My XS750 Sidecar project

[Nath]

Yesterday I MOTed my Yamaha XS750, six months after buying it as a project in bits. It formerly belonged to Babyyam's other half who'd had sitting outside his shed for a number of years.

Six months is a long time to put a bike on the road the way I have done, but I've also been working 50hours a week during this period and had two other bikes to keep on the road (and also to ride!). One of the main reasons for the length of time has also been the need to buy/replace bits for the bike. I have now vowed never again to buy a bike in bits, as this xs750 has been a major headache at times.

https://homepage.ntlworld.com/steven.coy/images/xs750/roadworthy-1.jpg

https://homepage.ntlworld.com/steven.coy/images/xs750/roadworthy-2.jpg

An aircooled 4-stroke DOHC inline tripple with shaft final drive. My next step is to fit a sidecar to the bike, and then take it for a short trip round Europe over the summer. My sidecar will be homemade, and the actual sidecar will be a "tradesman's box" made out of sheet steel, rather than something meant for carrying people. I also need to sort out the fueling as the bike is obviously running lean as it runs hot and has no grunt (suspect blank plugs where the pilot jets should be is not helping!), and I may have to consider fitting an oilcooler as well depending on how well the motor takes to pulling a heavy all-steel chair.


The bike has minimal electrics, so kickstart only and it is a real bastard to fire up! The high seat and high bars also make the bike's significant weight difficult to manage, so it is certainly not a bike for girls! The engine is incredibley vibey, to the extent that when the bike is on the center stand it shuffles across the floor when revved (and that's a lot of weight moving!). And for me this is how a motorcycle should be - Raw, agressive and a great deal of fun!
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Hard livin', hard luck.

[Sephiroth]

It looks fucking fun!

[Kal]

*ahem*

2 kool 4 skool
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Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S

[st3v3]

does like strikingly impressive.
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[yambabe]

Aww, someone not a million miles from here has come over all emotional! He says fancy you using that bloody awful tank though and which engine was the best in the end?

He also says you do know we have a chair in the garden rotting away don't you? The bodywork would probably need replacing anyway cos it's so old but if you want it for the chassis it's yours if you can come and get it..........
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Nath]

Engines... Well the complete engine had a load of bent valves in it, so I dug out the other cylinder head which also had a bent valve and also one that was starting to burn out. I got one good head from the two and stuck it back on the engine, but the compression looked to be a bit low (I'd only checked one ring which seemed within tolerances).

However I only then realised I didn't have any clutch springs, alternator-rotor, or an ignition-stator. To buy those bits seperately would have cost me almost as much as a complete running engine off eBay. So the engine in the bike is a totally different one, just with the sidecasings off one of the others as I transferred across the kickstarter mechanism from the engine with the broken crankcases.


Yeah I gathered John isn't fond of the red tiger-stripes. When he picked up this tank when we fetched the bike he remarked something like "Before you say anything, it wasn't me that painted it!". Well I couldn't bring myself to tell him I thought it looked pretty cool Infact I'm considering doing my sidecar in the same colours: Black with red tiger stripes!

My sidecar is pretty much planned out now. I nabbed some scaffolding from work which is what I'm going to make the chassis out of, and I'll make a box from some steel sheet for the body. And as a shortcut I'm gonna use an unbraked trailer hub and indespension unit.
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Hard livin', hard luck.

[McGee]

You gotta do a step by step picture show & tell thingy.

Can't wait to see it.


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Its pronounced Jixxer!

[pwntifex]

Super.
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the warped one: This is a follow up from the thread 'my willy hurts'

[instigator]

Pant job is bloody awful. I know that its meant to be a bit, you know, but jesus. Black tank would make it look complete. (are there some side panels missing to protect the wiring?)

Other than that, it's quite 'cool' and at least different to the usual summer toys on the forum. (like mine )

[Gazdaman]

Best. Routed. Clutch. Cable. Ever.

Love the bike mate, looks like an awesome project.

Gaz

[Sephiroth]

[EuropeanNC30R...]

Looks nice, and clean (I doubt for long), tank paint sets off the rest of the bike I reckon.

[palmer]

nicely different

[Grav]

I thought that would never see the road ever again.
Well done feller.

[mr.z]

[yambabe]

Going on ebay at the end of the week......... would paint up nice........

https://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/Yambabe/15042007053.jpg
https://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/Yambabe/15042007054.jpg
https://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/Yambabe/15042007055.jpg
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[mr.z]

Wow the really is disgusting, i really like it.. how long is it from end to end? + do you have any pics of the original mounting bracketry?
(must say I'm sevearly tempted)
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[yambabe]

It's been off the bike for over 15 years so sorry no bracketry!

