I am entering the Budapest to Bamako rally in Jan 2011 and am looking into buying a sidecar motorcycle of some kind. Something like a Ural or a Dnepr are what I am looking for. Are there any good sites for used bikes around? What would be the best country/area to look in? I would be willing to look anywhere within a few days drive of Budapest, even farther if I have to. And what would a typical 1980's and up Ural or Dnepr cost me? Any suggestions as to what is better/cheaper? I would be looking to spend up to $3000 US or so...

How about an XT600 or something along those lines? I still want a sidecar of sorts because a friend of mine will be coming with me. But if a sidecar is a no-go, we may ride separately. Thanks!

mobile.de – Gebrauchte und neue Motorräder, Mopeds und Mofas suchen und kaufen

Look for "seitenwagen/gespann", under Kategorie.

MotoScout24: Motorradmarkt - Motorrad, Roller, Motorräder, Mofa, Moped und Quad-Bikes

Germany has a good market for just about anything with 2 or 3 wheels.

Good luck.

G.

Questions:

Have you driven an outfit before? They are completely different to a solo bike. If you havn't driven one, there is a chance that at some point on your trip you'll find a nice downhill right hander and turn it over. Some people just never work out the dynamics with a chair.

Have you had a Ural before? I'm guessing not. They come in numerous types, but the basic one in a 650cc domestic quality disaster area. The normal routine with a new to you Ural 650, if you have the experience is to take it down to single pieces and start from there, removing such quaint features as the "hand grenade" alternator and 2-to-10,000 piece crank. A Dnepr is a badly made Ural. Post 2006 750's are different beasts, but outside your price range.

In Eastern Europe you'll also come across better made outfits like MZ's, but they are really very low performance and generally old/worn.

In Germany you'll get the biggest choice.

What I'm reading is that you plan as is flying into an unknown city, buy an unknown Soviet quality vehicle and see if you can ride it several thousand miles into Africa? That sure is an adventure, but I'd worry that you maybe aren't looking at roadside gearbox rebuilds as a good part of the trip? Will it worry you if it take a month to get out of Hungary? An unmodified, un-rebuild Dnepr is quite likely to break down the day you get it.

My plan instead would be:

1. Get yourself to the nearest Ural dealer or sidecar convertor and get a drive in/on one.

2. If you can live with the shopping trolley handling, start trawling E-bay etc. for the right machine. An XT with a light chair is rare but the right sort of idea.

3. 99% of outfits are not designed for rough roads so I'm thinking setting up the machinery before you want to ride is the way to go. As you are on three wheels, airhead BM's, K-bikes, Bonnevilles etc. all work but they need wheels and shocks that'll take the pace. This is where that nice Diversion/Watsonian on e-bay will give you hassle it you don't have time to play before the trip.

ADV rider has it's Hacks section where you may find someone nearer to Budapst that might be able to source a sorted bike for you.

Good luck

Andy

Once you have 'mastered' the art of sidecar driving you will have miles of fun, just don't learn the art of 'leaning' on bends 'The Hard Way' !

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Thanks for the input!

No, I have a fair bit of experience riding a sidecar... well sidecar-ish. I attached an old go-cart frame to the side of my 76' XT500 with great results. Its incredible light and easy to flip, but I managed to drive it all last winter here in Canada with no problems. But one day I let my cousin try it and he dislocated his shoulder... so lesson learned!

What is an MZ? If its cheap and "reliable" that would work for me. In terms of performance, I have put on 23000km on a cbr 125 since last July. The only vehicles I pass when on the highways are tractors and ladas! I really like slower, smaller, bikes for some reason. I much prefer riding my cbr 125 over my 81' gpz1100. I'm still juggling he idea of possibly using a scooter for this rally...

Well, from what you say, a dnepr and ural are almost out of the question then? Reliability is definitely nice, but I still want a sidecar rig. Are dual sports with light sidecars expensive, or are they just plain hard to find? How common are typical Xt500's like mine?

Here is a picture of my winter vehicle: (for some reason I had the camera on black and white...)

Hi Dan

That's just what I need for my XT, a starting assistance platform on the side! Great idea!

Don't think the Eastern European outfits are all that good, as verified by the other contributors and why not look for the role model that the Russians all copied their bikes from, the motorcycles that were plagiarised when the Germans left there in a hurry, the BMW!

Here's a picture of a run of the mill Russian with his Ural combination, along with his companion in the sidecar.

The next is what you can pull if you have a BMW: A trio of intelligent raven haired women or at least a blonde with brains! :








Seriously, the GS looks like a fantastic outfit and much more up to the job then a Jap single. I'm sure you can find an 80's/90's R100 or R80 BMW roadster with a small chair for under $3,000.

Failing that how about a Trike?

Or a scooter trike, 600cc Honda



Plus you can also pull a trailer with one.

Good luck with your trip.

Cheers

Chris

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You've had comfbo riding experience. This is good. For what you want, get a bike of about 50BHP and consider a Ural tub bolted to it.

Sturdy and simple.

Get consultation on which bearings to replace as the stresses on a bike in rig format are different to when it is still a soloe. I have a 2007 Ural and it is great fun and so far no problems (touch wood!).

Good luck

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Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

MZ were the bit of DKW that ended up in East Germany. From 1945 to 1996 they made a range of rather good bikes in the 125-300cc class (I have three). These are great bikes but have a couple of flaws in terms of long distance use. Most you'll pick up for the cash you have (ETZ/ES 250/251/300/301) are two strokes and as such it is vital that things like the crank seals are in good condition. On the road a 301 with the factory Velorex chair is good for about 50 mph, but you can easily end up in third at 30mph if there is a headwind and inclines. Vital spares such as 300cc barrels and pistons are now getting hard to come by, so while I love my zeds and use one every singe day they are now really classics.

Of the outfits pictured above, the Ural has the features mentioned before. The BM would go on e-bay for 3000-5000€ unless it has issues, which it well might as that's the velorex chair meant for a 20 HP MZ/IMZ/Jawa/CZ. If it uses the universal fitting kit it'll drop to bits as soon as you see anything other than a tarmaced back road. The R1100/Ural would be on e-bay for 5000€ plus depending on the mileage.

Germany is the place to buy as you will find outfits like that BM, but you really need the time to go look and buy something that isn't just a bolt on Velorex, or get someone to strengthen the mounts after you buy.

Andy

Well from checking out whats available, sidecar rigs seem pretty expensive! I could get a pretty nice xt600 tenere for 1500 euros. Could I find places that would attach a Ural 'tub' to a XT tenere? And how price for registration/ insurance for a foreigner me? At most, I would need it for 4 months.

I like the idea of a BMW R100/80... I love the engines! I will do some more digging but haven't come across too many for sale. What about a jap twin like an old transalp? Don't imagine there would be many with sidecars already on though.

I did find some sidecar weaknesses (besides the solid mounted wheel!) as well as non-sidecar weaknesses from exploring with some friends last night. One guy was in a chevy 4x4, while the other had a lada niva. While I could destroy them on straight and mucky gravel roads, my sidecar wheel just clogged up with our thick "concrete" clay we have here and seized. I had to lift the sidecar wheel up to go anywhere! So following that, I removed it and went back out. Without the sidecar in the mud I never really had problems with a wheel clogging up. But I could only go half the speed that I was doing with the sidecar due to severe ruts and slippery mud. When it comes to these conditions, its kind of a toss up! Had a gooood sleep last night!



Nobody knows what the heck a Lada is around here!