As a city P&D driver I am on the road 8 to 10 hours a day in the Seattle metropolitan area, I only see a sidecar maybe once every other week on average, and 9 out of 10 times it is a Ural. On the other hand I see Harley trikes, and Can-Am Spyders several times a week. I know sidecars represent a small number, but are there really that many more trikes than sidecars? Or does the average sidecar owner just not ride that much? Last week I was shocked to see 4 rigs in 1 day, 3 Urals, and 1 unidentified UJM rig.
And you live in the PNW, seems to be the hot spot for hacks. Here in Colorado, I RARELY see another hack. Back in NY, I don't recall ever seeing one.
I live just north of Santa Barbara Ca. Down the street there is a Honda Nighthawk with a LL front end rig. His brother lives 4 miles away with the exact same set up. Another guy rides around town on a left side mounted rig using a Harley to pull get the motion going. Just the past month a new Ural showed up. I only know the Honda guys. Just have not run into the other guys when they were static. So in a 6 mile area or so there are 5 of us. Maybe we should start a club of "OLD FARTS" on hacks??
I have done several cross country trips over the past few years and think I have seen only 1 sidecar in the wild. I see Harley and Goldwing trikes all the time and am seeing more Can-Ams over the past two years also. My new-to-me Ural sidecar is sitting in my garage waiting to be hooked up right after I move on Friday.
Last year I saw 3 Urals w/ 2wd up in the Gilla NF, in NM. They were camping just a mile or so west of BeaverHead station. I rode up on my WR250x & we all had tons of question for the other. They wanted to know where they were & I wanted to know more about their trip. All had stock exhaust system & all where beat up pretty bad (exhaust). One was a Patrol & the other 2 were Gear UPs. Extra fuel they had & plenty of food/water too. They had been out for 3 days & headed to either El Paso or Albuquerque. These old guys were having a blast & really were enjoying their equipment. Never have I seen a tri off the pavement let alone in the way back FS roads. Spent the night at their camp & ate like a king....for camping out. Never seen sidecars out & about unless there was some event for them. My brother now has a Gear Up & he cannot find anyone to ride w/ him except DS bike riders. Have read & seen pix about the high dollar sidecar additions to BMW, VStrom etc for DS riding, but never seen them in the dirt roads & always on the street in pix. I guess once you had to push one of these add-on-sidecars backwards, you'll never leave the pavement again.
I have been riding up and down mid-atlantic and southeastern states and have not seen a single rig in the "wild." Only sightings have been at special organized events. Many sightings of Spyders and trikes...
I commute on my rig nearly every other day, alternated with my KLR Jr. I see a few CanAms, maybe twice a month. I think they are the same ones. I have a pal with a sidecar that I know drives it regularly, but we're on opposite sides of town. There's a Harley rig around the corner from me but I've only ever seen it outside the guy's house under cover or up the street at the liquor store on weekends. There must be more sidecars in Baltimore, but they must get left home in favor of solos, which are still easier to park in the city.
In the NYC area, I see another rig maybe once a year. Someone did randomly turn up at one of my BBQ's with a Ural -- perfect stranger, several degrees of separation. Boy was I surprised to look outside and see another rig parked next to mine! Judging by the reactions I get, other people don't see rigs very often either. UDF is really not limited to Urals in the least.
In an 1/2 mile radius of my place there are 6 sidecars with 3 different owners, I'm one of the lucky one, and the 2 other ones are good friends.
I saw a GS hack on the west side of Carson Pass in the Sierras yesterday. It was the only hack I saw. I think I saw one trike as well.
IMWA/Ural, DMC, and Liberty are all within 30 - 40 minutes of our house, and know of at least 20 sidecar riders in the area.
Other than the occasional Ural putting around its home turf, I've only seen one on the open road. A couple weeks ago I was toolin' thru the Adirondacks with my dog and going the other way was a Harley with a Liberty tub. We waved at each other like long lost relatives!
Riding southeast Florida from Ft. Lauderdale to Stewart I see one to two hacks a year. Today saw the first for the year, a nice Goldwing/Hannigan rig in West Palm Beach.
I'm in a small market area (only 40k people in the county). In the winter I can go for days without seeing another bike, let alone a hack. Maybe one sidecar/year in my town. I attend a BMW rally in october that may have a half dozen (out of 400 bikes). Jim
There is one in my area but I haven't tracked down the owner yet to get acquainted. My wife saw another one on the highway the other day and called me on the phone, very excited. She keeps asking me why we don't see more of them if sidecars are so great. I don't have a good explanation.
There's a nice Triumph hack just a block or so away from me, but the owner has Parkinson's and isn't able to ride much any more. Aside from that one, I think I've seen two, maybe three,outside of organized rides/events in the year I've owned the Ural. I regularly see trikes & Can-Ams though.
combinations are nowhere to be seen here on the streets in new england.i ride mine every day and am always shown great respect by other drivers.the very sight of this geezer"me"on this combo, always brings out a smile.but it would be great if one could hook up with others of the same passion.i recently met a gent who claimed to own a chinese combo.turns out he was just a collector of "stuff".he indicated his fear of riding the thing and really thought it a toy.i guess we will see more of them when gas reaches $10-12 bucks a gallon.
Pictures...please. I love Triumph rigs, and rarely see them. On the flip side, I bought the first one I ever saw for sale.
