Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125719
- ... Ql ~ w Z W ..J U >- U Conner's utility sidecar made from scratch in his workshop, and his CL450 Honda. Note light on car. Build Yourself AHack By Cliff Boswell Photos by Robert Conner Detail of wheel mounting. Note adjustment for toe-in. the extra weight without problems. However, a larger gasoline tank from a 1969 CB 450 replaced the original to give a longer cruising range, and wider handlebars were installed for beller control He dropped one tooth on the transmission gear to gain more power in starting, but suggests changing the rear sprocket instead to one with three more teeth to take some strain off the chain. Overall sidecar length is 56", width of body is 21", height from the ground 28" with about 8" ground clearance. Length of the front tie bracket is 18", rear bracket 11", distance from outside wall to outside of wheel is 5~". However, these dimensions may be taken as suggestions, only. Conner recommends that four inches be added to the front of the car for more leg room, and another four behind the seat for tools and equipment. He also thinks the wheel track should be extended from 42" to 48 by lengthening the front tie bracket to 24 and the back one to 17". The opening in the top of the car is 21" wide b 22" long, but would be If you have been hankering for a sidecar to go with your motorcycle, why not build one yourself? It's not easy, but it can be don3. The rig can be a simple utility rig like the one shown here, or a fancy product complete with springs, shocks, and luxurious upholstery. It can be about as uncomplicated or ornate as money, time, and ingenuity dictate.- realize that no plans nor models were available for comparison. Bob's interest was piqued by pictures of a friend's old side car outfit on a Harley, and by reminicences of how much fun it used to add to motorcycling. In fact, his curiosity was aroused to where he began to look around for one to fit his Honda 450. N one being available he decided to start literalJy from the floor and build his own. From pictures and sketch information obtained from an earlier story in a motorcycle magazine he was able to layout a rough, full-sized chalk drawing on the floor beside his cycle, and to position the wheel six to eight inches ahead of the rear wheel, as the story suggested. Then, laying frame members on the pallern, he welded them togeth« with an oxy-acetylene torch, fitted the wheel, and built his mounting brackets. With the frame bolted to the bike he began making test runs followed by adjusting and modifying until it would hold true when turned loose on level .... ....T COJSTfl/CTION (Nof ~ .u;.) Frame braces mount to rear shock of cycle. A side-hack is just the ticket for taking along the wife or friend and that larger tent made for two, or for tucking camping gear and clothes out of sight, safe from rain and dust and sticky fingers. Robert H. Conner of Cottage Grove, Oregon, is the designer of this one. It is his handy vehicle for carrying tools to work and his camping stuff into the hills over week-ends. It handles well on any surface except a side hill or deep mud, and is a real blast on freshly graded gravel roads. Bob says it works very good wi th a passenger on smooth surfaces but rides pretty rough on poor ones. Materials cost about $30 not including the wheel. A 16 x 3.00 tire and wheel from an old Honda Dream was given to him in exchange for an earlier favor. He has no estimate of the time involved. The job was completed last win ter, but Conners offers some suggestions for improvements. In addition to the information here he will answer personal lellers wi th more detail on building the rig. His address: Robert Conner, Box 167, BB Route, Cottage Grove, Oregon 97424. He emphatically Back of car drops down to make room for tooJ$ or other equipment. Frame mounts to cycle frame by U-bolts and plate. Underside view shows brace to cycle's frame which is adjustable for camber, and shape of bottom of car. states he has no intention of manufacturing his design. He is an experime n ter. The frame is made of l·inch and 'A-inch, I6-gauge, square steel tubing. The body, of \'.I-inch waterproof Douglas Fir plywood and 1/8-inch tempered masonite is bolted and pop-riveted to the frame. Sides, top, and front are made of masonite while the stronger plywood is used for the floor, seat, and back. Three coats of epoxy resin were applied to all surfaces to completely waterproof them, then all edges were covered with fiberglass cloth and coated with resin. A plywood piece was bolted inside the front cover to prevent a passenger from jamming a foot through it. Frame is fastened to the rear shock mount with the same bolt that holds the shock, and the front part clamps to the frame under the gasoline tank with U-bolts. ' A strut which is adjustable for camber extends from the frame to the foot peg. The wheel mounting and front clamps permit toe-in adjustment. A brake pedal for the third wheel and stop lights is positioned beside the bike's foot brake. They are applied simultaneously or separately as desired. Bob's 1969 Honda CL450 handles improved by lengthening to 26", and as mentioned above by increasing overall length of the car to 64". Conner's design and construction is a lesson in ingenuity and imagination as well as outright perserverance to those who might lack confidence in themselves or who might scoIT at the idea that a practical sidecar could be built by an amateur from simple parts. It is all the more remarkable when you A brake pedal for the sidecar i, positioned under the fOOl peg near foot brak.e for the cycle. Can be operated logether or _ately. ground. A little toe-in to the car wheel was necessary to achieve this goal. After it was handling satisfactorily, he fastened the floor to the car, and covered the frame with masonite. The seat is of 3" sponge rubber on a \'.I" plywood base with naugahyde covering. It is clamped to the floor by two bolts which are easily removed to adjust forward. The back, made of the same materials, is hinged at a point six inches above the bottom to fold down flat. To add a suggestion of my own, make the inside trim and dashboard, if any, from birch, maple, or walnut plywood. Finished in natural grain these woods add an e1egrant touch to upholstered interiors that cannot be duplicated. F or a fancy job, how about black leather or naugahyde, tuck-and-roll upholstery for seat and back rest? You can go hog-wild for comfort, here, and design the seat with as much artistic taste and harmonious embellishment as your imagination can whomp up. Expect to see more sidecars on the road next summer. It's an old and accepted way of travel that died out over the years with the advent of fast automobiles and freeways, but is coming back. Even some of the greatest two-wheeler purists who wouldn't think of encumbering their road machine with the extra weight of a sidecar are now having second thoughts. From my own observations at cycle races and gatherings where a few side hacks show up I can't help but conclude that the old thrills of sidecar travel is being re-discovered, and we'll soon see them taking a respectable share of the road in local and cross country travel