Himself says he thinks he used scaffolding clips last time he had it attached (it was on an XS500 at the time). It was clamped on near the back shock (2 clamps), near the front of the frame and he says he thinks somewhere near the top yoke. He says all the brackets he had were "swivelly" so they could be adjusted and they were all home-made.

He reckons it would go on a CX no problem.......
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Visitor Q]

Whats the total cost/hours roughly?
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China traffic/travel bike vid - When I make a sweeping statement, please add the word 'statistically' in to the sentence before you bitch...
From September 2014 to January/February 2015 I will not be using any English, nor reading any. As such, I won't be on here. PM at will, but I won't be checking/posting unless in emergencies. Certainly not for the first couple of months. Please berate me savagely if I break that rule...

[Nath]

That is pretty cool Jo, but in reality I would have no (immediate) use for it to justify going all the way to Warrington with a trailer. My dad flogged his old mercades which had the towbar on, so I'd have to make a towball setup for my cb550 and trundle all the way up there.

[Gazdaman]

You sir, have a talent. Nice one.

Gaz

[Ariel Badger]

What are you going to carry on the chair?
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[Nath]

Do you meant what kind of body will I be attaching to the chassis, or do you meant what am I intending putting in the body?

It's going to be a trademan's box, and at the moment I'm thinking it's gonna be made of 3mm thick steel sheet. Okay so with a body like that I wouldn't even need a chassis, but with this setup I will have the flexability to attach a regular fibreglass people-carrying body at a later date, or even use it as a flatbed for moving large objects without a trailer.

With the sturdy body I have in mind I reckon I should be able carry a whole bike in a partially dismantled state, should the need ever arise. In particular I'm going to use the outfit for a 3week trip to eastern Europe this summer, having come to the conclusion from 2 previous European tours that a solo motorcycle offers far too limited luggage capacity. It's not so much the fact that you can't lash loads of stuff to a bike, it's that it can easily be nicked when you park up, and will get wet when it rains.

I will almost certainly stick a towball on the back for moving real big loads via trailer, and I'm toying with the idea of making a foot plate and grabrails for somebody to stand on the back of the chair (though I'm sure that would not be a legal way to carry a passenger on public roads in this country!).
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Hard livin', hard luck.

[mr.z]

Bear in mind there's a few country's where 3 wheelers are illegal! (perhaps to discourage Russians on their many bike/sidecars contraptions)

Since your building it from scratch, i'd not skimp on the ground clearance, when it comes to shitty roads in east europe or unclassified roads around the peaks it'll save much trouble (not to mention snow.. ahem..).. big wheel with a sidecar tyre profile, maybe the same as the rear of the xs to simplify spare tyre carrying

If you've seen the racing off-road things they have a rail on the front and a small bench thing for the passenger to sit on (which is also a tool box) not really allot to stop them falling off the back.. i'm sure ive seen them used on the roads but with a passenger i'm not sure..

https://www.dauntlessmotors.com/Mountinghardware/images/ural/suzukidrz400uralplatformrr12.2005.JPG
https://www.dauntlessmotors.com/Mountinghardware/images/ural/suzukidrz400uralplatformrs12.2005.JPG
https://www.dauntlessmotors.com/Mountinghardware/images/ural/suzukidrz400uralplatformrf12.2005.JPG

Tis looking interesting
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[Nath]

Okay, so a few more weeks have gone by and I now achieved my immediate goal: The chassis is attached to the bike and the thing is rideable.

https://homepage.ntlworld.com/steven.coy/images/xs750/flatbed-1.jpg
Picture taken by MrZ at the ratbike rally this weekend.

I went with minimal sleep all week to get the fixings finished in time for the rally. I finally got it attached at 4pm on Friday after another long stint in the garage, and took it for its maiden journey. I was astonished to find the thing steers pretty much in a straight line, and goes round corners without falling over. Admittedly I did crash into a hedge just before I got back to my house, and a load of my neighbours were there to laugh, but otherwise everything seemed fine. I welded some sheet and box onto the chassis to serve as luggage capacity, slung my camping gear on the sidecar, and set off for the rally.

I need to rethink the mountings slightly so they are under less strain, and alter the trailer suspension unit so it compresses more and so that the chassis sits slightly lower next to the wheel, as it currently leaning into the bike giving me a camber on the sidecar wheel. Though the camber is probably one of main contributery factors in the steering straightness, so I will then probably have to faff around getting it to travel in a straightline once again. And then fabricate my body, a "trademan's box". My aim is to get this done within a few weeks, as I need to start riding the bugger as much as possible to make sure everything will be okay to go touring europe on it at the start of July.
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Hard livin', hard luck.