "job" to help SPREAD THE WORD....
there are TOO MANY HACKS THAT NEED TO BE BUILT for EITHER of them alone to accompish

i have a 1 year old aussie (jack... who might not like the sidecar) and an 8 year old portie (disco, who will)
i can't wait to take them
a seat cover is a must... thanks for reminding me
i appreciate that

A floor mat from a car will work in a pinch. As long as it doesn't slide too much or scuff your new seat.

AWESOME setup!

Very Nice looking outfit Greg! I hope you and John get many many miles of pleasure from your rigsl. It's almost June time to ride

Greg,

I was looking at the trunk of the car and it appears that the trunk rack is attached to the trunk lid and it all hinges together. Is this the case, or do they have two separate hinges?

Eric B

Greg - Beautiful Rig - Congrats!

I have gotten different opinions on BMW honouring warranty. I see you have a relatively new bike. Do you know if BMW will honour the warranty...or do you disconnect the rig when taking it in for service? Couple more questions since I am also interested in sidecar as I have a 2011 GSA:

1. How quickly can you disconnect and get on 2 wheels?
2. Approximate price for you rig? A range will be fine if you can't divulge the actual cost.

Thanks much
Sam

You will want to consult one of the sidecar jockeys about this (Claude, Barry...feel free to chime in here) but if the m/c steering has been altered with a trail reducer to make steering easier with three wheels, it will not handle well on two.

claude,
i am honored that you took the time to write here and were so kind with your comments.
you are a very nice man and i wish you a lifetime of success and happiness... you were very helpful to me and IN NO WAY was our choice to have our rig built at DMC ANY indication of our feelings for YOU, YOUR COMPANY, and YOUR ABILITY to creat for us a special rig.
i hope you know that
once again, thank you

yes...
here are 2 pics of that:



and the other picture:

a great idea
i appreciate it
thank you

1. as for warranty... it is a "dealer" decision
mine, where i've purchased 8 bikes over the past years says they WILL honor the warranty... truthfully, i hope i never have to find out

as for your questions....
no.... it can't be disconnected
because:
A. the REAR CAR TIRE CONVERSION...
B. the front end trail reduction modification, making it easier to steer the rig but TOO EASY to steer a non-rig'd GS-Adventure

2. as for the price... most rigs like this, whether from DMC or CLAUDE STANLEY, when all is said and done....
will cost between 10 and 15K, depending on WHAT you want done
DMC has their almost exact prices online
www.dmcsidecars.com
claude's prices are equivalent, i think... or, close enough to be equivalent