Sidecar Shakedown with a Pup: A Different Way to Travel
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- čas přidán 2. 07. 2022
- Last year I acquired a BMW R1200GSA Sidecar, or hack as it is called.
I always wanted one, but found they were a bit on the pricey side. I think I was fortunate to find one at a reasonable price.
Being the romantic that I am, I needed a travel companion. My wife will do for many trip, but for many of my travels we both thought it would be great to have a dog to travel with. So, last year we got another Golden Retriever puppy.
After taking classes and learning as much as I could about sidecar navigation and construction, I have now decided that it was time to take the plunge and do some more serious off road travel. Oh sure, there has been much learning along the way. Much of what I learned took me some time to apply. In my journey, I found several issues with the hack. Most have been overcome. One particular issue was the poor fender mount design by the company that manufactures the sidecar, DMC. That is, the fender is susceptible to damage and may even fall off or become entangled in the sidecar wheel. This is a known issue on older designs, and DMC seems to have pretty much addressed the issue in their current product line. Being an engineer by trade, I took the next step and designed my own rigid mounts along with a friend, who happens to be an aerospace machinist/fabricator. The results looked good and expedition worthy. So the next logical step was to take the hack out on typical roads that I might travel and see how both dog and machine behave. It was also, my first foray into a wet and slippery road that was a little bit more than a typical logging road found here in the Pacific NorthWest. The results were positive.
I hope you enjoy this little adventure as much as my dog, Sakari and I did. We both think this is the start of something more. So stay tuned as I plan to augment my adventures with the hack and my new travel companion. It is a dream come true for sure.
Thanks for riding along, ~GrizzLee
Hi from Western North Carolina. Love the rig & love the dog! What a sweetheart she is!
Hi from New Zealand. Loving the music ... and the video.
This deserves a million views at least
I love my dogs. My first was in the 60's that rode on my gas tank and went to work with me. I have had side cars but not with a dog, but it looks to me like a wonderful combination. A great dog with a great ride, it doesn't get any better.
Thanks for sharing and riding along.~GrizzLee
Love the sidecar and your dog. Thanks for sharing.
Gotta love it! The skagits are very awesome, nice bike and hack too! The dog go is very nice!
Thanks for another well done production. Goldens have a nice disposition and are eager to please. As calm as she was, I would have put her age at two and above. Looking forward to the next adventure. 🏍
Yes, you are correct. For a one year old, Sakari is very well behaved. We've had 2 other goldens and she has been the easiest one to train. Definitely one who likes to please. She jumps right into the hack when I take cover off it in the shop and sits pretty waiting patiently for a ride. Thanks for riding along. ~GrizzLee
That looked like a really good time for you both! Thanks for another awesome video...great work! Looking forward to your next adventure.
Outstanding photography...you have come a long way, Griz !!!!! Beautiful scenery!!
just great! thank you. Jim and Henry (the dog).
Awesome video, thanks for sharing Lee! Puppy seems to enjoy this immensely!
Just stumbled across your channel, and subscribed.
These are the rides that are my favorites, and there’s no shortage of them here in New England (except we get a little less rain than the PNW!).
My dog loved the sidecar also, but sadly, now that the old girl is 17, she has challenges with her balance and ops-out most days now.
That’s a beautiful hack you have there, and the fender work was spot-on & rock solid.
These are the perfect machines for folks that love this style/type of riding, because now we can take our time, and not just blast thru it all like the younger crowd. I wish I had discovered this decades before I did.
I ride a Ural Gear Up, and it’s been liberating for me to be confident enough to take these rides solo again.
Keep that helmet buckled! 😎
Dogs and sidecars. A match made in heaven. Thanks! ~Grizz
The dogs 🐕 gonna love it ,doga always always wanna hang when any human who's going cruising 🤟💯🤠
Nice video with good editing, music & drone footage. Thanks for your sharing of your sidecar adventures. I have a Ural Gear Up & my pup Bentley is my sidecar monkey. He goes everywhere with me.
That’s awesome. Hoping to have some more dog-sidecar content posted soon.
Thanks for riding with us. ~Grizz
Love the setup and the beautiful dog! Been following your adventures for several years and look forward to this new type of adventure. Stay out there! 😎
As long as I can, I will keep going. Many thanks for riding with me. ~GrizzLee
Thank-You !! for this Vid.. It is Wonderful to see You again !! :)))
Lee, enjoyed the video very much. I nice piece of kit and the puppy, too.
I am a little bummed. I did not here any "LLLLLOOOOVVVVEEE ITTTTT....
Kind regards, to Lori. Cheers, Mate.
Thanks buddy.
Looks like a great time I am looking for a pre-enjoyed side car myself.
Cool. Make sure you take a class. They look like motos. But drive completely different. Lots of fun . Take care. ~Grizz
Excellent, I love the sidecar rig and your dog. Look forward to your future posts!!! Did I miss a post regarding the sidecar procurement / build?
