Side Car or Back Carrier?

[Uncle_Lui]

Hello everyone,

Hopefully I can get some ideas on what I am hoping to do....

I want to ride with my wife and my 50 pounds dog so I am thinking of a side car for the dog and my wife on passenger seat...
Or would it be better to install a carrier behind me and let my wife ride the side car?

Anyone done this before?

Thank you
Uncle Lui
 

[Hacksaw]

You are likely to get many different positions on whether one should EVER have a pillion passenger on a sidecar outfit.
That said. Based on my personal experience over the past 20ish years, I recommend you read the book located at this link to start with and continue to do as you have started here, seek input from those what have gone before us.

https://www.classiccycles.org/media//DIR_1205589/DIR_1293093/3e8205c5dfb26350ffff8ac5ffffe417.pdf

Get your outfit properly constructed, learn to handle it well, and as your skills improve, add things to the equation...
Most of all, have fun.

PS  To answer your question. I would choose to have the dog in the chair as the Wife will be a more stable and predictable load which will in and of itself, alter the typical handling of your outfit.

[oldbike54]

 Or maybe a chair large enough for the wife and the dog . Have seen that done before , it seemed to work well .

 Dusty

[redhawk47]

More recommended reading:
Driving a Sidecar Outfit, by David Hough, 2nd edition 2008

Dan

[moto-uno]

  If you can find a woman that will be in a sidecar , you're a luckier man than I !  Peter

[ccoli]

You really don't want a person on the pillion. A dog perhaps.
Realize that you the driver has the handlebars to hang on to. The bike does not lean into a curve like a 2 wheeler. Ask my wife about the first and only time she tried the back seat. Just about pulled her hip joint apart when she started sliding off. She's riden 10's of thousands of miles in the sidecar since. Mine has room for a small dog in there with her.

[bigbikerrick]

Not too long ago, I sold my California II/ texas Ranger outfit to a gentleman that rides his wife pillon, and two dogs in the sidecar all the time. He is a fairly thin guy,and his wife is a small lady. He has a medium and small dog, and runs about 60 lbs of ballast in the chair. He rides all over the roads of central California, and loves the set up.
  If you are going to have a big ass 50 lb dog in the sidecar along with a person, you would have to have one of the extra wide "2 person" sidecars for comfort. A small dog is another story, my wife carries a little Jack Russell terrier in our Hannigan

 sidecar with her, and they both ride  very comfy.

[Stretch]

What bigbikerrick said.

Make sure there's enough ballast in the chair if you have someone on the back.
And make sure they're not too heavy.

If your wife is 200+ pounds, she'll have to sit in the chair.

How you "diplomatically" approach that state of affairs is your problem. 

Having a strong sense of self-preservation, I have no suggestions......

                                                                    -Stretch

[fotoguzzi]

  If you are going to have a big ass 50 lb dog

that's a medium size dog at 50#

[guzzisteve]

Here ya Go from a PRO at it---------------------

[bigbikerrick]

that's a medium size dog at 50#

You are correct, Foto! I guess I am so used to little foo foo dogs, that 50 lbs seems big, but they do come in much larger sizes!
Rick.

[Perazzimx14]

Have you ever piloted a sidecar? They often viewed as a cure to a lot of common problems like carrying capacity or not being able to hold up 2 wheeled vehicles. Honestly side cars are great fun but they are no longer a motorcycle or a car. They have most of the issues associated with motorcycles plus some of their own.

If the goal is to have the wind in your face and be able to bring everyone along in safety a convertible automobile is much more comfortable and useful. They have a trunk to haul gear, groceries or whatever. When the rain shows up they have a top. They also have a heater and/or air conditioning.

They also suck up just as much space in the garage as a car.

[Bert Remington]

Two 3-wheel solutions plus an MG sidecar.

[Tom]

Person and dog in the chair.

[Scott of the Sahara]

I love sidecars.
My dog does not.
Your dog may not.
Your wife may not.
Mine does.
She will not ride on the back of the Norge ever again, but she will go with me in the sidecar.

[Brobro]

Our collie weighed 82 lbs at his heaviest.  Wife rode pillion.  Seat was removed from hack and a pad placed on hack floor.

I carried a full 5gallon collapsible water container for extra ballast when we had no heavy luggage packed in/on hack.

A sidecar rig is a totally different experience from a two wheeler (or even a trike).

Rebel (the dog) loved the sidecar.  He was 5 yrs old when we got it.  He lived to almost 14 and rode hack till his last day.

Wife didn't like riding in hack...felt like everyone was watching her.
🤷‍♂️

One winter day it was 15 degrees F below zero.  I wondered, hmmmm, wonder if the Bonnie would start in this temperature??

Next thing you know........it started

https://youtu.be/kgmESG_438w

[fotoguzzi]

I've wondered if there would be an issue with carbon monoxide if your dog was in a trailer? Maybe crazy but I would not want to breath the air just behind an ICE for too long.

[sidecarnutz]

Two up on the bike and only a light load in the sidecar is a mistake. Too easy to lift the chair during a swerve. You could wind up off the road or in a ditch. I rode sidecars for 20 years. Keep the heavier load in the sidecar. Get a sidecar big enough for your wife and dog!
Personally, I love flying the chair and did it all the time. Once at the Big Country rally in the 2000's I wore out my front tire flying my chair with my son in it thru the entire parade route. Cupped the heck out of my front tire! Had to get a new one when I got home. But when you're not used to flying the chair, it can scare the crap out of you and lead to an accident.