Not at all. I never really made mention of it. My description kind of tells the story. I will continue to ride two wheels, but the hack is a nice diversion to go out with the pup. Definitely a slower pace and the type of travel I will be looking forward to as I head into retirement. No deadlines, means rakung my time and altering the agenda on the fly. More personal time with the pooch is going to be fun.
Many thanks for riding along. ~Grizz
Poor girl.
Dogs have such acute hearing and she's right next to the engine with no ear defenders.
She probably has constant tinnitus now 😿
Ride on my brother!!
Love it! Just got me a new GS. Maybeez I’ll keep my GSA for just such an endeavor. Well done Griz!
Thanks. It's alot fun. ~GrizzLee
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW THIS IS ABSOLUTELY LOVELY 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
Yes very nice awesome : I'm from Germany
I have the same hack outfit and travel with my dog too! LOVE IT! I have a question about the ‘door’ on the tub as I have been thinking of adding one to mine for a little extra safety. Did you make it yourself to did you find it somewhere? Any thoughts on making one? My dog is a Lab/Rottweiler and loves to ride. We’ve been going together for a year now and looking forward to many more adventures.
My wife made the door. We got matching snaps a a marine supply store. She made it stiffer by embedding closed cell foam which also gave it a better look. Safe travels with your hack and your pooch. ~Grizzlee
I love the dog, I love the concept of riding with the dog.
You managed to make a boring video to watch though.
I’d love to learn. Please point me to your videos so I can get some pointers. Thanks ~Grizz
@@RubiKonAdventures Oh, you're being funny is it?
I can be a troll if you want me to.
Glad I found your channel!
I’m hoping to do a similar modification to my bike but I do not live in North America. I might have to import the sidecar!
And that’s where I’d like some advice.
I was planning to do a year-long trip where I live.
What brands do you know that offer reliability and good quality?
Because of the logistics, I was thinking I could get a chasis with axle and connectors to the bike while I’d manufacture the body locally or to my needs.
I was hoping to install a small over the top foldable tent over a storage box.
I appreciate any information you could share with me.
Thanks in advance.
What’s the max weight these units can handle?
I highly recommend LBS-SidecarUSA and their European (Netherlands) affiliate. Please contact Mike Paull through this link.
www.lbs-usa.com/
He is meticulous and has honed his craft. He’s a world traveler himself and an engineer. If you are in Europe, he will most likely have you work with LBS in the Netherlands. They can do a custom build or provide the sidecar in kit form with consultation. He’s the best hack builder on the planet IMHO.
Please let him know that GrizzLee referred you.
Good luck and if you need to reach out to me on ADVRider (www.advrider.com/f/threads/grizzlees-moto-adventures.1589383/) or look up Mike there as well look for him “@LBS-USA “ on ADVRider.
Cheers mate. ~GrizzLee
Жаль, что не поехал на бездорожье. Было бы интересно посмотреть как ГС с коляской поедет по бездорожью.
I found that off road in the side car is limiting. It is a lot of fun though on maintained forest service roads.
I see you didn’t change any of your motorcycle wheels like other sidecar makers do, why? Thanks, great video
Not quite sure I understand what you are stating about my wheels. I have car tires and alloy car rims installed on the rear and the tub. The beauty of the design is that I can change them back to the GS wheels as the hub mounts are completely interchangeable. The BMW GS has a 5 lug design that is a perfect match for the car wheels. This is all different and not possible with the Russian URAL sidecars. An added bonus... the car tires track much better on pavement than regular Moto tires. They also wear like iron and allow me to rotate them from the drive wheel to the tub and vice versa so I can increase my wear mileage even more. Downside, no knobbies for the car rims, but if needed, I can swap them out for knobbier on my GS rims in less than 5 mins. Thanks for riding along ~GrizzLee
FYI.. Can contact me on ADVRider. Be more than happy to discuss further. See GrizzLee's Moto Adventures here: www.advrider.com/f/threads/grizzlees-moto-adventures.1589383/
Hello! I was curious if the mods to the fender cured the problem? We have same outfit and having problems with fender bottoming out. Great video!
Please contact me if you want. I can go over detail what I did . It’s much, much better now.
Contact me on ADVRider
See this thread here:
advrider.com/f/threads/grizzlees-moto-adventures.1589383/page-16#post-50110295
I’m GrizzLee on Advrider. Cheers,
I sent a reply on ADVRider… look forward to helping you if possible. ~ Grizz
Loved it , made my day and I really needed a smile too . Thank your four-legged lady friend , she looks like a real sweetheart - you bring her up to Canada and I'll buy her a beer too .
She'd love it! ~GrizzLee
Where did you get the sidecar and the kit for your 1250? I am in Canada and been trying to locate something for my GSA for awhile now for this exact adventure (2 dogs a larger mix breed and a chihuahua wiener dog that love to ride)
It is a DMC rig. I bought it off of craigslist and did some upgrades/modifications. DMC sidecars of Texas are the new owners. Depending where you are located, you may check with LBS Sidecars USA or Holland ( in Europe). Warning… they are not cheap. Good luck. ~GrizzLee
Enjoyed your video of taking the dog with you in the sidecar. The area looked familiar, is this NF-24 or NF-23 east of Darrington?
Yes, I believe it was NF 24. Just pass the sawmill after crossing the river on Sauk-Prairie rd(?). The road goes up and over to the White Chuck boat launch. Fun area to ride. I live in Arlington, so that's all in my backyard. Take care, ~GrizzLee
@@RubiKonAdventures I'm only a little farther away in Lake Stevens WA. We are blessed to have great places to explore which are close by. I also like NF-17 and NF-18 north of Darrington too. Great work on your videos, they are enjoyable to watch!
Love it… that’s my goal/dream when I retire:)
Well, I'm almost ready to retire. Does that count? Thanks for sharing your dream. May it come true. ~GrizzLee
@@RubiKonAdventures any long trips planned on your sidecar? will you leave the sidecar hooked up all the time or disconnect/ride the GS separately still?
@@rogermeyer860 Sidecar will stay connected. I do eventually plan to take extended trips with the hack and pooch. I still have my R1200GS Rallye to do 2 wheeled adventures. It's all a matter of priorities and which trips are doable with the bikes. Sidecar travel is slower, but if I retire soon, I will have more time for slow. Thanks for the questions and many thanks for riding along. ~ GrizzLee
@@RubiKonAdventures good for you! I'll be up your way in Sept after Labor Day on 2 week PNW trip/ride. If your around would be nice to connect but no pressure.
@@rogermeyer860 Please connect with me through ADVrider (GrizzLee). I will get back to you. If I am around, would love to meetup. Maybe even joint the ride if I am able. ~Grizz
This is your original bike the R1200GSA because without searching I thought you bought a R1250. If I'm right your keeping the side car permanently mounted to this bike? How do you find the riding characteristics now? I've been thinking of this conversion for a couple of years. Thx dave
I still have my R1200GS Rallye. I stumbled across this R1200GSA hack for sale quite by accident. I always wanted a sidecar and this kind of fell into my lap. I think I got a good deal as I got both for less than the cost of the bike. Thanks for riding along. ~GrizzLee
Hi, loved the video. The sidecar has always been a dream. Where in your opinion ion is the best place to buy one to fit to my 1250gsa?..Thanks
Thanks. Mine is a DMC unit that was upgraded by me and LBS-Sidecar USA here in the Seattle area. The owner, Mike Paull is superb in every way as far as quality, customer focus and honesty. LBS components are manufactured in Europe (Holland I believe) and meet European highway safety standards (unlike US manufacturers). I'll give you a sticker price warning here though .... sidecars are not cheap and Mike only builds a a few a year on BMW platforms (he is also a dealer for Touratech as well). But his products are top notch and he has toured the planet on them (www.lbs-usa.comwww.lbs-usa.com). If you contact him, tell Mike I said hi. He would appreciate that. Good luck. ~GrizzLee (GrizzLee on ADVRider if you want to connect).
Красавчик!
Молодец, бро! Расскажи, как подбирал коляску к мотоциклу
The tub came with the bike when I bought it. It is built by DMC sidecars. Thanks ~Grizz
@@RubiKonAdventures Thanks
what video editing software are you using?
Hmmm… depends what videoed you have watched. Moviemaker, Sony Vegas, and currently using Mac tools such as iMovie… soon, Final Cut Pro … all combined with PowerPoint video capabilities. I use a lot of ancillary tools that aren’t available in some of the freebie tools. Nothing is easy unfortunately 😮. This particular video was done using an old copy of moviemaker… not available anymore. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the response. You're doing a nice job. I am using Wondershare Filmora but have tried them all and hate them all!! None of them easy.
That’s true. Try using a 360 camera… aaarrrgh! Have to use another ungodly tool in front of the video editing software. FYI… having a large (hi resolution) second screen is a godsend. Just got one on black Friday sale. Do your research there as well. They are not all created equal. Good luck.
Hi i wondering if you have reverse on your bike or if its not nessesary ?
@@mattiasolsson8 No reverse on the GS motos. Would be nice. As a result, you learn to park judiciously.
Were you riding with your helmet undone?
Possibly. :-)
Why is it that whenever an idiot gets off the blacktop they’re all of a sudden off Roading
21:18 21:18 21:18 21:18 21:18
Why dont you remove the music and let us get engine humm?
My art. But, I’ll see if I can add more muffler without distortion in future vids. I make no promises. I don’t make money on these videos. Thanks for the feedback. ~Grizz
... Замечательное путешествие. Моя собака тоже очень любит ездить на мотоцикле. смотри на моём